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  "This is awful. He feels something for Wynn, I think, and now she not only thinks somebody else got her out of that place, but Sali stepped right in and is getting Wynn's attention." Adele didn't often disagree with Aedan over Ashe's punishments, but she understood a little of what her son was feeling right then. "It would be different if Sharon's egg had been used. We know now that wasn't the case. Ashe can date Wynn if he wants."

  "Adele," Aedan rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "That's not the only thing we have to be concerned about. We have to impress upon that child that he is vulnerable. He needs the protection the community can provide. And he can mist faster than anything I've ever heard of. The Council's misters take a couple of minutes to do it, so it's a weapon of stealth, mostly. They're always busy. The last time I saw Henri and Gervais they looked exhausted, and vampires don't normally get that way. Same with the mindspeakers. Anthony, Robert and Albert are constantly in demand."

  "Will he be able to go to college? Do the things he might want to do with his life? Will he?" That question had bothered Adele of late. Was destiny herding her child into a life of complete concealment? At least she could open a business and run it as human, without fear that anyone would hunt her for the most part. Ashe deserved that anonymity. He deserved the right to go to college and work at something he enjoyed instead of slinking in the shadows. Even vampires appeared human when they walked among mortals.

  "I don't know. Certainly he can take courses online."

  "But that's not the same. I loved going to college, Aedan. I had friends among the humans and we had fun. Ashe won't get that, will he?"

  "I doubt it," Aedan winced uncomfortably. Adele studied her husband's face, afraid to voice her concern. It wasn't time, yet. Ashe would turn sixteen on Sunday. He had two years, she hoped. Perhaps a few beyond that. What happened then might determine many things in Adele's (and Ashe's) future.

  "I guess I won't be taking Ashe on that shopping trip, then, since you grounded him," Adele walked away from Aedan. "I have no idea what he wants for his birthday, and don't tell me that Wynn, her parents and Mr. Winkler don't owe him, Aedan. A lot of people do." The front door slammed behind Adele Evans, leaving Aedan in the kitchen cursing softly.

  * * *

  "Dori, Ashe has been grounded. He won't be doing anything until Sunday." Adele had decided to walk around the neighborhood. Dori, sitting on her front porch, had gotten up to talk with Adele as she wandered past.

  "Cori will be here on Friday," Dori said. "She knows Marco is here, and she wants to see Ashe, too."

  "She won't see Ashe until Sunday, Dori. Nobody will."

  "Mom said she'd take us to the beach on Saturday," Dori was still trying to get around Ashe's punishment.

  "Dori, don't ask. Ashe got in trouble and now he's being punished."

  "All right." Dori trotted back to her yard, leaving Adele to walk alone again.

  * * *

  Ashe heard the phone ring, and then listened while his father answered it. He'd heard the front door slam moments earlier and was learning now which parent had left the house. "Sali, Ashe has been grounded until Sunday. You may not call or visit until then," Aedan said. The phone was hung up seconds later.

  Ashe sighed as he unpacked his suitcase, tossing dirty clothes into his hamper and putting the rest in drawers or hanging it inside his new walk-in closet. He'd gotten the second-largest bedroom, which had its own bath and a small walk-in closet inside it. Nothing needed to be cleaned yet and he had nothing new to read. Sighing, Ashe pulled his battered copy of The Fellowship of the Ring off the shelf and flopped onto his bed to read it again.

  "Ashe, are you coming down for dinner?" His mother poked her head inside his bedroom door an hour later.

  "Not hungry," Ashe turned a page.

  "You have to eat something. I know they didn't serve lunch on Winkler's jet."

  "Don't mention that name to me, Mom." Ashe still hadn't looked at his mother.

  "Honey, I understand you're upset. You have to eat and Mr. Winkler is doing what he thinks is best for you. He's not a bad man, Ashe. Besides, I wanted to talk to you about what you want for your birthday. I have soup and sandwiches downstairs. Come and eat."

  "Not hungry, and I don't want anything for my birthday."

  "Son, you will get up now and go downstairs to eat." Aedan stood in the doorway beside his mother, his eyes red and power in his voice. Ashe blinked at his father. Was he trying to place compulsion?

