"My Baby" by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin. You should listen 😘
Angelique had sent two of her officers to the airport to bring Emil and Evan to the French Quarter, along with their now sizeable crew. The group had not really talked much on the flight from New York to New Orleans, beyond cordial conversation. Evan was excited and nervous to see Michael Grace, as she was certain she had changed, and she and Emil had spent the flight discussing what they though she might look like. There was an undercurrent of worry that she would not be happy to see them, since they had sent her away.
Emil sat next to her, holding her hand in the extended length Suburban, and all of their party could not fit, so the New York coven members were in a second vehicle. Keeping their voices low, Jean and Emil discussed plans and whether they should call Malachi back. He had been sending intelligence to them when he came across any new discoveries as he traveled across the western US. Hanna and Steele were still in Saint Louis, and Jean felt they should be brought in, as well.
As the vehicles parked out front of a two-story brick building, Evan could barely contain her excitement. She could feel their daughter near. She sent out her thoughts, 'Michael Grace, we're here!'
'Mama!' was the mental reply Evan heard. Apparently Michael Grace greeted all of them individually, as Evan watched Emil's face light up, followed by Jean, Hawk and Arazel. The last surprised her, but not more than it seemed to surprise the hybrid. His mouth dropped open in surprise followed by a flush of satisfaction.
They made their way into the inner garden, passing through a wrought iron gate. It was late evening, and the sun had just gone down, leaving the hint of violet on the western horizon. The garden was once again illuminated with the gaslights. Ignoring everyone surrounding them, Evan did not take time to take in the beauty of the grand old house; she was all eyes for the child held in Xavier's arms. He set her down and Evan nearly collapsed when she watched a child the size of a preschooler run to her. Emil was just as surprised, as he held Evan at his side.
"Mama! Papa! I missed you," she said in clear words. They bent down to scoop her up and held her between them for several minutes, all three of their foreheads together, communicating silently. All of the others stood by watching the reunion. Jean and Hawk put an arm around each other, and watched the reunion fondly, Jean overcome by emotion. The New York group stood to the side, unsure what to think of the unusual family, talking among themselves. At this point, Nathan slipped from behind Xavier, where Marie had been holding his hand, and made his way toward them. Emil turned and pulled the teen into a tight embrace.
"How I've missed you, young one," Emil said through a constricted throat. "It seems you have taken wonderful care of your sister."
Nathan shrugged, and leaned into Evan as she took her turn pulling him in for a hug. "It's nothing. I love taking care of her."
Grace leaned toward him and he took her in his arms, her legs dangling not quite half his height toward the ground. Their reunion was interrupted when Angelique stepped out on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Her features were shrouded in shadows from the flickering gaslights.
"I'll be damned. It's true," she said in a low voice. When Emil glanced up to meet her eyes, Angelique let out a belly laugh. As always, she was impeccably dressed, tonight in a power suit cut to her waist and impossibly high heels. Hawk, Jean, Xavier, Aiden and Marie gathered around Emil and Evan at her arrival. The four from New York and Arazel took a step closer, but stayed in the background, near the fountain. "You really did have a family. I can see her mother in her face now that you're here. What a lucky bastard. Now where is the Ancient One's son?"
Emil turned and motioned for Arazel to step forward. The quiet male came into the light, his heartbeat echoing in the silence, matching Michael Grace's. When he moved into the circle of Guardians, she leaned toward him, and Nathan reluctantly allowed the hybrid to take her into his arms. Arazel placed a small kiss on her forehead and she grinned. When he looked up to Angelique on the balcony, Grace rested an elbow on his shoulder and turned to look at her as well, her luminous emerald green eyes boring into the blonde vampire's mossy ones.
Angelique's humor faded to seriousness. Emil introduced them. "Arazel, son of Amahté, Ancient of Ancients, allow me to introduce you to Queen Angelique, leader of the New Orleans Coven."
Arazel stepped in front of the group, his sly eyes absorbing her countenance. With and exaggerated courtly bow, he spoke softly, saying sarcastically, "It is my pleasure to meet you, your Highness."
