Defying Eternity (An Obscure Magic Book 5) (3 page)

A shadow in the front yard moved, and a man with black hair slid forward. “Ms. Wicks?”

“Yes.”

“I am Antony. I have been assigned to your sister’s home.” He extended her key ring with his left hand.

She nodded. “Thank you. Are you here all the time?”

“Yes. I am assigned to the house itself. Mayor Matthias is very eager to have you working for him, and you need to know that your sister and niece are protected.”

“Did he read my resume or something?”

“Yes.”

She was snickering as she went in and picked up the car seat, some baby clothes and wee little blankets to wrap Melody in. The baby bag was ready to go, so Leo grabbed that and lifted the entire collection into her arms. Antony helped her carry the stuff to the car. Leo stood and stared at the room where her sister and niece had nearly lost their lives.

“Matthias’s people are very good at getting blood out of things. There was a surprising amount of vampire blood. The crew was impressed.” Antony was behind her.

“That reminds me; I need my bat.”

“It has been taken to the manor. It will be in your rooms.”

She rubbed her hands together. “Right. Why was it taken to the manor?”

“Well, it was in your vehicle, so it was examined by the XIA and then returned to the mayor’s possession.”

“Why his possession?”

“He is acting as your legal proxy in this matter. When he asks for results, they generally appear. Are you ready?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I am just... yeah.”

Leo turned and followed Antony to the car where Nathaniel was waiting.

“Back to the hospital, please.”

“Yes, Ms. Wicks.” Nathaniel closed the door and got behind the wheel.

Leo looked for Antony, but he had disappeared. She supposed that he was doing his job.

“Nathaniel?”

“Yes, Ms. Wicks?”

“How many people are on the protection detail for my sister?”

“Ten.”

“Oh. Wow.”

Nathaniel didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to. It was a huge amount of folks to be posted just so that the mayor could get an assistant. Leo suddenly wondered what kind of work her position was going to entail.

“Thanks for bringing the baby bag.” Minny chuckled.

“Not a problem. The house has been cleaned, and there is no trace of the attack. They even repaired that broken chair.”

Minny blinked. “Wow. That is something. What did you do for them?”

“Nothing yet. That is what is making me a bit queasy. I am racking up quite a debt, and I have no idea what is going to be asked in payment.”

Leo looked down at Melody and rocked her lightly. “Whatever he asks, it is worth it. This little miss is going to be completely safe. No vampire will get his hands on her.”

Minny finished putting on her button-front shirt and smiled. “You also need to thank him for the goblin. I got all my wounds taken care of while you were out. I mean, it was a little creepy, but I get to go home today.”

“He licked the wounds closed?”

Minny grinned. “Yeah. Do you know him?”

Leo chuckled. “We have met.”

“He kept making faces. Apparently, the taste of plain and boring human is a little distasteful for him.”

“I am not surprised. We are like eating dry toast in comparison to the extranaturals. Even little Melody here is untouched by the wave.”

Leo wanted to bite back the word the moment she said it. The world was due for another wave of magic, and she didn’t want Melody to be affected by it. She liked her niece all pink and human. Heck, she liked herself all pink and human.

Minny might look nice with pointed ears or maybe a fluffy tail, but Melody was perfect just as she was.

“So, they discharged you?”

“Yup, as soon as the goblin left. Do you know his name?”

Leo chuckled. “I don’t even know if it is a him. It could be a woman.”

“Yikes. That takes the licking to a whole other level.” Minny chuckled. She set the car seat on the bed and wiggled her fingers. “Give me my offspring, Leo.”

Leo lifted Melody high and walked over to Minny. “Well, Offspring is a fine nickname. You were nearly Cupcake, you know.”

The baby flexed her little hands. Apparently, small pink people didn’t care.

Minny tucked her baby into the car seat and fastened it. “Can you grab my bag?”

“Of course. Are we leaving?”

“We are. I just have to sign out and we are on our way.”

“Okay. I will summon Nathaniel the minute you are done.”

“You carry the bags; I have the baby.”

“Let’s go, sis. The sooner we get you home, the sooner I can get groceries laid in.”

