Chapter Twenty-Four

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Congratulations and a few small cheers went up from the assembly, but Colt remained standing, and they eventually quieted down to hear what else he had to say. Colt took a deep breath and put one hand on Faith’s shoulder. He was more nervous about this announcement than he had been about accepting the Clan, for some reason.

“I’d like you all to know that Faith and I are mates. She has agreed to our mating and wants a human-style wedding. You’re all invited, once we know the date, time and location.” Now, the cheers were even more jubilant, and congratulations were spread around the room for a good long while. It was Gavin who finally broke through the chatter by speaking loudly to Faith and Colt.

“If that estate you just inherited from your aunt is halfway decent, you could have the reception there.” Gavin clapped Colt on the shoulder and leaned in to kiss Faith on the cheek as she stood next to Colt. “Welcome to the family, Faith. You’re my favorite Demon Slayer.” His grin was wide and goofy.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Faith replied. “And the jury is out on that estate. We’ll have to see if it’s suitable. After all, we don’t know what kind of nastiness the former owners might’ve left behind. We didn’t get to see too much of the place.”

“Well, they didn’t own it long, so they probably didn’t have too much time to taint the place with their evil,” Sam offered, moving to stand next to Gavin.

Everybody was up now, taking a little break from the intensity of the debrief to offer congratulations and stretch their legs. Nathan and Gunnar came over to offer their congratulations and opinion on cleaning up the place magically.

“The stream that runs behind this development is also the boundary of one part of that estate,” Nathan reminded them. “We swam up there earlier, and there’s nothing bad in the water. We could take a look at the buildings later today or tomorrow, if you like.”

“Would you?” Faith said, looking up to meet Nathan’s gaze. She was smiling at the older man, and Colt could see her relief. Apparently, his mate knew a bit more about selkies than he did. He’d have to talk to her about it later. “I’d really appreciate it. I hate the idea of leaving the place empty right now, just in case any of the Rollinses creep back there.”

“No fear of that,” Sam said. “I’ve posted guards to prevent anybody from trespassing. Our people are on the perimeter, but now that you’ll be the new owner, if I have your permission, we’ll move them up to the house after Uncle Nate and Cousin Gunnar clear it magically. I think you should know that I’ve already asked Granny Tucker to send someone to inspect the property and the house for magical traps or other surprises. I suspect she’ll agree, and I think you should take her up on it to be absolutely certain everything is clean. After all, we’re dealing with human magic, and the Rollinses are among the craftiest of mages, regardless of their leanings. No offense, Nate.”

“None taken.” Nathan nodded generously. “We’ll do the preliminary inspection. Having a human magic user come behind to make certain we don’t miss anything is only good common sense.”

“If you like, we can help develop a punch list of tasks to complete, if you want to go over there with us this afternoon,” Gunnar offered, looking at Colt and Faith expectantly.

Colt decided to give in to the Clan’s desire to help and just accept graciously. Faith was already nodding her agreement with the plan, and they didn’t have anything else on their agenda today. They might as well take a look at the place and see the house. All they’d really observed of the estate so far were the woods, part of the cleared grounds far from the main house and the driveway they’d first encountered from the road. He hadn’t really gotten a good look at any of the structures on the property, and he was curious. According to the maps they’d been working with earlier, the place was huge. A real, honest-to-goodness mansion on extensive grounds. Never in a million years would Colt have thought he’d end up owning such a place. But his newfound selkie relatives were waiting for an answer. Colt put away his shock and awe and got back to the matter at hand.

“If Faith is up to it, I don’t see why not,” Colt said, offering his hand to both of the older men. “Thanks on all counts.”

“The Clan stands ready to help clean up the estate, if you like,” Sam offered, once again surprising Colt with his generosity. “Though of course, the place is yours, so we’ll follow your guidance on what you want done. But I want you to know you’ll have our support, and I’m willing to foot the bill too. Think of it as a mating gift.” Sam shrugged as Colt’s mouth dropped open. The place was huge. That bill could be very high, indeed. Sam grinned at Colt’s obvious shock, then turned to Faith. “Welcome to the family, Faith. We’re glad to have you.” Sam looked pointedly at Colt. “Both of you.”

Everybody refreshed their beverages and then sat back down around the big conference table as the meeting resumed a short while later. Sam brought the meeting back to order, reading from his laptop. Apparently, some new messages had come through while they’d been speaking earlier.

