Me and My Shadow
Page 78
“Kaawa yelled at me because Aisling was laughing so hard when she saw me that she totally blew off pushing during a contraction. That ain’t handsome, sister.”
Gabriel lifted his head. “Don’t call her that.”
I laughed when Jim made another disgusted face. “Go ahead and change back to your preferred form. I’m sure Aisling will thank you later for all the help you gave her and Drake.”
The demon’s form shimmered and condensed down to a large black shaggy dog. It sighed with relief. “Oh, man, that’s so much better.” It lifted a leg and checked, then plopped its butt down and cocked an eyebrow at me. “Whew. Package is A-OK. All right, get on with the nitty gritty. What happened with Baltic? How come there’s not a big ole dragon corpse rotting away upstairs? Why did Savian insist Drake lock that redheaded chick in the storage room? And why is Dr. Kostich so pissed?”
Before I could answer, the door to the lair opened and Nora popped out, flustered but excited. “Well! It’s happened! It’s a boy! Drake is thrilled. Aisling is furious. She insists that Kaawa has made a mistake, because she knows she is supposed to have a girl, but I looked, and there’s no mistake. It’s a boy.”
I leaned into Gabriel, pushing him into the wall as he was about to move toward the lair. “Give Aisling and Drake our congratulations, please.”
“Mayling, please let me go. My mother is not as experienced as I am with dragon—”
I clapped a hand over his mouth and smiled at Nora as she laughed and went back into the lair.
“Your mom is doing just fine,” I told him as he gently bit my hand. “You, however, would just cause Drake to go ballistic. You will stay here and explain to Dr. Kostich what happened to Baltic, because if he yells at me once more, I’m going to go steal something else from him, and this time I won’t give it back.”
Gabriel laughed, squeezing me tightly. “All right. Let us go upstairs and deal with the archimage. Tipene probably has his arm healed by now.”
We made it two steps before Nora appeared at the door again, this time looking harried and flushed. “It’s . . . it’s a girl!”
We all stopped and stared at her. “I thought you said it was a boy?” Cyrene asked. “You said you checked. Didn’t she say she checked?” she asked Kostya, who nodded.
“I have a niece, not a nephew?” he asked.
“I did say I checked, and I did. Check, that is. But no, you’re not understanding me—it’s a girl, too. Aisling has had twins. Er . . . real twins, not like you two,” she said, glancing between Cyrene and me.
“Twins. Double congratulations, then,” I said, and wondered aloud what Aisling and Drake would do about names. “How is Aisling holding up?”
“A lot better than Drake,” Nora giggled. “And as for names, I couldn’t say for certain, but I do know the names Aisling had picked out were Iarlaith if it was a boy, and Ilona if it was a girl, so I assume they will use those. I had better get back. There was a bit of blood and fluids and suchlike before the first baby came out, and René fainted at the sight of it. Men are so silly, really. I should go revive him. This is such an exciting day!”
Nora disappeared into the lair again.
Jim made hacking noises. “Baby guck! May, can you please take me to Paris so I can stay with Cecile until Aisling gets over gushing out babies and ooky stuff?”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way for you to go visit your girlfriend while Aisling is recovering,” I said, shooing the dog upstairs. We followed, pausing once we got to the hallway.
Drake’s call for reinforcements had brought a number of green dragons to his house, most of whom were now devoting themselves to clearing up the mess, and beginning the repairs. Pál was overseeing both, asking us for news as we trooped into the sitting room, which luckily remained more or less intact.
“Twins, boy and girl. Aisling’s fine, Drake is a mess, and René fainted.”
Pál laughed. “He was boasting to Aisling about his seven children, and how useful he was to his wife in the delivery room. That’s why she asked him to stay with her. That, and to distract Drake.”
“Sounds like he wasn’t horribly successful on either front.”
“I’m exhausted,” Cyrene said, tugging on Kostya’s arm. “I think I’m going to go take a nap. I’ll see Aisling and the babies later, once they’re cleaned up. Kostya’s tired, too. All that being stabbed and fighting wore him out.”
Kostya looked surprised for a moment, then caught the glint in her eye and agreed. “Perhaps a nap would be a good idea,” he said, and gave her a wolfish grin that had her giggling and running up the stairs.
I shook my head as they left, and said softly to Gabriel, “I don’t know that I’m ever going to get used to that.”
“You and me both,” he said with a wolfish grin of his own, and I thought seriously for a few minutes about demanding a nap.
“There is still much we must do,” he said, accurately reading my mind. “But later, once it is done, then I will do all those things you are thinking about. Particularly the one where you are on your hands and knees and I take you from behind—”
I stopped his words with a quick kiss, then straightened my shoulders and entered the sitting room.
Dr. Kostich was there, but he wasn’t alone.
“Sally?” My brain, somewhat fried by this point, sluggishly tried to figure out what on earth the newest demon lord in Abaddon was doing in Aisling’s sitting room, chatting happily with Dr. Kostich.
“—Mama always said that there’s a place for everything and everything in its place, and I always believed that was true, but you know, my time spent in Abaddon has been quite the eye-opening experience. I see now that my dear mama just wasn’t right, no, she wasn’t. Because honestly, how do you explain portals? If your arcane magic was as strong as you say, why, then, you could just seal portals to Abaddon and no creepy crawlies would ever get through, would they? But they do. Therefore, dark magic has to be the stronger. May! You look horrible, sugar, just horrible. Are you using that salt scrub I recommended?”
Sally ceased patting Dr. Kostich’s hand, which was a good thing, since he was staring at her with unadulterated disbelief.
