appearance today was still an awful coincidence.
It was either a really really good thing that the werewolves were in town right now, or a
really really bad thing. Too bad I had no idea which it was.
I took the stairs two at a time, plucked a fuming Babyjon out of his crib, fixed a fresh
bottle (he liked 'em cold, and we kept a supply in the small fridge in his room), and let the
poor starving tyke have at it. While I was walking with him back to the kitchen, I
wondered about Derik's extreme reaction to my half brother. Hadn't he said that his wife
was pregnant? Maybe babies freaked him out.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) I cuddled Babyjon closer into my side and kissed the top of his fuzzy dark head. "Guess
he'd better get over that in a hurry," I told him. "Unless he likes sleeping on the sorceress's couch."
The phone rang as I got near the swinging door, and I grimaced. What fresh hell was this?
Chapter 20
“Majesty?"
"Tina? Hey, finally! Great to hear from you!" From anybody without fur, frankly. "What's going on?"
"Nothing good, Majesty, I assure you." She made a sound that from anyone but Tina
would have come off sounding like a snort. "Are you well?"
"Oh, sure. A bunch of werewolves stopped by to pick a fight, but—"
"You mean they broke in?" Tina interrupted. Since she never interrupted, I assumed she
had to be fairly shocked. Then I remembered her strict instructions, most (or all? I couldn't
remember all of them, to be honest) of which I'd broken since we last spoke.
Lucky for me she was half a continent, plus an ocean, away. She could only scold; she
couldn't strangle.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com )
"Well, no. They didn't break, exactly. They, um, knocked."
"And you let themin ?"
"Like I said. Knocked. Then, the fight. Which I won, so don't worry." I decided not to
mention Jeannie "Quick Draw" Wyndham. Tina hated it when I got shot. "Turns out they
thought we were being sneaky, because Antonia hasn't checked in with them."
"Um."
"But I convinced them that we hadn't done away with her or anything, using my Kissinger-
like powers of diplomacy."
"Um-hum."
"Now we're buddies!" I tried to put as much enthusiasm as I could into that lie. I mean
line. "Isn't that great? Even as we speak, they're scouring the town, looking for the hair of
Antonia's chinny-chin-chin. Wait, that was the pigs, right? That line made no sense, then.
Let me think of—"
"Majesty! I must beg you to—"
"I know, I know. I've been answering the phone and the door. It's all gone horribly,
horribly wrong, and all because I didn't listen to you." I slung, Babyjon over my shoulder
to burp him, tossing the now-empty bottle in the general direction of the sink. "If only I
had listened." Babyjon yawned, and I knew how he felt. The lecture loometh.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com )
"Majesty, I do not wish to alarm you—"
"Then don't."
"But I fear the king may be dead."
"See, that? I find that alarming." I whacked Babyjon a little too hard, because he
groaned—then belched. I plunked him into the port-a-crib so I could pace.
"I'm sorry, Majesty, but it is the only conclusion that fits the data."
"What the hell makes you think that?"
"He would have answered me by now, Majesty. In seventy-some years, he has never not
answered me. We have a code we use for emergencies, and the other one, no matter what
is happening in his or her life, the other one must answer. And he has not."
"He blew off your super secret vampire code?"
"I realize that infantile jokes are your way of dealing with serious issues, but with all due
respect, Majesty, now is not the time."
"Noted," I said, chastened.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com )
"He is
It was either a really really good thing that the werewolves were in town right now, or a
really really bad thing. Too bad I had no idea which it was.
I took the stairs two at a time, plucked a fuming Babyjon out of his crib, fixed a fresh
bottle (he liked 'em cold, and we kept a supply in the small fridge in his room), and let the
poor starving tyke have at it. While I was walking with him back to the kitchen, I
wondered about Derik's extreme reaction to my half brother. Hadn't he said that his wife
was pregnant? Maybe babies freaked him out.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) I cuddled Babyjon closer into my side and kissed the top of his fuzzy dark head. "Guess
he'd better get over that in a hurry," I told him. "Unless he likes sleeping on the sorceress's couch."
The phone rang as I got near the swinging door, and I grimaced. What fresh hell was this?
Chapter 20
“Majesty?"
"Tina? Hey, finally! Great to hear from you!" From anybody without fur, frankly. "What's going on?"
"Nothing good, Majesty, I assure you." She made a sound that from anyone but Tina
would have come off sounding like a snort. "Are you well?"
"Oh, sure. A bunch of werewolves stopped by to pick a fight, but—"
"You mean they broke in?" Tina interrupted. Since she never interrupted, I assumed she
had to be fairly shocked. Then I remembered her strict instructions, most (or all? I couldn't
remember all of them, to be honest) of which I'd broken since we last spoke.
Lucky for me she was half a continent, plus an ocean, away. She could only scold; she
couldn't strangle.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com )
"Well, no. They didn't break, exactly. They, um, knocked."
"And you let themin ?"
"Like I said. Knocked. Then, the fight. Which I won, so don't worry." I decided not to
mention Jeannie "Quick Draw" Wyndham. Tina hated it when I got shot. "Turns out they
thought we were being sneaky, because Antonia hasn't checked in with them."
"Um."
"But I convinced them that we hadn't done away with her or anything, using my Kissinger-
like powers of diplomacy."
"Um-hum."
"Now we're buddies!" I tried to put as much enthusiasm as I could into that lie. I mean
line. "Isn't that great? Even as we speak, they're scouring the town, looking for the hair of
Antonia's chinny-chin-chin. Wait, that was the pigs, right? That line made no sense, then.
Let me think of—"
"Majesty! I must beg you to—"
"I know, I know. I've been answering the phone and the door. It's all gone horribly,
horribly wrong, and all because I didn't listen to you." I slung, Babyjon over my shoulder
to burp him, tossing the now-empty bottle in the general direction of the sink. "If only I
had listened." Babyjon yawned, and I knew how he felt. The lecture loometh.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com )
"Majesty, I do not wish to alarm you—"
"Then don't."
"But I fear the king may be dead."
"See, that? I find that alarming." I whacked Babyjon a little too hard, because he
groaned—then belched. I plunked him into the port-a-crib so I could pace.
"I'm sorry, Majesty, but it is the only conclusion that fits the data."
"What the hell makes you think that?"
"He would have answered me by now, Majesty. In seventy-some years, he has never not
answered me. We have a code we use for emergencies, and the other one, no matter what
is happening in his or her life, the other one must answer. And he has not."
"He blew off your super secret vampire code?"
"I realize that infantile jokes are your way of dealing with serious issues, but with all due
respect, Majesty, now is not the time."
"Noted," I said, chastened.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com )
"He is
Similar Books
