Vinnie’s last glance of Godfrey was of him battered and bruised on the floor, his perfect eyes sad, his shoulders drooping and dejected, before Darnell took Nina’s smaller hand in his big one and instructed Vinnie and Oliver to hold on to her hoodie.
And in the blink of an eye, they were back in her kitchen as though nothing had ever happened.
Except something had.
Something Vinnie knew would forever change her.
Chapter 16
“Vinnie, you okay?” Oliver asked as she sat in his backyard in a chair on the patio under the watchful eye of Darnell, the chilly wind blowing, the leaves dancing about.
She swiped her finger under her eyes and tugged her knit cap down over her ears. “I’m fine. I just needed a moment of quiet.” She burrowed under the blanket Arch had brought her and looked up at the starless sky, appearing so close, she felt like she could touch it.
“It’s late,” Oliver reminded as he pulled up a chair across from her and held out his hand. When she took it willingly, Oliver began to rub some warmth into her fingers. “And cold.”
She nodded and looked down at her lap with a shrug. “I like the cold. It helps me think.”
“So what are you thinking about? Do you mind if I ask?”
Vinnie stared off into the distance, not really seeing anything at all but Godfrey’s face, and it wasn’t the face you’d think would stay with her. “I know it’s ludicrous, but that demon’s face…Godfrey’s face when we were leaving him there? It’s haunting me.”
“But the pus-dripping one you told us about isn’t?”
“Okay, that was gag-worthy scary. Yes. But I mean the one just as we were zapped out of there. He looked lost, sad. I realize he probably wanted you because he wanted to use your horn as leverage to barter his way out of there, but if it was because he was trying to escape Hell, who could blame him?”
Godfrey’s helplessness, the dejected slump of his shoulders, his green eyes so full of sorrow, was what was had driven her outside. The image refused to leave her brain.
“He’s a bad demon, Vinnie. You heard what Darnell said, didn’t you?”
She’d heard all about Godfrey and how bad he was. “I did, and I totally understand what he’s capable of.”
Oliver tilted her chin up. “So you feel sorry for him?”
“I guess I do. I mean, you did hear Darnell’s story about how he was tricked into selling his soul all those years ago, right? Darnell did what he did for the financial health of his family, but he’s not a bad demon. Don’t we all, somewhere along the way, do things like that?”
Oliver clucked his tongue. “I can’t say I remember the last time I sold my soul, Vinnie…”
She looked at him then, her voice determined when she spoke. “You know what I mean, Oliver. We all do things for survival, and sometimes they’re not so nice. Godfrey didn’t have a choice about who he is. He was created for the express purpose of evil, but maybe he’s evolved enough that he doesn’t want the life—the only life he knows—that the devil forced on him.”
Oliver visibly shuddered and nodded. “I do know what you mean, and I’m sorry you’re so sad. I don’t know that there’s anything I can do, but I’m here if you think I can help.”
“Forget it. I know I have to let that sleeping dog lie. So, let’s talk about how you’re feeling.”
“Like everyone under the paranormal sun wants a piece of me and these people have lives they need to get back to. You do, too. They—you—can’t stay here forever.”
Vinnie gazed at him, her expression soft as she tilted her lips upward in a small smile. “I have every faith they’re going to figure this out, Oliver. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but people are working behind the scenes as we speak.”
He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, leaving her insides warm despite the cold. “But will they work fast enough, Vin? I don’t ask that because I want them to get it together. I ask that because I’m terrified someone’s going to get hurt when the next evil whatever comes for my horn and me. Namely, you.”
“But I’m fine,” she protested. “Really.” Admittedly, a little banged up, but fine.
Oliver made a face. “Vinnie, he slammed you up against a wall. A wall of flames. I’ve never seen anything like that place and I never want to again. You have a bruise the size of Texas on your shoulder and one side of your face looks like you ran into a semi. What if the next time you’re not bruised, but dead? I can’t live with that. I won’t.”
