“You will not make demands of me, Father. Nor will you threaten me again.” He nodded, afeared once again of his son. “When will you learn that I am far stronger than you are? That I hold all the magic that came with the castle, simply because my mother made sure of it. And someday soon it will rise again, and you will never see it.”
“You think me to be killed by your kin? I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, young Caelin, but as king, I can call the dragon long before they get their heads out of their asses and figure out how to do it.” Caelin said nothing. Here was a face that he’d never play a game of chance with; he gave no visible signs of what he was thinking. “Why don’t you concede to me? Have them give me the pieces that they now have, and I’ll let them live. For a bit longer, at least.”
“They cannot die.” He asked him what he meant. “They’re immortals. True immortals, in that nothing will kill them. None of them, nor those that they bring to their hearts. I thought you should know that, in the event that you think to kill one of them now.”
“No, you don’t have the power to do that.” Caelin shrugged. “Well, it matters little. I will come out on top of this all. You wait and see. I have plans that no one knows about.”
“If you believe so. So you are going to turn down my offers? You have no wish for the money or magic?” Butler started to tell him no, but thought of something that he’d like to have. “I’m not going to heal you, Father. That is going to be your downfall, you being hurt. I wish all the time that I’d been able to kill you then, but I know that things must be done in order. And you dying by my hand, it will be of little use to them. No, I’m not going to give you any magic to use.”
“You are an ungrateful cur, that’s what you are. Nothing more than a little piss of a thing that your mother was too ashamed to bring to me when you were birthed.” He wanted to see him angry, to see if his temper matched his own, but all he did was laugh, like he had no cares in the world at all. “Are you such a pussy whipped being that you will not allow yourself to grow angry, boy? You’re much like your mother, I think. Do you whelp children too? Nurse them, perhaps?”
“If you’re trying to anger me, it won’t work. Not about my children nor wife. I love them, and would do anything for them. And with them. I will not engage with you on that level.” He asked him what it would take for him to be angered. “Nothing you can say or do will make me mad. I am a man with a purpose, a plan that will end this between us once and for all.”
“You think that, do you? And what am I to do, Caelin? Allow it to happen? To let you, like your mother did, take everything from me? I won’t. I will see you both dead before I will be duped again. By anyone.” He nearly reached up to touch his part in all this, the necklace that would give him it all. “Be gone with you. I have no desire to waste my breath talking to a momma’s boy who is no more a son to me than one of my daughters was.”
“Yes, I can see that, Father.” He wanted to get up and slap the boy—a man really—but didn’t want to be hurt. His son, so much like his mother that he would have hated him no matter how this turned out. Even his looks, fine bones, and hair, made Butler envious of him. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him, and he looked as fit as anyone that he’d ever encountered. With his body dressed in the modern-day clothing, he could have passed for one of those men that were on the cover of paper books he’d seen. The ones where they were holding a beautiful half-dressed woman.
After his son left him, Butler needed to lie down. However, he’d not been out looking for things, so had neither a bed nor a chair to sit his body in. Even the chair that had been his for the seating was gone, in its place a pile of rubble like that of his former house.
He needed to get to one of the women. Just one. And once he had her in his hands, the others would fall apart. Butler knew women and the way that they led men around by their dicks. Especially this generation of them. Once he was able to get the woman, any of them, in his clutches, he’d have the entire set, and then there would be hell to pay. As much as he hated waiting around, the need to find a witch to give him what he needed was well past time. That had to be his first duty, to end this. Butler was going to win, and then they’d see what he was about.
~~~
The wedding was beautiful, and the guests seemed to be enjoying the food. Lewis had outdone himself on this, and the cake that Emma had made was a masterpiece. Everything, right down to the decorations on the tables, was just what she’d wanted. Aisha walked to her son and hugged him to her.
“You did it.” He said that he couldn’t get over the cake. “Yes, me either. Did you have any idea that she was going to make it into a castle with a dragon climbing up the side? My goodness, Lewis. I know that most of the people here haven’t any idea of the connection, but we do, and I cannot believe that she did this. It’s far better than I could have hoped for. And the food. You should be serving these sort of items all the time.”
“Mostly I will be, and a few others. When we open tomorrow night, we’re only going to start with a few meals. I have beef stroganoff, and chicken alfredo for those who don’t care for red meat.” Aisha told him that was an excellent plan. “Since we’re all getting our feet wet with this wedding, I’m going to also start slow in the restaurant. There will be wine, of course. As well as bread and salads. Desserts too, thanks to Emma, but the rest will be testing mode. I don’t want to overwhelm anyone.”
“We’ll be here.” Lewis kissed her on the cheek. “I have one more thing I have in store for you. I’ve gone ahead and planned your wedding out as well. I thought that there wasn’t a better time than today to get you two hitched up.”
“We were married this morning.” She glared at him. “It was my idea, so you can’t blame anyone but me. After this thing with Clayton, I thought that Raven should be really married to me instead of just my saying so, in case he gets nasty.”
