Chapter 20

After school Lauren ported him to the backyard of his cousin's home in the financial district. It was situated South of Market on South Park Street. His cousin's home was smack dab in front of the oldest park in San Francisco.

Apparently having a park across the street is essential to keeping your sanity when you have energetic Cait Sith kittens. They'd purchased the property seven years ago for an astronomical amount. His cousin's were a little fixated on money and they made no secret of exactly how much they spent on absolutely everything. He didn't know if it was a Cait thing, or an Italian thing, or if it was just their thing, but he did know he'd never have that kind of money?

Lauren did the appropriate amount of ohhing and awwing when she saw the back of the house.

And who could blame her, he knew the three story Victoria structure was impressive. It had been built after the neighborhood's complete destruction due to the quake of 1906 and still had all of its original eclectic designs: spires, circular tower and gable roof, decorative cornices and stain glass windows and doors. It was a real show stopper ! He'd heard a client of his cousin's call it that once and the idiom had stuck with him.

"It is impressive, no?"

Lauren just nodded her head in dumbstruck awe.

They stood in the backyard for a moment admiring the view when Kelly came around the corner and said," Sugar you didn't tell me you lived in a castle. Are you a secret prince or something?"

Donnie just chuckled, "No Cara I am merely a frog, but if you kiss me I might turn, si?" he wagged his eyebrows to make her laugh.

And it worked she snorted, and said," we'd best get inside; we're nothing but sitting ducks out here."

Lauren said, "I'll keep watch outside and alert you if I see anything."

"And make sure no one goes near my baby, "Kelly called out as Lauren made her way to the front of the house. Then she continued, "and I don't need to see your face to know when your rolling you're damn eyes at me."

Donnie smirked as he took the keys for the back door out of his pocket and marched up the back porch with Kelly right on his heels. He'd chosen to come well before the girls did just in case Liam or the Cait Sith had a means to find him. If that happened he'd be able to port and draw them away from the girls. He just hoped his obscure-us charm worked. He really needed to get some answers from his cousin.

But so far so good -- He could tell by the birds that chirped happily up and down the street that all was well. If they suddenly stopped singing that could only mean one thing: the Caits are near. He opened the back door onto the mud room. Three little red galoshes and yellow rain coats hung all in a row. Cubbies lined the wall built to house the many childhood outdoor toys.

The expensive home was kept immaculate by a friendly cleaning lady that came when everyone was either at school or at work. Like the fairytale of the cobbler and the elves, they did all their work when there were no witnesses. He had never met her/him/them in all the years he had lived her. And all of a sudden he had to wonder if it was indeed humans that did the work. After all they were living in a magical world.

Kelly broke into his revelry when she said, "Bless my heart, isn't this room as cute as a button."

She looked at him with a huge smile plastered on her face. He knew for a fact that was a hopeful smile. Ever since he'd told her about his young cousins she had been dying to meet them.

He looked at his watch to see that they should be home any minute. And with that thought he heard the unmistakable sound of rampaging tiny feet. By the sounds of it; they were running up the front steps to the front door, while their nanny Consuela called out from behind them.

"Slow down girls," Consuela cautioned, "One of you is going to trip again and skin her knee."

"But we're thirsty!" They whined in unison.

He knew what that meant they would be coming straight for the kitchen in the back of the house. The mud room was kiddy corner to it. He'd see his little cousins soon.

The front door crashed open and the loud stampede suddenly stopped and the loud meows began.

"GIRLS!" Consuela reprimanded, "You must wait until I can close the door before you shift."

Consuela was a Bruja. A young Spanish witch that loved magical children. Heaven forbid anyone ever threaten her charges.

"Come on my sweeties I'll get you some milk." The girls must have come at a run, because he could hear their meows getting louder and louder as they approached the kitchen.

When they turned the corner slipping and sliding on the freshly polished floor Kelly sucked in a breath and let out an excited squeal.

"Bless my heart, they're simply adorable!" she cooed.

But when she bent down in a crouch to scoop up all three, Consuela came barreling around the corner with a plasma ball already in her upturned hand. If Donnie hadn't jumped out in front of Kelly Consuela would have launched it right at her head.

The girls skid to a stop just inches in front of Kelly and meowed squeakily. They weren't used to strangers in their kitchen after school or otherwise, but when they saw Donnie they chirped happily and circled him excitedly.

The kitten were the most adorable he'd ever seen, not that he'd ever seen Cait kittens before. But he just knew the girls were special. They were the fat and fluffy roly poly type kitten with big soft tufts on their ears and gigantic heads in comparison to their bodies. They sported the marble coloring of a true calico in black, white and orange.

And he just knew for a fact that they would be Kelly's Kryptonite -- and as if she read his mind she uttered, "Oh sweet baby Jesus I think I'm in love," and she flopped down on the floor and let the girls jump on her and run all along her legs and back.

When she started giggling he realized he'd never heard a sweeter sound in all his life.

Consuela looked on in shock, he'd never brought anyone home before, but she didn't reprimand him for scaring her to death she just walked over to him and gave him a quick hug, but before she let him go she said," We've missed you around here. When are you coming home? The girls are driving Achilles crazy. "

He had to laugh. They could be relentless when they wanted to, but he answered with a quick squeeze and an even shorter reply, "I'm working on it. Speaking of, do you know when Achilles will be coming home today?"

