“It’s funny you should say that, because for once I do actually know,” I replied as I tried to sit up. Nate’s arms firmly wrapped around me kept me in place.
“I don’t think you should move around too much just yet. You’ve been out for twenty-five minutes, and I’m still trying to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, but I know better than to fight you if you find a need to verify that for yourself. I just learned a new lesson, one that I’m going to remember to ask Nadine about when we go visit her. With all the questions I have, I’m pretty sure she’s going to get tired of hearing my voice within five seconds of our arrival.”
“And if you would be so kind to enlighten me on this mysterious lesson, it would be greatly appreciated. We can deal with how annoying your questions can be later.”
“Sure. Eva says that there are certain precautions one should make when disarming another person’s spells. I didn’t know that, so when I said my own spell, I got a blast from, I guess, an energy release or something. She didn’t exactly explain what hit me, just why I was taking a little nap.”
“So you got a visit from your new best friend Eva, again? Are you sure she isn’t the one who caused the blast? How much do you really know about her?” he questioned.
“Just slightly more than you do. She was showing me a memory of the first time we met. I’m pretty sure we were in Greece at the time and my name was Catherine. I know that isn’t really a big help, since I seem to pick similar names all the time. Anyway, I was walking through a market and she came up to me and started talking. Just before I woke up, we were headed to some lake,” I informed him.
“That’s who this Eva person is?” he asked. I thought it must be nice to be given a few details about a day that happened probably two thousand years ago and be able to remember it like yesterday. “I found you two running through the lake naked. She didn’t give me her name, just said she’d find you later and you were all secretive about who she was.”
I was kind of happy that I woke up early. I didn’t want to know what Eva said to get me to do something crazy like that, although past me didn’t seem to need a lot of persuasion when it came to doing crazy things. I hoped that it was a very, very secluded lake, and Nate was the only one who got to catch the show.
“Please tell me you’re joking,” I begged. “And please tell me that isn’t something I did often.”
He attempted to hold back his laughter when he looked down and saw the pained expression on my face, but as usual, he failed. I elbowed him in the side for his evilness.
“I wouldn’t say often is the right word, but you were never afraid to go skinny dipping with the proper company. By proper company I mean me, of course. That time with your friend Eva was the only time I found you trying it out with someone else,” he told me. “In fact, the other ten times I found you two together, you were always up to something and you’d never tell me who she was. I’d always let it go because we tried never to argue, but I’m glad to finally know who your friend is. You wouldn’t even think about her to give me hints after she ran off. She’s always been one of life’s mysteries.”
“She said you’d seen her in passing, but neglected to mention it was catching us doing silly stuff,” I said, making a mental note to deal with her later. “What happened while I was out? I remember Sean and Trey being released, but that’s the last thing that imprinted in my mind.”
“We got to watch you fly three feet and hit a wall before sliding down it,” Rick said, joining us in the room. “Totally wished I had the video camera rolling for that one. Vinnie says his started malfunctioning for some reason.”
I didn’t know if Vinnie was hiding the evidence for me or if there was an actual issue, but either way I was glad my misfortune wouldn’t be handed over to Rick so he could watch it over and over.
“Not the most joyous thing for a fiancé to have to watch,” Nate added. “After that, I brought you up here while the others searched the house for any clues.”
“Please tell me you found a signed confession and the exact location where we can pick up the wolves,” I said.
“Not exactly,” Nate replied. “There was a note that said the wolves were not currently harmed more than what their struggles caused, and that they’d meet us in two days at a location they will decide on later.”
“They seriously left a note? That’s a bit of an unexpected turn. It sounds like it’s a kidnapping rather than a plan to take over the world. When you say ‘they’d meet us’, do you mean they knew we’d be here or just whoever came along looking for the wolves?” I asked.
“It was addressed to, and I quote, ‘The Fiery Hen,” Rick informed me.
“They seem to like to call me hen for some reason. The fact that they expected us has me worried that we aren’t really seeing what’s going on here. Could all of the stunts have been a ploy to get us to the city?” I asked.
“I still want to believe that the Kapre is working on his own and just having a little fun, but you bring up a good point,” Nate said. “One we won’t be able to investigate until tomorrow. Vinnie is down making something for us to eat and there are rumors that the berserkers are trying to help. We should probably go check on them and see if the walls are still standing.”
“As long as Vinnie is giving them precise instructions everything should be fine. If they were alone, I’d have to ask if you guys hit your heads,” I said as I was finally allowed to get up and stretch. No lingering pain or dizziness, so I thought I was good to go.
Rick led us to the kitchen and we quickly found out my assumption was way off. Flour was everywhere. No joke. The floor, the ceiling, the counters, all covered with a dusting of flour. Vinnie was off to the side shaking his head and Liam and Kyle were standing in front of the stove conversing.
“Do I want to know what you guys are making?” I asked.
The blonde bombers spun around and smiled at me. They were covered in flour too. I looked at Vinnie to see if he had an explanation, and he continued to shake his head and pointed at the other two.
“Ask them,” he said. I got the feeling he was just in the room to make sure they didn’t catch anything on fire.
“We wanted to make you a ‘get better’ dinner,” Liam said. “You took a pretty good lick there and we thought some fried chicken and mashed potatoes would make you feel better.”
