Beasts and Burdens (21 page)

“I’m not running, Nevia,” Daniel said as he poured himself another cup of coffee. “I am doing my job, which is to protect Cori. Although, judging by last night’s debacle, she may not need it.”

“Debacle?” Cori questioned chewing on the first strip of cheese that wasn’t going to make it into her omelet. “How far I’ve fallen from my awesomeness,” she said with mock forlornness.

“You’re still awesome. The debacle was my doing,” he conceded before snagging a piece of cheese himself.

Cori offered him a sympathetic, possibly even an empathetic, smile. She looked like she had some words of wisdom to share, but she gave up the deliberation and went back to cooking.

“They were trying to kill us,” Nevia objected. “You did what needed to be done.”

“I’m not arguing that point. I’m arguing that if that is the type of situation we are to expect in the future, then I don’t want to be a part of it. Do you understand that?”

“No,” Nevia stepped up to him cornering him between the sink and Cori. Cori glanced over to them uncomfortable with being so close to the argument, but she wasn’t retreating without food on her plate. “I don’t understand that. I think you should make a stand against Frederique and her followers to level the playing field for Lenore and Callin.”

“Feck woman, it is the same argument with you over and over again. I am not getting in the middle of this.”

“Why not?” She raised her hands to stop his preparation to start the yelling again. “I know you don’t care about all this political shit, but…what about for me?”

“What about for you?” He furrowed his brow and pushed his glasses up further on his nose.

“Why not do it for me?”

Daniel shook his head. They were right back where they started. “Because it’s like bringing a gun to a knife fight, or in my case a nuclear bomb.”

“Some violence can stop death. A nuclear bomb stopped World War II.”

“No, it didn’t! Those bastards were fighting for weeks after that. The outer lying forces fought for months and years after that. Don’t feed me your Americanized abridged war history to defend what you want me to do. I know exactly what will happen if I get in the middle of this fight. Lots of death! I don’t want that on my conscience!”

“I don’t want that either, but after a display of your power, Frederique…”

“Frederique got a display of my power last night!” Daniel set down his coffee and grabbed her shoulders to shake her gently. It gave Cori pause, but Nevia knew it was out of frustration not anger. “Do you know what her response will be? She’s going to try to kill me. You know why…because that’s what werewolves do!” He shoved her back just enough to get past her to the freedom of open space.

“They are fecking dogs fighting over the last bone, and they don’t recognize anything as
too big to fight
. Believe what you want about her, but I know the truth. Next time, she will bring fifty werewolves and count on it, they’ll be armed. I can’t stop all the bullets, and I as awesome as Cori’s Magneto impersonation is, she can’t either. Last time I checked we were all still susceptible to bullets.”

Nevia approached him to object to some part of his statement or add another argument, but he didn’t give her the chance.

“I guarantee Frederique is done making me offers. She will come after me purely to kill me, and then she’ll kill the both of you for breathing the air next to me. She is an exceptional bitch and I will not put my friend’s wife in danger just because you want to use me as a weapon! And no amount of your pussy is going to change that!”

Nevia’s slap was more painful than he expected. He had expected it, and deserved it, but he hadn’t anticipated how much it would wound his heart to see her face frowning up at him layered with disappointment. She held her face high proving at least to herself that she didn’t regret hitting him. He could see her shaking desperately fighting off the tears that were too stubborn to fall from her eyes. She walked away slowly to the bedroom. He knew she didn’t want to make it seem like she was stomping off, even though she was.

Cori shoved aside her skillet and shut off her burner. She wiped her hands off on a towel before slapping it on the counter. Whether she was really angry at him was irrelevant, her second x chromosome mandated that she support her fellow female. She started to leave the kitchen, but he grabbed her by the arm. “Don’t,” he said.

“She needs to talk,” Cori said glancing down at his hand on her. 

“No,” Daniel was fairly certain Nevia would prefer to be alone for a while, but that wasn’t why he stopped Cori. “She needs to hate me right now.”

“Why?” she asked flabbergasted.

