Page 77 of Hallow Hill at Halloween: Part One

I rushed back to the dining room. When I reached Vuk, I said, “Out. That chair belongs to my husband.” Vuk smirked. “John David?” I looked toward the head of the table. “Could we maybe add a place somewhere?”

Egads.I was that person. The one who presumed to make unwanted changes to somebody else’s carefully planned event. In the middle of the event!

My gaze landed on Esme and Kagan, who were locked in an animated dialogue of whispers. I wished I could’ve heard what was being said.

To his vaulted credit, my host appeared nonplussed. The vampire was unflappable.

“Jarvis!” he called, using that commanding tone he reserved for staff. It was a sign of superiority that accompanies being born to wealth. When Jarvis arrived, John David said, “Perhaps we could get creative and find a way to add a place setting?”

I could see that everybody at the table was hoping the werewolf who came to dinner wouldn’t end up seated next to them.

“What about in the kitchen?” I blurted.

Without waiting to see how my suggestion would be received, I lowered my voice and told Vuk, “Look, you came uninvited. Go to the kitchen. Be a good werewolf. And you can join us for the concert/dance afterward.”

Vuk looked from me to Keir, who was waiting impatiently in the large archway which formed the dining room entrance. His sudden smile was so unexpected it caused me to take an involuntary step backward.

“Sure,” was all he said, choosing to ignore my disrespect and dismissiveness. He stood, pulling himself to his full height, tossed his fine linen napkin on the seat of the chair, and sauntered to the kitchen.

I looked down at the discarded napkin, but John David was ahead of me.

He snapped his fingers at the closest server. “A new place setting for our honored guest,” he said, bowing his head slightly toward Keir. To another nearby server, he said, “Find out what our latest arrivals are drinking.”

My hubby waited where he was until the place setting was renewed. By that time, Keir had a whiskey neat in hand. Judging by the look of discontent that lingered on his handsome face, I suspected he needed it.

He nodded to John David. “Sorry we’re late. Couldn’t be helped.”

“We’re very happy you’re here,” John David said graciously. “Would you care to share stories from your hunting adventures?”

Keir smiled and exchanged a look with Kagan that I took as asking for permission to share.

“It was successful,” was all Keir said. “Thank you for asking.”

“Oh, come now,” Fie insisted. “Give us details.”

For a couple of seconds, Keir looked torn and I wasn’t sure he was going to answer, but his forehead cleared in a subtle way that only Kagan and I would notice. Probably.

“My brothers and I were hunting aglysepheron.”

The collective gasps in the room told me I should’ve been worried and was too ignorant to know that. The next time he mentioned hunting, I’d be the wiser, prepared with a long list of both questions and objections.

“You, uh, got it?” Lochlan asked.

I noticed that Esme and Kagan had ceased their frantic reunion and were paying attention.

Keir nodded. “We did.” Following a failed attempt at a surreptitious glance my way, he cleared his throat and said, “It took a little longer than expected.”

When Keir said no more on the subject, normal dinner conversation resumed.

“The oyster bisque is good, isn’t it?” I asked Keir, hoping that we would likewise resume something like normal conversation. He nodded at the bowl he was just finishing.

So much for normal conversation. Very well. Change of strategy.

“I’m going to want to hear more about this glysepheron later. I didn’t know you were away on an adventure that was dangerous.”

A good offense is always a good idea when feeling defensive.

He turned to face me. “It was tricky. Not dangerous.”

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