Relics (26 page)

Ceil asked for another of my special burgers and followed me as I put another tiny one on the grill for her.  She thanked me again for the invitation and said it was a wonderful party. It didn't take long for her burger to cook, and I slid it onto her plate before we rejoined the others.

Questions, answers and comments bounced around the tables, often involving our guests.

When everyone was done picking at the main meal, we moved the remaining food into the kitchen to wrap up leftovers. Since a lot of people pitched in, this went pretty fast.

Everyone sat around chatting afterward. Our off-world guests were curious about our family and asked many questions of their own. Some were even given straight answers, but there was a lot laughter.

While Jones was able to remain mostly anonymous, being taken for human, he had his fair share of unattached female attention. He was still careful to not spend much time with any one person, I noticed. The thought of moving targets not getting hit crossed my mind, as he gracefully circulated the different groups. At one point, he, Reo and Nana Fae had their heads together over something.

Dessert consisted of cakes, pies, puddings and homemade ice cream. We started that process and, although there were a few groans of “I'm stuffed,” they always found room for their favorite dessert.

I helped myself to homemade strawberry ice cream and made the rounds to chat with those I hadn't gotten to spend any time with earlier. I checked on our visitors, and they seemed to still be having a good time. Stuart told me he was enjoying himself immensely and appreciated being a part of it
.

“I'm glad you stayed,” I said with a smile and a quick hug.  

I was moving on when I saw Aela had something in her hand that I didn't recognize. I realized that someone had brought tapioca pudding, and she held one of the tapioca pearls. She flew over when she saw me watching her and told me that it was one of the best things she'd ever tasted.

She got a sly look on her tiny face and asked if they were very expensive. I told her they weren't, and she said we'd talk later about possible export opportunities. She gave a big smile, baring her teeth, which were bright white and sharp as needles. She might be tiny, but Aela was a predator. I was sure the smile I returned was probably a bit shaky, but she didn't seem to notice. She looked around as if afraid we'd been overheard, put her finger to her lips and went back to sitting near the pudding bowl.

I thought she flew a bit unsteadily and wondered if she'd gotten into the alcohol. I later found out it was the tapioca that had affected her. She was ecstatic with that news, and she said she would be wealthy beyond imagination if she could export. Go figure. A tipsy, avaricious fairy - with lots of sharp teeth. I briefly wondered about the other worlds, before I got distracted by Carter, who wanted more mega big hugs.

Things were settling down a bit, the sun was thinking about setting and blankets were spread on the grass for some of the smaller kids. The teenagers were enlisted to oversee the little ones, while all of the adults moved into the house for a “family meeting.”

We shut the doors to the large family room, which would hold all of us, although it was a bit cramped, with even floor space at a premium.

Erik started by saying, “This is Thulukan business. What happens with Thulukans, stays with Thulukans.” Everyone smiled at the old joke that had started with his father, who had died five years before.

He quickly turned the floor over to me and Thulu and our guests. We gave them the short version and brought them up to speed about Light Ones, Dark Ones, relics and portals. We didn't give a lot of specifics, only a broad overview. We also didn't mention that Jones was one of the “Dark Ones,” but we did tell them he was a client involved with all of it.

There were a few questions, but this was really an FYI meeting. There was nothing for them to actually do. We just wanted them to be careful because we weren't sure what was going to happen.

Lynda-Jean seemed to have had a few more drinks than usual.

“I don't see why the Light Ones are bad.”

Jones explained again, as he had with Jane, about their ability to keep a drug addict supplied and happy merely so they had a convenient emotional energy supply.

She shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't see what any of it had to do with the family.

“It's called courtesy, Lynda-Jean. It's called keeping one's family informed of what we're up to. And we want everyone to stay alert because there are more things going on than the news is reporting. You have noticed that Earth has been contacted by other beings, right?” I wasn't in a mood for her at that moment.

She rolled her eyes, “Yes, I noticed. It's not like you guys are in the habit of sharing your work, so I don't know why you're bothering now.” Her voice was filled with a venom, that was unusual, even for her.

Thulu gave her a steady look. “Because now the entire world knows magic exists, and I want my family to know what we are dealing with.”

She gave him a sour look. “Whatever.”

Some of the others frowned at her and shook their heads.

The rest thanked us for bringing the information to the family and offered any help they could, if we needed it. Evan said he had a couple of things to go over about our finances, and he covered that pretty quickly. Mostly he wanted us to know he and Mara were prepared at a moment's notice to move us out of our investments, if they looked like they were going to go bad, and he wanted to get our permission. It was a formality, really. Since we'd expect them to act immediately if things looked bad.

After Evan and Mara were done and had answered several questions, I voiced my concerns about the calmness Earth was maintaining throughout the new situation.

“I'm not psychic, like Reo, but I definitely have a sense that there's more to this than empaths and shock. I'm concerned about what will happen when everyone comes out of this.”

Nana nodded. “Yes, Mr. Jones, Reo and I were discussing that earlier. I've been feeling an undercurrent since the portals opened, but I'm not sure what it is.”

