29. Chapter 29
Bec
It turned out that Victor loved nachos. He wasn’t fond of beer but found cocktails fascinating. The Downward Dog might not be a fancy bar, but Mikey kept ingredients on hand to make Skyler the sweet mixed drinks she craved. As a nymph, she loved sugary things, and Victor shared her sweet tooth.
“I can’t believe we’re all hanging out as if this was an average day,” Mason said.
Jack said something about never letting Mason out on his own again, and Skyler rolled her eyes at Jack's overprotective attitude.
Mason’s mates, Jack and Skyler, hadn’t left his side since they’d arrived. Due to the unprecedented events of the day, Mikey had nicely kicked out the few customers already in the bar and put a Closed For Private Event sign in the door.
That let us all drink and discuss the events of the day in peace. The Downward Dog didn’t serve food, but we’d ordered massive amounts from the Mexican restaurant two doors down.
“This food is angry,” Victor said, holding up an entire chili. “It attacks the mouth. I like it.”
Then he popped the whole thing, stem and all, into his mouth.
I chuckled. “Usually, you eat those things combined with other food.”
“I’ll do that,” he agreed and stuck another chili on a chip and shoved them in his mouth. It wasn't what I’d meant, but he was happy, so I wasn’t going to say anything further.
I was sitting across from Victor, nestled sideways on Marduk’s lap with my legs resting on Danzig’s thighs.
“We're eating as if today was a regular day,” Mason said again.
“Is this not a normal day?” Victor asked. “Do you not eat and drink every day?”
“We do,” Mason said with a laugh. “But it’s not every day that I make friends with someone like you, Victor.”
Victor perked up. “We are friends?”
“You saved our lives, Victor, if that doesn’t make us friends, I don’t know what does,” I said.
“And you made Lomis disappear," Beatrix said. She was at the far end of the table snuggled with Titan and Arthur. The Downward Dog wasn’t that big so no one in the room was too far away to be part of the conversation.
“The void demands balance,” Victor said. “Lomis’s existence had to end because he created me.”
“That’s perfect balance because we like you a lot better than him,” Titan said. He lifted up his glass. “To Victor!”
Everyone did the same, and Victor looked around confused. Amara was sitting next to him and leaned over to whisper something. He nodded his head, and his confusion was replaced with happiness.
“We need to figure out what to do with Victor,” I whispered to Marduk. “We can’t simply leave him to cope on his own.”
“I think he’s already been adopted by Mikey’s pack,” Marduk said.
“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m still worried. He’s so sweet and naive, anyone could take advantage of him. I’d rather one or two people take full responsibility.”
“If you moved out of the condo into our house, there’d be plenty of room for Victor,” Danzig said.
“That's true,” Marduk agreed, looking exceedingly cheerful.
I smiled at them. “Maybe.”
That one word made both of them happy.
“It’s nice that everyone got the end they deserved,” Titan said.
I frowned. “But they didn’t.”
Everyone looked at me.
“What do you mean?” Danzig asked. “Gale, Lars, and Lomis are all gone.”
“They’re only the ones we know about,” I said. “There’s still a garage full of exotic animal parts in that empty house. People hunted those animals, other people preserved and transported them. Every single one is responsible for the atrocities.”
“You could hire my mom,” Mason said.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Take everything you found to Mom,” Mason said. “It’ll take her time, but she can work a spell that follows the trail and affects everyone who played a part.”
“What do you mean by affect?” I asked.
Mason shrugged. “It depends on the spell. Talk to her.”
“I will,” I said. Even if I had to pay a lot, I wanted to do this. This would make me feel like we made a much bigger difference.
“We’ll clear out the garage tomorrow,” Marduk said. “If we wait, all of it might disappear.”
“Give me a time and place,” Mikey said from behind the bar. “I’ll make sure you’ve got people and trucks.”
“Thanks, Mikey,” Danzig said.
“I still can’t believe all of you survived unscathed,” Amara said.
“Only thanks to Victor,” Danzig said. “If you’d arrived any earlier, you would’ve seen two sons with almost no aura left.”
“And one hurting gargoyle. I think I’d broken one of my wings,” Mason said. He pointed his beer at me. “For as long as I live, I’ll never forget the sight of you throwing that void-tie.”
“She has a wicked throwing arm,” Marduk said, making everyone laugh.
“Was that your plan all along?” Danzig asked.
I bobbed my head in a half nod. “Kinda. I knew he wouldn’t drop the other ties, but I hoped he would show them to us.”
“Why?” Marduk asked.
“I thought it would be easier to take them away if we knew where they were,” I said and then finished my beer before continuing. “After that, I was going to throw the void-tie behind him, so he had to turn his back on us to get it. Then I figured we’d all attack at the same time.”
“That’s why you wanted us to stand with you,” Mason said.
I nodded. “When he came close, the opening to the void followed him, so I threw it in there. It was an easy pitch.”
“Did you know what would happen? That it would create Victor?” Skyler asked. I gave her a look, and she laughed. “Right, no one could’ve known what would happen.”