Her hand instantly went to her face, which was indeed swollen and bruised from her run-in with the wall. “I can only tell you that I believe these women are going to figure it out before it comes to that. But there’s no way they’d leave you now anyway. No way I’d leave you to your own devices. So if that’s where you’re going, forget it.”
He dropped her hand and sat back in the lawn chair. Closing his eyes, he ran his hand through his hair with a grating sigh. “I don’t know where I’m going. I only know people are crawling out of the woodwork to get to this horn, and I happen to be the unfortunate fool who owns it. For all the effort put into keeping it quiet, that mission failed. In the process, you’ve ended up hurt and who knows how many people know I exist. You heard what the ladies said, Vinnie. People are going to keep coming for me unless something’s done. I don’t have to worry about just one lunatic, I have to worry about all of them.”
The dark night felt as though it were closing in on them, its midnight claws reaching out to grab at her until she squirmed in her chair. “If I ever discover who found out about you and told everyone else and started this whole mess, I’ll kill them myself. But I’d sure like to know the snitch of origin.”
“Still the million dollar question,” Oliver responded, though his voice was filled with defeat. “But does it matter if we have an answer anymore? The question is still the same. Who’s coming for me by way of you or one of the girls—or, God forbid, Carl—next? And would it be long before they discover where my family is? I gotta be honest, Vinnie. That terrifies me. How could I explain this horn to them, let alone the paranormal?”
Vinnie swallowed hard. She couldn’t imagine having to explain to the people she loved a world they thought only existed in the movies.
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right. But if you’d like, when things calm down, I’d be happy to go with you to talk to your family. To ease them into this.”
Oliver rubbed his forehead, but she saw the war he was waging about this displayed in his eyes.. “Thanks, Vinnie.”
Vinnie eyeballed his horn, beautiful and glittery under the moonlight, still growing by the day. “Hey, how does the horn feel these days, anyway? Does it still hurt if you bump into it?”
Oliver grimaced, his chiseled face and deep dimples accentuated. “It’s sensitive, for sure. I mean, I definitely know it’s there, but other than that, it’s just the weird thing on my head.”
She grinned at him, tucking her scarf tighter around her neck. “You know, on the bright side, that horn would make a badass Halloween costume. You’d definitely win for most authentic costume.”
He laughed good-naturedly. “You have a point. Hey, you know, I was wondering something else. It’s been bugging me since this started, and it might sound silly, but I guess we’re beyond that and well into the outlandish now.”
She cocked her head and gave him a questioning look. “What’s that?”
“Am I going to turn into a horse when this thing is done growing? Like, will I need to DIY a stable out back and fill it with some hay? Every unicorn I’ve ever seen isn’t some random guy with a horn sticking out of his head. It’s a horse with a rainbow-colored horn. Maybe I haven’t finished shifting and that’s what my end result is going to be?”
Vinnie snorted a laugh as a picture of Oliver as a horse with a sparkly horn, prancing around in his backyard, flashed in her mind’s eye. “You know, I never thought of that, and I don’t have an answer. And here we were wondering how you were goi
ng to live with this horn, but maybe you just answered your own question. I think you’ve found your new calling in life, Baldwin. You can do princess parties. Every princess needs a unicorn, right?”
“A unicorn definitely needs a princess. Will you be my princess?” he asked, giving her a lascivious wink.
Her cheeks flushed and her heart skipped a beat, but she somehow kept her cool. “Maybe. But I have conditions,” she teased.
“Oh yeah. Like?”
“Like, only if I get a castle. It’s off if there’s no castle, buddy. Oh, and a turret. There must be a turret so I can survey my kingdom from on high. And a moat. Can you DIY me a moat?”
“I’d be happy to. I mean, there must be a How-To vid on YouTube for a moat, right? But one question.”
“Shoot,” she said, amused.
“As a unicorn, will I have opposable thumbs?”
That’s when they both started to laugh. Laugh until Vinnie’s stomach hurt and she had to bend over at the waist and gasp for breath.
“Hey, you two,” Wanda called from the doorway, stepping out into the cold night. “What’s so funny?”
