instead of teenagers. It was very odd. Most of the tables around me were taken up by people in suits sipping coffee while staring intently at their laptop computers--lord forbid they go anywhere without a wi-fi connection, might miss an email while waiting for their flight. A mother and her three children were seated a few tables away, and one of the kids began bawling because her brother stole one of her fries. Another fine example of why I prefer cats to children. I don't have to haul my furry babies around and suffer through feline temper tantrums in public. Not that I'm morally opposed to children, I just didn't foresee any in my future.
"Here you go," Lex said, interrupting my train of thought. He handed me a small cardboard cup of steaming coffee and I sipped it. Vanilla latte, my standard gourmet coffee drink. I shouldn't have been surprised that he remembered, but for some reason just that simple detail made my throat tighten with emotion. Seating himself across from me, he sipped at his own cup.
"Why are we here?" I asked, my voice slightly strained.
"Waiting for someone."
"Okay. Pilot? Flight attendant? Business traveler?" I guessed, and he shook his head.
"Nope. Give it a few minutes, you'll see."
"Great." I leaned back in my chair and decided that questioning him further was going to get me jack in the way of information, so I changed the subject. "Still have those season Cubs tickets?"
Lex chuckled, giving me a grin that made my stomach do a fluttery flip-flop. "Sure do. I haven't been to one in awhile though, been pretty busy."
"Uh-huh. How's Marie doing?" Marie was one of Lex's many sisters, and the only family member of his I'd met.
"Not bad. She's still out in Denver, though our mama's been tryin' to get her transferred back home."
"Why?"
"Well the Duquesnes are based in Louisiana," a voice offered from behind me. "It's tradition that they eventually go home to roost, as it were."
Startled, I turned to see an aged janitor leaning against a mop, his tired brown eyes looking down at me from behind a pair of wire-rimmed eyeglasses. The man wore a plain gray coverall with an ID badge as its only decoration, and I wondered how I'd missed seeing him before. I guess he just blended into the background too well.
"Large family, the Duquesnes," he continued. "French originally, quite an interesting history." The janitor turned his gaze to Lex and then ran a gnarled hand through his wispy white hair as he eyed the younger man. "Figured I'd see you here, sooner or later. Looks like it's sooner. I don't have anything for you."
Curious, I surreptitiously sniffed at the newcomer, noting that beneath the strong smell of bleach was the subtle papery scent of a librarian. Guess that explained why we'd come out here--a librarian would have access to the sort of information we needed, and one who based himself in an international airport would hear all sorts of interesting information. There must be more magicians around us than I'd first assumed. It did make sense. Obviously we don't live by magic alone and we don't travel by flying on broomsticks.
"Nice to see you too, Pete. Pete, this is Cat."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Baker."
"Likewise."
"You sure you haven't heard anything?" Lex asked him, appearing unconvinced.
"All I have is speculation. Everyone's talking about Morrow's candidacy, of course, but no one knows the reason for it, or if they do they're not telling."
"What are they saying about his candidacy?" I inquired.
Pete picked up his mop, plopped the head into the bright yellow bucket on wheels next to him and took the seat next to me. "It's Laura's doing, obviously. I doubt Morrow's made a decision of his own since he took up with her, and she's got enough ambition for a dozen vampires. No one knows why she'd make this move though. In life she had no link to Faerie, so she isn't looking to reconnect with her past. She's prone to wild stunts, but this is odd even for her."
Tension pinched my
"Here you go," Lex said, interrupting my train of thought. He handed me a small cardboard cup of steaming coffee and I sipped it. Vanilla latte, my standard gourmet coffee drink. I shouldn't have been surprised that he remembered, but for some reason just that simple detail made my throat tighten with emotion. Seating himself across from me, he sipped at his own cup.
"Why are we here?" I asked, my voice slightly strained.
"Waiting for someone."
"Okay. Pilot? Flight attendant? Business traveler?" I guessed, and he shook his head.
"Nope. Give it a few minutes, you'll see."
"Great." I leaned back in my chair and decided that questioning him further was going to get me jack in the way of information, so I changed the subject. "Still have those season Cubs tickets?"
Lex chuckled, giving me a grin that made my stomach do a fluttery flip-flop. "Sure do. I haven't been to one in awhile though, been pretty busy."
"Uh-huh. How's Marie doing?" Marie was one of Lex's many sisters, and the only family member of his I'd met.
"Not bad. She's still out in Denver, though our mama's been tryin' to get her transferred back home."
"Why?"
"Well the Duquesnes are based in Louisiana," a voice offered from behind me. "It's tradition that they eventually go home to roost, as it were."
Startled, I turned to see an aged janitor leaning against a mop, his tired brown eyes looking down at me from behind a pair of wire-rimmed eyeglasses. The man wore a plain gray coverall with an ID badge as its only decoration, and I wondered how I'd missed seeing him before. I guess he just blended into the background too well.
"Large family, the Duquesnes," he continued. "French originally, quite an interesting history." The janitor turned his gaze to Lex and then ran a gnarled hand through his wispy white hair as he eyed the younger man. "Figured I'd see you here, sooner or later. Looks like it's sooner. I don't have anything for you."
Curious, I surreptitiously sniffed at the newcomer, noting that beneath the strong smell of bleach was the subtle papery scent of a librarian. Guess that explained why we'd come out here--a librarian would have access to the sort of information we needed, and one who based himself in an international airport would hear all sorts of interesting information. There must be more magicians around us than I'd first assumed. It did make sense. Obviously we don't live by magic alone and we don't travel by flying on broomsticks.
"Nice to see you too, Pete. Pete, this is Cat."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Baker."
"Likewise."
"You sure you haven't heard anything?" Lex asked him, appearing unconvinced.
"All I have is speculation. Everyone's talking about Morrow's candidacy, of course, but no one knows the reason for it, or if they do they're not telling."
"What are they saying about his candidacy?" I inquired.
Pete picked up his mop, plopped the head into the bright yellow bucket on wheels next to him and took the seat next to me. "It's Laura's doing, obviously. I doubt Morrow's made a decision of his own since he took up with her, and she's got enough ambition for a dozen vampires. No one knows why she'd make this move though. In life she had no link to Faerie, so she isn't looking to reconnect with her past. She's prone to wild stunts, but this is odd even for her."
Tension pinched my
Similar Books
