Wyvern and Company (26 page)

My father
.

Yes, I tell everybody I never knew who he was.

That's true. I still don't know who he is—he's never told me.
I can tell now, however, that power vibrates off him like snow sweeps off a
tall mountain in a strong, winter wind.

He's tall. Dark-haired. Gray-eyed. More handsome than Adam,
even, though their coloring is much the same. Perhaps some part of me saw that
in Adam when we met the first time. I didn't consciously recognize it, however.

"What's wrong with my darling girl?" The comforter
rustled beneath his weight as he sat beside me and pulled me into his embrace.

"Daddy, everything is wrong," I sniffled against his
shoulder.

Chapter 14
 

Kiarra's Notes

(Deleted from her personal files by her father.)

When I stopped crying—eventually—he tipped my chin up with a
gentle finger. I stared through tear-blurred eyes at him. At his earnest,
loving gaze. "Why is all this happening?" I croaked. My voice had
deteriorated after sobbing for a good twenty minutes.

"Sweetheart, so many things are happening wrongly at the
moment. We must remain vigilant. You," he tapped my nose with a finger, "must
go back to your family. You will be safer there, and they will be safer with
your advice added to the mix. I know what you want in Port Aransas, you were
unconsciously driving there—to the beach house you bought years ago. Isn't that
right?"

"Yes." I hung my head.

"I'm going to take you home, instead—both you and your
rental vehicle," he grinned. "All you'll have to do is pull into the
driveway and punch in the code. At any other time, I'd have let you stay away
as long as you wanted, but you have no power now. That presents a very big
problem. If you don't want to sleep with Adam when you get back, then tell him
to sleep on the patio or while hanging upside down from a tree. It's one thing
to have your pride wounded. It's another to be a total prick about it."

"That's the truth," I nodded, hoping he'd hug me
close again. He did. "I don't know what to think about this baby," I
sighed.

"I know. Raise her properly. I'll see that the decisions
will be hers, when the time comes."

I wondered briefly what he meant by that before letting it go.

"One more thing before we go," he kissed my hair.

"What's that?" I mumbled against a crisp, white
shirt.

"Wear the earrings. You'll know when to stop wearing
them."

* * *

Justin's Journal

I'd pulled up to the keypad outside the gate. Rolling down the
window, I reached out to punch in the number. A car I didn't recognize
immediately pulled up behind me. I froze.

Cautiously poking my head out the window, I looked back to see
who it might be.

"Justin, it's me," Mom said, sticking her head out
the car window to look at me. She sounded exhausted. "Will you let me in?"

* * *

Adam's Journal

"I don't remember driving here," Kiarra mumbled as
she shuffled past me. Joey stood in the foyer, wringing his hands. He knew, as
did I, that Kiarra was ready to drop. Had she driven all the way from New
Jersey in the space of two days?

"The last thing I remember is Little Rock," she said
as Joey lifted her and carried her toward our bedroom.

I should have done that. Feeling like a callous dolt, I
followed Joey and watched as he laid her carefully on the bed before checking
her vitals. Karzac appeared immediately, as did Dragon, and both checked the
baby. Merrill stood behind me, afraid to push in any farther.

"Just let me sleep," Kiarra mumbled, attempting to
fend off the many hands touching her.

"Back away, I will deal with this," Pheligar
appeared. After he lifted Kiarra and began the soothing, trilling noise only he
was capable of making, she fell asleep quickly. The others stole away. I took a
chair in the corner of the room and fell asleep while watching Pheligar hold my
wife.

* * *

Justin's Journal

Nothing seemed amiss when classes started on time the
following morning. Bearcat went with me to pick up Gina and Sarah; Mack showed
up looking only slightly worse for wear.

He offered me a tired smile, though, so I figured the night
had gone well enough.

Darzi had come in for breakfast before school, ate two bowls
of wheat shreds with four strips of bacon and then went to the backyard, where
Uncle Lion reported that he was sunning himself (as a snake) on a big rock that
was part of the landscaping around the house.

Lion warned me, in case the girls wanted to go into the
backyard. I wasn't sure how I'd explain that the huge, unidentifiable snake
meant them no harm. Mack snickered—he was included in Lion's mindspeech.

