“Would you like a drink?”
“Sure, but nothing alcoholic. I’m jet-lagged and booze would put me to sleep, and I have to get up to New York tonight.”
“Come on,” Parlan said, and gestured toward the door. I followed him down the hall and into the kitchen. It was another homey space redolent with the scent of recently baked cookies. “Hot chocolate?” Parlan asked.
“That sounds great,” I replied. I settled down at the kitchen table and watched as he prepared a pan, milk, sugar, and cocoa. “I didn’t think cooking was a princely skill,” I said, and smiled to indicate it was a joke. He took it in the spirit it was offered and smiled back.
“We are permitted eccentric hobbies,” he answered dryly.
A stunning idea struck me. “You should open a restaurant. Serve Alfar dishes. You really are the prince from a foreign land. You’d make a fortune.”
He stood frowning at me, the wooden spoon hanging between his fingers. Then the lines in his forehead smoothed, and he slowly nodded and used a word I’d never heard. “
“What does that mean,
He pursed his lips considering as he stirred the hot chocolate. For a long moment the only sound in the room was the hiss from the gas burner and the slow scrape of the spoon on the bottom of the pan. “None of these are exactly right, but morph, transfigure, transmute.”
“So you follow the Alfar religion.”
“Of course. It’s how I was raised.”
“How’s that going over with Big Red?”
“As you can imagine, not great.” He poured cocoa into a mug and handed it to me.
The ceramic sides were warm against the palms of my hands. I blew across the surface, and streamers of steam bowed and danced. Risking a sip, I managed not to burn my mouth, and I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t too sweet.
A few more sips of chocolate gave me the courage I needed. “May I ask you something else?”
“Of course.”
“It’s about John, so it might be awkward, painful.”
“I don’t blame him. He’s as much a victim as I am. I know he didn’t want to stay in Fey,” Parlan said.
“How do you know that?”
“I lived there forty-three years. I had friends, even among my mother’s guards, and they’re still my friends. Some of them slip over to visit me, and they told me the devil’s bargain she offered.”
Outside, snow had begun to swirl. I was jumpy enough that I kept expecting something to coalesce out of the whirling flakes. I drew in a breath. “I saw John, and he was so changed. And she blinded him in one eye. Why would she do that?”
“Control. Also part of Alfar magic. A sliver of ice that blunts all emotion toward anyone but herself.”
“Well, he had contempt down pretty well,” I said, trying to mask the hurt and pretty sure I hadn’t succeeded.
“That’s actually a good sign. It means he’s fighting back.”
“So she rejects the son who does love her and has to use magic to make the other one love her. Wow, that is really fucked up.”
“Yes.” Parlan dropped his head and stared down at his hands. “And you’re right. I do love her, still.”
His expression was so lost and despairing that I couldn’t help it. I once again reached out, and this time I clasped his hand in mine. “It will get better.”
There was again that smile that flickered like summer lightning. “You promise?”
My lawyer caution warred with a human reaction. I was proud to see that human won. “Yeah, I promise.”
“So what happens now?”
“I tell my boss you can help us,” I said.
19
The next morning I walked back into the main office at Ishmael, McGillary and Gold. The snow that had blanketed Philadelphia had also hit New York City. Central Park looked beautiful under a layer of white. Dogs and children romped in the snow, while a few parents and owners, and mostly nannies and dog walkers, looked on. Now I was glad I had lugged my heavy coat to Los Angeles. Otherwise, I would have been in New York without a coat. Though the thought of taking it back to LA was daunting.
The Legal Eagles Pop Brigade was on hand to greet me. It was what we young female associates in the firm had dubbed ourselves after we’d all issued an epic smackdown on a vampire partner who had been using and harassing female associates. Caroline, looking elegant as always, was in the lead and gave me a fierce hug.
“You don’t have a tan,” she accused.
“It’s been raining in LA and cold. Well, cold for them.”
“So no picking up hunky blond surfers on the beach and fucking their brains out, huh?” Cecelia asked, living up to her reputation as the bawdy broad.
“Afraid not.”
“It seems like you’ve been gone forever,” Juliette, a beautiful woman from Jamaica, said.
I thought about it. “It has been a month and a half. God help me.”
“Any sign it’s going to end soon?” Delia asked.
“Not really.”
“Can we all go to lunch?” Nancy asked as my flying scrum of friends escorted me to my office.
“Sorry, no. I’m joining in the arbitration via video conference, and the time difference means I’m going to be sneaking bites of sandwich during the testimony.”
My assistant, Norma, rose from behind her desk like an iceberg calving off a glacier and stared down at me. Her teased, silver-white hair was like a helmet. “Well, I’m surprised to see you.”
From her tone it was clear it wasn’t a pleasure, and as usual there was no evidence her computer had been turned on once since I had been gone. I had to assume she used it. Just never when I was watching. I had inherited Norma along with my office from my deceased boss, and I didn’t have the nerve to suggest a change. The fact that she was tech-phobic wasn’t that big of a drawback in a white-fang law firm; most of the vampire partners felt the same way, and she did defend me behind my back while insulting me to my face. It was a little like having my mother working for me.
“Hi, Norma, glad to see you, too. And I’m only in for the day.”
“Hmmm!” She sniffed. “Lot of damn money to fly coast-to-coast for one day.”
“Good thing it was the firm’s money,” I said brightly. Norma almost cracked a smile.
“We should all get back to work,” Caroline said, asserting her control as the most charismatic among us. There were more hugs and everyone headed off to their offices.
Mine looked deserted. The desk was bare except for the computer. My plants had been moved by the watering service. The waste can was empty. For an instant I felt like I had been erased from the firm. I shook off the feeling, dumped my briefcase and coat, and went in search of the AV tech to make sure everything was ready for the conference.
I found Ollie in his cluttered office filled with computers, headphones, cables, soundboards and other mysterious electronic items. Ollie was a plump, balding, twenty-something who wore a suit because this was Ishmael, McGillary and Gold, but somehow he always looked rumpled. Today a button was missing on his shirt and his tie was uneven.
“All set?” I asked.
He took another swallow of coffee before answering. “Totally. I’m gonna eat while this is happening. Okay?”
I sighed. “Sure. Just don’t make it anything too delicious. Otherwise I won’t be able to hear over my