  "Nice try, Dad. I'm not hungry and I don't want anything for my birthday."

  * * *

  "Nathan, I gave him the strongest I had on the second try, and it still rolled right off him. I don't know what this means," Aedan paced in front of Nathan. They'd gone to Nathan's garage and shut the door so Lavonna and Dori wouldn't hear.

  "What would it mean if he were human, Aedan?" Nathan was trying to get Aedan to view the incident objectively.

  "That would mean one thing, but he's not human."

  "And what if that's exactly what it means?"

  "I will not allow anyone to touch that child. Ashe will not become vampire unless he wants it. I'm telling you now to respect my wishes in this. I do not want this getting to the Council. They already know too much about him. Radomir promised he would hold off on telling Wlodek that Ashe can mist and mindspeak, because Radomir owes Ashe blood debt. You and I know how tenuous that promise might be."

  "I know," Nathan nodded. "They won't conscript until he's eighteen at the earliest, so you have two years, at least."

  "Do you want your girls looking eighteen forever? Do you? You know that anyone turned below the age of twenty will look that way for eternity. That law needs to be changed to twenty at the very least. Twenty-five if I had my way."

  "We don't get to make or change the laws that govern our race, Aedan. The Council and the Aristocracy do that."

  "I'm eight hundred sixty-seven, and they still treat me as a child most of the time. Even Adele doesn't know how old I am. I don't want to frighten her or Ashe with that."

  "Father," Nathan sighed. He so seldom called Aedan that. Hadn't called his vampire sire that in a very long time. Nathan was nearing six hundred, and Aedan had never abused his vampire child. "Father, you fret too much over this. Let it go. You know I will keep this secret, but I cannot control what Radomir or Winkler do or say. I think Radomir liked Ashe very much, else I think the Honored One would already have come to test Ashe himself."

  "He's just a boy," Aedan muttered, dropping into a folding chair Nathan had placed inside his garage.

  "I know. It's too bad that Adele couldn't conceive on her own—that a fertilized egg had to be procured to birth your son. But he is yours, Aedan. Never forget that. Just as Corilyn and Dorilou are mine."

  "He has my stubbornness, that much is certain," Aedan's Irish accent showed at times.

  "I wasn't going to bring it up, but since you freely admit it," Nathan grinned.

  * * *

  Ashe had no cell phone and Sali and the others couldn't visit, but he still had his computer. He booted it up to go looking around the area that way. He also had email from Sali, Wynn, Dori and Cori. Then he came across something from someone he didn't recognize. He almost didn't open it. Afterward, he could never say whether he thought it a good thing or a bad thing that he did.

  Greetings, the message began. I am your grandfather.

  Chapter 5

  You are not obligated to me, the message continued, but I must take the opportunity to warn you while I may. Trust no Elemaiya. They may offer many things, but those offers conceal lies. On both sides. Above all, do not reveal yourself to them. All will attempt to kill you should you do this. I cannot offer anything to you and past this message, you must mistrust me as well. The Queen has forgotten me for many years, but she will come soon and I must obey. I leave you with these final warnings: Make them fear you, grandchild, and beware the Diamond at the shining.

  I grant the love you are due,

 
Your grandfather

  "What the?" Ashe couldn't finish the sentence, he was so shocked. "How did you find me? Bloody 'ell," he quoted one of his favorite lines from a movie.

  Ashe didn't have many listed in his email address book so he set about transferring those to a new email address and deleting his old one. After all, hadn't the one who'd contacted him said not to trust any Elemaiya, including the one sending the message? Ashe took him at his word. Before he deleted everything, however, he printed a copy of the message and slipped it inside the dictionary on the top shelf of his library.

  "Time for bed," his mother's voice floated from down the hall. She knew Ashe would hear. Frowning grimly, he shut down the computer and went looking for clean pajamas.

  * * *

  "The Corpus Christi Packmaster has offered us space for a garden, and she has also offered summer jobs for anyone sixteen and older," Adele said Friday morning as Ashe sat at the kitchen island, eating a bowl of cereal. He'd gotten up before his mother because his stomach was growling. Adele had given the cereal an irritated frown before going to the stove to prepare an omelet. Now she sat opposite Ashe and was chattering away, although Ashe hadn't spoken, preferring silence except for the clinking of his spoon in the bowl and the sound of the cereal crunching in his mouth.

