office.”
The head of the clan fury worked as an investigator for the Office of Domestic Violence in the Department of Social Services in New York. Latisha had a cramped cubby up on the third floor. She was on the phone when they arrived and motioned them to sit. “I got it,” she barked into the receiver while scribbling furiously on a pad. “I’ll chat with him. Don’t worry, Angie. I guarantee he won’t show up there again… No, don’t call the police. I’ll take care of it…Uh-huh…You’re welcome… Goodbye.” She hung up the phone.
“Problems?” asked Grace kindly.
“Not for long. My client’s ex-boyfriend tracked her down and threatened to kill her if she didn’t come back. He and I will have a word.” For an instant, the woman’s delicately manicured fingernails lengthened into razor sharp talons before Latisha forced her emotions under control. “What may I do for you two ladies?”
Grace dropped her voice. “You know what happened, of course.”
Latisha’s voice went from cold to compassionate. “Of course, I’m so sorry. What they did to Brian is awful.”
“Thank you. Latisha, I think something else is going on.”
“Like what?”
“I heard you met with the Baal.”
“You wonder what Mr. Personality wanted with a low level demon like me.”
“I mean no disrespect, Fury.”
“None taken. You and Brian always treat everyone square. I swear Dominic’s uncle, the previous head of the baal clan, never speaks to anyone who isn’t a golfing buddy.” She furrowed her brow. “The meeting was odd, actually. Dominic is supposed to keep tabs on the demon population, but this is the first time he ever called me in to ask about the other furies—are they satisfied with how things are handled…that sort of thing.”
“Is that all he wanted?”
“Yup. Like I care about politics,” she snorted. “I think he’s all bent out of shape because of talk again about putting a human warden on the council. Now that I think about it, maybe he wanted my opinion.”
Grace’s eyes shot open. “A human warden? This is the first I heard about it.”
“Comes up about once a generation. Don’t know what the big deal is and I told him so. Hell, he has as much human blood as the rest of us. After all, his mother was human.”
“It’s more about sharing power,” said Sadhri. “Another vote on the council means less influence for Dominic.”
Latisha shrugged. “Could be, or maybe his uncle is on his ass. The old Baal never wanted anything to upset the status quo. I told Dominic everything was hunky dory with the furies. Now if you’ll excuse me ladies,” she flexed her fingers. “I gotta go persuade Mr. Martino to leave his ex-girlfriend alone.”
Grace filled in Brian on her next visit. “Was Latisha right? Could the wardens put a human on the council?”
“Stephen is all for it. An odd number of wardens prevent deadlocks. His dad, the last Odin, was old school like Dominic’s uncle—stay hidden, don’t make waves. Many Integrals now want something more. The opportunity for advancement within the corporation is limited, especially for lower level clans. Many want to assimilate into the human world, but need help. Look at Latisha. She’s a hard-working civil servant with a human husband, two kids, and a mortgage. She had to find a way out on her own and deal with criticism from the old guard.”
Grace eyed her husband lovingly. “You were always concerned their voices weren’t heard.”
“Some wardens listen. Stephen asked me at the party for my support even though I’m not a warden. He wanted to meet later to talk over a plan to approach the others.”
Her eyes flew open. “You didn’t tell me—”
“I planned to. The request slipped my mind when The Book disappeared.”
“No wonder he wanted your support,” Grace remarked. “You have the respect of Integrals across the board. Did you agree?”
“Of course.” He raised a questioning eyebrow. “You think
The head of the clan fury worked as an investigator for the Office of Domestic Violence in the Department of Social Services in New York. Latisha had a cramped cubby up on the third floor. She was on the phone when they arrived and motioned them to sit. “I got it,” she barked into the receiver while scribbling furiously on a pad. “I’ll chat with him. Don’t worry, Angie. I guarantee he won’t show up there again… No, don’t call the police. I’ll take care of it…Uh-huh…You’re welcome… Goodbye.” She hung up the phone.
“Problems?” asked Grace kindly.
“Not for long. My client’s ex-boyfriend tracked her down and threatened to kill her if she didn’t come back. He and I will have a word.” For an instant, the woman’s delicately manicured fingernails lengthened into razor sharp talons before Latisha forced her emotions under control. “What may I do for you two ladies?”
Grace dropped her voice. “You know what happened, of course.”
Latisha’s voice went from cold to compassionate. “Of course, I’m so sorry. What they did to Brian is awful.”
“Thank you. Latisha, I think something else is going on.”
“Like what?”
“I heard you met with the Baal.”
“You wonder what Mr. Personality wanted with a low level demon like me.”
“I mean no disrespect, Fury.”
“None taken. You and Brian always treat everyone square. I swear Dominic’s uncle, the previous head of the baal clan, never speaks to anyone who isn’t a golfing buddy.” She furrowed her brow. “The meeting was odd, actually. Dominic is supposed to keep tabs on the demon population, but this is the first time he ever called me in to ask about the other furies—are they satisfied with how things are handled…that sort of thing.”
“Is that all he wanted?”
“Yup. Like I care about politics,” she snorted. “I think he’s all bent out of shape because of talk again about putting a human warden on the council. Now that I think about it, maybe he wanted my opinion.”
Grace’s eyes shot open. “A human warden? This is the first I heard about it.”
“Comes up about once a generation. Don’t know what the big deal is and I told him so. Hell, he has as much human blood as the rest of us. After all, his mother was human.”
“It’s more about sharing power,” said Sadhri. “Another vote on the council means less influence for Dominic.”
Latisha shrugged. “Could be, or maybe his uncle is on his ass. The old Baal never wanted anything to upset the status quo. I told Dominic everything was hunky dory with the furies. Now if you’ll excuse me ladies,” she flexed her fingers. “I gotta go persuade Mr. Martino to leave his ex-girlfriend alone.”
Grace filled in Brian on her next visit. “Was Latisha right? Could the wardens put a human on the council?”
“Stephen is all for it. An odd number of wardens prevent deadlocks. His dad, the last Odin, was old school like Dominic’s uncle—stay hidden, don’t make waves. Many Integrals now want something more. The opportunity for advancement within the corporation is limited, especially for lower level clans. Many want to assimilate into the human world, but need help. Look at Latisha. She’s a hard-working civil servant with a human husband, two kids, and a mortgage. She had to find a way out on her own and deal with criticism from the old guard.”
Grace eyed her husband lovingly. “You were always concerned their voices weren’t heard.”
“Some wardens listen. Stephen asked me at the party for my support even though I’m not a warden. He wanted to meet later to talk over a plan to approach the others.”
Her eyes flew open. “You didn’t tell me—”
“I planned to. The request slipped my mind when The Book disappeared.”
“No wonder he wanted your support,” Grace remarked. “You have the respect of Integrals across the board. Did you agree?”
“Of course.” He raised a questioning eyebrow. “You think
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