“It started off great, but then we argued over who got to coat the chicken and just how many coats we thought would make it the perfect crispiness. At one point, we may have played tug-o-war with the container of flour, causing the scene before you. Rest assured we had another bag and were able to use that to make you the best fried chicken you’ll have ever tasted,” Kyle added.
I was a little afraid to even try it, but if they did it just to make me feel better, I was a bit obligated.
“Don’t worry, Avery, I’m your protector, so I’ll make the sacrifice and try it before you do,” Rick said, mentally assuring me.
“Thanks, guys,” I told the brothers. “How soon before you think it will be ready?”
“It won’t be long now. We’ve already taken a plate out to the other guys. They may not have eaten it all yet, so you might want to go check on it. If they have, another plate will be ready in about five minutes,” Liam said.
We headed to the dining area and found Joseph, Trey and Sean chowing down on chicken parts. The fact that none of them had keeled over was a good sign.
“I take it the chicken won’t kill us,” I said, sitting down to grab a plate. I guessed I didn’t need my royal taste tester if everyone else was already eating.
“Surprising I know, after seeing the mess they made,” Trey said in between bites. “Somehow they got a nice coating on the chicken, as well as the ceiling.”
“Yeah, just one week in the kitchen with you and they’re culinary geniuses,” Joseph commented. “You could probably make a killing if you decided to teach people how to cook.”
I was happy to see they weren’t
treating me like a baby and questioning how I felt. I grabbed my own piece and took a tentative bite. The coating on it was nicely crisp with a subtle hint of some spices. The chicken itself was moist and tender, just like it should be.
“Holy cow!” I yelled. “Boys, if it weren’t for the mess, I’d allow you in the kitchen at home more often.”
“Thanks, dollface,” Kyle hollered back from the kitchen. After a few more bites, he and Liam appeared with another plate and a bowl of mashed potatoes.
“Here’s the rest of it. We’re going to call this enough, so we can eat too,” Liam said, putting the food down.
“So, what are the plans for tomorrow?” I asked. “Are we going to try to find the wolves before the meeting and attempt a rescue mission?”
“I’m all for that,” Joseph said. “I know you guys want to go after the Kapre, so I was thinking Trey, Sean and I can try to find the point where I’m able to pick up the others.”
“I don’t mind that idea,” Nate said. “With Liam and Rick we shouldn’t have too much of a problem catching our guy, so we can talk things over with him, and then join you in the search by heading in another direction.”
“I agree,” I said. “I’d like to go up against the warlocks, or whatever has the wolves, with them safely out of the way.”
“Good, I’m just hoping we can get a general location. I don’t think the three of us should actually try to tangle with the kidnappers,” Joseph said. After seeing what was left of the other house, I was happy to hear that.
“That’s good thinking. Those energy balls can’t feel good, and they don’t seem afraid to use them, judging by the condition of the other house. What sleeping arrangements do we have for tonight?” Kyle asked.
“I really don’t want to mess with cleaning up the other house tonight,” Nate said. “Since it seemed to be the cleanest, Avery and I will crash in the room I took her to earlier. You guys can fight over the rest of the rooms in the house.”
I yawned, giving away my next words. “I’m pretty tired. I’m for going to bed soon, so we can get a jump on things in the morning.”
“We will, my little butterfly. Did you get enough to eat? You probably burned a lot of calories riding today,” Nate said.
Not having to regulate my body temperature the old way, I didn’t think I’d burned that many calories. That didn’t mean riding long hours didn’t drain my energy reserves.
“I’m good, a couple chicken legs are more than enough for me,” I replied.
“Well then, gentlemen, we’re going to head to bed. Try to get a good night sleep, so we can be ready to go Kapre hunting,” he said, standing up and holding his hand out to assist me.
When we got upstairs to our room, I noticed our bag and thought about changing into pajamas. I ruled that the riding most of the day combined with the chicken had made me too tired and headed straight to the bed.
“Poor baby,” Nate said, coming to join me. “Come here, and I’ll tell you a story until you fall asleep.”
I snuggled into his body and pulled the covers over me. “What’s the story about?” I asked.
“A princess, of course,” he replied. “Once upon a time there was this beautiful woman who was loved by all the people in the land. Sadly, for all of her suitors, her hand was already promised to another man. Happily for her, she loved this man very much. They spent many afternoons riding horseback through the lands in the kingdom. One such afternoon they came upon a lake that was so beautiful it looked like a sheet of glass.”
“Hold it right there, this isn’t a story about us skinny dipping is it?” I asked. Nate’s fairy tales usually ended up a little different than most of the sterilized ones little kids read.
“Us? Of course not, the princess and her prince may be on their way to doing that, but who says this story has anything to do with us.”
I pinched his arm where it was wrapped around my stomach. “I know you, and I know you’re speaking from a personal memory. I think I’ll try to sleep without a story tonight if you’re going to immediately go into the naked version.”
“Fine, have it your way,” he said, kissing my neck. “Sweet dreams, my queen.”
“Sweet dreams, my incorrigible king,” I replied before closing my eyes and quickly falling asleep.
CHAPTER 10
My work here is done