Consuela was a blonde twenty something, fresh out of conscription, fit, attractive young woman. She wore simple , functional, yet stylish clothes. And she was just attractive enough to make human mothers nervous to leave her alone with their human husbands, but Sophia wasn't the jealous type, besides Cait mothers are the most protective magical creature on the planet, and Sophia liked the fact that Consuela packed a pretty hard magical punch.

She consulted her watch and said, "He should be home any minute. You should wait for him in the study. I think the girls can keep your friend busy."

They both laughed again when they looked down to find that Kelly in the short time they had been talking had devised several ways to play with the kittens. She had poured the contents of her purse out and at the moment she had her keys dangling from a necklace that she had been wearing and the girls were taking it in turns to bat at them with their little paws.

Mia was having so much fun she actually hissed at her younger sisters. She was definitely not a sharer.

Kelly looked up at Donnie and said, "Awe she's the queen bee, am I right?"

He laughed, "Yes Cara you keep your eye on her she is ferocious. Bella, "he continued, "I must speak with Achilles alone. The Cait Sith are secretive creatures and he won't talk to me if you are present."

"Oh Sugah don't worry about it none. As you can see I've got my hands full here." And they were. Kelly had rolled over to sit Indian style and the girls were all on her lap playing with her ponytail that she had thrown over her shoulder. Mia even had her claws out. Kelly's hair was in big trouble he thought with a chuckle as he walked away.

Achilles had come home just moments after Donnie made himself comfortable in the wing back chair that sat beside the ornate fireplace. Its mantle sported two lion heads carvings on either side. Cait Sith revered the king of the jungle one apex predator to another. The room itself had a truly masculine flair. All dark wood and equally dark leather furniture.

This room was not one he frequented often. He'd only been in here a handful of times. It was his cousin's domain. He was old school as lots of the long lived fullblood were. He was from a different era and time. The walls of his study were lined with leather clad books: some ancient and other more recent. He cousin was a big fan of the modern day thriller, and the greater the crime and spy elements the more he loved them. Names like Clancy, Child, Ludlum, Crichton, Grisham, Koontz, and Patterson lined the lower shelves giving Donnie the impression that his cousin liked to take them down often to reread certain passages.

When Donnie heard the front door he became nervous. He didn't know why -- call it precognition or call it whatever you like -- he didn't like it. He heard the soft whispers of Consuela explaining that he was waiting in the library and all of a sudden he felt like an interloper -- Like an errant child about to be scolded, but his cousin breezed into the room and walked up to him with his usual elegant lope a smile on his handsome face. He sauntered up to him like he hadn't even been MIA for months and took the seat next to him in front of the fireplace.

His cousin was always impeccably dressed and today was no different. On his long lean form sat a pressed white dress shirt of the finest cotton weave, and a well tailored pair of Italian slacks. His loafers were Italian as well. Donnie knew from experience that his suit coat would be hanging on a hook by the door were the elves or cleaning lady would find it tomorrow and send it out to be dry cleaned.

"What brings you cousin?" Not surprisingly his cousin addressed him in Italian and he knew he did it, not only, because it was most natural for them, but also to allow a greater sense of privacy.

Caits cautious to the end, Donnie scoffed inwardly before he said, "I've come to ask you about my father. I think he might have something to do with why I'm being hunted."

His cousin fixed him with a green eyed stare and ran his hand through his wavy black hair nervously, "I was afraid this day would come. "He sighed, but continued in earnest," Let me begin by saying that there are many rules in the Cait Sith world. And we Cait, we do not forgive lightly."

Donnie sat forward thinking well wasn't that just great? That introduction had the makings of a really long and sordid tale, but he remained silent, he was curious to finely know the ins and outs of his super secretive magical world. He'd need to know it someday anyway; he'd have to navigate their world at one point especially if he was to be conscripted in Europe.

Donnie and his cousin had sat behind closed doors for nearly an hour.

He had listened closely as his uncle explained and tried not to interrupt, and by the time he'd finished his explanation, he couldn't have uttered a word even if he had wanted to.

The things he had revealed to him were life changing, deadly, and duplicitous to the extreme and if he ever uttered a word to anyone he would be forfeiting his life in the doing of it.

When his cousin finished he just stood up woodenly and shook his hand silently before walked out of the study. When he exited the room into the foyer he spied his face in the large ornate mirror on the entryway table. He was ashen and white and when he went to take a closer look at himself and to lift a swath of hair that had fallen over his forehead he did so with shaky hands.

After hearing what he'd heard he knew the king was never going to stop coming after him. The only thing he could do was either remain in hiding for the rest of his life or to find a magical means of becoming invincible, because soon everyone in the Cait community was going to be coming after him with everything they had.

When Kelly came around the corner and saw the look on his face she rushed to him and said, "Bless your heart Donnie you look like you've been rode hard and put away wet."

Her beautiful blue eye searched his for answers, but he had none to give her. If she ever found out her life would be in jeopardy too.

"Sweety," she cajoled," Do you want to talk about it?"

He knew he looked inconsolable, so the first order of business was to try and look less like a dead man walking; so he fixed a smile on his face and laughed nervously.

"No Cara I am fine. We go now, si?"

She narrowed her eyes on him telling him she wasn't buying his poor acting skills, but thankfully she said, "If you say so Sugah."

She texted Lauren to open a portal to her bedroom while Donnie wondered if they had any council guards in Antarctica, because he sure as hell would never be able to show his face in Italy again.

'Dio Merda' he thought: how they say it here . . . oh yeah. . . 'Fuck my life'.

Donnie seems pretty shook?

What could his uncle have said?

Tune in tomorrow to find out.