Reo added, “I've also picked up a thin thread, but it's erratic. I wrote it off to just excitement about the portals opening and the empaths.”

Jones was thoughtful. “I have been slightly preoccupied with other aspects of the situation and had not noticed this. Once I turned my attention to what Nana Fae and Reo described, I have to agree with them. There is definitely an undercurrent, but what it is and who is directing it, I cannot tell. I have tried to trace it, but the origin is deliberately obscured. I have asked others to look into this. When I know more I will let you know.”

I blew out a heavy sigh of relief. “Well, it's nice to know I'm not crazy.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.” I'd known someone would say that as soon as my own words had left my mouth.

“Thank you, Reo.”

Jones pulled his phone from his pocket and moved away. After a short conversation, he came back to say he needed to leave right away. “Mason is waking up,” he explained as he turned to Reo. “Would you be willing to go back?”

Reo nodded. He, Jones and Stuart made their goodbyes to everyone and left.

We broke up and moved back outside. Most of the family gathered up belongings and kids, called their thanks and gave hugs all around before leaving.

Soon, it was pretty much down to the immediate family, with Lynda-Jean and a few cousins scattered here and there. We were down to only four kids: Marty, Josh, Kalie and Carter. The three older kids had gone back inside to show off some video game to Romeo.

Thulu and I moved down the path to the tables to see if there was any more cleanup to do, but the older kids had finished up while we were still inside.

We heard a high-pitched, “Oh, my god, who the hell is that?”

We all turned to see Carter standing on the walkway with his hands on his hips. A lot of us laughed, and his mother frowned at him, telling him that was not nice language.

I smiled at him and moved forward to see which of our guests had caught his eye. No one was where he was looking, except Jenna. I looked back at Carter, and I think my mouth dropped open.

Several others, including Lynda-Jean, also turned to see who he was talking about. Of course, they saw no one. Thulu had moved next to me to see Carter looking straight at Jenna. The last rays of the sun passed right through her and bathed the walk in reddish gold light.

Carter looked at the adults around him and asked again, “Who is she?  The little girl.”

“What's he talking about?  What little girl?  I don't see anyone.” Lynda-Jean's voice held a note of annoyance.

Jenna stood on the flagstone path, and Carter went right up to her and said, “Hi, who are you?”

Jenna looked at me, her mouth a round “O” as Parker showed up. Carter shifted his attention up to Parker. “Oh, hi. Who are you?  Oh, you have a doggie!”

Parker said, “Hi, I'm Parker and this is Jenna and our dog, Sophie.” Carter was trying to grab Sophie, which of course he couldn't.

“Hi, Sophie.” Carter turned around to us, all smiles. He could both see and hear them. When no one else said anything, he frowned at us briefly, turned unperturbed to Jenna and said, “Do you want to play with me?”

Lynda-Jean gave a theatrical sigh. “Oh, god, not another imaginary playmate!  Carter, there's no one there. You really have to stop this.”

“Yes, there is, Mommy. You always say that, and there is too someone there.” He had turned on her with a stubborn look on his face. Lynda-Jean's mouth twisted in irritation.

He looked at the circle of people around him. I don't know how he picked me and Thulu, but he came over to us and reached up his arms. Thulu picked him up as he pointed back at Jenna and Parker. “They are there, aren't they Uncle Thulu?”

Thulu looked at the boy. “Yes, Carter, they are there.”

“Don't encourage him, Thulu,” Lynda-Jean said loudly.

Jenna was frowning now, and I motioned to Parker to see to her. He picked her up and balanced her on one slim hip.

“Should we leave?” he asked. I thought a moment and nodded. They waved to Carter, but he had his head buried in Thulu's neck. They popped out, with Sophie following. I could call them back when I saw how this played out.

Lynda-Jean came over and glared at me suspiciously. She was quite angry by that point and got right in my face, which was not her brightest move. “Just who the hell is he talking about?”

Thulu answered her in a calm voice. “He's talking about two children ghosts, Lynda-Jean. Nothing to get excited about, though. Children can often see ghosts when they're young and outgrow it when they get older.”

Ally had moved over and put her arm around her friend. “Wow, LJ, very cool. Nice to have someone else in the family be “supe”-gifted finally.”

Lynda-Jean shook her off and glared at her. “Gifted?  That's not a gift. My son is not a freak!  Carter, come here, we're leaving,” she demanded. Carter looked at her startled, unsure what he had done wrong. Thulu still held him.

“I want to play with my new friends.” He looked around, trying to find them.

“You aren't playing with anyone. We're going home right now.”

Everyone had gotten very quiet and was watching Lynda-Jean, who was bordering on furious as she spun in a circle. She spotted her purse and went and snatched it from a table. Her face had become very red and blotchy. I thought I saw fear in her eyes, too. The look she turned on me, though, was pure hatred.

“I should have known you freaks were dangerous. Now look what you did to my child. You contaminated him.” She moved to take Carter from Thulu's arms, but he backed away, handing the child to Erik.

Brent and Ally moved to stand in her path, while Thulu backed them up.