Chapter 6

Layla felt the moment that Madison woke up. It wasn't a painful awareness, but like she'd been in the room with him when he opened his eyes. It had only been a few hours. She'd carried him with the help of Marlon Brando, him doing most of the work up to the bedroom. Putting him on the mattress didn't bother her. What did bother her, and she was trying hard not to think about it was the dragon. The sucker was as big as she was.

"Mistress, Master Madison wishes for you to join him for a meal to break your fast." She nodded, distracted by her thoughts to give what was being said much in the way of her attention. "He is having a full meal and I have ordered you one as well. You must keep up your strength."

That was another thing that she'd figured out when she'd headed down the stairs earlier. There were considerably more faeries in their home, and they all seemed to be treating her with kid gloves. Or something along those lines. But she did know that they were either keeping their distance from her while being right on the spot when they thought that she might be needing something. Then, it was like a million of them were ready to do it. Even to pick up a scrap of paper that she'd dropped while looking for something else.

Giving up on trying to figure out what was an herb or not in the little garden, one that wasn't there before, to help the cook out Layla made her way to the house. Since she didn't cook, it was something that she'd never encountered before. Fresh herbs? Christ, she wasn't going to start milking cows—she thought about the dragon on her back again, and it distracted her from what she'd been thinking. Really, she was ranting again.

Coming out here had been, she realized an hour ago, a way to get her out from under the cook's feet. Layla didn't mind so much because she was irritating to herself then and hadn't put up much of a fuss to be asked to go outside for a little while.

She laughed when she saw Madison. He was just as weirded out as she had been when she got up. The sheer number of other creatures in the house was enough for that to bother someone like they were in that they were people who liked to have solitude. But she'd bet anything that he'd seen that he had a dragon the size of New York on his back as she had.

Well, it really wasn't that big, but she knew that if it had to stretch out like it did sometimes, it would cover her entire backside from feet to the scalp. And it moved. But that wasn't the part that scared her to bejesus. It was the fact that he spoke to her. All. The. Time.

Kissing Madison as soon as she came into the house, he hugged her to him as if, like her, he needed contact with her. He sat down when he was given a platter, no other word for the massive amount of food that was on his plate and started to eat. Her platter, equally full, was set in front of her as well, she also got an endless glass. She'd had one earlier this morning, and that, too, had knocked her reality check right off the charts.

"I feel like I'm in a nightmare. Or a regular dream. I don't want to speculate on which right now." She agreed with him and drank down the glass of orange juice to see if this one was like the one from earlier. Yes. It filled to the brim, too. "I found out if you touch the glass and tell it that you want…I don't know apple juice, you'll get that. Even if the glass is full. I'm trying not to lose my shit right now, so you tell me about something that is normal. Or I guess as normal as you can make it."

"You've been around magic longer than I have. Why are you suddenly unsure about…I could only make things come to me, only when I concentrated really hard. Now you'd not believe—"

He grabbed her hand when she started to show him what she could do. "Don't. I beg of you, don't show me something that you can do. Later. All right? We'll talk about that later." Nodding, she told him she could do that. "Where is Kyle this morning? Out in the yard or something?"

"He's in the other realm hanging out with the queen. A queen, Madison. A real live fucking queen." He patted her hand, and she felt like he was patronizing her and didn't know if she should be pissed or comforted by it. "We have about an hour before we have to be at the courthouse for the hearing with the lawyers."

"I was told that as well. Are there more faeries than before?" He'd asked her in a whispered voice like he didn't want to draw any attention to himself. "Layla, I have a very serious question for you." She nodded. "Are we dead?"

She couldn't help it. Layla burst out laughing. Shaking her head and then nodding, Madison told her that she wasn't at all helpful. Grabbing him by his shirt, she lifted him right up off his chair and spoke to him.

