Richard ran his hands over his daughter’s head for the umpteenth time. She was still passed out, though whether it was from fatigue or Gideon’s spell, I had no idea. Getting her back had been easy; I could have smelled my way across town, even if I hadn’t been familiar with Winslow’s layout. Richard had met me at the entrance to the building, probably saving my life, since a vampire showing up with a kidnapped therian is not exactly a trust-inducing scenario. If I’d been thinking, I would have realized that before the cacophony of growls began, but that damned dragon blood still had me somewhat loopy. I was finally calming down a bit when Richard at last satisfied himself that she was really back safe and stepped into his living room to talk with me.
“Wine?” He asked, his voice a deep rumble that spoke to how draining his own evening must have been.
“Please,” I responded.
Richard stepped into his kitchen and returned with a bottle of pinot noir. He pulled out the cork with practiced ease, then poured us each a large glass. Motioning to one of the unoccupied chairs, he indicated for me to sit. I complied, accepting the wineglass as I did, and soon, he took his own perch in a larger piece of furniture. We sat in silence for several moments, both delicately sipping on the wine. It was an exceptional vintage, and I made a mental note to get the year and label from him later.
“You must have questions,” Richard said at last. I’d seen Richard partially dissolved by magical-monster acid before, but I couldn’t ever recall seeing him appear so weary.
“I do have some things I’m curious about,” I admitted. “However, I know privacy and secrecy is a large part of your job. After tonight, I understand why a little better. I’d be content if you could just tell me what happened, keeping the strokes as broad as you need to.”
“I owe you far more than that; however, it is a fine place to start,” Richard agreed. “My security was compromised by a bloodline I wasn’t aware of. The therians from a neighboring community were driven out by forces it is best you remain ignorant of. I was prepared to take them in, as I told you, but it seemed they weren’t content with merely joining my town’s citizens. Their former leader wanted to take my job. One of his cousins works for me. Not high up enough to officially know about things like Gideon or the secret entrance, but connected enough that he was able to piece some bits of it together.”
“He turned on you?” Perhaps it was naive; however I’d always seen therians as intensely loyal. It had seemed to be a staple of their culture.
“I’m a figurehead,” Richard explained. “Orson is blood. Blood means a lot to my kind. Family, the pack, those we share blood with, these things are so sacred that many of us consider them holy. He owed loyalty in two directions, and he chose to honor the one that he saw as his true pack. I don’t begrudge him that.”
“So, what happened to him; the guard who leaked your secrets?”
“I didn’t begrudge his choice, but he still betrayed a loyalty. Do you really want to know more than that?”
“Point taken,” I said quickly.
“Anyway, Orson decided to use Sally against me. He knew about the entrance, and he knew she was guarded, so he sent up thugs with silver to snatch her while keeping me busy with diplomatic bullshit. Once he had her, Orson planned to ransom her back to me at the cost of my position.”
“You know as much as I do, and I was there to hear them talk about it,” I commented.
“The traitor was . . . interviewed before judgment was passed.” Richard took a longer sip of his wine. I wondered if Sally had been right, if Richard truly did hate his job. He certainly didn’t appear to be taking any enjoyment in the more savage aspects of the position.
“I see. I suppose we were lucky they didn’t know enough to be aware that the King of the West was your daughter’s bodyguard.” I kept my tone neutral. This was a subject I dearly wanted to broach, but had well-founded suspicions would be taboo in Richard’s book.
“He is not her bodyguard,” Richard corrected me. “It’s well known that I play host to the King of the West; however, Gideon rarely leaves this room. If he does, he appears as you know him, as Sally’s friend and playmate. Who would imagine that a dragon of such tremendous power would take the form of a mere child?”
“Who indeed,” I concurred. “One thing does strike me, though. Earlier this evening, you told me Gideon couldn’t meddle in your affairs and that he was out of town. Him crossing untold distances to save Sally . . . that seems well within his scope of power; however, it also seems as though retrieving your kidnapped daughter would fall well within the realm of meddling.”
Richard turned his glass carefully in his hand, examining the last bits of wine clinging to its surface. “I don’t know much about taxes, but there are loopholes, right?”
