by Alanea Alder
"We are a step closer than we were yesterday," Adriel reminded them.
Vivi brightened. "You're absolutely right. We're light years ahead of where we were even earlier this week."
Kari held up her iPad. "Do not forget we have the meeting with the Founding Family and Noble Heads this afternoon to update everyone concerning Warrick's elevation in rank and to let them know Magnus is cured."
Around the table groans went up. Kari ignored them. "Personally, I am looking forward to it. These changes are a long time coming," she said, grinning evilly.
Magnus sat back. "I find that I am looking forward to it as well," he admitted.
Meryn picked up her laptop and rotated it ninety degrees. Magnus frowned. "Meryn, what is the matter?"
"Do you think naked men look weird? I mean, the gods or whoever were on the right track creating man. Chest muscles, forearms, chiseled eight pack and then. Bam! Penis, kinda stuck on like an afterthought." She turned her laptop again. "Looks detachable."
Aiden's head snapped around. "What are you looking at!" He grabbed her laptop, shut it and handed it to Ryuu.
"I'm studying art!" Meryn protested.
"Naked art?" Aiden asked. "How did you go from leather daddies to naked art?"
Meryn blinked. "I don't know. I just kept clicking links and before I knew it..."
Rheia gave Meryn a sympathetic looked. "I've done something like that before. I Googled homeschooling curriculums for Penny, which led me to this site about homesteading, then canning, then disaster prepping. I logged off when I realized I had spent an hour reading about cult suicides."
Aiden paled. "The Google is dangerous?"
"That happens to me all the time, it's how I learn," Meryn said. "But usually it's about blood splatter, serial killers and corpse farms."
Declan leaned forward. "What on earth is a corpse farm?"
Meryn's face lit up. "It's where research facilities put out a whole bunch of dead bodies in like a field with cages around them, so scavengers can't get to them and they study stuff like rate of decomposition and how long it takes for bugs to get in the body, and maggot growth, stuff like that."
Aiden spit out his waffles and covered his mouth with his hand. Serenity heard dry heaves and saw that Colton was hanging on by a thread. Laelia popped up out of her seat and placed a hand on his back. Serenity sent soothing magic around the table to settle the more delicate tummies.
Sebastian sighed. "Now that breakfast is over, I will bring in extra coffee, lattes and espressos to fortify everyone for their day."
Ryuu patted Meryn on the head and looked around the room. "Isn't she adorable?"
Colton looked up at Aiden a bit wild eyed. "Thank the gods Keelan wasn't here for that." Aiden nodded.
Meryn squirted ketchup all over her scrambled eggs. Colton and surprisingly Rex bolted from the room. Meryn chuckled and kept eating. Laelia shook her head and sat back down. Radclyffe rubbed her back. "You tried, dearest."
"Adorable," Ryuu repeated.
Kendrick chuckled. "That she is."
"Thank god the twins weren't here," Rheia said leaning back in her chair as Hal started picking up plates.
Serenity watched as Meryn got really interested in her eggs. She wasn't the only one who noticed.
Aiden leaned in. "What are they doing Meryn?"
"Hmmm?" she looked up at him eyes wide.
"Meryn," he growled.
"It wasn't my idea," she started.
"What wasn't your idea?"
She took a deep breath, then hesitated. "Do you really, really want to know? I mean later you won't be lying when you tell the council you had no idea what was going on."
Aiden's eyes bugged out. "What in the gods' names are they doing?"
"Wellllll," Meryn dragged out the word.
When Aiden fumbled at his waist for his walkie-talkie she grabbed it and started talking fast. "The twins and I didn't like how DeLaFontaine hurt Pip so much. And he's our brother now, so we're sort of legally obligated to defend him and make sure that it never happens again."
Pip's eyes filled. "They are doing something for me?"
Meryn turned in her chair to face him. "Yup. Your bio-dad did very bad things that hurt a lot of people, but one of the worst things he did was mistreat you.
"Your parents and guardians are supposed to take care of you and feed you and make you feel safe and teach you how to make your way in the world. But he didn't do any of those things and he hurt you. He will eventually pay for his crimes against the city and her people, we just wanted to make sure that he paid for what he did to you too."
