Border, KS

BEGIN CHAPTER 11: PLANS

“I’m sorry M, but among other things I am a goddess of lust. I am as I was born to be.” Tania proclaimed breezily as she walked out of Morgan’s palatial shower wearing one of her bath robes, followed by Ryan Aquino. Walter’s brother-in-law had been the other of the two people caught in flagrante, and he at least had the decency to look suitably embarrassed as he stepped out of the shower, and started toweling himself off. “And come on.” Tania said, gesturing to the handsome man. He made Walter, who was in exceptional shape, look like he had been slacking off.

“Sure.” Morgan allowed with a nod. Her exterior was serene, but her eyes were roiling with anger. It was like watching a snow covered volcano begin to smoke, and knowing all the ice and snow would soon boil away in the inferno. “And, among other things, I’m a goddess of death. And that was my new couch. To which a bucket of Febreeze will be applied or, with God as my witness, I will reupholster it with your hides.”

Tania looked like she was going to argue until she fully saw the look on Morgan’s face. The red haired woman sighed at the serious waves of displeasure her sister was sending her, and looked away to wrap the towel around her head for her hair. “We’ll take care of it.”

“Also you’ve known him since he was born.” Morgan said, looking over to Ryan now who was doing his best to look like a particularly athletic ghost. He offered a weak smile.

“Yes, but fortunately he’s long since legal now and able to make whatever bad decisions he wants.” Tania pointed out with a shrug that indicated how bothered she was by that fact. “An age disparity is an age disparity, doesn’t matter if I changed his diapers.”

Morgan just shook her head, and sighed. She looked over to Walter for support, but he was forced to shrug. “Not a problem I’ve ever had to deal with, honestly. I didn’t marry anyone I’d known in childhood. Do women just instinctively know how to make the hair turban thing on a genetic level, or are there secret meetings?” He asked curiously. “I swear my daughters were born knowing how to do it, and the one time they had me try to do it I nearly hanged myself on accident.”

Tania gave a grin. “Magic.” She offered, which only drew a grumble from Walter. Unlike Ryan, who was unobtrusively pulling back on his pants and shirt, Tania walked over to sit down on the couch that Walter had to now call ‘broken in’ wearing nothing but the robe. “So what brought you in here blustering so rudely?”

“It’s. My. House.” Morgan responded angrily, stalking over to the only part of the apartment that wasn’t in a more modern style. It was an over-stuffed leather armchair that looked like it had survived many loving years, and she sat down in it angrily. “I cannot bluster, rudely or not, in to my own damn house. I never should have given you the key! Not like it would stop you. What was wrong with your own apartment?”

“I was watering your ficus, and I didn’t want to have sex on my own couch?” Tania said with an artless shrug. “Then I’d have to clean it.

“I am going to kill you one of these days.” Morgan grumbled, kicking off her shoes before she tucked her legs underneath her on the chair. “Your unlawful carnal knowledge distracted me from the reason I’m here. The Earl talked, and we know what Daddy dear is going to do.”

“And?” Tania motioned with her hand, as Walter pulled over chairs for both himself and Ryan once the other man was clothed. “I was supposed to be the dramatic one.” Tania offered with a roll of her eyes.

“He’s going to try to merge Border and Faerie, because if he changes the boundaries of Faerie he can go back in.” Morgan said, her voice losing some of the frostiness it had taken on since she had found her sister

“That will…” Tania said, her mouth moving as her brain raced ahead down the same highways of terror that Morgan’s had earlier. “Kill a rather significant amount of people. Probably in two states, not including the number of people in Faerie it would kill. Like…I think the only reasonable unit of measurement for it is milli-Stalins.” She sounded aghast and a little bit stunned, as if she was still taking in the breadth of his plan. “That’s what all the stolen artifacts is for—he’s going to crack them like eggs and use their power to screw with reality. So it has to be on the solstice.” She looked to Morgan for confirmation, which she received in a nod from her sister. “Jesus Christ.”

“That’s the first time I think I’ve heard either of you curse like a normal person since you told us about your past.” Walter said, choosing a more tactful turn of phrase than ‘Told us what you are’. “What’s the blight? And why is it so important for it to be the solstice?” He then paused for a moment, cocking his head to the side and considering. “And why is it my life has been reduced to ‘idiot mortal asking questions?’” He finished with a scowl and a shake of his head.

“Well let’s go in reverse order.” Tania offered with a charming and false smile. “Because that’s what you are, because it’s magic, and if we told you that your life would be in incredible danger. So I’m all for it.” She offered with a raised eyebrow to Morgan.

“Walter…I know you’ve been asking for a brief on everything creepy and dark in the world, but there’s a reason why we can’t give that.” Morgan said seriously, scowling again at her sister. “Right now you know a little bit about Faeries. Assuming we win and there’s anything left of either Faerie or Border, then you can go back to not knowing anything and no one will want to kill you because of what you know. Or torture you to find out what you know. The more you know about our world, the more likely some faction you’ve never even heard of will shank you in a dark alley.” Her voice was steady, even, and as completely serious as if she was describing the wounds on a corpse.