"Look, Buster. I'm dealing with this shit the best I can. We have faeries around the house that weren't there before. They are armed with bows and arrows, too. There is a fucking dragon on my back that moves. Yes, I said that he moves. And he moves when he wants to. Not enough for your mind? Well, let me tell you something else. He's opinionated and speaks his—yes, I said that too, he speaks his mind at me because I'm ignoring him. So if you have to have yourself a little hissy fit because you're all scared, I want you to know that this shit just got real, and I'm afraid that I'm losing my fucking mind here." She glared at him before speaking again. "Are we dead? Seriously? You had to ask me that now? You keep asking questions like that one, and you will be."

Madison laughed. It wasn't a very jovial laugh but one that she thought was reserved for the insane. Smacking him across the face, just to keep his attention on her, he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it. She asked him if he was better now.

"I do believe I'm getting there. Thank you." She told him that he was welcome before she could figure out what he was thanking her for. Just as well, she thought, Mr. Dragon was speaking to her again. "I can hear him. He's…I don't know how this is working, but I can hear him, too. He says that we're to get going if we want to be on time to the courthouse. Is that right?"

Nodding and standing up, she was surprised to see that they'd both eaten their breakfast. All of it. Drinking down more juice, something that she'd been craving since she'd come down here earlier this morning. She forgot to mention to Madison that she could change her clothing with just a thought when he turned his back on her when she did just that.

"Not much more, Love. I'm easing into this better, but not as fast as you are." She said that she'd been down here alone dealing with it. "In this house? I doubt we'll ever be alone again. Let's get going. Oh, my dragon's name is Jennifer. Yes, Jennifer. She doesn't have…we should get going."

They were nearly to the courthouse when she was told what her dragon's name was. His name was Roth. Why? How the hell did she know. After getting spiffied up—she really was dead, she thought if she was using words like spiffy—out to the car. Madison was already there and dressed just as spiffily—was that even a word? He looked good to her, too.

The parking lot was packed at the courthouse. That wasn't really saying a great deal. She thought that at any time, there were only about ten spaces. But the streets that were along the road in front were packed up tightly, too. Pulling into the parking lot a street over, the two of them made their way there to hopefully find them a seat.

There were people standing around the place. She loved this old building. It had a great deal of charm that you could only get from a small-town courthouse. Even though parking was at a minimum outside, there were plenty of places for people to stand around mingling with their attorneys or just friends that they'd seen not an hour ago. The flowers in the pots were beginning to fade with the coming fall, but the flags, all sorts of them from different branches of the service, as well as boy scout flags, girl scouts, as well as the local union of things that were around town as well.

As soon as they entered the largest room in the building, they were seated next to his family. They had all come in support of her, and she couldn't have been happier about it. Layla only hoped that she had enough money left over to finally put a headstone on her parent's grave and that of her grandparents. Money had been tight for a long time, and she wanted that more than anything.

Even though Madison said that he'd pay for those things and she had the money from the sale of the house, Edgar had told her not to spend anything yet just to make things look good for the court. While she didn't have any idea what that might mean, she agreed to hold off until after the court hearing.

~*~

The side for the attorney side of the courtroom was overflowing with men and women dressed in dark suits with leather briefcases that had initials on them. Madison didn't know who they were trying to impress, but it was an overshow on their part. Edgar and his brother Dyson, who only just got home from his vacation, were seated at the other table. While Edgar was tanned, Dyson looked like he'd spent his time outdoors on a surfboard. His hair was blonder, and his tan radiated good health. It didn't take his brothers very long with their heads together to realize that this was a slam dunk case. He hoped so. Layla was upset that they'd taken all her family away from her.

The autopsies had come back with each member of her family having a large dose of fentanyl in their bodies. Her brother had the most, being the first person that they killed. His family surmised that they messed up the dosage that killed him. That was, he had heard from Edgar what was going to cost them the most. He'd been a minor as well as a recovering addict when they murdered him. He was just speaking to his dad about something that didn't have to do with the hearing today when things were called to order.

After everyone was seated, the judge called up an attorney from each table. While he could hear that there was an intense conversation going on, he couldn't quite make out the words. Something about paperwork being filed late and there were too many people someplace.

