by Alexie Aaron
Orion pulled out a phone. “Here’s a picture.”
“Send that to me,” Mia said. “He looks so serious standing there with his tongue sticking out.”
“All us Stavroses use our tongues to steer with,” Orion said.
“I took the kids to The Rock to see if I could interest Brian in something other than reading. I swear, if Noah hadn’t come along, the kid would never play.”
“It’s nice to have a best friend to push you into things. A little peer pressure is good.”
“I guess so. So, what are you pushing me into?” Mia asked.
“I want you to make up with Nicholai.”
“No. I think it’s best we stay away from each other,” Mia said. “I’m not mature enough to take rejection gracefully.”
“He’s pressing.”
“He has to learn patience. I have some work to do with Baxter before I’m going to be able to turn the other cheek. He thought I was capable of seducing Enos. He doesn’t see anything wrong with me having babies until I’m all used up.”
“That’s you being tired talking. Go grab a nap and don’t embarrass me by arriving at the meeting dressed like a homeless person.”
Mia looked at the condition of her clothes and winced. “Don’t insult the homeless, they have enough problems.”
~
“Come in,” Mia said, responding to the knock on her door. Angelo walked in and looked at her. “You’re not dressed yet.”
“No,” she said, standing there wrapped in a bath sheet. “I have no idea what to wear. Is this a firing squad or a hanging?”
“What would you wear to a hanging?” he asked indulgently.
“This tunic.”
“That’s an angel tunic.”
“It’s not even mine. I don’t know how I got it. Maybe when I was doing Altair’s laundry…”
“Wear it. It will send a message that you’re not some hybrid that can be pushed around. If you had Abigor’s colors, I’d tell you to wear them.”
“Really?” Mia squeaked.
“These people are so old that they keep drifting back to the old days. What happened a year ago is forgotten, but they remember the great chariot races. It gives me a headache.”
Mia looked at Angelo. She saw the dark circles under his eyes. She imagined the fight he had on his hands, the endless meetings, and yet, he took the time to make sure Mia was comfortable. “I am a spoiled brat,” Mia realized.
“I’m sorry, what are you talking about?” he asked puzzled.
“Nicholai said I was a spoiled brat. I didn’t like it because I could speak for days about what I had to go through, what I had to do, what I had to put up with. A lot of I’s. I don’t think about what others are going through, only what I’m dealing with.”
“You’re kind and caring, Mia. I think you’re tired and aren’t seeing things clearly.”
“Again, you’re trying to soothe when you should be telling me off. I’m sorry, I’m difficult. What do you want out of this meeting with The Twelve?”
“Listen, and before you react, think about your family. You have four winged children who could be such a wonderful addition to the Brotherhood. But they also need to be able to exist in the human world. We all need to. My life has been easy. My mother and her family provided for my creature comforts, and I was loved and indulged. Your life was much different. You can bring a perspective that is necessary if the culture is going to change.”
“Why do you keep saving me?” Mia asked.
“It’s in my nature to do so. It’s who I am.”
“I’m not talking about you being a hero, or heroic. But why save me?”
“Because I can’t imagine living in a world in which you don’t arrive on my doorstep wrinkled, hungry, and bitchy. Now get dressed. After, I’ll reward you with a feast.”
“Now that’s a bribe I will take advantage of,” Mia said.
~
Mia walked down the steps following a novice Gray Lady. She had taken the time to do her hair like Abigor’s concubines had fixed it. She managed to wrap the angel rope around her, giving Altair’s garment some shape. Simple sandals replaced her normal combat boots. She took a deep breath before she entered the large conference room.
Orion walked forward and hissed. “You’re late.”
“All this just doesn’t happen. It takes time,” she whispered back.
Orion introduced Mia around. She would never remember all their names. She would call the men sir. That left Liú Bo and Hana Parata. Even as nervous as she was, surely Mia could remember two names.
“Will everyone take a seat around the round table? Mia, please sit to my right, Orion on her right, thank you.” When everyone had settled, Angelo said, “As requested, I will put the meeting in Liú Bo’s hands.”
“Thank you, Angelo. First of all, it has been a few hard days, and I am proud of all of you for making the effort to once again come together to find a solution to our problem.”
Mia wondered if she was the problem?
“Mrs. Martin, please accept our apologies for the tribunal you were brought before. We have all agreed that there needs to be an oversight committee to monitor the council.”
“Will there be a formal announcement declaring Mia’s innocence?” Orion asked.
“Yes, one has been drafted. Please look it over before we send it.”
“Thank you,” Orion said.
“Second, the subject of the guardianship of Genevieve and Maeve: they will stay with their parents. If something happens to you both, we understand you have human godfathers nearby to step in to protect and guide the girls. We would like you to consider a birdwoman to also be available.”
“Nanny Berta has my trust.”
Hana Parata wrote it down.
“Thirdly, we would like to discuss with you why your sterilizing yourself was an afront to the Brotherhood of the Wing culture.”
