“Calm yourself, my dear. They were all female. You might be able to catch up with them if you hurry.”
“Naw, that’s OK. I wouldn’t want to crash their chick party. I’ll hang here with you.” He brightened. “Maybe it’s a good thing she’s not here. There was something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Faye rested her hands on her hips and turned once more to contemplate the apple tree. “Your arrival is fortuitous. I was trying to figure out how to harvest these apples myself but—”
“I’ll do it,” Zach volunteered readily.
Before Faye could reply, he trotted off to the garden shed to fetch a ladder and a bushel basket. “Will this work?” he asked.
“Yes, that should do nicely.” Faye placed the basket on the ground near the trunk of the tree while Zach set the ladder in place.
“Do you think I did a good job tutoring Hannah?” the boy asked unexpectedly. “I mean, she’s doing OK at school, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Faye agreed guardedly.
“So maybe I’m entitled to a little reward for all those hours I spent helping her out.”
The old woman cocked an amused eyebrow. “I should think that Hannah’s undivided attention was all the reward you would need.”
Her descendent blushed. “Yeah, well, you’re right about that. Still, all those months working with her and not letting anybody know she was hiding here. That must prove I’m trustworthy.”
“Of course, you are,” Faye agreed. “That isn’t even a question.”
Zach climbed the first three rungs of the ladder until he gained a foothold between the lower limbs. His head disappeared among the leaves. “Stand back, Gamma!” he called. Then he grabbed two of the thicker branches and shook the tree vigorously. Apples rained down on the lawn.
Zach descended from his perch and helped Faye deposit the windfall into the bushel basket. Pursuing the topic under discussion, he said, “So maybe I can be trusted with more important things.”
“Such as?” Faye paused with an apron full of fruit.
“Such as letting me inside your hush-hush Fortress of Solitude.”
She peered at him. “What are you talking about?”
He relieved her of the apples and dropped them in the basket. “Your Bat Cave, Gamma. I want the lowdown on the Arkana.”
“Ah,” she nodded. “Well, I suppose this day was bound to come sooner or later.”
“I remember right here in this very garden you promised I could be a... What did you call it, a gyro?”
“A tyro,” Faye corrected. “For heaven’s sake, it’s not a Greek sandwich. A tyro is an apprentice in our organization.”
“Yeah, a tyro. Don’t you think I’ve earned that?”
She studied him for several moments. “I suppose you have at that.”
He climbed the ladder a second time to shake down more fruit.
Faye stepped out of harm’s way to consider his request as apples bounced across the lawn.
When he emerged from his leafy perch, she said, “We’ll have to tailor your training schedule around school. Most of our tyros don’t need to conceal their activities from their families. They can devote entire weeks to the orientation process.”
He gathered another armful of fruit and added it to the pile in the basket which was half full by now. “No worries. We can work it out. I’ll tell my folks I’m involved in a Science Club project. They think I’m such a slacker that they’d let me do anything so long as it was an extracurricular activity.”
Faye folded her arms across her chest. “Of course, I’ll have to break the news to Maddie first.”
Zach straightened up and stared at her. “You mean your friend Maisie? What’s she got to do with it?”
“Her name is Maddie, as you know very well. She runs global operations for the Arkana and is chiefly responsible for tyro orientation.”
“Oh boy, that’s gonna be fun.” Zach looked slightly daunted at the prospect.
“I’ll speak to her this week about how to fit you into the schedule.” Faye scowled as another thought crossed her mind. “I would caution you to tread lightly in her presence though.”
Zach snorted in disbelief. “You make her sound like she’s ready to go postal if anybody crosses her.”
“You’re more right than you know,” the old woman agreed ominously. “We had an unfortunate incident quite recently. I don’t think any of the tyros have recovered yet.”
“Oh, come on, Gamma. How bad can she be?”
Faye gave a grim smile. “There’s a war club standing in the corner of her office. It was once used by the Haudenosaunee tribe to dispatch their enemies. Maddie occasionally employs it for the same purpose. Should you ever notice her making a move to pick it up, I’d advise you to run.”
“Jeez!”
Chapter 13—Daddy Day Care
Daniel tentatively opened the door to Annabeth’s chamber. “May I come in?”
His principal wife had been bending over the baby’s crib. She whirled around with a start. “Oh, Daniel, I didn’t hear you knock.” She smoothed her hair and the imaginary wrinkles in her apron. “I just finished feeding the baby and put him down for a nap. Please, come in and sit for a while.” She gestured toward a pair of chairs on the side of the room opposite the crib.
Daniel took a moment to survey Annabeth’s new quarters. Even though the Nephilim rejected ostentatious material displays, they weren’t above making subtle distinctions of rank. The fact that Annabeth had produced an heir for the scion entitled her to more spacious accommodations. This new chamber was twice as large as her old room. The pair of hard-bottomed wooden chairs and matching table had been exchanged for two leather wing chairs and ottomans. The baby’s oversized crib was topped by a crocheted canopy which must have taken one of the consecrated brides several weeks to create. Annabeth’s bed was also larger and topped with a hand-embroidered counterpane over a down comforter. A private bath adjoined the living area. That was a rare luxury since most of the residents of the compound were forced to share lavatories.
Instead of seating himself, the scion walked
