but I actually know why. I read about
this online. The border patrol found
scattered remains in the desert, the
morning after the full moon. There was
enough to do DNA matching, and it’s
Paulo and Raul. It looks as if they got on
the wrong side
of
a
pack
of
werewolves.”
Wow. What an ugly way to go.
Almost as brutal and violent as some of
the things I’d heard they’d ordered. I
couldn’t say I was sorry. I bet it was
Maria’s family. Paulo had learned the
hard way that payback is a bitch.
Literally.
“Celia? You still there?”
“I’m here. I wouldn’t wish that on
anybody, but I can’t say they didn’t
deserve it.”
“That’s almost exactly what the guy
who wrote the online article said.”
I believed it. Thinking about the
Ortegas, though, reminded me of
Mexico. Not good. Not the kind of
memories that would improve my mood.
“Anything else?”
“Yup. When you get back, the INS and
the DEA both want to meet with you and
have you map out as much of the tunnels
as you can remember. Oh, and the Levys
are on their way to Serenity with the
dresses and they are gorgeous. You are
going to look so amazing! Bruno’s
finished your joint present for Adriana
and King Dahlmar. Since he was
working on it in the same office with
Jan, he had it checked to make sure it
hadn’t been tampered with, and it’s fine.
Emma swears it’s the best focus she’s
ever seen, even better than the mirror
you had made for Vicki.”
Oh! So that’s what he’d been making
at the college. I’d assumed the mirror
was a class assignment.
Wow. That was awesome. It would
be the perfect gift for Adriana, who was
a fairly powerful clairvoyant. And
Dahlmar was enough in love that
pleasing her was sure to please him.
Score.
“He said to let you know he’ll bring it
with him when he flies out to Rusland.
He doesn’t want to risk letting it out of
his sight until then.”
I didn’t blame him. Major magical
artifacts are big business and valuable
as hell. Even the express courier
companies won’t insure them for full
value. They’re just too likely to be
stolen. “He’s sending you his itinerary
by e-mail, so be sure to get online.”
Thinking about seeing Bruno made me
smile, and while Dawna couldn’t see it,
she knew me well enough to guess.
“I’m supposed to tell you he loves you
and he’s really, really sorry. Just
between the two of us, I’m thinking that
you’re going to be able to hold that
whole body bind thing over his head for
quite a while.”
I laughed. “Maybe.” Probably not.
Then again, he really shouldn’t have
done it. And I did not want him to get
into the habit of pulling that kind of crap.
“Ready for the less good news?”
I groaned. “I suppose.”
“Dottie came in and got Minnie the
Mouser.”
“What?” That was a shock. Fred and
Dottie lived in government housing. No
pets allowed. She’d gotten me to take in
her adored cat Minnie after a friend—a
cop—who’d been looking after her died
in the line of duty. Since I’m gone so
much, we’d made her the office cat. We
all loved the silly furball. She was
spoiled rotten.
“Dottie said it was only for a couple
of days, that she didn’t want her getting
underfoot with the movers coming in.”
Well, that kind of made sense.
Although, come to think on it, we
could’ve just locked her in my office for
a couple of hours. I wondered if my
clairvoyant friend was up to something. I
wouldn’t put it past her.
Dawna continued. “But she was acting
all weird and sad. She wandered around
the whole place, even up to the third
floor.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course she had.
I’d told Dottie a million times not to take
the stairs with that walker of hers. But
did she listen? Oh hell no.
“She told me to ship all of your boxes
—the ones in the storeroom—to your
house. She was so insistent that I went
ahead and did it. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Nah, it’s okay. She’s a seer. Who
knows, maybe she saw that we’ll need
the space.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of how I looked at
it.” Dawna paused; in the background I
heard the door open and people moving
around. “Gotta go. The movers are here.
Call me later.”
“Right.”
We hung up without saying good-bye,
but that was okay. Things back at the
office were in good hands. The Levys
would be here soon with the dresses and
Bruno had come up with the perfect
wedding gift. All in all, not too shabby.
Oh, there were still plenty of things to
worry about: Dottie acting strange,
Okalani being in danger. But I wasn’t
going to think about them now. I was just
too damned tired. We were almost back
to the compound. I wanted food and
sleep, in that order. Everything else
would just have to wait.