They exited the private room that Minny had been assigned. When they left the room, the guards fell in on either side.

Timorn didn’t offer to take anything, but then, he shouldn’t. As guards, they needed their hands free.

Minny went to the desk and signed out the baby. A wheelchair was brought to her. Apparently, it was hospital policy.

A fey nurse’s aide pushed Minny and Melody through the halls.

Leo summoned the car, and the clock was ticking at four minutes.

Leo noted the sweat trickling down the neck of the nurse’s aide, so she stayed closer than she normally would have, and when Minny was shoved into the elevator where a pale woman was waiting, Leo jumped past the closing doors, Timorn at her side. The nurse’s aide hadn’t made it into the elevator.

When the pale woman reached for Melody with clawed fingers, a few things happened. Timorn shoved the stranger back against the wall, his head shifting into that of a huge eagle, snapping his beak at the vampire. Minny held the carrier tightly, and a pulsing aura started to emanate from her.

Leo hit the main-floor button and pulled the wheelchair as far back from the attacker as she could.

The blue wave washed through the small, moving space and held them all in place.

When the chime announced their arrival, the bubble popped. Leo pushed her sister out of the elevator, and the door closed on Timorn and the chalky woman.

Limross was waiting for them, unruffled and not a hair out of place.

Leo checked the time on the summoner and exhaled slowly. “He will be here in a minute.”

Limross nodded. “Timorn will deal with the attackers here. My duty is to get you home.”

Leo followed him to the exit where the car was pulling up.

Minny got to her feet, cradling the baby in the carrier. “We have a car and driver?”

“My car is still at the manor. Nathaniel is an excellent driver, and he will get us home safely.” Leo was talking to Limross as well as Minny.

Leo wasn’t wrong. Nathaniel was waiting. He opened the door, took the baby carrier and placed it rear facing on the back seat in a matter of seconds that spoke of previous practice.

The bags went into the trunk, Leo and Minny were tucked in, and Limross was in front next to Nathaniel. They left the hospital behind, and Leo couldn’t even imagine what was coming next.

“So, they tried to kill me. At the hospital.”

“No, they tried to kill Melody. She is the one trace of Robert’s bloodline that is surviving. For him to be able to be a vampire of any kind of standing, she has to die.”

Leo smiled as Minny settled the carrier on the couch, and she held her baby in her arms again.

Limross was guarding the door, and Leo could see flickers of Antony outside. Whatever he was, he was guarding them.

“Melody. She did a weird thing in the elevator.”

“That was her? I had hoped it was you.”

“Nope. It was the baby. Look how hard she is sleeping now. It must have tuckered her out. Do you know what it was?”

“It was a temporal field. The clocks stopped and our bodies were locked in place. As defenses go, it was pretty impressive.”

“How do you know that?”

“I was holding a timer, and the timer paused while we moved down the six floors. That is why Nathaniel was already there when the timer said we had a minute.”

“Yeah, but how do you
know?
”

“I have worked at the museum for a few years now. It is my job to know the exhibits and that means doing the research before we do any of the fundraisers. I have to know more than the docents when it comes to the installation, and that includes the first signs of magic in our world.”

Leo chuckled and took the laundry to the basement. “Temporal magic is one of the basics.”

She left Minny muttering about her know-it-all sister and informing Melody that Leo was always to be listened to, but rarely to be trusted. Aunty Leo was smart and that was a very sneaky thing.

Leo grinned and washed the bloody clothing in cold water. If this was her last day with her sister, she was going to make it as normal as possible.

They ordered takeout, and that was when Leo had to explain about the guards. Antony had stopped the delivery person and taken the pizza and garlic bread. When he delivered it to the door, it was time for introductions.

“Minuet Wicks, this is your household guardian, Antony. He is posted at the house and is here to keep you safe, also, apparently, to scarf your pepperoni!” Leo lunged forward and yanked the open box from Antony’s hands.

Minny was feeding Melody, and she smiled at the stranger. “Well, if you could come over here, I could shake hands with you. I am not particularly mobile right at this moment.”

