Arabesque: A Wings Companion

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tamani lounged on the back veranda with tiny Sharlet curled up, asleep, on his bare chest. They'd been napping in the last of the evening rays, but even when he woke in the darkness Tamani couldn't bear to disturb his daughter. Laurel would come out and check on them eventually. He stroked Sharlet's back softly, pausing when she stirred beneath his fingertips. It was so strange to transition from not-a-father, to a father. How could one small moment change so much?

Despite how peacefully she was sleeping now, his tiny fae was quite the chatterbox when she was awake, rattling on in frenetic Gaelic—which was emerging as her language of choice, much to Laurel's dismay. But Sharlet spoke English just as well and her preference wouldn't hinder actual communication with her mother. Probably.

Tamani heard the swish of the sliding door opening behind him, but rather than treading softly to avoid waking Sharlet, Laurel's footsteps came in a clattering rush. Tamani looked up at her, brows scrunched together.

"It's a boy," Laurel said. "Calling on Rowen's phone. He won't tell me anything. He said Rowen made him promise to talk to you."

As quickly but carefully as possible, Tamani shifted their sleeping daughter to Laurel's arms and took the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Tamani?"

"Yes," he snapped. He glanced at Laurel, who was carrying Sharlet inside, but his intuition was crackling. Something was terribly wrong.

"There was a ... riot," the boy said, sounding panicked. "Weird things happened. Rowen did things. I don't know how to explain. But she fainted."

"Fainted? Is she still unconscious?"

"Yeah. But she told me to call you right before she went out."

Tamani rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "What's your name?"

"Shawn."

"Listen, Shawn, this is very important. Was Rowen injured? Is she unconscious because someone hit her, for example."

"No. I mean, she got pretty jostled, but nothing that would knock her out. She—I know this sounds crazy, but she was ... I think she did something so we could get way. I don't think anyone else got away, the lights went out and then there was a huge flash and ... and she fainted. I don't know how else to describe it. I've got her in my front seat; I'm taking her to the hospital."

"No! Don't you dare!"

"It's okay. My mom works there. The staff knows me. I can get her in fast."

"Shawn," Tamani hissed in a voice he rarely used, even with brand-new sentry trainees. "If you care for this girl at all do not take her to a hospital. If you do, you will never see her again; I promise you that."

Either he'd stunned the human into silence, or the call had dropped. Tamani looked up and saw Laurel standing in the doorway, her eyes wide and frightened. He twisted the phone away from his mouth. "Can you turn on the news?" he whispered, following her into the house before turning his attention back to Rowen's friend. "Are you still there?"

"I don't understand," the voice said.

"I know. But that's why Rowen told you to call me. She needs help a hospital can't give her. She needs you to go back to her apartment. Can you do that? I'll text you the address as soon as I hang up. There's a keycard in her purse. Once there, you need to turn on every light in the house." He hesitated in front of the TV as Laurel flipped through the channels. "Yes, Shawn. Every light in the house. Then get the Sprite out of the fridge and try to get her to drink as much of it as possible."