Cordelia nodded. “Oh, yeah, she’s going to be pissed.”
Bael jerked his shoulders. “Worth it.”
15
Cordelia
Cordelia was feeling no pain.
Well, that was an exaggeration. She was feeling mild amounts of pain, but she was surrounded by people who would—at any second—scramble to get her a snack or an extra cushion or whatever her heart desired. Sonja was in her kitchen, making some herbal tea that she promised was full of antioxidants and all sorts of healing properties. Siobhan had dropped off a half-dozen full pies of varying flavors, which Zed was considering carefully. Siobhan had insisted chocolate-rhubarb would be most restorative for Cordelia.
Dani was monitoring this activity to make sure Zed didn’t eat the pies himself. Jillian was sitting in her recliner, filling out all of her online report paperwork about “the incident at Afarpiece Swamp,” on her tablet, because Cordelia’s wrists wouldn’t allow typing. Bael helped with this effort, because he was sure that Jillian describing Walt as a “bedsore on the ass of humanity” was not a term the League would appreciate in an official report. Brendan had her feet in his lap and seemed to be watching her every movement, just in case she suddenly launched herself into a life-threatening situation from her couch. Will just tried to stay out of the way and occasionally checked her vitals.
It was strange, having all of these people at her home, in her space, touching her things. But she’d lived too much of her life alone. This was the life she wanted, surrounded by people she trusted, people who loved her, who would come running—or flying—when she was in trouble.
“So, if I don’t die like I was supposed to in a banshee vision, does that mean I live forever?” she asked as Brendan rubbed her socked feet. “Am I immortal?”
“Let’s never find out,” Brendan told her. “You took ten years off my life, woman.”
“I would say I’m sorry, but we both know I’m not, because I’m a certified badass. And I don’t like lying to the love of my life,” she said. “But I will try not to get held at gunpoint in the next six months, for your sake.”
“You OK, Cordy? You seem a little…extra verbal this morning,” Sonja said, setting the sharp-smelling tea mug on her side table.
“Well, between the mild concussion, fractured ribs, and the ringing in my ear that Will tells me will go away in a week if I’m lucky, I got to take a whole bunch of different pills.” She shot Will a wink that wasn’t nearly as smooth as she thought. “So I am not responsible for what I say for the next little while.”
“You doped up my little sister?” Zed accused Will.
“She’s taking an appropriate amount of pain medication prescribed by a licensed professional and she will stop taking them by next week. And she’s not really your little sister,” said Will.
“My maman is filling out the official adoption paperwork,” Zed said. “Also, I licked her. That makes her mine.”
Brendan frowned. “Can we find another way to phrase that?”
Zed shook his head. “No. Why?”
“If it makes you feel better, he did the same to me when we were kids,” Bael said. “He says it’s cultural. But I have my doubts.”
Brendan nodded. “That does make me feel a little better, thank you.”
Will raised his hand. “Just before I left for college.”
“Right after he found out I was pregnant,” Jillian added.
Sonja chirped from the kitchen, “Right after I almost died at the rift site.”
“See? That’s how I knew Walt wasn’t you,” Cordelia said.
“What?”
“Long story,” Cordelia said, waving her hand and then wincing at the pain in her wrist. Brendan took her hand and held it to his chest, soothing it with his cold touch.
“Speaking of the rift, I stopped by the site this morning to check on things and it’s completely dormant,” Dani said. “It’s basically just a scar now and you’d need abilities like mine to even feel it. A human could walk right up to the water’s edge and not even have a headache.”
“So Pandora held up her end of the deal. Oh, good, I was really hoping I hadn’t fallen victim to a classic ‘lying demon in a box’ gambit,” Cordelia said.
“And we have the casket in a secured League facility,” Sonja added. “On display, just like ‘Pandora’ asked, where people will pass her every day—high-level League people with super, double-secret security clearance, but people. But we didn’t have to use any special handling, because she poses no threat.”
Zed pulled Dani into his lap. “So are you saying that maybe we can relax for the first time in months and not feel this sense of impending doom all the time?”
Dani shrugged. “I don’t want to jinx us, but maybe.”
“On the theme of impending doom, you should know that I tracked your mother,” said Sonja. “The reason she dropped off of the radar is that she’s been in jail in Tallahassee for the last few weeks. She got caught with a bunch of checkbooks that didn’t belong to her.”
“Did you have anything to do with that?” Will asked.
Sonja shook her head. “Not this time.”
“How long will she be in?” Bael asked. “And is there a way I can make that an extended period of time?”
“Actually, she’s being held over for trial on those fraud charges,” Sonja said. “If she’s sentenced even in the middle range of what’s appropriate, she’ll be someone else’s problem for a decade or so.”
“So the ‘no impending doom’ thing might actually be real?” Zed asked.
At that very moment, there was an insistent knock at Cordelia’s door. Bael rose, checking the peephole before opening it. He sighed and opened the door, making a “come on in” gesture. Darwin Messina stepped into the living. He was holding a large tablet and a completely rigid posture. Cordelia could only imagine that he wasn’t comfortable with this level of casual seating, casual clothing, casual contact and…general casualness.
“We have a problem,” said Darwin.
Sonja slapped Zed’s arm. “You just had to say something.”
“Hey!” Dani objected. “No hitting!”
Zed rubbed his arm, frowning. “No, she’s right. I jinxed it.”
“Hi, Mr. Messina,” Cordelia said, attempting to sit up straighter on the couch.
“Ms. Canton, please don’t trouble yourself. I hope you’re recovering. I understand you were quite heroic in your efforts to protect the rift,” Messina said, his tone a bit warmer.
“Told you,” she said, smirking at Brendan. “Certified badass.”
“If this results in some sort of dangerous assignment inside a volcano, I’m going to be so pissed,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, but the hazardous duty bonus would be worth it,” Cordelia noted. “Look at all the money you were able to send home to Colleen!”
Mr. Messina cleared his throat. “I realize, I was perhaps forceful in my efforts to motivate you in your work with the artifact and I stepped over the line. And for that, I apologize. I never should have used the threat of your mother against you. Dr. Ramsay informs me that she has filed a complaint with the League’s Ethics and Sensitivity Office.”