She did not miss it, but wisely did not make comment. "The pleasure is mine, I'm sure." She dismissed him and looked back to Emil. "I'll give you an hour, then you and your Guardians are going to come and tell me how the fuck you intend to keep the war you're asking for out of my front yard."
When Evan made to speak, Emil placed a restraining hand on her arm and spoke first. "Thank you for your hospitality, Angelique. I appreciate your willingness to allow my coven to regroup here. I will do everything in my power to keep you and yours from harm. We have much to discuss. I will come to you within the hour."
She nodded. "Dane, please take them to the parlor, so they can have some time together, then show them to my office."
With that, she turned on her stilettoed heel and swept through the French doors from which she had come. There was a moment of chaos as the St. Louis coven came together in a crush of bodies, greeting one another, all centered on Grace and Nathan. He had reclaimed her from Arazel, not wanting the hybrid to touch her any more than he had. He was still repulsed by the way Arazel looked at her, like she was a sweet to eat. Their greetings were interrupted when Dane stepped between them, essentially pushing them apart to walk in a straight line to the other side of the courtyard.
"Follow me," he said without looking at anyone. He led them to a double door, made of louvered slats that allowed the warm tropical air to move through the room during the summer. Inside, the French influence continued, as all the furnishings were delicate and refined, covered in velvet and embroidery. "I'll be back in an hour."
He left abruptly, without another word.
Jean smirked. "He still hasn't figured out how to pull the stick from his ass, has he mon cher?"
Hawk shook his head no.
Xavier stepped to Emil and they clasped each other's hands firmly, before Emil clasped him on the shoulder, pulling him into a brief hug.
"Master Emil, it is good to see you, too," Xavier said with a smirk, trying to pull some formality into the situation. Pointedly, he continued, "I see you have brought others. I would very much like to meet them. I recognized Guardian Caleb, but the others are new to me."
Emil motioned for the others to come closer. As they stepped forward, he caught Marie's eye. "My friend. How are you?"
Marie's smile did not quite reach her eyes and he did not miss it. "Very well, thank you, Emil. I'm so glad you and Evan are here, Grace has missed you very much."
Noting her subdued response, Emil replied, "Are you well?"
She nodded and turned to where Evan was standing, cuddling Grace in one arm and holding Nathan close with the other. She went to them and Emil did not miss how she put a hand on Grace and stayed as close to her as possible.
Turning back to those near him, he introduced the newcomers. "Xavier, Aiden, may I present London, Rowena and Grey. They come highly recommended by Eric."
Aiden's eyes narrowed as he sensed they were not quite human and definitely not vampire. He turned to Emil and asked, "Why did Eric only send one vampire? We need Guardians. No offense guys, but I'm not sure what you can do for us."
Emil was slightly taken aback by Aiden's forwardness. He generally put his foot in his mouth, but it was not usually a directly offensive statement. He replied tersely, "I trust Eric to send those whom can help us the most. Grey is an envoy of the werewolves from New England, of the Sylvan Echo wolf pack. He offered to help us if we needed help from other packs. I know we tend to operate independently, but he heard about our unique situation, and thought a partnership would be a good idea. I tend to agree.
"Rowena is a witch, and I've been told she is highly skilled in charms and defensive magic. I've not worked with many witches, but I feel we need all the help we can get, especially with the magic the Ancient One uses."
Xavier perked up at this revelation, as he wondered if she would have any insight into Marie's situation. He would have to ask later. The petite blue haired stood her ground defiantly, her chin jutted out as she glared at Aiden. Grey had allowed the feral gleam of his wolf to enter his eyes and when he grinned at Aiden, his canines were on display.
Emil continued, "Next, may I introduce London. Eric had assigned him to protect Evan and I while we were in New York, and he did not get a chance to do that for long, and he volunteered to come with us." He looked to the tall black man with a curious glance. "I'm not sure what you are London. Do you care to share?"