  "What kind of work, you ask, and a female Packmaster?" Adele was asking the questions Ashe was considering, so he kept chewing. "Her name is Shirley Walker, word has it she can stop a speeding bus one-handed and she owns cotton fields, grapefruit, avocado and peach groves. She needs help with the peach and avocado harvests. And no, cotton isn't picked by hand any longer. Machines do that."

  "Knew that already," Ashe said before he thought.

  "And here I thought you'd lost your ability to speak," Adele gave a small smile. "You need more than a bowl of cereal, Ashe."

  "I can make my own eggs," he grumbled, dipping up the last square of cereal and a half-spoon of milk.

  "Then make eggs," Adele said. "You need more than that; you haven't eaten since early yesterday." She nodded at the now empty bowl. Ashe picked it up and walked to the new dishwasher. The appliance was nicer than the one they'd had in Cloud Chief. He then went to the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs. His mother had gone to the grocery store, Ashe saw. The refrigerator was full.

  "When do I start? If the Corpus Christi Packmaster hires me, I mean?"

  "I wanted to take you in for your driver's exam on Monday; I found out where to go," Adele offered a real smile this time. "And don't stand there and tell me you don't want your license."

  "I do." Ashe cracked an egg into a bowl, followed by a second. Briefly, he beat the eggs with a fork; he liked scrambled eggs without milk added. Turning on the burner beneath the skillet, Ashe waited patiently for it to heat up properly before pouring in the beaten eggs.

  "Then we'll go on Monday. There's a bookstore not far from the Corpus Christi Department of Public Safety. You can take your driving test first and go looking for books after that. Shirley Walker says Wednesday is soon enough for people to come and interview. She realizes we're still settling in."

  "How did you find out about that?" Ashe stirred eggs in the skillet, watching them cook.

  "Marcus, of course. Shirley contacted him as soon as he arrived, I think."

  "How much does it pay?"

  "Minimum wage, but that's still good for anyone without prior work experience."

  "I have prior work experience." Ashe did—he'd worked afternoons, weekends and summers at Cordell Feed and Seed.

  "Ashe, that was unofficial. You didn't get a real salary and paid no taxes. This is a chance to do both those things. Plus, Shirley's groves are guarded by werewolves."

  "Fine." Ashe raked cooked eggs onto a plate, set the skillet on the back of the stove and turned off the burner. Grabbing the salt and pepper, he walked back to his seat at the island. "How many hours per day? What are the working conditions?"

  "I think it won't be more than eight hours, but that's a guess, Ashe. Harvests are unpredictable, as you know. I miss our vegetable garden."

  "The tomatoes were coming along," Ashe nodded. They'd had to leave their garden in Cloud Chief. Ashe loved fresh tomatoes.

  "I know, honey," Adele sighed. "And your father doesn't want to purchase another business here until the old one sells."

  "I understand that," Ashe nodded and scooped scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Were you going to do the same thing this time?"

  "I've checked out the market; there are several shops around doing the same thing. I don't think another feed and seed would be a wise investment."

  "And the beaches are glutted with souvenir and clothing shops," Ashe agreed. He'd already checked that for himself.

  "I see you've done your homework," Adele smiled. "But there isn't a bookshop in Port Aransas. I think it would have to be a new and used, with a coffee shop and free wi-fi, but I think we could make it work. Especially if we sold soft drinks and treats, too. The space can't be too large or the rent won't be cost effective. So we'll have to make wise use of a small shop."

  "How long will it take to sell the old store?" Ashe asked.

  "I don't know hon. Jason called and said somebody came by yesterday, but he thinks it was just a tire kicker."

  Ashe smiled at his mother's vernacular. A tire kicker was someone there to look only, more than likely. It came from the car sales industry, he imagined.

  The doorbell rang while they sat together, dreaming up ideas for a bookstore near the beach. "I'll get it," Ashe said, sliding off his barstool.