“That man is going to go to prison if he doesn’t watch himself. I heard that he’d made a big stink at the bank this afternoon too. About how you’d been in his place before the papers were signed. He didn’t own it until then, so what’s the big deal?” Lewis told her that he’d not been in the place since before he’d had dinner with the man. “Well, I’m glad you did it the way you did. Things would have gone better had there not been a murder too, but I think you and Raven have done good by the man. I don’t really care what he thinks happened, he needs to rein himself in.”
She knew about the money. They all did, as a matter of fact. It was going to go for a lot of good causes, and she was happy that they’d had a nice service for the dead man too. He wasn’t a nice person, not from what she’d overheard the boys talking about, but he was buried now, in a good place, and that was the end of it. The fact that he’d left behind all the money was just karma to her. And they were going to make very good use of it.
“I was thinking that we’d set aside a fund for you to use as well. For book bags and such. Grady said he’d run it for you, keeping the books and all. And that when it came time to add to it, the fundraisers that you hold would just make it so that many more kids can get a good start.” She hugged him. “Did you know that Jasmine and Gabe are working it so that there is hot food for the kids in the morning instead of just a box of cereal? Also, a coat drive has been put on the books for the kids. We might not have been able to do that had it not been for this man.”
“Yes, he’s done a lot of people up right.” They watched as Dalton and Gabe moved around the room talking to people. “I’m so proud of you all. I just wish Vance could have been here to see the reception. I can’t wait for him to stop this nonsense and be at home more.”
“I think that is his plan too.” Aisha knew that they thought she had no idea what Vance was up to. Well, she didn’t know all of it, but she knew enough that she worried for him. He worked for the government, and was in trouble with someone higher up. Who, she didn’t know, but she knew that Vance was planning to take care of that as well. “Mom, Gavin and you,
you guys have been doing some amazing things lately. I was wondering if the two of you would do me a favor. I need someone to help with the animals that we have on the farm.”
“You have a farm?” He nodded and told her about the goats and donkeys they had. As well as the unicorn. “I think I’d like to come out and see them soon. A unicorn. Had you asked me, I would have said they didn’t exist. Yes, we can help you. What is it you think you need from us?”
“The donkeys are going to have foals soon, before winter. I want to make it so that they can have kids come out and see them.” She looked at him with a million questions in her mind. “I think it would do some of the handicapped a world of good to come out and pet a few animals, don’t you? And Raven is going to see about getting a couple of smaller animals. Chickens, and perhaps a cow or two. We’ll be a real farm in no time.”
“My son, the farmer.” They both laughed. “I’m wondering if anytime soon you’ll be serving up goat cheese and the like.”
“That’s the plan.” Again she was astonished by him. When he hugged her and left, she went in search of Raven. That girl had made her quiet son into someone that she liked. Not that she didn’t love him before, but now he nearly glowed with happiness. As soon as she hugged her, Aisha knew something was wrong.
“What is it? What do I need to do to help you hide the body? Or bodies.” They both laughed, and she could have sworn that there was a touch of sadness in Raven’s eyes. “Raven, honey, what is it? You can tell me anything.”
“I know that. And you’re the best mother-in-law a woman could have.” She hugged her again, and Aisha felt better. “I want to warn you about something. It’s important, so I want you to listen.”
“I don’t want to know.” Raven told her that she’d be safer if she did. “I can’t be killed, and I have my family right here with me. Not Vance though, but the rest of you. And I have another daughter-in-law coming. I couldn’t be happier. Anything you tell me, or warn me about, it’s just going to depress me, and I don’t want that.”
“He’s going to take you.” She asked her who. “Byron Clayton. He’s going to take you tonight, and you need to be prepared for it. As soon as you leave here.”
“This isn’t the first time someone has tried this.” She said that she knew that. “All right. Do I need to have a posse with me? Do I need to get my gun out now?”
“No. I’d like for you to let him take you. He won’t mean to hurt you if you resist, but if you go with him, wherever it is, we’ll find you. But when he takes you, he’ll be breaking the law. And everything will be back to where it should be.” Aisha wasn’t sure what that meant, but told her she’d go with him. “Good. And when you’re free of him, I’d like to give you a little magic to keep you safer, if you don’t mind.”
“All right. I’m not even going to ask what it is. You just give it to me and I’ll try not to kill anyone.... Is that why you’re waiting for me to get it after he takes me? You’re afraid that I’ll kill him?” Raven nodded. “That bird of yours, he’s been keeping an eye on me too, hasn’t he? I have to tell you, child, he scares me a little. Not that he’s ever tried to harm me, but he talks, and that takes some getting used to.”
“Yes. But I have to tell you, he thinks that you hate him.” She said that she didn’t. “I know that, and you do, but he doesn’t. Poe, for all his magic, is a very insecure little guy. I love him to pieces, but he wants, more than anything, for you to like him, even a little.”
“How would I go about that? Making him sure that I like him?” She put out her hand when asked to and looked down at the kernels of corn. “That’s all? Just give him some corn? I can do that.”
