A couple of hours later, after thoroughly testing how his gauntleted hand held up under pressure (which turned out to be “pretty well”), I woke up from a sound sleep. I lay in the bed for a long moment, my thoughts still muzzy, trying to figure out what had jettisoned me back into the waking world. Did I have to pee? Was I thirsty? Was I tangled up in the bedclothes? Was Beanie snoring? Was Scratch kicking me in his sleep again?
As I ran down the checklist, answering “no” to each question, I became aware of a rhythmic tapping sound. I rose up on one elbow and looked down at Hexe, who was asleep on his back, his left arm carelessly thrown across his forehead and his right hand resting on his naked chest. The tapping noise—which I now realized was what had awakened me—was that of the fingers of his gauntleted hand drumming against his sternum, as if patiently biding their time.
Chapter 14
Now that he had regained the use of his right hand, Hexe was his old self once again. I was relieved to see the gleam back in his golden eyes and hear the confidence return to his voice. Since that very next day was my day off, Hexe had planned a leisurely, romantic breakfast for the two of us. However, those plans were quickly dashed by an unexpected knock.
Upon opening the door, Hexe was surprised to find his mother, Lady Syra, standing on the stoop. Before he could say hello, she breezed past him and into the front room.
“So, exactly when were you going to tell me I’m going to be a grandmother?” she asked, fixing him with a withering glare. “Before the baby arrived, or after?”
“How did you know—?” Hexe sputtered in surprise.
“Besides being your mother, I am also a professional astrologer,” she reminded him sharply. “And it so happens, while I was drawing up your father’s horoscope, as a present for his birthday—and don’t you dare tell him that’s what he’s getting—I saw in the stars that he was going to be a grandfather! Imagine my surprise! Especially since I was finding out from the orientation of Orion’s Belt and not my own son! I might as well have read it in the gossip column of the Gazette!”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Hexe apologized. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, but Tate and I just wanted a little private time as a couple before everything goes crazy and the Blue Hairs start calling for my head on a pike.”
“Granted, the hard-line aristos are not going to be thrilled when they hear the news,” she sighed. “But that’s no reason to keep me out of the loop!”
“So—you’re not upset that we’re having a baby?” I asked anxiously.
“Heavens and hells, no!” Lady Syra exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. “I can’t wait to be a grandmamma!”
I blinked in surprise. “You mean you don’t have any problems with the new Heir Apparent being half human?”
An odd look crossed the Witch Queen’s face, which she quickly tried to camouflage by smiling. “Why don’t we deal with that problem when it arises, shall we? Whatever happens, I won’t love my grandchild any less.”
“What do you mean by ‘whatever happens’?” I asked suspiciously.
“You think our child is going to be a norlock, don’t you?” Hexe said flatly.
“A what-lock?” I frowned.
“It’s slang for Kymerans born incapable of working magic,” he explained grimly. “Their ‘extra’ fingers end at the second knuckle. My grandfather used to employ a norlock named Jake when I was a boy. He lived in a little cottage at the foot of the garden.”
“Please don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way, my dear,” Syra said apologetically. “But very few half-castes are born fully functional in the magic department. Understand I’m not trying to be negative, my dear; I’m just being practical. There is also a very good chance your child might not even be of Royal blood. . . .”
“Are you suggesting that Hexe isn’t the father?” I gasped.
“Of course not!” Lady Syra replied quickly. “It’s just that . . .”
“Just what, exactly?” I retorted, trying to keep hold of my temper.
“If the baby doesn’t have gold eyes, it can’t be recognized as heir to the Throne of Arum,” she replied, shifting about uncomfortably. “It can never be a member of the Royal Family.”
“Why are you so certain this will be the case with our child?” Hexe scowled.
“Because you’re not the first Heir Apparent to take a fancy to a human,” Lady Syra explained. “Great Uncle Jack, the one who built this house, had a child by a human mistress shortly before he disappeared. His son was born a norlock. Your great-grandfather, Lord Jynx, refused to acknowledge him as one of us because he had his mother’s eyes.”
“This norlock child of Uncle Jack’s—what happened to him?” Hexe asked.
“After Lord Jynx died, my father took pity on the boy and made him his gardener.”
“You mean Jake was—?”
“Your first cousin, once removed,” Syra said with a sad nod of her head. “But you must remember that was another time. Things are different now.” She reached out to touch her son’s arm, only to have the ivory bracelet wrapped about her wrist abruptly rise up, revealing itself to be a tiny albino serpent. The familiar hissed loudly and flared its hood, which popped open like the miniature parasol in a Mai Tai. “Trinket—!” Lady Syra scolded, delivering a light tap to the top of its milk-white head with the tip of her finger. “By the Outer Dark! What has come over you?”
The micro-cobra flinched at the reprimand, but did not resume its previous, passive stance, and continued to keep its ruby-red eyes focused on Hexe.
“Perhaps this is what has her upset,” he said, holding up the glittering glove that now covered his right hand.
“By the sunken spires!” Lady Syra exclaimed in surprise. “What is that thing?”
“The Gauntlet of Nydd.”
“Well, no wonder Trinket became alarmed!” His mother frowned. “She’s very sensitive to charmed objects. But I thought the Gauntlet of Nydd was lost during the Dragon War. Where on earth did you find it—and how could you possibly afford it once you did?”
“I know what you’re thinking, Mother—it’s not a forgery,” Hexe assured her. “I checked the enchantment—the signature on the spell is General Vlad’s. And as to how I ended up in possession of it—it was a gift from a tradeswoman seeking a royal warrant. It’s really no different from that time Bulgari sent you that cocktail necklace. . . .”
“Yes, yes, that’s all very well and good,” Lady Syra said impatiently. “But why are you wearing it?”
“I find it helps focus and enhance my Right Hand magic. I need all the help I can get if I want to bring in even more paying business. After all, I’m going to be a father soon.”
Although it was obvious that Lady Syra did not completely believe what her son had just told her, she did not push the issue. “In any case, you should be careful. The Gauntlet of Nydd was neither truly Left or Right Hand magic. Since it is ambidextrous it can easily go either way, depending on the user.”
“Well, I don’t think you have to worry about me using a right-handed glove to work Left Hand magic,” Hexe reassured her.
“I’m not the one who’s concerned,” Lady Syra replied, gesturing to Trinket, who was still weaving about atop her wrist. “There, there, little one,” she said soothingly, planting a kiss atop the familiar’s wedge-shaped head. “No need to be upset.” This seemed to placate the albino serpent, which once more resumed its role as living jewelry. “Now go get dressed, dear,” Lady Syra exclaimed gaily, turning to address me. “I’m taking you shopping!”