Bloody Heretic (30 page)

    “
Is it possible?”
He asked still looking to her
mid-section. She grabbed his hand.

    “
Not for you, dear.”
She explained.

    “
But the King. Alex is his daughter.
Do you think he could?”
He did a little twinkle motion near his nethers.

    “
I don
’
t know. I never thought about it.”
She felt sick. Dom was smiling now, the idea planted.
“
Oh, shit.”
When was she going to learn to keep her big mouth shut?

    The night wound down, the crowd
had
dispersed.
Only the closest of family and friends had stuck around. They littered the dance
floor, the staircase, the tables. Some were even parked underneath the t
ables. Parked being a nice way to say
passed out.

    “
I told you I
’
d get the D
.J. to come back,”
Vic told Brena over the table.

    “
You did. And what a rockin
’,”
hiccup, “
party thi
s turned out to be. You did good.”
Brena swayed in her chair. The King was conked out beside her, arms splayed out most unroyally.
Gloria and Orleans had disappeared
at some point
but were back, waltzing to dubstep. Alex and Ethan were propped up against t
he balcony doors, barely conscious.
He
was mumbling about investment ventures and A
lex was nodding in and out. Adam lay on the floor with Vic
’
s head in his lap. He ran his fingers casually through her hair, as she had let him take the pins out so
me
time ag
o. She watched her father dance with Gloria and looked truly content for the first time in a long time. Jeanne was on her cell, chatting
to an employee. “
No, it
’
s only four
o
’
clock here. What time is it there?”
Dom watched her with a funny smile on his face.
Elliot was heavy petting with the kitchen girl Allison. Apparently he had discovered the things a girl would let you do if there was jewelry involved. Claude had brought a white blonde haired girl named Marie to the wedding. They were listening in to a co
n
versation on her cell. Claude was white as a sheet. After several minutes they hung up. They argued back and forth but eventually Claude lost whatever the argument had been about. He walked up to the D
.J. booth, approaching the D.J.
Claude leaned in to say
something, the D.J. nodded and handed Claude a microphone. He tapped it, causing feedback to
blare through the speakers. The D.J. cut the music so they could all hear Claude when he talked.

    “
Hello.”
H
e looked at the D.J. who gave him a thumb up. “
Sorr
y, guys, I thought this would be faster. Um, bear with me here.”
He took a breath. “
Marie just g
ot a call from her brother.
He pulled what we
’
ve come to call a
‘
Pauly
’
. He shifted in city limits and got caught.”

    “
Oh, for crying out loud! Where is he no
w?”
Vic called out.

    “
For now he
’
s safe. It
’
s where he was ten hours ago.”

    “
Okay, I
’
ll bite. Where was he ten hours ago?”
Vic asked.

    “
In San Francisco, b
eing filmed by a Channel Six news crew during a PetFinder.com special at the local Humane So
ci
ety
. H
e had gotten picked
up and mistaken for a husky.”

    “
Please
tell me my instincts
are wrong on this one and he just needs a ride home from some well meaning old ladies house.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. Claude flinched.

    “
If you
’
ll follow me to the nearest computer I
’
ll show you Pauly shifting in a panic and bursting out of the Human Society front doors, naked. It
’
s gone viral on YouTube.”

    “
Oh, shit.”
They
all
said as one.

                               
About the Author

    
Emily Barker got her idea for The Bloody Series while she was supposed to be working. Day dreams turned into notes, turned into drafts, turned into all night writing sessions, until finally she got it all out on digital paper. Though her greatest fear is
t
hat one day print will go the way of VHS tapes, she still decided to go with digital distribution, as it was cheaper. Does that make her a bad person? Let her know here at [email protected].