Mom was still asleep at noon, but the Internet had been busy
since we'd left New York. No idea which attendee at Grampa Franklin's funeral
had done the deed, but Merrill was furious when Joey showed the YouTube video
to all of us at lunchtime.

Mom had been recorded, singing both songs at the funeral and
the video had already gotten half a million hits.

Comments were piled atop each other, ranging from
why isn't
she on America's Best Talent?
to someone offering to act as her agent and sign
her to a record deal.

Everybody wanted to know who she was and nobody could find any
information. The only good thing—in my opinion—was that the image was grainy
and you couldn't make out much of Mom's face in the dim interior of the church.
Her voice, though, sounded like an angel's.

"Look at this—they're already comparing her to Renée
Mendenhall," Joey pointed at a comment.

"Fuck," Dad shook his head. "What are we going
to tell her? How are we going to tell her?"

"Tell me what?" Mom shuffled into the kitchen,
dressed in a robe and pajamas. Gina and Sarah, who'd sat quietly by while the
rest of us went batshit over the unexpected video, turned toward Mom.

"I never knew that about you," Gina said. "You
sound incredible."

"You think so?" Mom offered Gina a smile.

"A bunch of other people do, too," Sarah breathed. "I
couldn't tell it was you, until Justin and Mack said so."

"At least my face isn't in the light," Mom said as
she studied the video over Joey's shoulder.

"You sound better about this," Dad said.

"You should stay out of it," Mom retorted, pointing
a finger at Dad's chest. He shut up immediately.

"At least the fees were paid to the rights holders,"
Merrill grumbled. "Those were the songs Franklin requested, and that had
already been taken care of before the funeral, since the symphony was involved."

"You know, this gives me an idea," Mom said.

"What idea?" Dad asked. Mom did her best to ignore
him, but answered the question anyway.

"Gina, I know your mother has never gotten closure on
your father, because his remains were never found. What if I sell both those
songs as a limited release to raise money for that—I know someone will take
money to turn over what they have to a neutral party—it's not widely known, but
they do accept bribes."

"Would you do that?" Gina breathed before wiping
tears away. That was my cue—I moved to her side and put my arms around her. She
leaned against me and that felt right and proper.

"I'll do it this once, just to get the right thing done,"
Mom said, determination showing in her blue eyes. "We'll make this work.
Adam, will you contact those people you know in the FBI? I think we can offer
suggestions on who to contact."

That's when I realized that Mom had gone
Looking
for
Mr. Allen's remains. It might take some finesse, but I couldn't help but think
that the deal might be as good as done.

"What about the—you know," Dad protested.

"I'm not directly involved," Mom pointed out. She
sounded huffy, too. "All I can offer is advice. I'll sing two songs into a
microphone, and hire local musicians to give them some extra money. Works for
everybody, right?"

"If you say so," Dad grumped.

"And we need groceries," Mom said.

"I'll make sure we have people ready to go to the store,"
Dad agreed.

"So we do have our priorities, don't we?" Mom said
sweetly and flounced out of the kitchen.

"You didn't eat," Joey yelled at her.

"Then bring me something," she yelled back. "I
have plans to make."

"I'll take something to her," Merrill offered. Joey
didn't argue, so Uncle Merrill filled a plate with scrambled eggs, fruit and
cheese, placed that and a glass of milk on a tray and hauled it toward Mom and
Dad's bedroom.

Dad hesitated for a barely a second before following.

* * *

Adam's Journal

I think Merrill would have been happy to feed Kiarra by hand
if she'd allowed it and I hadn't shown up steps behind him. As it was, he set
the tray on the bedside table, offered her a smile and the glass of milk.

Yes, I should have realized that he'd been watching her
carefully for years. She loved cold milk and drank half the glass before giving
him a smile in return. He offered her a napkin, which she gratefully accepted
and wiped the milk moustache off her upper lip. The smile turned into an
all-out grin.

"These came while you were away," I interrupted the
breakfast interlude.

"What?" Kiarra leaned forward, peering around
Merrill's broad shoulders to see what I meant. I held up the box containing her
Grey House earrings.

"Are those earrings?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes. I already have my cufflinks—they're very nice. As
is Merrill's ring and the boys' watches."

"Gimme," she held out her hand. Stepping forward, I
placed the small box in her hand with a mock bow.