Aiden sat back. "I can't even get mad over that. I'm sure whatever you do will be worth whatever lecture the council comes up with."
Magnus cleared his throat. "Part of the council is sitting right here." Meryn gulped, and he continued. "Considering the severity of his other crimes I cannot see you getting too stern of a lecture." He eyed her closely. "What did you do?"
Meryn beamed. "Diarrhea."
Magnus turned to Ryuu. "Simply adorable."
CHAPTER NINE
Serenity and her mate, with Meryn and Pip in tow, caught up to the twins in Meryn's bat cave. Meryn rushed over to them. "Did it work?" she asked, as they crowded around a monitor.
Nigel nodded. "We think so. Though, we forgot the guy who attacked Kari and Jervasius Régis was still down there, so they may have gotten it too."
Meryn shrugged. "Serves them right."
Serenity leaned over Meryn's shoulder to watch what looked to be closed circuit video. "Is there sound?" she asked as she watched DeLaFontaine throw an epic temper tantrum. The other prisoner was already doubled over on his toilet.
Neil laughed. "Yeah, but we have the volume turned down. He's cussing a lot and making death threats. Opps!" he pointed to the monitor as DeLaFontaine raced to the corner fumbling with his pants. He turned to Meryn. "Building in anger as a trigger was genius."
"Ut oh," Nigel whispered as they watched Leif and Travis walk in. They had only taken two steps when both covered their mouths and started gagging.
Neil's eyes were huge as they watched the two unit warriors back out of the cells. "They must have gone in because DeLaFontaine started shouting. They are gonna kill us, they have guard duty down there this week."
Meryn snickered. "Stay close to Kendrick," she advised.
Serenity turned to Pip who had watched everything quietly. "Pip are you okay?"
Meryn and the boys turned to glance behind them where Pip stood off to one side. Neil looked worried. "Did we go too far?" he asked.
Pip took a few steps closer. "He looks so small on your screen." His hand reached out to touch the monitor. "Was he always so..."
"Flawed?" Meryn asked supplying the word. Pip nodded. Meryn bumped hips with him. "I think he looks smaller to you because your world got bigger."
Pip looked at her frowning. "Why did I want his approval so much?"
Meryn turned back to the screen. "Because he is your dad, and no matter how awful they are, we always want the approval of our family."
Pip straightened his back. "He is not my family. Not anymore."
Neil slung an arm around his shoulder. "You have us now. We're still learning a lot ourselves, but maybe that's why we can help you more. The warriors have forgotten what it's like growing up in our world."
Pip brightened. "Can you help me fly better? I still wobble."
The twins grinned at each other and Nigel nodded. "We sure can. If you can wait a bit, we're compiling all the video footage we gathered from the Pits for Meryn. After that we can go with you. You don't have to worry about falling with us there. You can practice all you want."
Neil looked over to Meryn. "You want to come with us?"
She shook her head. "I'm going with Serenity and Micah when they look in on the kiddos. Then after that we have to come back down to Level One for a boring ass bigwig meeting."
Serenity eyed Meryn. "I didn't know you wanted to chec
k on the children."
Meryn blinked at her. "I don't. But I'll tag along so I can visit Mr. Culpepper and Old Man Richter on Level Six so they can feed me."
Serenity stared back at Meryn. "You don't care about the children?"
Meryn shrugged. "I don't know them, or their parents. I'm not a nurse and I kinda don't like kids in general. Penny is the exception because she's a Whovian."
"But you're pregnant," Serenity pointed out.
Meryn looked down at her belly in surprise. "I am?? How'd that happen?" she asked sarcastically.
"You know what I mean," Serenity said gently bopping her on the nose.
Meryn's scrunched up her face and rubbed her nose. "Aiden wanted an ankle biter. Besides I think my kid is going to be kick ass, so of course I'm going to love him or her."
Pip smiled at Meryn shyly. "I think you will an amazing mother." The twins nodded their agreement and Meryn blushed furiously. "Beth said I just gotta make sure they aren't starving, hurt or rocking themselves in a corner. That doesn't sound too hard and I'll have Ryuu with me."