“She needs to make a decision once and for all. I’m sorry to sound like the asshole in this Cori, but it’s either me or that ludicrous war. No matter what I say, she’s always going to hope that I’ll be able to stand up and make it all better with a big boom.” Cori glanced at the exit, but she didn’t try to fight him. He released her arm and she went back to her breakfast.

He returned to the counter for his long since abandoned coffee. Cori didn’t bother searching for a plate. She took a bite of her omelet straight out of the pan. When she caught him staring at him she frowned. “Did you want some?” She said over a full mouth full.

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, mama, you enjoy.”

She stuffed in a few more bites before she returned her attention to him. “I know what you mean, about not wanting to kill anyone else. I’ve killed…I suppose it’s not comparable, but I didn’t like the way it made me feel. I guess inhuman is a good word for it.”

Daniel nodded introspectively. Inhuman
was
a good word for it. He turned to face her abandoning his coffee again. He probably didn’t owe her further explanation about his relationship issues with Nevia, but he did want to defend his character. “Nevia sees me as powerful and she wants to utilize that power to reach a goal. Her purpose is noble and I do respect it. I respect
her
, more than any woman I’ve ever met. But…Cori, you saw what I did last night to Frederique. That wasn’t power, that was evil, and there’s no sugar coating it. I enjoyed watching her writhe. I wanted to hurt her for causing you and Nevia pain. That’s not what the good guy does.”

Cori sighed and shook her head. “Oh Daniel, good and evil is such a definitive description. I hold the memories of a woman who was willing to kill her boyfriend,
because
she loved him. I just recently had my life saved by a man who on multiple occasions has tried to hurt and/or maim me. That woman from last night who supposedly trying to save us, was only six months ago trying to kill me in an alternate reality.”

Daniel’s brow furrowed.

“The wish thing, long story. Anyway, my point is, I think you should stop trying to be the hero or the villain and just be a man. You have a wonderful and awful power, and I know you have a sorted history with it,” she looked sheepish like she wasn’t sure that information should have trickled down to her, “But you are a good man Daniel. I know me stabbing Gypsy in an alternate reality, doesn’t quite compare to what you did to Frederique, but I don’t regret doing it one bit, and if I had been given the option of hurting her more, I’m sure I would have taken it.” She shrugged. “I’m pretty sure that takes me out of the running for the hero hall of fame, but I haven’t really lost any sleep over it.”

Daniel smiled and kissed her forehead. She was right that it didn’t compare, but she was right about everything else too. “You should finish your breakfast. We’re leaving as soon as possible.” He rubbed her arm offering a little non-verbal gratitude for the talk. She nodded and dove back in for round two of her breakfast.

55

Daniel stepped into the living room and found his cell phone in his coat pocket. He glanced at his bedroom door, but he had no intention of going after Nevia. Heaton’s message picked up and offered him a beep to leave a message.

“Hey, man, it’s Daniel. Shit just hit the fan with the Queen Bitch. We’re all okay, but I’m taking Cori to the farm to hide out. I know you’re on vacation, but give me a ring and let me know you’re okay.” Daniel hung up the phone and marched straight to his room.

He shoved open the door and walked in without knocking. Nevia was sitting on the edge of the bed her eyes red from tears that had already come and gone. She looked up at him stiff necked and too proud not to look away. Her nerve even in the face of this was commendable.

He shut the door and took a few steps toward her. He wasn’t brave, but he could fake it. “What’s your decision?” Her brow was already dipped in anger, but it slipped in response to his question. “Nevia, I need to know. We’ve been dancing around this for six fecking months, and I know it’s not fair to just throw my cards down in the middle of the game, but I’m done playing. You have to know, deep down inside, you have to know. Is it me or is it your cause?”

She didn’t answer. He knelt down in front of her. He raked his hand through his hair. “Please Nevia, just say it. Rip the bandage off once and for all, so we can both move on. You know damn well I’m not the guy you want to introduce to your parents and walk down the aisle with and have kids with. I don’t want to make you miserable.” He touched her hand and his words caught for moment. “It’s okay, baby, just say it. I know you want to.”

