Page 23 of King of Night
Kristy slowly shakes her head, looking out the window.“He’s like what, two thousand years old?”
“Give or take,” Lucas replies.
“I can’t imagine not seeing the sun or feeling itsClick here to enter text. warmth,” she goes on.“Did you miss it?”
“Not anymore than I missed human food,” Lucas answers.“Though the inconvenience of having to hide it Click here to enter text. was an annoyance.”
“Remember when we’d enjoy the dark in Svalbard?”Eliza reminisces, a smile on her face.“Two and a half months of night.”
“Please tell me you didn’t inspire those movies,” Kristy mumbles.
“What movies?”Eliza asks with fake innocence, but before she can keep poking, her phone rings.“It’s Rene.Again.I should answer.”
“From the bar?”I ask, almost forgetting that we own The Taproom in Chicago.
“Apparently there’s another distributor issue.”
“You deal with it,” Lucas tells Eliza.He’s been pushing her to take over, finally feeling after nearly three hundred years that she’s ready to have a little more responsibility.
“I’m going to have to go to the city,” Eliza pouts.
“You deal with it,” Lucas repeats.
“Actually,” I start and put my hand on Lucas’s chest.“Maybe we could all go to the city?Abby wants to get lunch.”
Eliza answers but doesn’t say anything and I know everyone is looking at me like I’m the crazy person I am.
“You know what?”Lucas starts and sits up.“Why the hell not?”
* * *
“I’ll just be down the street,” I tell Lucas, tapping the screen of my phone.Tabatha texted me on the drive into the city, letting me know that the burned herbs are indicative of a banishing spell, but there’s something in there they can’t identify.Fucking figures, right?We arrived at The Taproom just a few minutes ago, with Eliza, Eamon, and Lucas all racing from the car to the sun-proofed bar.
It’s a little annoying Eamon is tagging along like this, but it’s for the best.
We can keep an eye on him this way, both to make sure he doesn’t try to rally the troops, and also to see what he’ll do with all the new info he just acquired.I’m sure this is all messing with his head.He rolled into town thinking he was the biggest and baddest and he was met with archangels and the god of the Underworld.
“Text me when you’re there,” Lucas says, looking down at Juliet, who’s asleep in the sling.
“Yes, mom,” I say with a smirk, making Eamon laugh.Lucas’s eyes narrow ever so slightly and if I come back to find them both bloody after a brawl, I wouldn’t be surprised.“I’m literally goingClick here to enter text. a block away.And I’m going to be late.”
“Aren’t you always late?”Eliza asks, looking at bottles of booze on the counter in front of her, pretending to do inventory.
“Everyone else is just early.”I put my phone in my purse and hook it over my shoulder.“I love you.”
“And I love you.”Lucas steps close, kissing me before Juliet and I hurry outside, closing the door behind us.It’s a nice day, and the sun is out in full force.I adjust the fabric of the sling so Juliet isn’t blinded and start toward the restaurant where I’m meeting Abby.
“Callie?”someone calls right as I’m nearing the restaurant.“I knew it was you!It’s been too long!”
I look up.God dammit.Abby’s friend Ricci standing near the door.Abby is crouched down, trying to put shoes back on Penny, who just isn’t having it.I’m not looking forward to the toddler stage at all.“Oh, hey,” I say, forcing a smile.The last time I saw this woman, I telekinetically saved her kid from falling to his death over a second story balcony.
“Funny!I just ran into your sis here and it’s been a hot minute since we caught up.And I was literally about to ask how you’re doing!You had the baby!Oh my gosh!”Her voice goes shrill in her excitement, startling Juliet.“Look at her!Ohhhh, she looks just like her daddy.”
“Yeah,” I say slowly.Juliet definitely resembles Lucas, but there’s no way anyone could tell right now.She’s in the sling, with her head turned to the side away from Ricci.“She does.”
“He is one good looking man,” she starts and then quickly shakes her head.“Can I call him that?”
“Well, he is a man,” I reply, cocking an eyebrow.