Beatrix raised her glass and said, “To Bec’s quick thinking and amazing throwing arm!”
Everyone lifted their glasses with a cheer. Victor grabbed his drink so quickly to join in that the umbrella tumbled out and fell to the table. He watched everyone drink and then followed their example.
He was adorable and made me think of a golden retriever.
We talked more about the day, and I answered a lot of questions with shrugs. I didn’t tell anyone that I didn’t have the best memory of the whole thing.
So far, the guys hadn’t said anything about me going off on my own when I’d gone to the office by myself.
If I was lucky, they’d stay so happy that we all survived that they’d forget about how I’d gotten kidnapped in the first place.
My phone rang, distracting me from Beatrix explaining what it felt like to be curled up in layers of J?rmungandr. Amazingly enough, the guys had found my phone at the office and thought to shove it in the backpack Mason carried with the twins' clothes. I looked down to see Jim’s number.
It had to be Cheryle, probably wondering why I never called her back after getting to the office.
“Hi Cheryle,” I said when I answered the phone. “The office is fine. How’s Jim doing?”
At least I hoped it was fine. They’d been so frantic to find me that no one could remember if they locked the door after leaving. I couldn’t blame them.
I decided I was too tired to care. If I got back to the office tomorrow and found all the computers stolen, I’d replace them. I was too tired to go back there tonight.
“I’m doing fine,” Jim answered with a light chuckle.
“Jim, it’s so good to hear your voice,” I exclaimed. I struggled to get up so I could walk outside to hear him better. Marduk easily lifted me to my feet, then he and Danzig followed me out the bar’s front door. It was dark outside, but the area was still busy.
I didn’t mind that the guys stuck close. After everything that happened, I didn’t want to be alone right now.
I might not want to be alone for a long time.
“How are you feeling?” I asked. “Are you still in the hospital?”
“My head hurts, and my vision is a little weird, but other than that I’m fine,” he said. “They’re probably going to send me home tomorrow.”
“That’s great,” I said. “I’ll go into the office tomorrow and make sure everyone knows you’ll be out for a while. I don’t think you’ve got many open cases right now anyway.”
“That’s one of the things I was going to ask you,” he said. “I was working on a case when I was attacked. The police are dealing with it now. I might need you to pull some files to give to them.”
He had to be talking about Lars. I paused, trying to figure out how much to tell him. “Um, so, first I want you to know that the man who hit you is gone.”
This time, he paused before asking a one-word question. “Gone?”
“I can’t tell you more, but I promise that he’s not a threat,” I said.
Jim was silent for so long that I pulled the phone away from my ear to check that we were still connected.
“Close the case and refund the Justice for the Voiceless group,” Jim ordered. “Tell them it’s above our ability as a small business. If any police or detectives ask you about anything, you were never involved in the case. Do you understand?”
He sounded so worried that I made a soothing sound. “It’s going to be okay, Jim. I'll do as you ask, but you don't need to worry.”
That was true. It was nearly impossible to convict when there were no bodies. Any evidence the authorities found linking me or the guys to Gale’s and Lar’s disappearances would be circumstantial at best.
“I hate the sound of that,” Jim said, then let out a long breath. “And my head hurts.”
“Rest,” I murmured. “I’ll take care of the office until you feel better. No matter how long it takes.”
“Do not accept any clients,” he barked, then moaned. I heard Cheryle and Kevin in the background demanding Jim get off the phone.
“Good night,” I said. “We can talk tomorrow.”
Then I ended the call. Thinking of Hugo reminded me that we’d left the poor dog alone for a long time.
“We should go home,” I said. “Hugo is probably desperate. Let’s say goodbye.”
Before we could walk back into the bar, a bunch of people were coming out, including Victor.
Amara had her arm linked through Victor’s. She towered over the slim man, making him look like he was a teenager. It didn’t help that he was wearing borrowed clothing that was much too big for him.
“Victor’s coming home with me,” Amara said.
“He is?” I asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Amara gave me a confident grin. “If I raised twin J?rmungandr and survived, I can help guide Victor until he’s ready to be on his own.”
“Don’t forget the orphaned pabilsag you raised,” Danzig said.
“How’s Sumar doing?” Marduk asked.
“He’s living in New Zealand,” Amara said. “You should visit, he asked about you two.”
“Pabilsag?” I asked
“Scorpion shifter,” Danzig said. “Pabilsag can shift at birth, so only people immune to their venom or with good reflexes can raise them.”
“Thankfully, I have both,” Amara said.
“I’d never sting you,” Victor said. “Or bite you. I know better.”
Amara patted his arm. “I know. I’m not worried you’ll hurt me. I only want to make sure you understand how the world works before you go off on your own.”
“Oh yes, that would be nice, thank you,” Victor said with a sweet smile. “Can we eat more angry food tomorrow?”
Amara laughed and led him off. Danzig took one of my hands and Marduk took the other and led me to the car we were borrowing from Mikey.
I couldn’t wait to be anywhere that it would only be the three of us.