They looked at each other and began to laugh all over again.
Wanda smiled, but her smile was brief as she came to stand near Vinnie’s chair. “So, I have some news, guys,” she said softly—hesitantly.
“About?” Oliver asked, sitting up straight.
“What to do next. We’ve heard from the council.”
Every muscle in Vinnie’s body stiffened to the point of painful. “And?” she asked before she held her breath.
“They want to see you, Oliver. Now, before you get upset, just listen. Greg and Keegan met with select members they’d trust with their lives and negotiated a deal that they’d meet with you just to set some sort of precedent. You know, like an edict sent out to everyone that you’re not to be harmed in any way until they can figure out what to do with this power you’ve acquired. So don’t worry on that front. They’d never go back on their word with Greg and Keegan. Of that, you can be sure. And we’ll go with you, of course. No one will hurt you with us there. I promise you.”
Oliver blew out a breath. “And Alice?”
Vinnie warmed at his question. Even in a time of dire crisis, he didn’t want her mother to get in trouble. He was such a good guy.
Wanda pulled her oatmeal-colored shawl tighter around her shoulders and reached out to squeeze his hand. “We didn’t even breathe her name. I swear. We told them if they wanted to meet with us, we’d be happy to give them the details. But I want you to know, we had to do this, Oliver. We can’t have these continual attacks on you. You, or even Vinnie, could end up dead at this rate. You have to be protected. The power that horn wields is enormous. Life-changing. So we talked long and hard about it, went through all the pros and cons, and made a decision. That’s why Nina asked how you felt about finding help outside of OOPS, if we could find someone we trusted enough to handle it. I mean, we don’t even know how word got out about you, let alone how to deal with this. It’s all just too risky to leave to luck and the universe.”
Oliver exhaled and gave her a small smile. “It’s a relief, really, Wanda. I couldn’t live with myself if one of you were hurt looking out for me. I’m fine with going to this council.”
Wanda smiled at him with deep warmth in her eyes. “You’re a lovely man, Oliver, and we’ve all grown so fond of you. I swear as I’m standing here, if it’s the last thing we do, we won’t let them run roughshod over you. But that horn of yours feels like it’s growing by the hour. We have to do something. We’ll make a deal to have you protected somehow and still have a life semi intact. I don’t know what that means, or how that’ll evolve, but we’ll help all the way.”
Vinnie gulped away her emotions. Man, this had been some journey, and now it sounded as though it might come to a decent enough end, and that warmed her heart. She was so glad she’d met these people. It had changed her life in more ways than one.
“I’ll help, too, of course, Oliver. I might not have superpowers, but I know way more than anyone should about every faction of the paranormal.”
Oliver grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “When does this meeting happen?”
Wanda winced, but then her earlier smile returned. “In two days. And we’re all going with you. All of us. Greg and Keegan, and my husband Heath—” Wanda stopped speaking quite suddenly, her hand going to her belly.
And that was when Vinnie saw the puddle at her feet, glistening in the moonlight.
She hopped up and grabbed Wanda’s hand. “Wanda! Are you all right?”
But Wanda bit her lip and winced, shaking her head.
Oliver rose, too, and gave Vinnie a questioning glance. “What’s going on?”
Wanda patted both of them on the arm and turned, but she stopped for a moment to look over her shoulder and say quite calmly with a wink and a smile, “I think I’m in labor. Hallelujah!” Before she waddled off back into the house.
“Shouldn’t we be at a hospital for this?” Oliver whispered to Vinnie at the doorway to his bedroom. Though, he wasn’t sure why he was whispering, because no one else was, that’s for sure.
“Puuush, pushpushpushpush, Wanda!” Nina hollered as she and Marty held one of their friend’s hands and Wanda’s husband, Heath, held the other.
“Apparently, they were going to have a home birth anyway. That’s what Nina told me,” Vinnie whispered back. “She said Arch got his birthing doula certificate or something like that, just for this occasion. I guess he’s not just an amazing cook. I heard Heath say he couldn’t get in touch with the midwife, but what are you going to do? If a baby is ready, a baby’s ready. There was no time to get her to the hospital. She went from zero to a hundred in like five seconds.”
