God Bones

Chapter 5: Stupid Romance Books

Lucy

Kiernan knocked on the door of my apartment just as I was getting ready to head to the shooting range. I was really not in the mood for any more taunting, but I couldn't possible send the head of the Hellis home after shouting in his face, so I gave him a tight smile and let him in.

My apartment was a mess. My room was even worse. My romance books were strewn all over the floor from when I came back, had a minor mental breakdown and started throwing them. The one closest to my foot had mentioned the word 'mate' more than twenty times. The one below the window had killed off my favorite character. There were other books scattered around, all well deserved.

The ones centered around an arranged marriage had been thrown straight out of the window.

I invited him in with a breezy smile. I really couldn't care less if he saw my poor taste in literature. He glanced at the floor, and saw one of the smaller offenders, the cover depicting a shirtless man opening up a woman's bodice. It was titled 'Ravaged by the Duke.' I grinned at his obvious discomfort. He looked away.

"I thought we should talk, maybe somewhere else?"

"I was getting ready for the shooting range," I said, pointing to my backpack.

"You can go in the evening. I spoke to Laith and your father. We may have to reevaluate our plan," He said. I picked up my bag anyway led him out of my apartment.  I locked the door behind me and I really wished I could tell him I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"How so?"

"Well, in a word, you're not ready."

"Well, it's been a day. And unless you have a better way of actually helping my sister, I'm feeling quite fucking ready."

"It's not just about the target practice, you need to be mentally strong, convincing Arion will not be so easy," He said. "You cannot afford to break down."

"What are his powers?'

"Sorry?"

"You know. Like dad and Sera have fire, mom had water, you have pretentiousness."

Sorcerers could do amazing things, controlling the elements was one such thing. Then there were things like healing, mind control, love spells, curses. Things you would normally attribute to witches which were easier. Mastering an element was very difficult, most sorcerers only managed to do one.

"I don't know and does it matter? Just imagine he has all. If he or any sorcerer uses his magic on you, you're already dead."

"Well, you couldn't have found me a better match."

"You're a lot more like your sister and your father than you give yourself credit for."

Going to the shooting range later in the evening wasn't that bad of an idea anyway. Less people, fewer stares.

"Why did he agree to marry me?"

"He hasn't yet. He will. We're going to tell him that after Sera was so brutally wounded we are worried about you. You're our little human after all. And the fact that you've never been involved in Family matters will be a bonus. Arion's mother was human, so he'll have a soft spot for your story, whuch is that we want to marry you into the Ashcrofts to keep you safe."

"Is this a real marriage?" I asked. "Do I have to be with this guy till I die?

"It will be a real marriage," He confirmed. "Followed by a very real divorce, so don't worry."

I sighed. "Good."

We reached the bottom of the stairs. "I thought you might like to take a break from the shooting and fighting. I asked Laith to be a little more patient with you," Kiernan said. "Maybe you should spend some time getting to know your new family today. A summary on the disappearance of all the missing historians has been sent to Laith. He will give them to you. See if you can find anything. He'll come to pick you up."

Great.

I walked him to his car, a sleek black Bentley. We passed by the pile of books under my windows. The air turned awkward as we tried not to acknowledge it.

He drove off and I debated on going to the shooting range and avoiding Laith entirely, but decided against it. Why should I deprive him of the pleasure of my company today of all days?

Laith showed up at my doorstep a few minutes later.

We exchanged a look that conveyed more than words could.

Fuck you.

Fuck you too.

Today was spent getting to know my in-laws, which was an easy job because both his parents were dead.

He was quite the social butterfly though and was surrounded by a clique of dangerous people at any given point of time.

It was easy getting to know them too  because in the last century or so the Helli knew shit and had learned fuck all about the Vagi. Some names had photos, some had vague one-line descriptions. Most of the information was so outdated it still referred to women as 'females.'

"You're joking. This is the extent of knowledge you have?" I demanded, picking up a thin folder that looked thin enough to be a birthday card.

"If we had decent intel would we really need you?" He retorted. "Clearly we're desperate."

I shook my head. Out of the plethora of garbage, I zeroed in on three names.

Arion Ashcroft. Peter Jacobi. Maria Abel. Best friends and Vagi assassins.

And of course, Gabriel LeConte, head of the Vagi.

There wasn't a lot about either of them.

"I'm done," I said.

"You memorized the whole thing?"

I shrugged. At least this was one aspect of spying where I felt I wasn't entirely a lost cause. I took the file and shoved it into my bag, I'd go over it tonight.

"How did you get involved in the Family?" I asked Laith. He looked at me suspiciously. It was the first time my tone hadn't been rude.

"How does anyone get involved? I was born into it."

"But you're human."

"The Vagi killed my father," He told me. "It didn't matter if I was human or not. Even if I couldn't kill a sorcerer, I could sure as hell make their lives miserable. It was worth it to me. At least I wasn't just standing there on the sidelines with no voice."

"I'm not doing that," I said. "I am about to put myself in very real danger for the Family."

Laith smiled. "I was angry yesterday. When I told you it was a waste of time and you couldn't do it."

"So you think I can?"

"In all honesty, I don't know. But at least you're trying so you just might."

The rest of my day went relatively normal. I visited Sera. No improvement. So I went to the shooting range.

It was dark outside, and the range had very few people. I waved at them and they looked away, avoided my gaze for the rest of the night. I took the gun they had assigned to me and tried to practice. The sound of the gun still scared me but I still practiced nonetheless.

Maybe it was all in my head, but I could swear I was improving a bit.

I'm trying.

I just might be able to do this.

Ten days were enough time. At least that's what I thought before we found the professor.

___

She woke up a bit sassy today.

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