When they were told to be seated, the judge looked around the room. Whatever he had to say, it wasn't sitting well with the other side. After clearing his throat twice, the judge, Maklin Jameson, asked for and received a glass of water. Then, he addressed the courtroom.

"It's been brought to my attention that there is a murder or two that goes along with this hearing. Is that correct?" Edgar stood up and said that several murders were now attached to this hearing. "That's right. Brother to the young woman…where are you, young lady?" Layla stood up and repeated her name, including his sir name. "Yes, that's right. Your brother, a minor, your parents, both sets of grandparents, some domestic help—I don't care for that title but there you have it. Also, there is some question about a couple of police officers who were injured when someone showed up at your home to murder you as well. Or I should say that's what I heard— allegedly heard. Is that correct, Mrs. Walsh? That you were nearly murdered and had to spend a few days in the hospital over this?"

"Yes, sir, your honor. I didn't know that at the time, however. And you should also know that if not for the quick thinking of my now husband, I would have been killed. While he was there to keep me from being shot, that's how we met." He stood up, too, when asked. "The attorneys of Schuster and Schuster had been to my home not moments before to pay me off. Again, I didn't know that at the time. But they offered me forty million dollars but I had to sign some paperwork and take the check. I didn't, of course. For no other reason than I don't particularly trust lawyers."

Everyone got a good chuckle out of that, including the judge. "Yes, well, I can certainly understand that. All right. Let me have a look here. I'm a no-nonsense sort of judge, and if we can come to a deal here that both parties can agree on, then—"

"Sir, we are here because we just don't know what she's speaking about. Her paperwork says that my client has robbed her of millions of dollars. I don't see—"

"Of course, you don't see. That's what I'm here to see to. There is, from my understanding, a great deal of evidence that shows that not only was your client attached to the murders that I've mentioned, but there are actual places where their fingerprints were found on the body. Now, if that doesn't tell you something, well, I don't know what. Now sit your butt down and close that trap of yours before I fine you. I'm in a good mood, and if you continue to jump up to speak before I tell you to, then this is going to go badly quickly." He picked up the file. "Were you given one of these? Yes, I can see you nodding. Then you should perhaps go over the notes in here and the accusations as well as proof that your clients are about as guilty as they come and figure out what kind of years they're going to be spending in the nice new prison that we have for people like them." When he started to speak again, the judge hit his gavel on the table and told him to sit down and shut up again.

The judge didn't have a nameplate, and Madison wasn't sure if he'd actually said his name. But he was reading through the files and asking questions of his team of men and women behind him. As it turned out, they didn't have anything new on the case by lunch, and the judge called it for one hour. His entire family joined them in the lobby to speak quietly to each other.

"He's kind of a nice guy, right? I'm not sure if that's it or he's just a man who likes order." Edgar told Layla that he'd worked for the man, Judge Parsons, when he'd done his last stint as a lawyer. He really enjoyed him. "He does have a way about him."

Since he'd had such a large breakfast, he and Layla didn't want anything to eat. As it turned out, they had all had a large breakfast and weren't all that hungry either. By the time the judge called things to order again, they were talking about their dragons and what it meant. His mom said that she'd check with her mom to see what she might know. It bothered him that his own mom didn't know what was going on with the two of them.

The judge started speaking almost before anyone was seated again. He had come to a decision, it appeared and he seemed quite pleased with it. As he smiled at Layla, he asked her to come to the bench. Edgar stood with her. She asked for him to be with her, and the judge nodded to him to join his wife.

"Now, my dear, by using one of those fancy calculators on my phone, I come to an amount that the firm owes you. I might have missed a number or two here, but I think we're about in the same ballpark that your attorneys are. All right?" She said that she'd not heard the number, so she trusted him. "There's a good girl. Now, if I figure in all the money that is owed to you, with the deaths of each of your family members—even though we don't have all the autopsy back yet, I'm thinking that they'll be all the same verdict. If that's true, then with the policies that they had, you're owed about six hundred and fifty-two million dollars. Is that what you have?"