London nodded once and took in the group with a bemused expression on his mahogany face. He spoke, his deep molasses voice bringing the attention of all those in the room, "I'm a shifter. Not an animal shifter, like Grey or the little werecat over there. I can shift into different humanoid shapes."
Emil nodded, suspecting as much. Aiden stepped next to Emil and frowned. "Like I said, why didn't Eric send more vampires?"
Emil turned crossly toward his subordinate. "Do you have a problem?"
Aiden eyed him unwaveringly before answering, "Yeah. We're going to be fighting trained Guardians and the Ancient One. Now we have at least two more frail humans to protect."
Grey took exception immediately and spoke up, saying, "Please remember werewolves were a formidable enemy for the vampires in the past. I'm not frail, especially when my wolf comes to play."
Aiden shrugged, then looked at the two other newcomers. Rowena did not say a word, but instead flicked her wrist and Aiden found himself unable to speak or move for several moments. Emil smirked at the panic in the redhead's eyes.
London came to stand in front of Aiden, smirking, then with one arm, lifted the large vampire over his head for a moment before setting him back on his feet. At the moment he was released, Aiden was able to move again.
Emil looked pointedly at his Guardian. "Any more questions about their qualifications?"
Aiden shook his head, finally satisfied.
During this exchange, Hawk, Jean and Caleb had made their way over to where Evan was seated on a settee with Grace in her lap talking to Marie about all the changes she saw in her daughter.
Jean rolled his eyes and mumbled to the two vampires, "Aiden will never learn."
Caleb smirked and nodded agreement, and said, "Jean, will you please introduce me?"
Jean nodded and turned to face those seated in front of them. "Of course. You know Evan, and this is our beautiful, grown up Michael Grace in her arms. Grace for short. And next to them is Nathan, Emil and Evan's adopted son."
Caleb shook the teen's hand and just glanced curiously at the baby. He turned to Marie and said demurely, "And you are?"
Jean piped up and answered, "This is Marie, Emil's former secretary and now an integral part of our little family."
Caleb reached out to her, and Marie expected a handshake like Nathan, but instead, she received a deep bow and he placed a light, lingering kiss on her knuckles. Her cat withdrew from the touch, and she cringed slightly. He stood up and smirked, saying, "Emil definitely knows how to surround himself with beauty."
Xavier turned when he heard the change in Marie's heart beat and the exchange between she and the newcomer. He walked over to where she was pressed back into the tufted sofa, trying to get space. He stepped between her and Caleb, diverting the male's attention to himself. "You are certainly right, Caleb. Not unlike Eric, am I correct?"
The tall blond male glanced between Xavier and Marie, back and forth twice. His right cheek dimpled slightly with a grin. "No...You two? The Great Xavier has fallen! You are locking them all down. I've been cock-blocked twice now."
Any amusement in Xavier's expression disappeared. Hawk and Jean moved forward next to Xavier. Caleb stepped back, raising his palms in front of him. "Whoa, I'm kidding. Kind of. I get it, everyone is off limits. This is business, not pleasure. I can take a hint. It's a shame though."
The three stepped in front of Evan and Marie, with Nathan joining them, creating a unified front before the females. Caleb's brows rose on his forehead. "Point taken."
By this time, Emil and the others had come over. Arazel came to stand next to Emil and said to Caleb, "These males take any threat upon their own very seriously. Keep it up, I'm tired of being scrutinized. Maybe they'll finally realize I'm not such a bad guy."
Caleb shook his head, and said, "You won't need to worry about me at all. I know how to play nice with others. I know when I've been warned, and trust me, I have no desire to make waves. The New York Coven does not have so many couples, we're just there for a good time, and when we need to work, we work. I meant no harm."
A/N:
Please bear with me, readers, I'm working full time, and have to get that work done. I hope to get at least one chapter a month done. I think there are maybe 10 chapters left (and I will definitely try to go faster, once they start to flow, it goes quickly). I appreciate you sticking with me, and the encouragement from votes and comments is much appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think. ~fey