“Hungry,” Josef said, burying his face against the woman’s chest in the manner of a child suddenly turned shy.
“She’s not an outsider,” Allie said, waving toward me. “She’s a Beloved!”
“She’s also a Zorya!”
“I’ll go see if we have any fresh meat,” the woman named Edith murmured, taking the little boy away. He looked like he was about two or three, grinning and waving at me over his nanny’s shoulder.
“Now look what you’ve done,” Christian said, gesturing toward the door as it closed behind the pair. “He’s waving at her! I will not have my son endangered-”
“Oh, blow it out your piehole.” Allie snorted, stomping over to a long table. Four chairs had been set along one side of it, a single chair on the opposite side. She grabbed one of the four and hauled it over to the other side, sitting down with sublime indifference to the fact that her husband looked as if he were going to blow his top.
“Allie, my dear, a lady never refers to a gentleman’s hole, pie or otherwise, not even if that gentleman is her husband,” a disembodied voice said.
I spun around in a circle, trying to pinpoint it. A small glimmer of light at the far end of the room grew brighter, cohering into the unmistakable image of a short, dumpy female ghost. She beamed at me as Allie answered, “You have to admit that sometimes he has it coming.”
“No matter how trying a gentleman may be,” the ghost answered, switching her smile to Christian, who was now wearing an odd, martyred sort of expression, “and heaven knows dear Christian could never be considered trying, references such as that are inappropriate. How do you do. I’m Esme. Have you seen Mr. Wuggums?”
“I don’t think so,” I said hesitantly.
“Mr. Wuggums is Esme’s cat,” Allie said from her chair. “Esme, as you can see, is a ghost. I had several others, but she’s the only one who’s remained. Other than Antonio, that is, but Christian and he have an ongoing war, so Antonio only comes out when the coast is clear. And you can stop swearing at me under your breath, Christian. Just because I don’t understand Czech doesn’t mean I don’t know what you’re saying.”
Christian sputtered but, with immense control, managed to get a grip on his emotions.
“Allie, my dear,” Esme started to say, but Allie stopped her by holding up a prohibitive hand.
“Another time, please. Right now I’m more concerned with keeping Pia from being bullied than maintaining proper decorum.”
Esme pursed her lips but said nothing.
“No one is bullying anyone,” Sebastian said, moving over to stand next to Christian. “We simply wish to get the facts of the situation.”
“If you will take a seat, we can begin the hearing,” Christian said, gesturing me to the chair next to Allie. He shot his wife a look that she met with raised chin and crossed arms.
“Yes, I will, but . . . um . . . this might be out of line, but are you by any chance looking for Ostri?” I asked Esme, who was humming softly to herself.
“Ostri?” she asked, looking surprised for a moment. “I’m afraid I don’t know him. Is he a friend of yours? I do love it when we have visitors.”
“Ostri is kind of like heaven,” I said, at a bit of a loss to explain it to a ghost. “I’m a Zorya, you see. It’s my job to take people to wherever it is they’re supposed to go.”
“Oh! You’re just like Allie! Only I’ve never heard of Ostri.”
I glanced in surprise at the woman sitting in the chair, currently engaged in glaring at her husband. “You’re a Zorya, too?”
“Hmm? Oh, no. I’m a Summoner.”
I stared at her in blank incomprehension.
“We Summon ghosts. We can also Release them. That’s sending them on their way to the next plane of existence. From what I’ve heard from Christian, it’s very similar to what you do as a Zorya.”
“You are nothing like a Zorya,” Christian said emphatically. He held out my chair, obviously waiting for me to sit in it.
I did so, not wanting to irritate him any more than he already was.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Allie said in a confidential tone.
“You will do nothing of the kind,” Christian declared, taking up his spot on the other side of the table. Sebastian and Rowan flanked him on either side, the three of them making an intimidating presence.
“Pfft,” Allie said, leaning toward me. “Don’t let them scare you. They’re really not that bad when you get to know them. Just as soon as we get this business cleared up, you’ll see that underneath all that bluster there are some really nice men. But I expect you’ve found that out with Kristoff.”
“This business?” I asked. “What business, exactly?”
Allie gaped at me for a moment before turning her stunned gaze on her husband. “You didn’t bother to tell her?”
“That is what this hearing is for,” he said with a faint air of discomfiture.
Allie stared at him for a couple of seconds before saying, “I’m going to have a few things to say to you when this is over, you know.”
“I know,” Christian said, looking grim.
Allie snorted to herself, but gave me a supportive pat on the hand. “Don’t worry about anything, Pia. I’m sure it’s all just a big mistake. And I apologize right now for you being brought here without having the slightest idea why.”
“To be honest, I came because I have my own agenda,” I admitted, meeting Christian’s gaze with what I hoped was composure.
“I have no doubt of that,” Rowan said, speaking up for the first time since I’d seen him in the car. His voice was carefully neutral, but I sensed hostility from him that I hadn’t felt in Iceland. I wondered if Kristoff had bad- mouthed me to his brother and cousin, but almost immediately dismissed the idea-Kristoff might not want me in the place of his dead girlfriend, but he wasn’t the sort of man who would indulge in a smear campaign.
“Why did you want to see the council?” Allie asked, obviously curious. Esme perched on the edge of the table until Christian shot her a look. She drifted over to the wall, where a couple of satin-covered armchairs sat in a cozy arrangement.
“I . . . er . . . I want to talk to Christian about Mattias and Kristjana.”
She looked surprised. “The two reapers? One of them is here. The woman is still in Iceland, though. Christian said something about it being more trouble to move her than was worth the effort. Did you want to see Mattias? I’m sure he’d be happy to see you. He’s been a bit vocal about wanting someone, anyone to visit him. I think he’s suffering from a touch of cabin fever, if you want to know the truth.”
“They’re all right, aren’t they?” I asked her, since she seemed to be much more forthcoming with information.
“Of course they are.” She smiled and glanced at the frowning Christian for a few seconds. “Honestly, Pia, these guys may look like badasses, but they don’t hurt people without a really good reason.”
“Our asses are as bad as they come,” Christian insisted. He stopped himself, closed his eyes for a second, then opened them and said, “This conversation is not to the purpose of the meeting at hand. If we might start?”
“We’d better let him. He gets a wee bit cranky if he doesn’t get to do things properly,” Allie whispered.
“I heard that, woman!”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sidetrack anyone. I just wanted to make sure that the Brotherhood people are all right.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed on me. “Why is it that I don’t find it surprising that you are concerned with the welfare of the people who tried so hard to kill us?”
“Probably for the same reason I’m not surprised you would ask that,” I heard myself say, somewhat to my horror. “You didn’t like me back in Iceland, and it’s clear you’re still of the opinion that I’m the devil incarnate. Given that you obviously have your mind made up about me, I guess it’s clear that whatever this hearing is about, it will not be unbiased.”
“Brava, Pia,” Allie said, applauding.
Sebastian, who had sat down after speaking to me, leaped to his feet again.
“Outbursts will not be tolerated,” Christian said smoothly, shooting his friend a warning glance.