“I am Mia’s guardian,” Orion announced. “She has my full support in her decision.”
“But did she consult you before?” one of the ten males asked.
“No, it was none of my business. Mia was brought up human, her husband is human, and I’m married to a human. Human women in many cultures have the say over what happens with their bodies. The Brotherhood needs to leave the old ways behind, or we will find many birdwomen leaving.”
“Historically, a male was put in charge to protect the female because her energies were needed to raise her brood,” another male said. “However, my wife says that isn’t going to, as she said, fly in our home. I have six daughters. After hearing Claudius rant about your responsibility to bear twenty birdmen in your lifetime, I was sick to my stomach thinking of my daughters being forced into the same situation. Where has love gone? If the Brotherhood of the Wing is to survive, it will because we still value love above greed, honor service before power, and most of all, accept the strengths that integrating other cultures into our bloodline give us.”
“Yes,” Liú Bo said, “but it was an affront. Did you know what the repercussions would be before you made your decision?”
“There wasn’t much time. I was offered a way to balance what was missing in my body and help in moving a threat away from my home. After, I took pause, but I remained convinced I did the right thing. I knew it would send a message to Soren to stop courting me while my husband was alive. I knew it would free Victor Ahlberg from having to hear about contracting with me constantly, and I felt - and I’m not saying it has been proven - that someone like Quazar, for example, would arrange an accident to befall my husband so I would be available for breeding sooner.”
The Twelve were silent.
Hana turned and asked, “Would you have gone into a marriage with Soren willingly?”
“No.”
“Victor.”
“No.”
“What do you plan to do with your life after your human husband dies?” Hana asked.
“Spend it in the company of friends and family. I’d like to be of further service. I had thoughts of helping the Neyers with die Zuflucht. I will continue to honor my agreement with Michael. Also, I feel confident that I would be a good representative in negotiating with Hell. In the meanwhile, I have more to learn. A teacher has approached me. I would also like to spend time with Orion. He has a great deal of knowledge that I know I could benefit from.”
“Then, this latest tribunal hasn’t soured you on being a member of the Brotherhood of the Wing?”
“Not when you have birdmen like Angelo, the Alhbergs, Nanny Berta, and Orion in it.”
“We are going to work on legislation to give birdwomen more control over their lives. Those who wish to continue with the old ways will be allowed to do so, but the binding contracts to the Gray Ladies and Warrior Flock will cease. No longer will a family member be able to sell a female into the service. We will work on recruitment incentives instead. The Council of Elders is a tricky situation. We can’t disband it without starting a war. However, we can lessen its power. We will also seek out methods used in the demon courts to make telling the truth mandatory, not only by the accused but by the accuser. Slander will be a punishable offense.”
“I believe that will go a long way in promoting a sense of wellbeing,” Mia said. “May I make a request?”
“Go on,” Hana said.
“Poll your caregivers and put together a book, a paper, an online site that shares information on raising birdmen children in the culture. I really wish I had Nanny in place when I gave birth to Brian. I’ve made so many mistakes in ignorance. If it weren’t for Angelo taking Brian under his wing, I fear I would have made a royal mess of things.”
“I think Mrs. Martin is being overly critical. I have found Brian to be an intelligent caring individual,” Angelo said. “But Mrs. Martin is correct. We have no information in place about what happens when wings arrive too early or why a female doesn’t show her back when bringing forth her wings.”
“My mother taught me,” Hana said.
“But what if your mother was human or you had no mother?” Mia asked.
Hana wrote down the suggestion.
~
Mia followed her nose to the aerie’s kitchen. There Angelo, donned in an apron, was peeling shrimp. Mia lifted herself onto the counter and watched him.
“If you’re not to be eaten, get off the counter,” he scolded.
Mia slid off. “Can’t I help with anything?”
“Does Cid allow you to help him?”
“Not anymore.”
“Why?”
“Last time he was making ravioli, I uncrimped one of them to see what was inside.”
Angelo’s face was horrified.
“You look just like he did. I guess one isn’t supposed to peek beyond the curtain.”
“Mia, I have a feeling you did that on purpose, just to rattle him.”
Her wide grin answered for her. “Who’s all coming to dinner?” Mia asked.
“Just you. Orion headed home already. Why?” Angelo asked.
“I was going to say you needed to make more.” Mia headed for the saucepan. Angelo scooped her up and set her back on the counter where he could see her.
“Either you have given up or have turned cannibal,” Mia said, making herself comfortable.
“You would taste horrible. The amount of junk food you and Ted eat is appalling.”
“I don’t eat a lot of junk food. Lazar cooks some nice meals, and Cid… well… he turns healthy into heaven.”
“I see I have competition.”
“Your food is amazing. I have trouble not making noises of appreciation when I eat it. Baxter said that I sound like I’m having sex when I’m eating something savory.”
“How would he know how you sound?” Angelo asked.
“That’s what I asked him. He just took my plate away and made me eat on the back porch by myself.”
“I’d feel sorry for you but that’s a billion-dollar view.”
