Chapter Seven #2
“Yeah. That was the thing. Wow. The future is clear now. That’s rare.” She kept in contact with her baby. “That is a very good thing. And, his birthday is the day after Jennel and Jennor’s anniversary. So, no date muddling.”
Solor chuckled. “That is your primary concern?”
“Well, it was up there.” Nylora laughed. “Kaitha, how are things looking?”
“Placenta is out, and you are untorn. Huh.”
Demuel laughed softly and coughed.
“Yeah, yeah. The opener spell. Unicorns are perverts.” Nylora smirked.
He shrugged. “Of course. We made the spell so our partners are always trackable to our senses. The easy recovery from childbirth is a side effect.”
“Easy? For thirty hours I felt like a bottle with a stuck cork.”
Kaitha chuckled, and the hospital staff came in to check on things.
Solor sat next to her and kept one hand on their baby. “You did it.”
“I did it.” She laughed. She looked down at the blond head. “We did it.” There was a little squeak and a snuffle.
“So, Bump. What kind of name do you actually want?”
Solor smiled. “I have a list.”
“Great. Hold him and introduce him to the people who are waiting. I am going to have a shower.”
Dia came forward. “This is where I earn my retainer.”
Kaitha and Demuel went to work on the bed the moment she was no longer in it. A shower was her destiny.
Clean and tidy and back in bed, she looked at the baby in her arms and said, “I am waiting on names?”
“Corkor.” He grinned. “In light of your earlier comment. Or combine our names, and Sonylor.”
“How about Soylor? Or Sonlor.”
He smiled. “It bears discussion. May I share a photo of us to the other agents?”
She snorted. “Yeah, I think Matthias is up for an XIA baby boom. He encourages races that others don’t even consider.”
“Well, technically, Kairek got it underway.”
They laughed, took a few selfies, and Solor sent them to his parents, the XIA night shift, and the day shift that he was transferring to right after his paternal leave. Demuel on her left side, Solor on her right, and the baby in her arms. It was time to head home.
* * * *
A my sighed in relief . “They are okay.” They were sitting at Emily’s place with Jerrik asleep in the spare room.
Emily said, “They wouldn’t be if you didn’t contact me to contact my mom to contact Nylora’s aunt. How did you know?”
“I really hate dealing with seers because it is one of the only things I could do as a human. The patterns were wrong, and the other side of her family wasn’t being represented. Don’t mention it to her, though. Better that it came from your mother.”
“Why? The freaking XIA will cheer you for saving one of their own.”
“Yes, well, the less I deal with the XIA, the better off I will be.” She sighed, still stung from Emmers’ verbal barrage when he saw her earrings. There were other cities she could live in. Other places that didn’t know her heritage. Perhaps she should consider a move.
“What is that face?”
“Oh. Maybe things have gotten stale around here. I think I could see if it is possible to move to Corudet or something. I might be able to transfer and still keep my pension.”
“Running?”
“Why not? There isn’t anything here to keep me. Friends can call me, and I can come to visit.”
“Yes, but what about Iris and Jerrik?”
“They have Kairek now.”
“I hate myself for saying this, but Kairek isn’t you. You are a good friend, an aunt to Jerrik.”
“You are also an aunt. He’s ten. He won’t suffer much.”
“Aha! But he will suffer.”
“Yes, but... damn.”
“Gotcha.”
“Butthead.” She crossed her arms and scowled.
“What did he actually say about you that made you want to leave?”
She sighed. “He called me a whore. A betrayal to my family. A waste of a bloodline. A disgusting tramp.”
“Oh. Wow. Because of earrings?”
“Yeah. Because he thought I had started dating someone else.”
“Well, that’s encouraging, a little.”
“Yeah, well, the urge to start biting me was there. His canines kept emerging.”
“What would that do?”
“Punish me for betrayal? He started operating on instinct. It wasn’t his best hour.” She ran a hand over her hair. “Everything I grew up with focused on survival and social balance. His upbringing was probably similar.”
“What did that mean that you stood, you called, and no one came?”
Amy chuckled. “It’s an adulthood ritual to line up suitors.
Everyone gathers together, and the seeker sings out, looking for an answer in any of the voices.
I sang out, and laughter rippled through the room.
The elders decided I was too weak for our people, and they banished me.
Gave me a few thousand dollars and sent me away so that my singleness wouldn’t be a burden on my family. Not my favourite weekend.”
“What? What about your parents?”
“They were the elders who banished me. I had two more brothers and two more sisters, all of whom were shifters. All caribou. They are obsessed with working and moving in herds.”