“Not just corn, though that is one of his favorites. But even just talking to him when he’s near you. Call him to where you are. He’s very tame, and won’t ever harm you.” Raven laughed. “He thinks himself a good chess player. Do you play?” She said that she did, but wasn’t all that good at it. “Neither is he, but he loves to think that he is.”
She was thinking about that as she left the restaurant. What would people think if they saw her sitting on her front porch, playing chess with a big raven? Laughing at the sight they’d make, she didn’t hear the person come up behind her until he grabbed her from behind. When she turned to look at him, it scared her to no end to see the insanity in Byron’s eyes.
“You’re coming with me.” She nodded at him and told him not to hurt her. “Like I care if you get a few cuts and bruises. That son of yours, he took something that belonged to me, and I want you to get it back for me.”
“Get what back for you?” He told her to mind her own business. That had her pissed off. “You are making me come with you under some guise of getting back at my son for some reason, and you don’t think that’s any of my business? You need to have your head examined if you think that’s going to fly with any of my boys. What is this all about?”
“There was money in that building he sold me, and I want it back.” Aisha crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to continue. “I had plans for that money, and he took it.”
“So? What do you think he’s going to do when he finds out that you kidnapped his mom? Do you think he’s going to walk up to you and say, ‘Sorry, Byron, here’s your money. Please let my mom go.’ No, he’s going to hurt you. More than likely kill you. And then what are you going to do with that money? Nothing…you’ll be dead, you moron.”
“It’s mine.” She hit him much like she would have one of her own sons when they were being stupid. “I have a gun. I will use it on you.”
“No you don’t. Had you a gun you would have waved it around like you would your dick, trying to impress a woman. Let me tell you, young man, I do not impress easily. Now, what do you think about this plan? You let me go, and I won’t say a word to anyone about how stupid you are.” He told her to shut up. “You have a lot of orders for someone that is trying to keep you alive.”
“I want that money.” She told him that his idea was going to get him killed. “No, no it won’t. I’ll leave the country. Buy me a boat and maybe an island, where I can live happily ever after.”
Aisha slapped him across the face hard. And when he hit the ground, she put her booted foot on his chest and held him there. The nerve of some people. When he started to rise up, she told him to stay still or she’d ram her heel into his heart and kill him herself.
“You’re a fool, Byron Clayton. Your momma, God rest her poor old soul, would be embarrassed to see what you’re up to. That money is going to a lot of good causes. Coats for kids. A hot meal or two for some people that won’t otherwise have any. Perhaps a suit for a job interview, as well as helping someone out on their bills. You should be happy that he found it before you. It would never have made you as happy as it will the people that will use it.” Byron told her that Lewis would use it for himself. “No, that’s what you were going to do with it. You know my sons well enough to know that they’d never steal anything to help themselves. And you know as well as I do that money belonged to Lewis. You should have reported it instead of letting the poor man lie there without a care in the world.”
“I lost everything.” She looked up and saw that Raven and Lewis were in front of the rest of her family. “I have nothing left. I used it all to get that building.”
“I tell you what, Byron. You come and work for my family, for that money. You see what it can do for people who have done without for so long. You help them spend it helping others, and I’ll help you get back on your feet.” He looked at her, and she could see that he’d been crying. “I’ll help you, Byron, if you help yourself.”
“Why would you do that? I was going to kidnap you and hurt you for that money.” She said that there was enough violence going on in the world. “I don’t know what to do, Mrs. McCade. I really did bet everything on that cash.”
“Well, now you can bet everything on helping spend it. In the right way.” He nodded, and she put out her hand to help him up. “Byron, I do
n’t offer my hand to many people, so you’d better take it and what I’m offering you. I’d surely hate to have to explain to the cops on my son’s wedding day how I had to kill a man before he hurt me.”
When he was upright, she hugged him to her. Of all the hugs she’d gotten tonight, she thought this one meant the most to her. A man down on his luck, like so many others were, had been as close to hurting her as her own husband used to, and she’d been able to walk away without having to put a bullet in his head. Thinking of that, she put her gun back in her pocket book and joined Byron in the restaurant for some food. Aisha was glad now that she’d been warned. She might have shot first and talked later had she not.
Chapter 9
“You hired a man that was going to kidnap you for the money that rightfully belonged to me. I don’t understand why you would do something like that.” Lewis looked at Raven. She’d been smiling since Byron had shown up at the restaurant last evening. “You can’t think this is a good idea. Do you?”
“Yes. What were you going to use the money for? To give people a hand up, correct?” He didn’t like her logic. “What better way to prove to someone that you’re going to do just that than to hire a man who was more down on his luck than most, and desperate enough to maybe kill someone.”
“This is insane. The both of you are.” Lewis looked at his mom when she cleared her throat. “You are not going to reprimand me when you have done something like this. What if he had shot you, then what would you have done? Given him the keys to your car to drive off with?”
He knew he’d gone too far when Mom stood up…she was not one to fuck around with. But instead of backing down, or even letting her hit him in the forehead like she was known to do, he hugged her to him. Tightly, making sure that her hands were between them.
Lewis: The McCade Dragon –Erotic Paranormal Romance Page 10