Micah ruffled her short brown hair. "You can do it, my delicate little flower."
She smiled up at him. "I love your nicknames. At home they just call me Menace. Yours are nicer."
Micah swept his hand to his chest. "Don't hate them because they aren't me," he said in a tragic tone.
Serenity crossed her leg in front of her and gently kicked the inside of Micah's knee making him wobble. The twins laughed, and Micah turned his head to wink at her.
"Goofball," she said warmly.
"Your goofball," he corrected.
"Told you he was nice," Meryn pointed out.
Serenity smiled at her. "You did, and you were right. Fate gave me the most perfect mate in the whole world."
Micah straightened and pulled her into his arms so that her back was flush against his chest. He wrapped his arms loosely about her waist. "I'm the lucky one."
"Awww y'all are so cute," Meryn said looking happy for them.
"Meryn, if you want time to eat you better head up now," Neil said pointing to the time on the monitor. "I know how you can get to talking with Mr. Culpepper."
Micah pulled his walkie-talkie from his waist. "Ryuu, we're heading up to Level Six with the midget."
A moment later Ryuu responded. "One moment, I am on my way."
Meryn tilted her head. "Why'd you call him if you're my guard?"
Micah reattached his walkie-talkie. "Because that man isn't skinning me alive on the off chance something was to happen to you. If it were just you and I going I may not have called him. But since my one and only is coming with us, I know my focus will be on her."
"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you admit such a thing," Ryuu said, walking through the door. "It eases my mind knowing that you take such things into consideration when you are guarding my denka."
Micah grinned impishly. "And I don't want to end up electrocuted by blue light."
Ryuu's mouth twitched. "And there's that."
Meryn turned to the boys. "Y'all have fun and make sure the net is in place before you practice with Pip."
"Yes, Meryn," the twins said in unison.
Meryn stepped beside Ryuu. "Let's go get some food."
Serenity took Micah's hand. "And check on the children."
Meryn shrugged. "Yeah, them too."
*****
When they got to Level Six Meryn surprisingly stayed with them as they headed toward the hospital.
"I thought you didn't like kids?" Micah asked.
"Doesn't mean I want them sick either. Maybe I can fluff pillows or something."
When they walked into the hospital Ryuu immediately took a protective stance in front of Meryn. All around them the kids were thrashing, hissing and attacking their guardians.
Serenity turned to Ryuu. "Get her out of here. We'll meet you by that vendor she likes." Ryuu simply nodded and steered Meryn back out the door. The second they were gone Serenity and Micah sprinted to different beds to help the parents.
Behind her she heard both Hawthorne, Kendrick and Micah casting the Immobiles spell in an effort to get the children secured. Serenity immediately went to Ellie. "What can I do?" she asked as she approached.
Ellie was struggling to pin the arms down to one of the girls. "Anything you can to calm them down!" Ellie shouted.
Serenity looked around the room. Laelia had already extended her magic on the left side of the room and Radclyffe on the right. Instead of trying to reach each child she used her best friends as conduits and began send her power into them.
In her minds eyes she concentrated on activating the parts of the brain that regulated sleep. She gradually started increasing the melatonin levels. "Dormite, dormite, dormite," she whispered urging them to sleep.
It took over ten minutes of concentrating on regulating her power flow before a hand caressed her shoulder.
"They're asleep, my one and only," Micah said softly.
As she pulled back the last bit of her power her knees buckled and she was swept up in her mate's arms.
"We're heading to the Culpepper stand," Micah whispered.
Serenity struggled to keep her eyes open. "Laelia, Radclyffe?"
"We're here," said a soft voice at her side. Serenity turned her head and smiled at her friends. Laelia's face looked pale but otherwise she seemed fine. "Thank the gods you came when you did. We just finished up their snacks when they started to get out of control."
"Your power?" Serenity asked.
Laelia shook her head. "Doing better than yours."
Rheia hurried over. "Is she alright?"
Serenity nodded. "Just knackered."
Rheia looked over her shoulder at the room. "How long do we have before they wake?"