"I'm wearing them," she announced, fumbling with the
lid on the box for a moment. Merrill took the box gently from her hands, opened
it and revealed the earrings nested inside.

"Pretty," Kiarra breathed and lifted one up to
examine it.

"Here." Merrill took the earring and slipped the
wire into her ear.

"Does it look nice?" she asked.

"It is lovely," he smiled. "Let me do the other
one."

He did. She now wore both earrings, which dangled delicately
from her ears. The gray jewels were designed carefully and would reflect
anything she wore, effectively matching all her clothing.

If Raffian Grey designed them, he'd done a magnificent job.

"Thank you for this," Merrill held up his hand,
displaying the ring he wore.

"I asked for something for you, but left it up to them,"
she blinked at him. "It suits you."

"Good. Now finish your breakfast, before the eggs go
completely cold," he coaxed.

Those words should have been mine. I should be sitting there,
convincing her to eat. Warming the eggs for her with power. Telling her how
much I loved her.

Merrill held words of love back, although they were in his
eyes as he watched her eat.

* * *

Justin's Journal

"Why don't we clean the kitchen?" Gina asked when
school was over for the day and we sat at the kitchen island having peanut
butter and crackers as a snack. It was practically all we had left in the
house.

"Huh?" I said, confused for a moment.

"Your mother isn't feeling well, so somebody has to do
it," Sarah laughed. "Come on, you and Mack can help." With all
four of us working, the dishes in the sink were placed in the dishwasher,
counters were wiped clean and a grocery list began to take shape.

I wasn't sure what meats to place on the list, but Gina and
Sarah offered suggestions and Mack took it from there. "Chicken—for sure,
either for fried chicken or chicken and dumplings," he said. "Maybe
something to make meat loaf or burgers? What about grilling fajitas?" Mack
was still hungry—and still growing, looked like.

"Maybe Uncle Lion will go with us to the grocery store,"
I said.

"Maybe Uncle Bearcat and Uncle Joey will go with you, in
your dad's SUV," Joey and Bearcat walked into the kitchen. "We have
orders from your mom, and she gave us a list." Joey pulled a folded paper
from his pocket. "Let's coordinate and go. We can drop the girls off while
we're out."

"Sounds great," Gina giggled. "Can we go to the
store with you?"

"Sure," Joey shrugged. "I'll let you be in
charge of fruits and vegetables."

* * *

Adam's Journal

Karzac pronounced Kiarra run-down and suggested she take it
easy for several days. It hadn't been very long, after all, since the attack
and near-miscarriage. "Take it easy around the house, too," he
ordered. "No heavy housework. No lifting more than ten pounds. Do I need
to go on?" His green-gold eyes informed her—and me—that there would be no
argument over this.

"But," Kiarra began.

"No. The answer will be no," Karzac held up a hand. "This
pregnancy has already proven itself fragile enough. Do I have to find someone
to babysit you?"

"No." She turned away before he could see evidence
of her pout.

"Good. Kiarra," he turned her toward him, "Please
do this. For me. For Dragon. For all of us. Things are so critical, now. You
understand that, don't you?"

"Yes." She hung her head and nodded her agreement.

"Good. I hear supplies are being bought. Do not skimp on
protein, and eat regularly, even if you do not feel hungry. You have lost
weight the past few days. I do not wish to see that continue."

"I know."

"Good. Let Adam care for you. That is his duty after all,
to you and his child."

"Karzac Halivar, I hope you've noticed by now that we're
having a spat. I trust your doctorly duties do not include interfering with
that?" Kiarra lifted an eyebrow.

"While doctorly may not be an actual word, I will bow out
of the tiff for now. However, that will not stop me from shouting at both of
you, if your disagreement becomes detrimental to all involved." Karzac displayed
his stubbornness, which could rival Kiarra's any day.

"Great. Out. Out—the both of you," Kiarra pointed
toward the door.

"Sweetheart, I want to talk to you about disappearing
spawn," I reasoned. "I can't do that very well if we're in separate
parts of the house."

That brought on a string of curse words—in Refizani. I'm sure
she did it on purpose; I saw Karzac cringe at least twice.

"Dearest," Merrill interrupted, "I'd appreciate
your words in a language I might understand. That way, I can agree with
confidence, rather than relying on instinct."