Page 13 of Flock Around and Find Out

Well, Tony Lutes had said he’d be a gynecologist when he was twelve, and fuck if that boy didn’t end up there. I knew because he’d been on the other side of the stirrups during one awkward checkup one year. Judging from the way he’d dragged himself around, however, I didn’t think it had gone the way he’d hoped. Instead of being bright eyed and excited about the daily new serving of vagina, he’d looked like a man who had lost the mystery and magic of the world.

Maybe that was some sort of lesson about being careful what you wish for?

Whatever the reasoning, I sure hadn’t seen this as my future, but at least I understood it.

“Is that it?” the vampire asked, hardly restrained distaste saturating the sharp words.

“That’s it.” I handed off the small envelope to them, long past worrying about what was inside it.

I delivered a multitude of things, after all. Sometimes they were personal letters, trade agreements, courting requests. I’d once delivered a live squirrel. That had been strange, and I’d nearly kept the thing because I rather liked it.

So long as it wasn’t a murder weapon, I really didn’t care, and I only cared aboutthatif I got blamed for it.

The vampire turned on her heel and walked away as though I weren’t of any interest any longer. I doubted I’d ever been that interesting, though.

At best, most of the Spirits saw me as a curiosity, something worthy of a side-show and little else.

Since gaining my seat on the council, of course, that had changed a bit. I got more side-eyes. They now saw me as a slightly more interesting freak, but little else.

It was weird, really. In some ways, I was on par with Kelvin, with Galen, with Porter. I was the head of a clan, after all, with my own lovely little seat at that weird-ass table. However, once you moved past the fancy title, the rest of it?

I had no power, wasn’t super-strong, not scary, no army at my disposal. I still barely made rent most months, so what exactly did I have to show for any of it?

Without an answer, I could only sigh and glance down at my forearm. No more deliveries assigned to me for the day. It left me with the rest of the day free, something I could probably use. Fuck knew that all my time tended to get taken up by Kelvin or Galen or some other emergency.

In fact, I wondered if I’d had a real break since I’d almost gotten executed for murder.

My phone rang, earning me the immediate glares from others in the room. Vampires didn’t tend to like cell phones that much—Kelvin being an obvious exception—and apparently one ringing in the center of their precious central space was just unacceptable.

I smiled as though I had no idea they were mad, then looked down to see who called.

The moment I did, I answered. It didn’t matter what was going on in my life, how much it all went to shit—when my mom called, I fucking answered.

“Hey, Mom,” I said as though I were in the library instead in the middle of a room full of vampires—glaring vampires.

“Hey, honey. Are you coming?”

“Of course I am! Where?”

She sighed—the universal sound of a mother so over their child’s shit. She managed to do that still, after all these years, as though it were going to make a bit of difference.

It hadn’t in high school, I doubted it would do anything now. This was when old dog and new tricks came into play.

Still, bless her heart for never giving up on me and always trying.

“Saturday, we’re having dinner here.”

“Right. Saturday. And today is…”

“Thursday.”

I nodded as though all the pieces were falling into place finally. I was going to Galen’s tomorrow, Friday, which meant I’d be dead or free come Saturday. “Right. Then yes, I’ll be there.”

“You should bring someone.”

“Someone?” I paused and thought about my options.

Galen? He was probably the easiest to pass off as a respectable boyfriend, but if I let him get anywhere near my mom, he’d just join in with her to lecture me more. I didn’t need that shit.

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