Arch pushed his way past them into Oliver’s master bedroom, where Wanda lay on his bed, knees up and still looking as elegant as anyone can be when they’re in agonizing pain.
But all that changed when a contraction hit her so hard she yanked her hands from Heath and Nina and clenched the sheets with white-knuckled fists.
Arch propped himself on the edge of the bed next to Heath and wiped her brow with a cool cloth. “Miss Wanda, you must listen to me. With the next contraction, you must bear down. Do you understand me?”
“Yes!” she yelled up into his placid face, rearing upward, seething and red-faced. “I fucking understand, okay? What about plain English don’t you think I understand?”
Both Vinnie and Oliver blanched. Wanda didn’t swear. She didn’t even get angry. Holy Toledo. Giving birth must really, really suck.
“Right on, Potty Mouth,” Nina said on a laugh, patting her friend’s hand. “Now I know you’re in this shit to win it.”
Wanda’s eyes went wide and wild as she grabbed Nina by the front of her hoodie and hauled her close. “Shut the fuck up, Mistress of the Night, or I’m going to rip your lips off your body!”
Nina peeled Wanda’s fingers from her hoodie and kissed her forehead, her tone appeasing. “I’m so fucking proud of you right now, and that’s why I’m gonna let your preggers ass live.”
“Here it comes,” Wanda panted, sweat dripping off her forehead. “Heeere—it—coomes!” As she grunted and sat forward, Heath pushed his way in behind her and cradled her between his legs to brace her body.
“Push, honey!” he urged. “That’s it! Push!”
Oliver grimaced, because Wanda looked like someone was severing her limbs. He wasn’t much for seeing someone in pain, but this cinched the deal. Also, he really liked Wanda. He’d hate to see anyone in this much pain, but especially not someone as nice her.
Looking over his shoulder and down the hall, he checked to see how Carl was faring. He held Heath and Wanda’s other child, a toddler named Sam. Carl rocked him on a chair Darnell had brought with him so he could read.
Now, he read Goodnight Moon to little Sam, and he was slow and stilted, but so damn amazingly persistent in his effort to learn how to
talk, Oliver’s breath caught in his throat seeing them together.
Sam, according to Nina, was half zombie, but Oliver had to admit, he’d have never known. Heath had brought him along so he could meet his new brother or sister and they could bond, and he was the sweetest kid. Chubby, happy, and healthy.
Vinnie’s animals had gathered on Darnell’s lap next to Calamity, somehow sleeping through the ruckus in his bedroom, and Baloney slept contentedly in Carl’s pocket.
This picture, the one he’d always had in his mind when it came to having a family, was exactly what he’d imagined.
Okay, maybe someone having a baby on his bed hadn’t been part of that picture, and the players weren’t paranormal at the time he’d dreamed them up, but he had no trouble at all adjusting his vision of what a family should be.
Now more than ever, he knew this was what he wanted, and he hoped to be able to find it—to fill his life with these kinds of people. People you could trust beyond keeping secrets and confidences.
He hoped to pursue this thing with Vinnie, too. His attraction to her grew with each passing day, and today, when that crazed demon had her in his clutches, he realized he had a real crush on her. A crush he wanted to pursue when this was all settled.
But first he had to get this thing with the council out of the way—he had to figure out how to live with this thing sticking out of his head without having to worry everyone and their werewolf was going to come gunning for him.
He also had to understand it. Oliver knew there would be choices he had to make, if what had happened with Arch’s hand was any indication of what might always happen when he used his horn to help others. But he hoped to find someone to help him with that.
Someone a lot wiser than he’d ever be.
“I think the baby’s coming!” Vinnie said, tugging on his arm in excitement.
He refocused his attention on Wanda once more to find Arch was now at the foot of the bed, the tuft of hair on his head falling forward, his glasses on, hands at the ready.
ACCIDENTAL UNICORN, THE Page 18
