Page 10 of Midnight in the Garden of Okay and Meh
“We will address the subject of your birthday later,” I told it firmly. “Please answer the questions asked.”
Jim heaved a dramatic sigh. “Fine, but if I have to face Cecile without being able to fill her in on the latest in corgi grooming style, it’ll be your fault. My dad was imprisoned right after I was born, according to Zizi’s chronicles.”
“Zizi?” I asked at the same time Karma said, “When were you born?”
“About 420 CE, and Zizi was the Sovereign after my mom died when I was born,” Jim said in a matter-of-fact tone that didn’t in the least bit fool me. There was pain in its eyes, a deep pain that had me sitting on the floor next to it in order to stroke its head.
“I’m so sorry, Jim,” I said, blinking back a few empathetic tears. “I had no idea about any of this. Your poor mom must have ... wait, what?”
“Sovereign?” May asked, her expression startled. “Like Sally sort of Sovereign?”
“Yeah. My mom used to be Sovereign. Didn’t I ever tell you?” it asked me.
I stared at it, my brain awhirl. “No! Are you sure? That sounds rude, but ... the Sovereign?”
“Well, it’s what was written down, so I assume it’s true,” Jim answered.
“I don’t think I know how to process this,” Ysolde said, rubbing her forehead. The others there all looked similarly confused. “Jim’s dad was a demigod, and its mom was a Sovereign. That’s just ... I mean, you must be seriously badass with parents like that.”
We all looked at Jim. It grinned.
“Right, we’re going to add that to the list of things to talk about once we get home,” I said, wondering if I’d ever be able to see Jim in the light of a mere demon dog. “Because frankly, I don’t think I can deal with it right now.”
“I can’t help but wonder how a Sovereign came to be acquainted with one of the founders of Abaddon, let alone how they came to have a child,” Ysolde said, and the others nodded in response.
“It seems unlikely at best,” May added, giving me a look filled with questions. I shook my head at her, just as bewildered as everyone else.
“There is one thing,” Allie said after a moment’s thought. “If Jim’s father was one of the founding princes, he must have been pretty bad.”
Jim gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Zizi’s notes didn’t say anything other than my mom—her name was Parisi—caused all sorts of trouble when it came out she was preggers by Desislav, the most powerful of the three princes who formed Abaddon. Then I was born, and my mother retreated to the Beyond because she had childbed fever and they couldn’t stop the bleeding. Later on, Hildegarde became Sovereign, and she told me I had a destiny outside of the Court, so I left. I went to join a friend in Abaddon, but she died, too.” Jim’s brown eyes considered me for a moment; then it rubbed its head on my leg in a gesture of affection that warmed my heart. I gave it a quick hug, a kiss on its head, and a fondle of the ears.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, making a mental note to pay it some extra attention. Clearly, I’d been too caught up with our kids, dragon happenings, and Guardian duties to be attending to Jim as I ought. “That’s tragic for everyone involved.”
There were sympathetic murmurs from the others, but it was Allie who asked the question about which I was wondering.
“Why was your father banished to this upside-down lake?” she asked, watching as May idly drew Newfies on her notebook page. “Did he do something heinous to your mom? No, that wouldn’t make sense. Why would Abaddon be angry at him if he attacked the leader of their opposition?”
“I don’t think the Court of Divine Blood is exactly in opposition of Abaddon, is it?” Karma asked, glancing toward the door that led to the garden. “I wish Adam were here. He knows a lot more about the Court than I do, but I thought it was a place that basically did good deeds for others, which is why mortals based their version of heaven on it.”
“That’s it, I think,” I answered, and leaned down to Jim to whisper in its ear, “Would you prefer not to talk about your parents? Or just your dad? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Naw, it’s OK. I never met them,” it answered, then looked over to Allie. “Hilders said when the other princes found out that my dad took my mom as his mate, they figured he would become too powerful with her at his side, so they got rid of my dad by banishing him to the Thirteenth Hour.”
“How horrible,” May said, rubbing her arms.
“Truly horrible.” Ysolde glanced at my phone when I held it out to her, showing her the camera view of Brom and Pixie dancing with abandon along with a dozen other patrons. We could hear the music in our section of the restaurant, but it wasn’t so loud we couldn’t converse over it. “Imagine being banished because you were in love.”
The others offered agreements, but those were interrupted when a figure appeared in the hall doorway.
Baltic stood with blood dripping from his nose, his hair loose from where it had been tied back, and a long red scratch on one of his biceps. “Mate!”
“What?” Ysolde asked, looking up from my phone.
“You aren’t going to watch us fight?” He looked so outraged that I had to stifle a laugh.
“We thought it would be more helpful if we worked out the issue with the bad vampire thane,” she told him.
He cocked an eyebrow at her.