“And you are a tiny predator.”
“Yeah. Foxes have families, but they can hunt on their own.”
“What about polar bears?” Emily glanced out her window.
“They are solo hunters and just pair up to mate. Well, their animal counterparts do. The few bear shifters I have met are actually fairly family-focused.”
“Oh, I am glad you think that way. Emmers is about to ring the doorbell.”
“Shit. Jerrik is still asleep.” Amy got up and rushed to the door, hushing him as she pushed him outside. “What?”
He blinked. “Uh, Nylora and the baby are good.”
She smiled. “Good. Is that it?”
“I would like to apologize. Sincerely. I saw the earrings, and I just reacted. That’s no excuse, but I would like to eventually be the one to provide you with all your jewellery.”
“Whoa. That’s a little much. Why don’t we try to meet for coffee before your shift or breakfast after? You can tell me how much family you have in the northern communities, and I can tell you why you should go after that lady you were flirting with at the wedding.”
He flushed and looked embarrassed. “How did you know about that?”
“I am a seer. And whether I like it or not, I can see you.” She rubbed her forehead.
He smiled slightly. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Sure. I am a masochist. You do know that pursuing me is forbidden by the base of all the northern communities.”
“I know. I have already talked to my father about it. My mother is the holdout. She said if your genes aren’t strong enough to manifest on their own, they aren’t strong enough for her family.”
Amy nodded. “Got it. That’s exactly what my mom said. Maybe they are pen pals.”
“Your mother?”
“The clan elder.”
“Ah. That would explain the severity of the banishment.”
“Yup. She made sure that the embarrassment of my situation could never be held up to her again. She has other kids to be proud of.”
“You miss them.”
“Of course I do. I also know that no one is allowed to talk to me, so there is no point in trying to get in touch.”
He sighed. “Close communities are... difficult.”
“Yes. They are.”
“How long have you been gone?”
“Ten years.”
“I see. Here all that time?”
“Yup. School. Working as bait for vice, and then admin after the wave.”
“Why? Why did you change after the wave?”
“Because I didn’t want to kill anyone, and some of those predators were vile.” She smiled. “I also needed six months to control my forms. That took a lot of therapy.”
“Right. I imagine it would. No training as a child?”
“Nope. My mother said she always knew I would be weak.”
He was stunned. “I see.”
“Eh, middle child syndrome. Did you at least get the lady’s number?”
“What? Who?”
“The woman from the wedding.”
“Oh. No. The moment Solor came up to talk to me, I forgot all about her.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why are we outside?”
“Oh, Jerrik was waiting up for news. Iris was on a date with Kairek. He associates you with Kairek, and he would wake up from his nap if he heard you.”
“Oh. Okay. You are babysitting?”
“Emily is babysitting. I was having tea and cookies.”
“Ah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So, how do we start?”
“Why don’t we not? You have a bright future with your links to family ahead of you.
I wouldn’t want to interfere with that. Seriously.
You think I am cold, and I think you are pretty, and we are just going to leave it there.
It’s better for both of us and less stress for the people around us.
Because when it would go bad, it would be extremely bad. ”
“What if it’s good?”
“It still ends when your family shows up.”
“You can see it?”
“I can predict it. You have already told me about your mother’s attitude. I don’t foresee it getting better.”
He sighed. “Can I have cookies?”
“Sure. Be quiet. Keep your voice low. He just got to bed two hours ago.”
She opened the door, and Emily smiled, waving silently. Emmers sat on a chair that creaked slightly with his weight. Amy reached for the cookies and slid the plate to him.
Emily frowned.
Amy gestured to them, and Emily grinned, went to the kitchen, and got a container, taking a dozen off the tower of cookies on the plate.
Emmers took one and bit it in half, then his eyes closed, then opened, and he put the rest of the cookie in his mouth. He pointed at Emily with an arched brow. She grinned, shook her head, and pointed at Amy.
He looked at Amy, pointed at the cookies, and pressed his hands together, begging.
She pushed the plate toward him, and he dove in.
At one point, she pressed her fingers against his forehead, and she rescued four cookies.
He frowned. She held her hand out at her seated shoulder height. He nodded with understanding.
The cookies didn’t survive another ten minutes. Emily grinned and poured him some tea.
Amy chuckled and spoke softly, “In case you wondered, Kairek and Iris are having a date night. It’s a holiday, so Jerrik has the day off, so we are giving those two some privacy and hoping they remember protection this time.”
Emily chuckled and whispered, “Or not. They made a great kid the first time.”
Amy rolled her eyes and tutted.