Lacey's Luhpynes(21)

"Yeah we'll be good." He nodded, moving toward her. "We're just a little  shorter on the fuses than normal. So if we snap at you just smack us, I  hear a rolled newspaper works well." He smiled. Touching her shoulders,  Zhubin leaned in to kiss her gently. "We'll be beyond the Veil on the  full moon so it will be all right."

Lacey nodded and bit her lower lip. "Will I be there?" she asked softly.  "I know that we have dinner to go to with your parents but will I be  there as well?" Since she wasn't certain, she had to ask. She needed to  know that they would be together, somehow and some way.

"Of course you will be." He frowned down at her. "We'll go for dinner,  you can see some of my realm, my home and we will spend the night. In  the morning we will have breakfast with the family and then come home.  By then the main pull of the moon will already be fading and while we  might not be fully back to ourselves, it will be close enough."

"Good. I look forward to it," Lacey said with a smile. "I want this, I  want to be able to have this time with you guys on the other side so  that we don't have to worry about the dictates in place here on this  side to protect humanity." She spoke with air quotes.

Chuckling, he shook his head at her. "Yeah. Pretty much my thoughts," he said with a wink.

A whistle split the air, causing them all to turn. "It's clear in here  if you don't mind a little smoke. And doc, good news, only a couple  extra wounds from the explosion but the bodies are mostly intact."

Lacey heard Briar mumbling and smiled. Shaking her head, she looked up  at Zhubin. "Good. All right, let's go in and finish processing the scene  so that we can get this shit all worked up and together and get home.  I'm more than ready to get out of here."

"Quit bitching, doc, at least you have a body this time to work with,"  Ansell said with a glare. "You're lucky I even bothered to take two  extra seconds. Now get your cute self in there and deal with it. And one  snivel about the feet and I swear I'll put bubble gum in all your  machines in the lab."                       
       
           



       

Lacey had to hide her grin and shook her head. "Don't piss her off too  much, she might put another cadaver in your desk and hang a sign from it  again." That had been utterly priceless. Briar had gotten pissed off at  Ansell so she put a female body in his chair at his desk with a note on  her saying something along the lines of, "since you are being such a  pussy, thought she would represent you better," but that was the Briar  before she had been attacked.

Ansell didn't say anything as Briar went past him, giving him a  good-sized berth. Looking to Lacey as she and Zhubin walked up he  shrugged. "I'd prefer to have that Briar back than this ghost," he  murmured under his breath. "If poking at her a little does it, so be it.  I won't push too far, I never would."

"I know." Lacey sighed and shook her head. "I wish I knew how to help  her. She's been hurt, and it's not good." She looked at the woman and  shook her head. "Do you think she has mates out there?" she asked  softly. "If so, will they be able to help her, do you think?"

"It's possible," Zhubin said in a low tone. "And if she does and she can  accept them for who they are they can help her to truly heal. But that  won't be today or tomorrow. Hopefully soon though, it would be nice to  be able to walk into a room with her and not have her scoping out the  exits and available weapons."

"Yeah, I want the cheerful and playful Briar back. She was interesting  and witty, and could tell a wickedly good joke. Do you know how hard it  is not to ask for the newest joke? I miss that, a lot." The ME had a  wicked sense of humor before the attack, now she was just as Zhubin  said, a ghost of herself. Going through the motions but not much else.

"We know." Ansell gave a heavy sigh. "Go and find out what else she's  getting from the body. I'm going to let the crew know it's safe to come  back from whatever hole they are hiding in." Leaning over, he kissed her  cheek. "Won't be long."





Chapter Ten




"Please tell me that you have some good news, Doc." Lacey spoke from the  door to the ME's office. "At least tell me that the dental imprints  came back and we have an ID on our John Doe?" It was driving Lacey nuts,  the waiting. She was far too impatient by half.

"Patience is a virtue you know," Briar said in a low murmur from her  spot in front of a microscope. "But yes, I have an ID." She turned and  picked up a data pad. Getting up, she moved to the drawer and pulled it  open, flipping back the sheet. "Meet Mr. Graham Donovan. Age thirty-six,  lawyer, jogger and good Samaritan who does charity work and pro bono  work for a local shelter of battered women and children."

Lacey frowned. "That name rings a bell." She tilted her head and  thought, the expressions on her face showing that clearly. "Wait," she  snapped. "I remember this guy. He was in the press heavily last month.  He was going to run for mayor or something like that. Swore that he  could prove dirty dealings and would do whatever it took to clean up the  town. Remember that?" she asked the ME.

"Yes, he'd just announced he planned on running, what? Two months ago  maybe." She frowned. "He said he had evidence of underhanded dealings,  construction site passes without proper inspection and dozens of other  charges. He didn't name names but said once he was in place they would  all be outed and removed facing charges applicable to their crimes. That  would have made him a target, but why would they, whoever they are that  killed him, want to make it look like a Luhpyne kill?"

"Because of his wife," Lacey said and slapped her own forehead. "His  wife's godfather is a Luhpyne. Her family goes back to the first ones  that made friends with the ones from the Veil, her godfather is one of  the Originals that came over and fought in the War, and if they would  turn on him, it would mean that they would turn on anyone, see what I  see?"

"You're not thinking," Briar trailed off, shaking her head. "Lacey! If  it's what you're thinking. Fuck me," she said before her eyes went wide  and she slapped her hands over her mouth. "Apologies," she squeaked out.  "I didn't mean to say that."

If she was right, then it was someone that wanted a war. It was someone  that was more than ready to start a war with the races of the Veil once  more and that just was so not good in more ways than one.

"They barely let us live the last time," Briar whispered, holding out a  shaky hand before she caught the back of the chair and fell into it.  "You know that if we start another with them not a single human will  survive."                       
       
           



       

"You are telling me. Well no, the mates will all survive. Once a mate is  found they are the most precious things alive. They would do anything  to save their mates, anything." She knew that Zhubin and Ansell would at  least. "I'm just trying to figure out how my stalker fits in," she  whispered. "And I have to tell my guys. They will know what to do."

"May whatever God or Gods there be bless us all," Briar said, crossing  herself. "Those that are mated will survive but everyone else is fair  game. Our world won't survive another war Lacey. All that will be left  would be less than ash. They could and can decimate us should they  choose. The fact they didn't the last time was luck more than anything.  Trust me on that," she whispered.

"Briar we will figure this all out. I promise you, no matter what we  will figure this out and stop it. We won't let war come to us again.  Somehow and some way we will stop it. We have to. I love living far too  much to let some idiot take over our lives and destroy our worlds."  Lacey said sternly, shaking her head to ensure that the woman understood  the truth of the matter in this. Somehow and someway they would find a  way to prevent war.

Zhubin and Ansell walked in only to find themselves being stared at.  "There are some days that getting outta bed is just a bad idea," Ansell  said. "Today was one of them and I have a feeling you two are about to  make it so much worse. Why are you looking like the world's about to  end?"

"Well we have an ID," Lacey said and looked between the men. "Does the  name Graham Donovan ring any bells?" She watched the looks on their  faces and added, "Godson of Vasiky of the clan Bromer."