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“Hello?”The woman’s voice was achingly familiar.
Achilles swallowed, almost hung up, and swallowed again.“Lala?”he said.A return to a childhood nickname, crafted by a toddler who couldn’t quite manage to say Atalanta.“It’s Achilles.”
There was a quick intake of breath, but she didn’t hang up.When she spoke, her voice was even.“Are you dying?In prison?Broke?”
“None of the above.”Not actively, anyway.“I just called because….There’s been sort of a lot going on.I’ve had time to think.And—you don’t have to say anything back, you don’t owe me anything, okay?—but I need to thank you for everything you did for me.And I need to tell you that I love you.”
After a long pause, she spoke again.“I owe you an apology.I was looking for someone to blame, but you were just a kid.It wasn’t your fault.I’m sorry.And I love you too.”
He was crying now.The type of salty, bitter tears that stung like hell, but maybe that meant they were washing away some toxins.“Thank you.”
“Can you….You have two nephews and a niece.They’d like to meet their Uncle Achilles.Do you have kids?”
“Nope.Gay as a maypole, actually.But I have a… well, a partner.”That was an apt term for how he felt about Dee.“His name is Dee.”
“I’d like to meet him,” she responded without hesitation.
“I’d like that too.”Surprisingly, he meant it.“I’m sort of in the middle of a mess right now.Not my fault, but I’m trying to help clean it up.Can I call you once it’s over?”Assuming, of course, that he was alive to do so.
“Please do, Achilles.”
He ended the call, wiped his eyes dry, and went to rejoin Dee.
CHAPTER40
Pulling ten people out of the black hole had felt like running a marathon while carrying a cement mixer on his shoulders.But Dee had accomplished it, and now Achilles and the others were at least temporarily safe.Dee had managed to get some rest and decent food, which helped revive him.As did the combined energy of all the people in the room.They might be frightened and apprehensive, but there was also an optimistic eagerness to the crowd.Everyone seemed excited to at least go down fighting.
Best of all, however, Achilles was there.He seemed to be sort of in charge of this circus, yet he spent every available moment doting on Dee.And his eyes, as he and Dee gazed at each other, were as bright and shiny as an anime character’s.Dee had told him the whole story of what happened in Spurling’s mansion—including Dee’s temptation to start the damn war for his own selfish reasons—and Achilles still loved him.With that, Dee felt as if he could zap a hundred people out of the black hole.A thousand.
And that was good, because pretty soon he was going to be asked to do even more.
“You okay?”Achilles asked.He sat next to Dee on a mat, their backs propped against the wall, shoulders touching.
“Never been better.”
“Dee….”
“Really.”Dee leaned in against him.“Everyone here knows I’m a djinn, right?”
“Um, yeah.I mean, I’ve filled everyone in on what’s going on, and you’re central to that story.”
“Right.But nobody’s treating me like I’m a monster or a freak.”
Achilles laughed.“You don’t really stand out in this crowd.”He gestured at the vampires napping in the corner, the dog shifter—who was currently a mastiff—panting beside his human partner, the house spirit with the pointed ears and bright clothing laughing with a small cluster of agents, the Sasquatch sitting next to his giant husband and whittling something from a chunk of wood, the demon deep in discussion with… whatever John was.Achilles definitely had a point.
“It’s nice,” Dee said.“Even if I didn’t know I was a djinn, Ididknow that I was weird.I didn’t belong anywhere, with anyone.But now….”He made a frustrated noise, unable to find the right words to express what he was feeling.
“You found your tribe.I felt that way too, back when Townsend first recruited me.I still didn’t make close friends here, but that was on me.I pushed people away, I guess.Even so, I always felt like I belonged here.”Achilles sighed heavily, no doubt mourning the loss of the Bureau.The makeshift band of warriors might be in HQ now, but things were definitely not back to normal.
Dee and Achilles were quiet for a while.Dee could have sworn that he felt strength and vitality flowing into him from the spot where Achilles was pressed against him.Achilles didn’t seem to be drained, however.If anything, he had an excess of energy, wiggling his feet and tapping his fingers.
When there was a small commotion near the doors, Achilles leapt up to investigate.Dee couldn’t see what was going on at first, but then Tenrael waded in and the crowd parted enough for Dee to see that Charles had arrived… and he’d brought Ish with him.Ish was magnificent: tall and broad, handsome.Wing feathers so white that they made the lobby’s marble look drab and gray.He was naked, which shouldn’t have been a big surprise since Tenrael also avoided wearing clothes.Shirts were pretty much out of the question anyway due to the wings.Dee didn’t know the extent of Ish’s psychological recovery, but he was certainly doing well physically.
While Achilles and Charles immediately fell into a discussion, Ish sailed over to Dee and knelt gracefully in front of him.“You have done well, my friend,” he said and gave a warm smile.
Dee felt flustered, as if a beloved celebrity had complimented him.He even blushed.“I didn’t….Achilles, he?—”
“Yes.Each of you is a good man.Together, you are great heroes.There is often immense power when individuals join.”