After a short pause, she spoke quietly. “I choose you.”

“What?” His jaw went slack.

“I don’t want to leave you, Daniel. I want to be with you.”

Daniel shook his head. “I’m never going to be that guy for you. I’m always going to be selfish, inconsiderate, and slightly inappropriate.”

“I know. I’m always going to be aggressive, stubborn, and assertive.”

“So, we’re perfect for each other?”

“I don’t know about that, but who else will have us.” She smirked.

Daniel tucked his hands under her legs and drew her forward a bit. He moved between her knees and hugged her. Her body draped over him and once again he found the intimacy of the nonsexual act satisfying. “Well, then, now that we have that settled. It’s time to go meet my mother.”

56

Cori tromped up to the small cottage house that was surrounded by barns and farm equipment. The occasional crow of a rooster penetrated the landscape, but otherwise it was only the wind. Nevia had hung back to pay the cab driver. Daniel was slightly ahead of her carrying his bag as well as hers. She wasn’t sure he would have taken it if she weren’t pregnant, but she appreciated the gesture, since she already had plenty to carry.

Daniel reached the door, but before he could knock or check the knob, it opened with a creak. A woman in her seventies with a graying mop of short hair peaked out. “What the blazes? Daniel! Oh my boy!” Mrs. McGrath—Cori assumed—grabbed Daniel’s face and squeezed his mouth. She gave him a lip kiss that he objected vociferously to, but didn’t pull away from.

“Ma! Stop!” He gripped her arms, and she turned Cori’s direction. Cori smiled cordially at the woman. “Ma, this is—”

“Oh, my, goodness!” Mrs. McGrath looked down at Cori’s swollen belly. “Oh my boy, why didn’t you tell me you’d gotten your girl pregnant?” She squealed and pulled Cori into a muscular hug that was not to be denied. She looked helplessly over the woman’s shoulder to Daniel.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Ma! Ma! This is Cori!”

“Cori?” Mrs. McGrath pulled back and looked her over. “Oh, I thought it was Nancy or Navy—oh never mind that—come inside girl and put your feet up.”

“Ma’am, I’m—” Cori tried to interject as the woman pressed her forward.

“Oh, none of that ma’am shite. You can call me Ma or if that’s too soon for you, you can call me Maggie. Who’s this?” Mrs. McGrath finally noticed Nevia coming up the path.

“Ma, if you’d shut your gob and quit being a header I’d a told ya.”

“Watch it lad, you’re not too old for my hand?”

“Got plenty of that already today,” Daniel grumbled. “Ma
this
is Nevia, my…girlfriend.” Daniel glanced back at Nevia as if he needed permission to use this term.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. McGrath.” Nevia reached out her hand for a hand shake, but the stout woman just looked at it like a foreign custom.

“Oh, that’s gas.” Her eyes looked Nevia up and down. “Are you trying to kill your dear mother, Daniel?”

“No, ma, she’s my—”

“I heard ya! Did you pick the smallest American girl you could find just to see if you could break her?”

“What?” Daniel’s face pinched with honest befuddlement. “What’s that mean?” Nevia let her hand drop.

“How’s she gonna give me a grandson on those stick legs. She’s liable to fall over at three months. I’m surprised you fit in ‘er.”

“MA! Jaysus—”

Mrs. McGrath threatened to smack him and he bunched up his face preparing for the impact. “Curse the Lord’s name again and see what it will get you. Now who are you?” She looked back at Cori.

“I’m…he…we…” Cori stammered unprepared for the interrogation.

“That’s Ethan Pierce’s wife ma—my old partner. I told you about him.”

“Oh,” her mouth rounded perfectly, and her eyes softened and she smiled. Cori smiled back, but she felt more like she was just mimicking for the sake of surviving the introduction. “Looks like Ethan knows what it takes to make a baby.” Mrs. McGrath tugged Cori along into the house. She glanced back at Daniel fearful of what might lie within. Nevia walked past him following Cori, he mouthed an apology to her, but she didn’t offer any response.