“I prefer to refer to them as alternate means of revenue classification. That said, yes, there are definitely loopholes in the tax code.”
“This is a loophole in the parahuman code,” Richard replied. “Or maybe I should say just the therian code. We have a stricter one than any other type of creature, probably because we’re all so stubborn and willful that we need to be. I told you the truth when I said that Gideon can’t get involved with my affairs, not unless I want to truly be a powerless figurehead. A leader who can’t handle his own problems is not respected or obeyed by the pack. However, what Gideon did tonight wasn’t technically involving himself in my affairs. Kidnapping Sally was a personal insult to him, and as her father, I allowed him first right of retribution. It was a move that earns my pack favor from a powerful ally, so no one can say my actions weren’t for the good of my people.”
“Seems tenuous,” I pointed out.
“No question about it. But I stuck to the letter of the code, and that’s what matters,” Richard said, allowing himself a slight, relieved smile.
“I suppose it’s a good thing she and Gideon are such good friends,” I commented.
Richard’s smile slid away, replaced by a heavy look in his eyes. After the night he’d already endured, it struck me that perhaps I should let the conversation die out. In fact, I was about to tell him that I was going to head back to my paperwork when he spoke once more.
“They’re betrothed, actually.”
“Beg pardon?” My mouth might have been hanging a touch bit open in shock.
“In a roundabout sort of way, they’re betrothed,” Richard sighed. Now that the dam holding back his secret had burst, the truth came pouring easily out of him. “There are conditions that must be met, the most important of which is that Sally must agree to wed him of her own free will when she comes of age, but should all things be satisfied, then Gideon has my blessing to wed my daughter. In our world, that makes them betrothed.”
“I . . . um . . . wow . . . .” (Forgive the lack of eloquence, I was still half-muddled on dragon blood and had just been hit with a doozy of culture shock.)
“It was the only way I could keep her safe,” Richard continued. “An alpha of my size is either a leader or a target. Any community I tried to settle down in had a leader that saw me as a potential threat, even though I had no aspiration to take over. It didn’t matter. They’d come after me through my family. For a while, I kept moving around, trying to find somewhere safe. That strategy ultimately cost me Sally’s mother. After I buried my wife, I decided to take on different tactics. I came to Gideon for help, and he made me the proposal that he would take the form of a child Sally’s age. He would grow up with her, be her best friend, her ever-present protector. And if he could win her heart, he would wed her.”
“I’m going to ask something, and no matter how I turn it about in my head, it seems terribly untactful,” I told him.
“You want to know why Sally, right?”
“I do. She’s an adorable girl with a shockingly big heart, but it seems like a lot of trouble for a wife. I’d imagine there are all sorts of parahumans who would be eager to be with someone of Gideon’s power.”
“You’re not wrong,” Richard said. “The reason why Gideon asked to marry her is something we both keep secret. I’ve already told you more than some of my top people know, because I felt you deserved some answers after what happened tonight. And because I like you, Fred. I’ve met many vampires in my time, but you’re the first one I think I’ve ever enjoyed being around.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. I raised my glass and gulped down the last bits of wine. From the way Richard kept glancing down the hall to where Sally slumbered, it was clear where he wanted to be. And I did still have a job waiting for me. “I enjoy your company as well. Unfortunately, I must forgo indulging in much more of it, as I have work to do.”
Richard’s eyebrows rose inches in surprise. “Fred, after everything you’ve been through, I think you’re entitled to take the rest of the night off.”
“Are you joking?” I asked. “I’m still running strong on the power of Gideon’s blood. With this much energy, I feel like I can work for days. Now is the time to tackle that massive mound of monetary evaluation. Unless you think my work will keep you both up?”
“No, we’ll be fine,” Richard replied, letting out a soft chuckle—the first laugh I’d heard from him since my return.
I stepped back into the office, shut the doors to keep my noise from permeating through the rest of the home, and took my seat at the desk. Glancing at my watch, I quickly jotted down the time under my first note, left all those hours ago. I was officially back on the clock.