“Not if you’re battling seagulls for your bouillabaisse it isn’t.”
Angelo laughed. “How do you handle all the criticism he gives you?”
“Well, since I pay him for most of it, I sit and take it. I think about it, and then I get mad, sad or vow to do better. My days of walking off in a huff are mostly behind me. The only one I will not allow to take too many cheap shots is Lazar. I just pick him up and dump him in the cold creek in front of the house.”
“He’s a disabled veteran.”
“On day one, he said he didn’t want to be treated any different.”
“But still…”
“I think he likes the negative attention. The only time he’s nice to me is when Ralph is around. I’m Ralph’s little darling,” Mia said, putting her hands under her chin.
“I envy you, your family.”
“You wouldn’t on a school morning when chaos is present and rules the house until I drop the second child off.”
“Maybe if you were better organized.”
“I bet you stood obediently and let your mother comb your hair.”
Angelo blushed.
“And you wore your socks on your feet and not in your pocket, like Varden does if I don’t catch him.”
“I was a very good son. My room was neat, and I was respectful to my elders.”
“That is way outside my world of experience,” Mia admitted. “I envy your childhood.”
“It was lonely.”
“So was mine. I vowed to do better for my children.”
“And have succeeded so far.”
“The jury’s out on that. Speaking of the jury, did anything get accomplished in the meeting?” Mia asked.
Angelo put down his paring knife and thought a moment. “Yes. I think seeds were sown. Orion got them to publicly apologize to you. Your name should be cleared in a few years. As soon as the bird people have something else to talk about.”
“Does gossip bother you?” Mia asked.
“Sometimes. But I don’t let it stop me from accomplishing what I feel is important.”
“Good. It slows me down a bit,” Mia said. “It bothered me when Lucifer made the pirates think he ravished me below deck.”
“Do you really care what pirates think?”
“We had a tentative respect thing going on. You know in a bad girl, bad boy sort of way.”
“I’m not a bad boy so…”
“Liar!” Mia said. “You’re a bad boy.”
Angelo looked over at Mia and calmly dropped his shrimp into the sauce, lifted the lid to check on his rice, and didn’t say anything.
Mia stood up and walked over on the counter and stood looking down at him. “I know, Angelo, I know.”
Angelo looked up at her and fought the urge to grab her off the counter and show her all his bad boy thoughts. But instead, he shook his head and stayed calm. “I may have ruffed up an Other.”
“Props,” Mia said sitting down, fist-bumping with him.
“I did try to buy you.”
“Proves you have excellent taste.”
“I asked Gerald once to send me back to the Countess of Michigan Avenue’s Ball. There I would gather you in my arms instead of rejecting you. He told me the ramifications of what would have not happened if the past was changed. I love your children too much. I would miss them.”
Mia sat there spellbound.
“I love being able to talk to you like this. It’s not lust that keeps me up at night. You’re special, Mia. If moments like this are all I get, I’m grateful. Altair said that I would get tired of your elbows on the table and abhorrent manners. But he’s wrong. You’re so unique. Live your life any way you want to live it. But don’t bar your door. I just want to have conversations and maybe feed you a decent meal now and again. I don’t want you to be unfaithful to Ted with me. I just want to be your friend.”
“In other words, I s
hould stop throwing stones at you and insisting you go out and get laid.”
Angelo nodded. “I get laid, Mia. It’s none of your business.”
Mia raised and lowered her eyebrows.
“Stop it.”
“Anyone I know?”
“I warned you.” Angelo reached out, picked Mia up, and walked outside and tossed her over the wall into a snowbank.
He stood in the doorway and heard Mia laughing.
“You have ten minutes to get yourself out of the snow and get cleaned up or no supper.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Mia stood with Ted a short distance from where Debra watched the Browers lay to rest their son Warren. His parents were heartbroken, his siblings confused. Mia sympathized with them. But it was better to know that his body had been found. This way they could stop searching for him as a runaway. He hadn’t been murdered. He just was careless.
Mia had been careless as a teen, drinking herself numb and sleeping rough in the alleys of Chicago. If not for Lobo, she probably wouldn’t have made it. Mia thought about the horror she would have caused Ralph and Bernard - who would have opened their home without question to her – to find out she died just streets from them.
“Teenagers…” Mia murmured.
Ted put his arm around his wife and pulled her closer. “Remind me again about how the light treats them.”
Mia smiled. “They get the benefit of the doubt. Lensic will either put them on the to-be-reincarnated list or send them on to whatever heaven they have imagined for themselves. There are no teenagers in Purgatory. I didn’t see children either. I’ll have to ask Roumain about them if I ever see him again.”
“So, you’re not planning on going to Purgatory?”
Mia just realized she wasn’t. She turned to her husband. She looked up and said, “It’s no longer an option. I’m going to do my best to stay out of the place.”
“But if Hell is the only other option…” Ted led.
“Then I’m camping out on Roumain’s couch for an eternity.”
Ted kissed the top of her head. “The mourners are breaking up.”