Antony stepped in and bowed over Minny’s hand. “It is an honour to watch over you.”

Minny’s eyes gleamed. “She is busy eating, but this is Melody.”

Leo blinked. Well, her sister had always been the more hot-blooded of the two of them, as was evidenced by Melody. Antony had similar sharp and handsome features to Robert, so he was Minny’s type.

Leo set the pizza on the table and got some plates. “Antony, ask Limross if he wants pizza.”

It was blissfully normal. Leo set out the plates and cups, and the guards had a meal before returning to the exterior of the home. Night was falling and vampires loved to hunt in the darkness.

If Robert was going to come tonight, he was in for a bit of a surprise.

Minny dozed off on the couch, so Leo took over with Melody. She changed her diaper and put her in the crib that had been set up before the baby shower.

The baby monitor took a bit of figuring out, but when it was next to Melody and recording her soft snuffling, Leo felt better.

She got Minny’s bed ready and stroked her forehead. “Honey, wake up. You need a proper night’s sleep.”

Leo got her arm under her sister and hauled her up. Minny staggered, but Leo got her into bed, took off her shoes and tucked her in. She could sleep in her clothes.

She brushed Minny’s hair away from her face and smiled softly. “It is definitely worth it.”

Minny opened her eyes slightly, smiled and went back to sleep.

Leo straightened, went over to Melody’s crib and stroked her downy cheek. The monitor was working, so Leo left the room and headed to her small room to start packing.

The small, snuffly noises from the monitor clipped to her jeans made her smile. She took the suits and blouses out of her wardrobe and zipped them into a few garment bags. Her t-shirts, socks, underwear and jeans all got crammed into duffel bags along with her sensible work heels and extra sneakers.

She kept out one change of clothing for the next day and headed to the kitchen to tidy up. There was something unsettling about the idea of sleeping while Minny and Melody were vulnerable.

When everything was neat and squared away, she checked on her family again before going outside and into the back yard. The wide swing called to her, and she settled on it in the dark, swinging gently. She took in the night around her and smiled when Melody started wailing. The muttering and mumbling was Minny’s voice, and soon, there were soft sucking noises that explained the crying.

She felt her companion before she saw him. “Hello, Antony.”

“Hello, Ms. Wicks.” He appeared out of the darkness and leaned against a nearby tree.

“May I ask what you are?”

“Ah. Of course. I do give off confusing vibes. I am a dryad or the male version. A wild man of the woods.”

“So, you just hang out in the woods?”

“I cast my mind into every growing thing, every blade of grass, every tree. I can feel anyone approaching the moment they leave the asphalt or concrete. Even then, if they are wearing hard-soled shoes, I can feel them coming.”

She felt a little bit better about leaving her sister in his care. “Do you sleep?”

“No. The green space feeds me; light sustains me. The pizza was nice but not necessary.”

“Then ask next time.”

He grinned. “I would have, but it has been so long since I have been able to interact with normal humans that I behaved as normally as I could.”

Leo smiled. “Do you know how long you will be assigned here? I don’t want to get all dependent on you being here and then have you transferred away.”

“Matthias ordered me to remain here for the duration of your employment with him. If you are with him, I will be watching over Minuet and Melody.”

It felt good to hear him say it out loud. She smiled at him. “It is nice to know.”

“Are you sure that you know what you are getting into with the mayor?”

She smiled slightly. “I know that I would do anything for those two in there. This is nothing compared to the pain I would inflict if anything were to happen to them. I would be broken, and then, I would go out until I got myself and a lot of other people killed.”

“You are human.”

“Humans were killing each other before the wave. Magic doesn’t have any exclusivity on homicide.”

He inclined his head. “True. Now, go to sleep. Limross and the others will keep watch with me.”

Leo smiled and got to her feet. “Good point.”

Her bed was calling, and she set her folded clothing on a chair before stripping and crawling between the sheets. The knowledge that those who were willing to keep her niece safe surrounded the house was all she needed.

“I can’t understand why he wants you to live in.” Minny was swaying slightly with the baby in her arms.