Serenity yawned. "Twelve to fifteen hours for sure. If you don't have catheters in, you may want to tell the parents to get them in diapers."
Rheia chewed on her lower lip. "Can you guarantee me they will be out for at least twelve hours?"
Laelia placed a comforting hand on Rheia's shoulder. "If Serenity said twelve it will be twelve, at the very least. I'd be surprised if the kids wake up again before breakfast tomorrow. Right now, they are sleeping better than anyone in the city. Serenity pumped them full of melatonin."
Rheia exhaled. "I'm going to get the parents to diaper the kids then see if we can coax them to get some sleep. The twins widened the alcoves the beds are in to accommodate the visitor chair beds, it's time they were put to use. We'll rotate nursing duties to keep the kids clean and comfortable." She turned to Laelia and Radclyffe. "You two are off duty. You are essentially our only form of medicine. Go home, sleep, relax and recharge. Doctor's orders."
Marjoram walked over to Rheia and pointed to the door. "I'll take care of the parents. I'm sending you girls down to Level One for some rest. We'll all catch up in the antechamber before dinner."
Ellie and Anne walked up with their mates. Anne wrapped an arm around Rheia. "We're heading down now. Kendrick and I will be attending the Level One meeting so you and Ellie can get some rest. If anything crazy happens, I'll tell you all about it."
Serenity looked up at Micah. "We need to go get Meryn."
Kendrick's eyes darted around the room. "She's not here, is she?"
Micah shook his head. "No we sent her Mr. Culpepper's stand the second we saw what was happening."
Kendrick's eyes widened. "Alone?"
Serenity snorted. "Of course not, she has her squire with her."
Kendrick looked relieved. "Let's go collect our midget and head to Level One."
Serenity thought about asking Micah to put her down, but she was really comfortable. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
Micah ran his lips back and forth on her forehead before kissing her. "As soon as we get Meryn we'll head back to my place."
Serenity sighed. "As much as I want to go relax in your garden, I think we should go to that meeting then check o
n Vivi. She's pregnant too and the stress has to be getting to her."
Micah's eyes were filled with worry. "You expended a lot of magic getting these kids to sleep. You need your rest."
"I can rest during the meeting. I'm not presenting or anything. I just want to listen." She leaned closer. "I can also tell when heart rates change or if people start sweating. Gavriel and Magnus may need feedback later."
Micah snuggled her close. "Between you and Meryn any guilty parties don't stand a chance."
"What do you mean?"
He winked. "Tell you downstairs."
"Meryn, come on," Rheia called as they walked up to the vendor's stand.
Meryn's head popped out from behind the canvas flap. "Are the kids done being bat shit crazy?"
Rheia covered her face with her palm. "Oh, Meryn," she murmured.
Meryn walked out with Ryuu behind her. "What? Tell me what I saw in there wasn't a prime example of bat shit crazy."
Kendrick could only nod. "You are absolutely correct Meryn. Now, come on. It's time to go be entertained by the Level One meeting."
Meryn's eyes lit up. "Sweet!"
Rheia looked over to Serenity. "Politics is like one big game to them."
Kendrick raised a brow. "One we're very good at."
Rheia yawned. "Well I'm skipping this one. I know Kari will have the entire thing transcribed, in triplicate and color coded by dinner so I'll catch the highlights then."
Ellie smiled. "You're right, she will. I don't feel so bad about skipping it myself."
Grant nuzzled her neck. "You need to rest. You were with the kids all morning. We'll leave Benji with Adora a bit longer and take a nap."
Laelia and Radclyffe waved and headed toward the guest house they were staying at with Marjoram. The rest made their way to the tunnel and separated once they got to Level One. Ellie and Grant waved and kept walking toward the Ambrosios quarters. Rheia went inside the Rioux quarters heading toward their guest rooms while everyone else veered left toward the meeting room.
Right outside the doorway Micah gently set her on her feet. "I wish I could hold you all day."
"Your arms would fall off," she joked as they walked in and took the seats reserved for them in the front. Around the entire perimeter of the room unit warriors stood, their feet slightly apart and their hands clasped behind them. Instead of sitting next to his mate, Aiden stood by the stage looking out at the crowd.
