Lance and Garrin cooked breakfast. Maridale sat reading the paper, disguised as a Shillalan belly dancer, iridescent scales reflecting the light. Azrael and Caleb stared open-mouthed at the two men, who were giving an odd show of comradery as they prepared breakfast. While Lance flipped pancakes, Garrin told stories about different tribal traditions he’d experienced. When Garrin laid a plate of bacon and eggs on the table, Azrael broke. Joking around was one thing, but these two were pretending to be best buds.
“All right, are we going to die or something?” she asked as Lance set a stack of plates on the table.
He rolled his eyes, but a slight smile gave away his amusement. “Why would you think that?”
“You and Garrin. Last I checked, you two were enemies and could barely stand each other. The fact you two are being amenable terrifies me.”
Garrin spoke before Lance could. “I have no plans of us dying today, Azrael. While you bums slept in, Lance and I talked. We realized that although we make formidable enemies, we’d be stronger as friends. Call it a short-term agreement. We both have the same goal, so why not work toward it?”
With narrowed eyes, she stared at both the men. Finally, she decided that today, of all days, she didn’t have the time to dig deeper into the details. She filled her plate with breakfast, trying not to give either of them the stink eye as she ate. To her left, Caleb fed Maridale some of his eggs. Azrael struggled not to gag.
“When do we start?” she asked, her mouth full of bacon.
Garrin watched her closely. “Whenever you’re ready. As long as it’s the day of a full moon, the timing doesn’t matter.”
She knew everyone was staring at her, waiting for an answer, but she kept her eyes on the plate. What she wanted was more time. Time to enjoy Lance. Time to spend with her best friend. Hell, time to play with Smellicious. Even Bumpkins was wearing on her. Still, for the most part, she and Lance had said their goodbyes last night. Not in words but in the way they acted as if it was their last. As for the pets, she was sneaking large quantities of bacon to them under the table. It was the best she could do there. That only left Caleb.
“We can start in about an hour.” She pushed her seat back. “Caleb, if you don’t mind taking a break, I’d like to talk to you for a second.”
~*~
“You’re being all doom and gloom again, I can tell,” Caleb said, shutting the door behind him.
Azrael threw herself into his arms and squeezed tight. “Maybe I just had the sudden urge to tell you how much I love you. Ever thought of that?”
He brushed a hand through her hair. “I love you, too, baby girl. It’s going to be okay.”
She leaned back and looked into his eyes. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Absolutely terrified. I keep thinking about how I’m the only non-magical one in the room. I feel powerless to save any of you if something goes wrong. It would kill me if anything happened to you.”
She squeezed him tighter. “If something happened to you, I’d just die. I love Lance, I do, but you’re the best thing in my life. I don’t want you to ever think you’re not.”
“I would never insult you by thinking that. I would hope you feel the same.”
“I do,” she said, taking a few steps back and giving him a grin. “Plus, you’re not powerless. You have your bat.”
“Yes, I do.” He winked at her and grabbed the bat from beside the door. “Let’s go kick some demon ass.”