of days. My daughter’s got a date this weekend with a high school senior. I sure would like to ride along and make sure he’s as nice as she thinks he is!”
Tony shook her head and laughed, “Oh, Joe, that is the worst idea ever! You may want her to speak to you again one of these days. Besides,“ she added, for apparently not-so-little Tanisha’s benefit, “if she’s old enough to date, she’s old enough to decide who. And I’m sure you’ve done your job in teaching her a few littles moves for those times she may have overestimated her date’s better qualities.”
Joe nodded his head, “Oh yeah, I sure did. She’s got them all--crotch grab, eye-gouge, keys through the finger and punch.” Phil winced through the list. “Plus, on date night, Jaques said he wanted to drop by for a game of backgammon, so loverboy will get to meet Uncle Jaques.”
“Dude, you don’t need this cloak. But Tanisha may need some long-term therapy when she’s older!”
Joe laughed, but got serious. “Hey, watch your back in there. Remember to be nice to old, ugly people, and if something offers you advice, listen to it, no matter how weird!”
Tony nodded, then realized Joe couldn’t see her. “I’ve got Phil here as back up.”
Joe looked at him, eyes narrowed, and asked aggressively, “You’re not in the Bureau. Who are you?”
Phil raised his brows at Joe’s belligerent tone and answered arrogantly, “I am more than enough to take care of any need Detective Newman may have during th is foray into the otherworlds.”
“Well, aren’t you special,” Joe started and Tony, sensing a high potential for bad outcomes for her buddy, interrupted.
“This is Mephistopheles,” she said, and reached out to grab Joe’s arm. The instant she touched him, the cloak’s spell ceased to work on him, and he saw the concern in her face. “He’s okay, and he’s, well, really old.”
Joe backed down immediately. Certain Beings had enough recognition that nothing else needed to be said. However, he looked at Phil, nodded, and reminded him,
“She’s an important asset to this district.” The implied threat came through.
“My dear sir,” Phil drawled, “she’s an important asset to more than the your district. I’ll brin g our little lamb back intact.”
Joe stared at him for a moment, then nodded and looked over at Tony, “Talk to you later, yeah?”
She nodded and turned to pull Phil along. “Let’s get going. This thing is driving me nuts!” With that, she hiked the skirts of the cloak up as high as she could yet still maintain some semblance of dignity and then walked faster to the portal with Phil grinning as he followed behind her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When Tony and Phil got to the portal’s Guardroom, Tony slowed to a halt, suddenly feeling a profound sense of dread that overcame the eagerness the trip had originally engendered. After they passed the uniformed cops on guard duty, they went into the Guardroom itself. Tony stopped at the coded entry and stood there, staring at the lock.
Phil smiled, “Forgotten the passcode, my dear?”
She took a deep, steadying breath. “Nope.”
“Lost your nerve?”
“Nope.”
“Changed your mind?”
“Hell, no,” she said and turned to look at the dark fae for whom this journey was a simple matter. “Do you get...premonitions?”
He sucked in a breath, “Yes, on occasion. Why?”
She shook her head and reached out to type in the code, then press her f-light to the keypad, after she dug it out from under 20 pounds of hair shirt. “What’s it like?”
“A premonition?”
She looked at him from under her brows.
“Yes, yes, stupid question,” he tilted his head to to one side and paused. “It feels like...like waking in the middle of the night to all the voices in your head that you can’t make stop. It feels like a holiday when the person you want to spend it with just died. It feels like something is trying to rip out of your belly and you
Tony shook her head and laughed, “Oh, Joe, that is the worst idea ever! You may want her to speak to you again one of these days. Besides,“ she added, for apparently not-so-little Tanisha’s benefit, “if she’s old enough to date, she’s old enough to decide who. And I’m sure you’ve done your job in teaching her a few littles moves for those times she may have overestimated her date’s better qualities.”
Joe nodded his head, “Oh yeah, I sure did. She’s got them all--crotch grab, eye-gouge, keys through the finger and punch.” Phil winced through the list. “Plus, on date night, Jaques said he wanted to drop by for a game of backgammon, so loverboy will get to meet Uncle Jaques.”
“Dude, you don’t need this cloak. But Tanisha may need some long-term therapy when she’s older!”
Joe laughed, but got serious. “Hey, watch your back in there. Remember to be nice to old, ugly people, and if something offers you advice, listen to it, no matter how weird!”
Tony nodded, then realized Joe couldn’t see her. “I’ve got Phil here as back up.”
Joe looked at him, eyes narrowed, and asked aggressively, “You’re not in the Bureau. Who are you?”
Phil raised his brows at Joe’s belligerent tone and answered arrogantly, “I am more than enough to take care of any need Detective Newman may have during th is foray into the otherworlds.”
“Well, aren’t you special,” Joe started and Tony, sensing a high potential for bad outcomes for her buddy, interrupted.
“This is Mephistopheles,” she said, and reached out to grab Joe’s arm. The instant she touched him, the cloak’s spell ceased to work on him, and he saw the concern in her face. “He’s okay, and he’s, well, really old.”
Joe backed down immediately. Certain Beings had enough recognition that nothing else needed to be said. However, he looked at Phil, nodded, and reminded him,
“She’s an important asset to this district.” The implied threat came through.
“My dear sir,” Phil drawled, “she’s an important asset to more than the your district. I’ll brin g our little lamb back intact.”
Joe stared at him for a moment, then nodded and looked over at Tony, “Talk to you later, yeah?”
She nodded and turned to pull Phil along. “Let’s get going. This thing is driving me nuts!” With that, she hiked the skirts of the cloak up as high as she could yet still maintain some semblance of dignity and then walked faster to the portal with Phil grinning as he followed behind her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When Tony and Phil got to the portal’s Guardroom, Tony slowed to a halt, suddenly feeling a profound sense of dread that overcame the eagerness the trip had originally engendered. After they passed the uniformed cops on guard duty, they went into the Guardroom itself. Tony stopped at the coded entry and stood there, staring at the lock.
Phil smiled, “Forgotten the passcode, my dear?”
She took a deep, steadying breath. “Nope.”
“Lost your nerve?”
“Nope.”
“Changed your mind?”
“Hell, no,” she said and turned to look at the dark fae for whom this journey was a simple matter. “Do you get...premonitions?”
He sucked in a breath, “Yes, on occasion. Why?”
She shook her head and reached out to type in the code, then press her f-light to the keypad, after she dug it out from under 20 pounds of hair shirt. “What’s it like?”
“A premonition?”
She looked at him from under her brows.
“Yes, yes, stupid question,” he tilted his head to to one side and paused. “It feels like...like waking in the middle of the night to all the voices in your head that you can’t make stop. It feels like a holiday when the person you want to spend it with just died. It feels like something is trying to rip out of your belly and you
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