“Granny Tucker sent along some notes. She and Florence have been talking about the estate a bit more. The family didn’t live there, but only bought it because of its location near our housing development. Just as we suspected. To Florence’s knowledge, they didn’t have time to lay any really bad spells on the place, but Granny Tucker is going to send out one of her top students to have a look tomorrow and nullify anything they find. In the meantime, Florence is concerned that some of her family members might have left personal effects there. If so, she wants us to box them up and put them in a public storage facility for later consideration. She also says you can do whatever you want with any furnishings. If you don’t like them, throw them into storage as well. The storage bill will be paid by a Rollins holding company. The patriarch left quite a bit of capital and not a few properties behind. Florence is a wealthy woman now,” the Alpha mused.

“How much you want to bet one or more of the surviving Rollinses go after her for it? The woman probably has a price on her head now,” Gunnar offered to murmuring agreement from those around the table.

Faith didn’t like the sound of that. She wasn’t sure about Florence, but it must be pretty awful to have her family at odds like that. If Florence remained an ally, Faith resolved to try to help her, once Elspeth and her followers were dealt with. Of course, if the Venifucus was eliminated, in all likelihood, Florence’s problem might disappear as well.

“Now, as for the other loose ends. The traitorous Marsh Witch, Mrs. Entwistle, was definitely in the area as of two days ago, but we lost her trail yesterday morning. It’s possible the Rollinses wanted all the supposed glory for themselves and made her leave. It’s also possible she has some ability of foresight—or access to a foreseer—and got out of town while the getting was good, before the events of yesterday occurred,” the Alpha went on with his reporting. “We’re going to have to keep an eye out for her. She has a grudge against us and against our allies. I expect trouble from her in the future, so let’s try to preempt that as much as possible.” Sam handed out assignments to several of the people around the table, assigning them various tasks that might help track down the elusive witch.

“Gavin, Miguel and Jose, I want you three to interface with your mercenary contacts,” Sam told the men. “See if you can get any intel on Mrs. Entwistle, but also on the movements of the Rollinses who got away yesterday. Florence has given us the names and familial relationships of those she saw slink away. I want to track them all down and keep tabs on them. There are also a few younger Rollinses who might need protection from the elders, according to Florence. We’ll have to investigate, and I’d like you, Gavin, to head up that team.”

“Yes, sir,” Gavin replied immediately, taking some notes on a pad in front of him.

“There’s also the little matter of your magic, and Colt’s,” Sam added. “Granny Tucker is going to send one of her senior students to us to evaluate you both. I’ll let you know when she’s scheduled to arrive, though it’ll probably be in a few weeks, Granny says.”

Faith was glad. She wasn’t well-versed enough in magic of the regular variety to know how to help Colt learn more about his nascent abilities. He needed training from a real witch. All Faith really knew was her own specialty.

Speaking of which, she had to make something clear to the Alpha, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it in front of everyone. She waited until the meeting broke up, and then, she made a beeline to Sam’s side, hoping to get a word with him.

“Alpha, can I have a quick word, please?” she asked. Sam nodded and moved with her off to one side of the big room. Faith was glad Colt was right behind her. They’d only been together a short time, but already, she liked having him close.

“What can I do for you, Faith?” Sam asked pleasantly.

“I just wanted to be sure you realized that while the Demon Wars are happening, I’m going to have to do a lot of traveling. I need to go wherever I’m called. It’s part of the whole Demon Slayer thing.” She smiled nervously. “I wanted you to know that, officially, because I didn’t want you to take my absence from Houston—if, and when, it occurs—as any sort of slight to yourself or the Clan.”

Sam smiled at her. “Faith, you don’t know me well enough yet, but I’m not that kind of Alpha. We all go wherever duty takes us when the time is right. I, myself, end up in Africa more than I like these days, but I have responsibilities there. Just as you have responsibilities to your calling. I understand, and I will never take it amiss,” he promised her generously. “If you ever need the help of myself, or the Clan, all you have to do is ask. We’re all in this together, though we all have different gifts and abilities.” He touched her shoulder benevolently. “Thanks for telling me. I understand and support you in your calling,” he said formally.

Faith felt relief roll off her in waves. “Thanks, Alpha.”

“Call me Sam. I don’t really stand on ceremony, though I know that annoys some folks who expect me to be the big bad lion king.” He chuckled, and her smile widened.

“Thanks, Sam.” Daring greatly, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. “I think I’m going to like being part of this family.”