  "Nobody said I couldn't visit," Marco walked in with Marcus. Adele, who'd followed Ashe, gave Marco a hug. He grinned at Ashe's mother. "You may not want to hug me when I tell you what I came for," he was still grinning. "But I have to make a phone call, first." Marco hit a number on speed dial. Ashe heard it ring on the other end. He also recognized the voice when it picked up. Winkler.

  "Mrs. Evans is here, Mr. Winkler," Marco handed the phone to Adele.

  "Mrs. Evans?" Winkler said. Ashe could hear every word clearly. Marcus stood by, listening in.

  "Mr. Winkler?" Adele said. "What can I do for you?"

  "I hear Shirley Walker wants to put your son to work in the groves."

  "She has offered jobs to the kids who are sixteen or older. Ashe turns sixteen on Sunday."

  "I want to offer a job to Ashe as well. And it won't be twelve-hour days in the heat at minimum wage."

  "Mr. Winkler, that sounds dangerous to me."

  "It shouldn't be. He'll be working at the house with me. Seems word slipped out that he hacked into someone's computer before he was twelve. Now, I won't name any names, but those kinds of skills are valuable to me. I like to know which banks I provide security for are vulnerable. I'd like to give Ashe a crack at them and see if he can get past their electronic security, among other things. Send him to me for the summer, Mrs. Evans. He'll be constantly surrounded by my own security guards and paid a lot better. Talk it over with Ashe and your husband. I'd like an answer by Sunday evening, if that's possible."

  "I was going to take him for his driving test on Monday," Adele sounded stunned.

  "He can take it there or here. It doesn't matter. And I'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

  Ashe stared at Marco, who gave him a grin as he took the phone from Adele.

  "Ashe, do you want to do this?" His mother's golden-brown eyes searched his face.

  Ashe considered it for a moment. It only took that long, after all. "Yeah, I think I'd like to try it."

  "I think we'll have a sit-down soon and talk about hacking into computers, young man," Adele added. Marco laughed. Ashe knew the information had been passed from Cori to Marco, and then from Marco to Winkler. Ashe had hacked into Principal Billings' computer—twice—because Cori asked him to. The first time had been to check her math grade, not to change it, and the second was to look into Randy Smith's file that Billings had on his office computer. Billings knew about the firs
t time. Likely didn't know about the second. Ashe wasn't about to own up to that.

  "Look," Ashe reached out and tapped the front of Marco's shirt, causing Marco to look downward. Ashe flipped Marco's nose as he did so. Marcus burst out laughing.

  * * *

  "Son, I know you're still upset." Aedan sat on the end of Ashe's bed. It was Friday night and Ashe knew that Marco had taken Cori, Sali, Dori, Wynn, and two others to see a movie in Corpus Christi. They were likely going to eat while they were out, too. Ashe was missing it. He sat against the headboard of his bed, arms crossed over his chest while he examined the socks he wore. The white cotton stuck out against the faded black of his old jeans. He'd need new ones soon—these were getting short.

  "If I allow you to work for Mr. Winkler, you have to obey him. Just as you would your mother or me. The only reason I'm allowing this is that Mr. Winkler's wolves can likely protect you as well as you'd be protected here. Nobody will suspect you're there, I think. I'll tell Mr. Winkler that if this doesn't work out to send you straight home. Is that clear? Screw up, Son, and you'll be right back here having another talk."

  "I got it, Dad." Ashe still wasn't looking at his father.

  "Your mother is still fretting over your birthday. She wanted to invite friends over, but didn't know if you'd want that."

  "I don't." Ashe was ambivalent about it, but he stubbornly declared otherwise. He'd seen Sali, sitting in Marcus' van, his arm around Wynn when Marco drove away.

  "Then we're back to what you might want or need for your birthday."

  "I need new jeans. These are short," Ashe forced the hem on one leg down as far as it would go with the opposite toe.

  "I know you're still growing, Son. I'll see what Adele wants to do. You'll leave Monday evening; Mr. Winkler's sending the jet. Marco will go back with you. That leaves time to get your license on Monday, providing you pass the test."

  Ashe didn't say anything, he just nodded. He'd already gone through the Texas driver's education program online throughout the day. He fully intended to get his license on the first try. "I know I made a mistake, attempting compulsion. I broke a promise I made to myself when I did that," Aedan sighed, staring out Ashe's window.