Paul frowned, his eyes taking in every inch of my child. "Hello," he said slowly. "How…how old are you?""Nine," King replied.Paul's teeth subtly began to clench. Ugh. Yeah, I'm sure he was thinking that I had been gone ten years and knocked up after one. He looked at me and raised his hands in a question. "What is this about?""It's about the Neratomay," I said.His frown deepened. I'm sure he wasn't expecting that response."King is here to tell you something that I can't tell you," I said. "Secrets that we learned while down in the Underworld."Paul looked at Ran, who nodded."Why would you tell me?" Paul asked."Because we want the same things," I said. "I want to live my life without fear. I want to raise my son without laws that might turn him into a slave for the Neratomay. I want to be free.""And you think any of that is what I want?" Paul asked coldly, his eyes narrowing."It used to be," I said softly.Paul stared at King. "He doesn't smell like Neratomay. But…he
"Bassma?" King called as he darted toward the house. "House" was a loose interpretation. Bassma's place resembled a treehouse, although there were three levels, the main one being on the ground.Bassma came running out of his place. He had transformed to a child again, just for our son. They hugged each other like true friends, and after so many years they truly were friends. Bassma seemed to enjoy reliving his childhood again with King."King!" Bassma shouted. "I thought you were gone for good!""I came back so that I could give everyone a proper goodbye," King said.Bassma smiled. "Thank you.""I want to tell you everything I saw," King said. "It's not like what you remember, Bassma. It's so much cooler."They talked and sat on the porch, swinging their legs as King told him about the things he had seen and the foods that he had eaten. Ran and Oni said they were going to find a fruit that only grew on Bassma's land. I suspected they were going off to make out.Alexis and I enj
Once I arrived at the park, I smelled several Wolves, including Paul. So he was going to watch and make sure that I didn't sneak my son around BJ. Ridiculous."Mommy!"I turned at the sound of my daughter's voice. My smile froze when I saw her holding her father's hand. Unbelievable. He actually had the nerve to show his goddamn face! I focused only on BJ and went down on one knee to catch her in my arms and shower her with kisses."Hi, Mommy!""Hi, baby.""Hey," Paul said.I nodded. "Hello." I held onto BJ's hand while she chattered."Look, I wanted to apologize about the other day," Paul said. "The way I acted was…inexcusable.""I appreciate you saying that," I replied evenly."Is…your son okay? I can't stop thinking about what I said in front of him. Kim, that's not me. I would never intentionally hurt a child—or you, for that matter. I'm very sorry."BJ pulled my hand. "Let's go see the ducks!"I looked down at her and smiled. "Okay. Come on. Show me the ducks." I look
I contacted Alexis about what I wanted to do. He wasn't happy about it but didn't object. A few moments later, I called King and brought him to me.King gave me a hug and then looked at Paul."Hi, King." Paul gave him a half smile."Hello," King said. I could tell he was uncomfortable."King, the last time you saw me I bet I sounded like a pretty grumpy person, huh?" Paul asked.King nodded after a momentary pause."I'm sorry about that," Paul said. "I took out my frustrations on you and your mom. I don't want you to think that I don't like you. Far from it." Paul glanced at me. "You happen to be related to one of the best people I know."King nodded and then looked at me."King, would you like to meet your sister?" Paul asked. "She's awake now and didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her mommy."King's eyes lit up. "Yeah! Mama, can I play with my sister?"I nodded and smiled. Paul could have waited until next time. There was lots to talk about, but he had shown me with this
Alexis had listened to the entire conversation between Paul and me through our link."We still go on with our plan for the Golden army," Alexis said. "We don't have to tell him everything. And you can guarantee that they won't tell us everything.""You mean in case we have to fight the Wolves, don't you?""Every plan has to have a contingency," he said."Okay," I said. I didn't trust the Wolfpack, but sadly I didn't completely trust Paul, either. The next day we received some bad news.Ran and Monica had been stymied by the Saudi Arabian Neratomay Council who were scrutinizing American Neratomay travelers. Well…maybe not all American Neratomay, but anyone who associated with me and my Council.They haven't looked into our heads yet, Ran said. But they will…Alexis told them to come home. We couldn't afford to start the war without us in the forefront.Alexis was then called by his Elder Council for a meeting. Although they were being cool about it, it had to be about Saudi Ar
The next night King and I flashed to the old Farmhouse that at one time was going to be my home away from home. I was uncomfortable even though the place was vacant. Sam hadn't been kidding when she said that the Pack had uprooted.I could smell the remnants of the Pack, but it was an old smell. They had been gone for a while, but that didn't mean that there weren't some here right now. I sensed less than a dozen, Paul among them.Paul waited for us in the living room. A long time ago I had confronted Sasha in this room, listening to her tell me how many times she had fucked my husband. Three months ago or ten years ago, that didn't matter. You never got over shit like that."Thanks for coming," Paul said. "Hey, King. I appreciate you talking to my Council." He gave my son a smile."Is my sister here?" King asked."Sorry, buddy. BJ is at home." He gestured to the door "I'll take you to the lodge. We'll be holding Council there. This is kind of an official thing.""Wait," I said.
King slipped his hand from Tyler's, put them together at chest level as if he was about to say his prayers, and bowed slightly.The Council members sat in chairs forming a semicircle, and they seemed just as impressed as I was.King looked at Paul, who nodded before taking the empty seat next to Sasha."King, thank you for agreeing to speak to my Council," Paul said. "We have a big decision to make, and they have some questions for you before they can make that decision.""Okay," King said. "I am here to represent the un-living. They need your help—but you need theirs, too."Sasha frowned. "Why do you think we need the Neratomay?""Not just the Neratomay," King said. "My mama calls them Vampires. That includes the Golden ones, too." He looked over his shoulder at me, and I gave him an encouraging nod. "When I was a little boy…"One of the Council members smiled at that."I saw the world as it used to be," King said. "Do you know the symbol of the snake eating its tail?"The Co
Damn. That was pretty damn smart.I licked my lips. We had to do this together. It was the only way that it would work. If the Wolves got rid of only the Elders and the Councils that they presided over, then that still left the OG's and the demons that controlled them."We're taking out the Rectors, and you're taking out the Elders," I said calmly. "All we need to do is coordinate. There's no reason why we can't at least do that."They talked internally, and I waited anxiously. If their prejudice didn't allow them to see that we needed to work together, then we would have to do the most damage that we could alone.Paul sighed. "The Pack agrees to coordinate our attacks with yours.""But we don't agree to align ourselves with the Vampires," Sasha said with a cold glint to her eyes. "Fair enough." I sensed what she was really saying: "After we each clean house, we will be coming for you." I gestured for King. "Let's go, son."King frowned at the Council. "Thank you for listenin