"A werewolf backing away from another predator?" Surprise and amusement ran through his voice. "I never thought I'd live to see the day."
"Meaning you want me to go see the man?"
He laughed. "No. I'll talk to one of the other councilors and see if he'll agree to a meet. More than that I can't promise."
"Thanks for trying."
"As I said, no promises. I'll be finished work at six. Where do you want me to meet you?"
"I'm meeting Dia at our usual place in Brunswick at five-thirty."
"For work or pleasure?"
"Mainly pleasure, but I'm on Jack's time so I'll ask her an official question or two."
"Then I'll meet you at Essendon at seven thirty," he said. "That should give you enough time after the meeting to get home, get changed, and meet me."
With a silly grin of anticipation on my face, I hung up then started the car and headed over to Vinny's. I grabbed a couple of burgers at the local McDonalds, then drove around until I found a spot that was reasonably inconspicuous but allowed me to watch the front door, and settled in for the wait.
It ended up being a very long wait.
Nothing happened. No one went in, and no one went out. Some kid with scruffy blonde hair and a bored expression tried to coin the side of my car until my growl notified him of the fact I was actually in the car. His expression and subsequent flight eased the boredom a little.
As five o'clock neared, I began to get a little restless, wondering if Jack had forgotten to get someone in to replace me. The thought had barely crossed my mind when my phone rang.
"Riley," Benson said, "Jack says if you don't start leaving the comlink on when you're working, he'll replace it with one you can't turn off."
I hurriedly pressed said comlink, but didn't bother apologizing. "What's the problem?"
"Nothing. Talvin's in place at Vinny's if you want to leave for your meeting with Dia."
"Thanks for letting me know."
"You don't have to thank me for doing my job."
But his tone suggested he appreciated it. I hung up, then tossed the phone into my bag and headed for Brunswick. I found parking several streets away from the restaurant and walked back. The sidewalk tables were all full and Dia wasn't at any of them. Meaning she more than likely had Risa with her, as the restaurant boasted a secure children's play area at the back of the main room. I'd barely walked through the door when the little girl in question came bounding out of the shadows, her white pigtails flying as she flung herself into my arms.
"Hey, monkey," I said, grinning as her chubby little arms wound themselves around my neck and she planted a slobbery kiss on my cheek. She smelled of soap and powder and everything that was good in this world. "How was swimming today?"
Her amazingly bright violet eyes twinkled with mischief. "Swimming sucked!"
I just about choked on my own laughter. Dia was going to kill me for teaching her that particular expression.
"I thought you loved the water?"
"Water sucks."
I bit down my grin as I walked through the restaurant. Dia was in the far corner, sitting in a booth near the large play area. She was, as usual, both immaculate and stunning. Her hair, like her daughter's, was a pure whitish-silver hair that shone with an almost unnatural brilliance, and when combined with the luminous blue of her eyes and the matching brightness of her summer dress, she was hard to miss.
Of course, neither the blue of Dia's eyes nor her silver hair were natural. Dia wasn't only a psychic, but a clone with Helki shapeshifting genes, and she could subtly alter her appearance as easily as I could become a wolf. The silver and blue suited her psychic business better—and enabled her to use her true form when she didn't want to be noticed.
Little Risa's coloring was natural, and had obviously come from her father, although Dia never talked about him. Nor was there mention of him on Risa's birth certificate.
Dia's gaze met mine as I neared the table. Few would have guessed she was blind, because there was an amazing directness in her gaze. Of course, despite her blindness, she could see, thanks to the presence of a creature known as a Fravardin—an unseen guardian spirit that was by her side whenever she went outside the confines of her house. By linking lightly to the creature's mind, Dia was able to move with a serenity and grace that belied her handicap. I had no idea where the creature was right now, but given she was looking directly at me, it had to be somewhere close.
"You," she said heavily, "have created a monster."
"Who knew she'd take the word up with such gusto?" I slid into the u-shaped booth and untwined Risa's arms from around my neck, putting her on the seat beside me.
"Coke?" she said hopefully.
"I don't think your mom would approve," I said. Especially not right now.
I half expected the little girl to come out with the immortal 'Mommy Sucks', but she leaned forward on the table and gave Dia the sweetest of smiles. "Please mommy?" she said, the bottom lip quivering ever so slightly.
The child really knew how to work it. I grinned and leaned back in the seat, watching Dia struggle to control her smile.
"A small one," she said, "and only if you go play for a while."
Risa flung herself at Dia, gave her a big slobbery kiss, then scrambled over her and ran for the play equipment.
"That child is going to be so dangerous to the male population when she gets older," I said, shoving my handbag on the seat beside me.
"Especially given she seems to think you're a brilliant role model," Dia said dryly.
"Well, let's face it, she could do far worse as role models go. At least I work on the side of the angels,"
"Yes." Dia's expression darkened. "I'm not sure she will, though."
I frowned. "You've had a vision about her future?"
She nodded. "It was a little confused. There were angels and demons and goodness knows what else."
"Angels?" I had no trouble believing that demons existed—after all, I'd crossed paths with hellhounds on several occasions, and they were apparently classified as low level demons—but for some reason, I couldn't quite believe that angels really existed. But maybe it was simply a lack of solid proof. I hadn't really believed in demons, either—until one of them had tried to rip me to shreds.
But angel—like creatures had existed, and they'd been called the Aedh. Quinn's father had been a priest of the Aedh, and while Quinn might not have gotten the wings, he did have many of their abilities. Although just how many—and what they were—was something he'd never really explained.
Still, no surprise there. He might have opened up a whole lot more in recent months, but my sexy old vampire still had many, many secrets.
"Which is why I needed to talk to you," Dia said.
"Me?" I glanced up as the waitress appeared at our table. Once we'd placed our orders, I added, "I don't know a whole lot about men with wings, I'm afraid."
She smiled. "You know more than me, though. Or rather, Quinn does."
I raised an eyebrow. "So Dia's father was an Aedh?"
"If that's what you call one of those men with wings, then yes."
"I didn't even know they still existed," I murmured. "How the hell did you even meet him?"
She smiled again, but there was suddenly something haunted in her eyes. "Sometimes there are personal bonuses when you talk to the spirit world."
"And personal costs?" I said softly.
"Yeah." She grimaced. "I might have got my daughter, but I saw my death. It's not pretty."
"But you have the Fravadin to protect you."
"There are some things that not even the Fravadin can conquer."
As evidenced by the fact that Misha—her clone brother—had been murdered despite the protection of his own Fravardin.
I studied her for a moment, concerned. "It's not going to be soon, is it?"