* * *
I woke to the sound of someone knocking
on the door to my suite. A glance at the
clock told me it was only 10:30. I’d had
less than three hours of sleep, which was
worse than none at all.
“Go away,” I growled, and pulled my
pillow over my head.
Baker’s voice drifted through the door
and the soft, feather down pillow.
“Celia, Isaac and Gilda Levy are here
with the dresses for the fitting. Princess
Adriana has asked that you join
everyone downstairs at your earliest
convenience.”
O h , hell. Early wasn’t convenient.
Not at all. Damn it, anyway. I needed
some rest. I was tired and depressed.
The last thing I wanted was to be around
people. And Gilda and Isaac were so
damned
perceptive,
they’d
know
something was up the minute I walked
into the room.
Still, there was nothing for it. They
were here. There wasn’t much time for
them to do any alterations as it was. It
would be rude of me to make that time
any shorter.
“Tell them I’ll be down in a few
minutes.”
“I’ll tell them ten minutes.”
“And get me some coffee,” I adde
d.
“Please. Lots and lots of coffee.”
I could almost hear Helen smile.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I took one of the shortest showers on
record, brushed my teeth and hair, and
pulled on jeans and a little yellow T-
shirt with horizontal stripes. I strapped
on every weapon I’d be wearing at the
weddings, from my knives on down to
the Glock and ankle holster. Isaac was
going to want to make sure the dress and
jacket fit properly over my armament.
He’d probably also renew the accuracy
spells on my gear, which was never a
bad thing. I practice at the range
regularly and am a good shot even
without the spells. But when it really
matters, I want every possible edge.
When I opened the door to my suite, a
scant seven minutes after my summons,
Baker was waiting outside. She offered
me a huge mug of coffee that smelled
like everything good in the world.
Taking the mug, I inhaled deeply, then
took a sip, careful not to burn the roof of
my mouth. It tasted fabulous. I wondered
what blend it was and if I’d be able to
find it back home.
Raised voices greeted my ears from
downstairs. Oh, I so didn’t need to get in
the middle of an argument this early.
Instead, I blew on the steaming liquid in
the mug and decided to take my time
going down. Baker didn’t seem any more
excited to get involved than me.
Adriana’s voice, crisp and commanding,
cut through the quarreling voices
downstairs, saying in crisp, cold,
English. “That is enough!”
I turned to Baker. “She really wants
me down there, huh? You sure?”
She nodded vigorously.
“Peachy.”
I stepped past her and made my way
down to the living room, where Adriana,
Olga, and Natasha were gathered
together with Gilda and Isaac Levy.
“Oh, Celia. I’m so glad you’re here.”
Gilda beamed up at me. “Come with me.
We need you to try on your dress and
jacket so we can make any last-minute
adjustments.” Zipping across the room,
she retrieved a garment bag from where
it was draped over the bar.
I doubted there’d be any alterations.
After all, they’d just seen me a few days
ago. Granted, it had been a rough few
days, but I doubted I’d lost enough
weight to change my measurements.
Isaac gave a short wave in greeting
from where he was kneeling on the floor,
pinning the hem of Natasha’s gown. She
was standing on a raised stool, her
expression one of martyred patience.
“Natasha, glad to see you’re feeling
better.” I tried to make it sound like
she’d had the flu, rather than being an
instrument of near-assassination.
She turned to look at me, over Isaac’s
muttered protest, and her expression
lightened. “Princess, I’ve been wanting
to thank you. I am told you were the one
who saved my life.”
I admitted it with a shrug but added,
“Not the only one. King Dahlmar’s
friend…” I had gone blank on his name.
“Igor,” Adriana supplied.
“That’s him. Igor. He did CPR, too.
Are you feeling better? What do the
doctors say?”
“They say I will be fine. The only
lasting effect is the lost memories.” Her
face clouded with worry. “I do not like
not remembering.”
I could understand that. I’d had a spell
worked on me that affected my memory.
It nearly drove me nuts before I was
finally able to get it lifted.
She shook her head and smiled. “But
Princess Adriana has been most kind.
She has forgiven me, in spite of what I
have done, and is still willing to have
me beside her in her wedding.”