He was happy that he was standing behind Layla or he might not have caught her when she started to sway. After making sure she was all right, the judge ordered a chair and a glass of water for her. Madison thought that he could use something a bit stronger when the man continued.

"Now, with the double indemnity with them being murdered, that comes to—are you all right, honey?" Nodding at the judge, he winked at Layla and told them how much was going to be coming to her in the name of insurance. "That will come to just over one billion, three hundred million dollars. A wee bit over that, but I think you get the picture here."

"Yes. Christ, yes." They laughed with him. Parsons looked at him when he asked if he could ask a question.

"They'll try very hard not to pay that, sir. But we know for a fact that they have insurance policies that haven't been cashed yet, as well as items that they've purchased with the money that they were able to get to. I'd like to propose, after speaking with my wife, that we take it all. The homes that they've purchased with her money, cars, land, and anything else that they've gotten with her money." He said that was what he was going to suggest. Just run them out of town. "Thank you, sir. I'm sure you know my mom. She's been digging into things for a while now and has found quite a few offshore accounts that they have as well as property and other things in their wives' names as well as grandchildren."

"Not from anyone under the age of eighteen. Don't take that from them. But they can only use it for good." Parsons asked her to define good. "College. Or some kind of higher education. And I'd like to appoint someone in this family to oversee it. That way, we can make sure that this doesn't happen again to someone else."

"Very smart girl. Yes, I like that idea all around." He asked them to have a seat. "By the way, congratulations on the marriage."

The law firm was devastated. Also, it was going to have to be closed down. Which was something that his family had anticipated all along. The building, one of theirs, was going to be cleaned from top to bottom after the FBI was finished—a group that Parsons had called in when it was apparent that this wasn't going to be an easy transfer of funds. As they were leaving, all the money taken care of from offshore accounts, money in luxuries that the firm had purchased, it was still not going to be everything that she was owed. There was also the problem with the fact that other people were coming forward about being taken advantage of by the firm. He was glad that he never really enjoyed being an attorney. This was going to be a case that lingered around for a few years and he wanted no part of that.

Layla was happy with the results. She was going to get her money back on the things that she'd been paying on that turned out to be untrue. Also, what made her the happiest was that she was going to be able to have a marker to be put on her family's resting places and she'd not have to work day and night to get it down. In fact, she was going to stop being a doctor for the time being and enjoy not owing anyone.

"Oh, before I forget, I've been looking into relatives for Kyle. So far, there is no one. With his father in jail, and it looks as if he's going to be there for a while, the Child Services system is happy with where he is for now. If they can't find anyone related to him in the next four years, that's the number they gave me, then you can adopt him. Seems sort of cruel to me to take him after four years, but that's the system for you." Layla thanked Dyson when he kissed her on the cheek. "I decided that when my mate comes along, and I've no doubt now that she'll be soon, then I'm going to treat her like a goddess and worship the ground she walks on."

"She might not like that any more than you bullying her all the time either. She might come along and kick your ass." Dyson pretended to think about that and said he'd take it. He just wanted the feeling of being settled into a domestic life and enjoying that with someone that he could love. "Christ, that was mushy. If you want any kinds of tips on how to treat a woman, go to Kyle. He's responsible for me being the man that I am now. At least that's what he'll tell you if you ask him."

They were all laughing when they got into their cars. Almost as soon as he turned the engine over in this car, he got out again and looked up. It was snowing. Just a dusting, of course, but the tiny white flakes were coming down to make a white showing on the ground.

"I bet you go all out for Christmas." Madison told Layla that they used to, but not in the last few centuries. That there wasn't any need to when they were all older than dirt. She laughed, just what he'd been going for. "We'll have to go all out this year. With Kyle with us, I'm betting that he's never had a good Christmas or, for that matter, holiday before. I want him to have the best ones while we still have him. I hope that means forever, but I'm willing to take what I can get with him."