“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I asked, looking around the room to see if any other demons were in attendance. I knew Drake had some sort of a demon alarm, but it must have been disabled with the attack and subsequent rebuilding.
Gabriel lifted his head. “Don’t call her that.”
I laughed when Jim made another disgusted face. “Go ahead and change back to your preferred form. I’m sure Aisling will thank you later for all the help you gave her and Drake.”
The demon’s form shimmered and condensed down to a large black shaggy dog. It sighed with relief. “Oh, man, that’s so much better.” It lifted a leg and checked, then plopped its butt down and cocked an eyebrow at me. “Whew. Package is A-OK. All right, get on with the nitty gritty. What happened with Baltic? How come there’s not a big ole dragon corpse rotting away upstairs? Why did Savian insist Drake lock that redheaded chick in the storage room? And why is Dr. Kostich so pissed?”
Before I could answer, the door to the lair opened and Nora popped out, flustered but excited. “Well! It’s happened! It’s a boy! Drake is thrilled. Aisling is furious. She insists that Kaawa has made a mistake, because she knows she is supposed to have a girl, but I looked, and there’s no mistake. It’s a boy.”
I leaned into Gabriel, pushing him into the wall as he was about to move toward the lair. “Give Aisling and Drake our congratulations, please.”
“Mayling, please let me go. My mother is not as experienced as I am with dragon—”
I clapped a hand over his mouth and smiled at Nora as she laughed and went back into the lair.
“Your mom is doing just fine,” I told him as he gently bit my hand. “You, however, would just cause Drake to go ballistic. You will stay here and explain to Dr. Kostich what happened to Baltic, because if he yells at me once more, I’m going to go steal something else from him, and this time I won’t give it back.”
Gabriel laughed, squeezing me tightly. “All right. Let us go upstairs and deal with the archimage. Tipene probably has his arm healed by now.”
We made it two steps before Nora appeared at the door again, this time looking harried and flushed. “It’s . . . it’s a girl!”
We all stopped and stared at her. “I thought you said it was a boy?” Cyrene asked. “You said you checked. Didn’t she say she checked?” she asked Kostya, who nodded.
“I have a niece, not a nephew?” he asked.
“I did say I checked, and I did. Check, that is. But no, you’re not understanding me—it’s a girl, too. Aisling has had twins. Er . . . real twins, not like you two,” she said, glancing between Cyrene and me.
“Twins. Double congratulations, then,” I said, and wondered aloud what Aisling and Drake would do about names. “How is Aisling holding up?”
“A lot better than Drake,” Nora giggled. “And as for names, I couldn’t say for certain, but I do know the names Aisling had picked out were Iarlaith if it was a boy, and Ilona if it was a girl, so I assume they will use those. I had better get back. There was a bit of blood and fluids and suchlike before the first baby came out, and René fainted at the sight of it. Men are so silly, really. I should go revive him. This is such an exciting day!”
Nora disappeared into the lair again.
Jim made hacking noises. “Baby guck! May, can you please take me to Paris so I can stay with Cecile until Aisling gets over gushing out babies and ooky stuff?”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way for you to go visit your girlfriend while Aisling is recovering,” I said, shooing the dog upstairs. We followed, pausing once we got to the hallway.
Drake’s call for reinforcements had brought a number of green dragons to his house, most of whom were now devoting themselves to clearing up the mess, and beginning the repairs. Pál was overseeing both, asking us for news as we trooped into the sitting room, which luckily remained more or less intact.
“Twins, boy and girl. Aisling’s fine, Drake is a mess, and René fainted.”
Pál laughed. “He was boasting to Aisling about his seven children, and how useful he was to his wife in the delivery room. That’s why she asked him to stay with her. That, and to distract Drake.”
“Sounds like he wasn’t horribly successful on either front.”
“I’m exhausted,” Cyrene said, tugging on Kostya’s arm. “I think I’m going to go take a nap. I’ll see Aisling and the babies later, once they’re cleaned up. Kostya’s tired, too. All that being stabbed and fighting wore him out.”
Kostya looked surprised for a moment, then caught the glint in her eye and agreed. “Perhaps a nap would be a good idea,” he said, and gave her a wolfish grin that had her giggling and running up the stairs.
I shook my head as they left, and said softly to Gabriel, “I don’t know that I’m ever going to get used to that.”
“You and me both,” he said with a wolfish grin of his own, and I thought seriously for a few minutes about demanding a nap.
“There is still much we must do,” he said, accurately reading my mind. “But later, once it is done, then I will do all those things you are thinking about. Particularly the one where you are on your hands and knees and I take you from behind—”
I stopped his words with a quick kiss, then straightened my shoulders and entered the sitting room.
Dr. Kostich was there, but he wasn’t alone.
“Sally?” My brain, somewhat fried by this point, sluggishly tried to figure out what on earth the newest demon lord in Abaddon was doing in Aisling’s sitting room, chatting happily with Dr. Kostich.
“—Mama always said that there’s a place for everything and everything in its place, and I always believed that was true, but you know, my time spent in Abaddon has been quite the eye-opening experience. I see now that my dear mama just wasn’t right, no, she wasn’t. Because honestly, how do you explain portals? If your arcane magic was as strong as you say, why, then, you could just seal portals to Abaddon and no creepy crawlies would ever get through, would they? But they do. Therefore, dark magic has to be the stronger. May! You look horrible, sugar, just horrible. Are you using that salt scrub I recommended?”
Sally ceased patting Dr. Kostich’s hand, which was a good thing, since he was staring at her with unadulterated disbelief.
“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I asked, looking around the room to see if any other demons were in attendance. I knew Drake had some sort of a demon alarm, but it must have been disabled with the attack and subsequent rebuilding.