I glanced over at Adriana, who was
smiling. That she wasn’t holding a
grudge was pretty damned generous of
her, all things considered—and not at all
like the Adriana I’d first met. Being with
Dahlmar had mellowed her. She was
definitely less prickly than she’d once
been. Love will do that to you.
Gilda shooed me toward the hallway
that led to the nearest bathroom. “You
have to try on the dress with the shoes
and jewelry. I’m especially worried
about the shoes. This brand seems to run
narrow.”
She followed me into the good-sized
bathroom, shutting the door firmly
behind us before giving me a quick
update on what I’d missed.
“The bridesmaids are arguing. The
younger one…”
“Olga,” I said, and Gilda nodded.
“Olga is very angry and frightened. So
many things have gone wrong. Nothing is
going according to plan. She was
counting on Natasha’s fear of her father
to keep her in line, keep her agreeing to
whatever Olga suggested. But that’s
changed now that Natasha is no longer
under the influence of the spell. The two
of them have been arguing and sniping at
each other. Olga insists that Princess
Adriana is using her siren abilities to
control
King
Dahlmar.
Natasha
disagrees.”
“Natasha’s right,” I said firmly as I
slipped out of my shoes and unzipped the
jeans.
“You’re sure?” She hooked the hanger
of the door, flipped the lid down on the
toilet, and took a seat.
“Positive,” I assured her. “First off,
Adriana is way older than she looks and
way, way older than Dahlmar. Sirens
live a long time, and she’s told me
directly that she considers Dahlmar a
younger
man.
She
couldn’t
have
manipulated him using siren abilities
because she doesn’t really have any, at
least not to the level where she could
control somebody as strong-willed as
the king. Besides which, I made sure he
had an anti-siren charm that would
prevent her from doing any hanky-
panky.”
“Oh, I’m sure it didn’t stop that.”
Gilda gave me a saucy wink. “Adriana
is a beautiful woman who is accustomed
to getting her own way. There are many
ways to manipulate someone; you don’t
need to have psychic powers. And from
what I’ve seen, most women’s normal
abilities are usually enough to influence
most men. Now we’ll just have to find a
way to find a way to work that into the
conversation. Because I am not letting
&nbs
p; those two little bitches ruin that girl’s
big day.”
“I
thought
you
said
she’s
a
manipulator.”
She turned wide, innocent eyes to me.
“Well, of course. But the manipulation
she’s doing is only the time-honored sort
that all women do. I respect that.”
I nearly laughed out loud, but managed
to smother the burst of noise with both
hands so that it came out in a muffled
snort. Gilda was right, of course. We
needed to intervene. But I couldn’t for
the life of me figure out how we were
going to manage that. Still, I was game.
The new Adriana was growing on me.
Besides, to my mind, every bride
deserves a terrific wedding day.
I stripped down to my underwear.
Gilda looked me up and down. “You’ve
lost weight again,” she scolded. “You
need to eat more. And that”—she
pointed to the scar in the middle of my
chest—“is a new scar. I thought you
promised me you’d be careful.”
“I am careful,” I protested. She was
right about the scar, though. It wasn’t
huge, but it was noticeable. But I’d been
damned lucky not to be hurt worse when
Jan had done his thing.
I wished fervently that the feds would
catch him. So far though, they’d had no
luck. Damn it, he was apparently as
good at hiding as he was at magic.
“Hmpf.” She wasn’t happy, but she
didn’t say anything else. She also didn’t
suggest a “beauty enhancement spell.”
Silly for that remark to still sting, after
everything that had happened. But it did.
I unzipped the black canvas garment
bag to reveal my dress.
It was beautiful. The color was a rich,
deep purple, the color of flawless
amethysts. On a separate hanger, the
bolero-style jacket gleamed, thanks to
the black silk embroidery on the front
panels and the jet beads used as trim.
My breath caught in my throat. I
couldn’t believe how beautiful it was,
and on such short notice. The Levys had
outdone themselves, again.
At my reaction, Gilda gave me a smug
little smile. I didn’t mind. She deserved
to be smug. It was gorgeous. “Look in
the compartment in the bottom of the
bag,” she suggested.
I unzipped said compartment to find a
black velvet jewelry case about the size
of a hardback book. The velvet had
browned a little with age and the brass
lock was a little tarnished. With
trembling fingers I twisted the little
lever that locked the case and flipped