Page 14 of Incubus
“Gotcha!” Sasha said, leaping around the corner and scoopingKathrynSchuester up into his arms. She was a petite six-year-old, and almost always dressed head to toe in pink.
“No fair!” she said, giggling and squirming in Sasha’s hold. “You cheated.”
“Hey now, you gotta work on your ninja skills, Kitty Kat,” Sasha said.
He set her down and she immediately ran over to Jim, clinging and peeking at Sasha from around Jim’s long legs. She had dark curls and big brown eyes that she batted defiantly.
“Kitty!”
Leslie Schuester’s Scottish accented voice preceded him, rushing down the stairs like he was ready for a fight. He relaxed when he saw who was at the door, but tensed again when he noticed how close his daughter was to Jim.
“Oh. Hello,” he said, failing at offering a pleasant smile. “Sorry it took me so long. I heard ya, but I’d forgotten to turn off the wards. I didn’t want ya gettin’ caught in any of my fae traps. Kitty, don’t bother the boys,” he said, gesturing for the girl to untangle herself from Jim’s legs.
“It's fine. You know we don’t mind,” Jim said, though he carefully nudged Kitty toward Sasha again. He had always been understanding of Schuester's nervousness around him. Few people would be as accommodating to someone they knew was a changeling.
Sasha hoisted Kitty back up into his arms. “It’s good to see you guys. I’ve been in town a while now. Sorry I haven’t stopped by. If Kitty gets any bigger, I won’t even be able to lift her. You keep getting prettier every time too,” he said to her.
Kitty’s obviously returned affection for the redhead helped ease Nathan's mind a bit more about working with a seal. He shared a look of relief with Jim.
Schuester joined them at the mouth of the entryway. Unlike Sasha’s Crayola red hair, Schuester’s was a natural ginger dusted in white, with pale skin, and even paler grey eyes hidden behind black, thick-framed glasses. He was in his mid-40s, older than most to have such a young child, and with a heaviness about him that often aged him further.
“The boys brought us a fun gadget to play with, right?” Schuester said, plucking Kitty from Sasha’s arms. “Come on in. You boys need anythin’ to eat? We still have some breakfast left.”
Nathan’s ears perked at the mention of food.
“Thanks anyway, but we can’t stay long,” Jim said. “We’re helping Sasha with a case. We just stopped by to show you the goggles we told you about from Wade.”
Jim had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He pulled out the amethyst goggles and set them on the coffee table as the four of them and Kitty gathered in the living room. The upstairs level was open above them, making the apartment appear even more spacious. It did not look like the apartment of a family man, despite the periodic littering of dolls and assorted toys on the floor. There were old sci-fi movie posters covering the walls, andDungeons & Dragonsbooks lined up on shelves in the corner. There were also Schuester’s fae artifacts, but those he kept upstairs.
“I thought ya were kiddin’ when ya mentioned helpin’ Sasha over the phone,” Schuester said. “I can vouch for him, but the last thing I ever expected was for you boys to partner with a seal. Whenever other seals ask after ya, I'm accustomed to pretendin’ we've never met.” He smiled as friendly as he ever managed and turned to regard the goggles. “Well now…these are a little ostentatious, aren’t they?”
“They’re pretty!” Kitty said, hopping on the cushion beside him.
“They turn invisible while you have them on,” Nathan said. “Jim tested them out.”
“I didn't get the chance to test them on actual fae, but they should work," Jim added. "You won’t offend me if you want to test them out on me first.”
Schuester’s mouth twitched again into a semblance of a smile. “Appreciated. The idea of havin’ somethin’ around that can see through glamours for any fae or changeling is pretty amazin’.”
“That’s what those things do?” Sasha asked.
Nathan nodded, though he hadn’t tried the goggles on himself.
“I have my wards,” Schuester said, “but that only keeps unwanted fae out if I don’t know they’re comin’. There isn’t much I can do if I let one walk right through my front door without knowin’ it. This way I’ll know if there are any monsters around,” he said to Kitty.
The girl’s eyes widened with apparent excitement. She never seemed afraid of unexplainable or mystical things, only curious.
Nathan focused his attention on Schuester as the lanky man began pulling the goggles over his head.
“Oh, sorry,” Sasha said, reaching into his jeans and taking out a vibrating cell phone. “It’s my aunt. I need to take this quick.”
“You can use my bedroom,” Schuester offered.
“Thanks.”
Sasha left the room just as Schuester finished adjusting the goggles over his eyes. They vanished the same way they had for Jim.
Schuester looked around the room at first, but when his gaze focused on Jim, his pale eyes instantly widened. “They work,” he said, and pulled the goggles off again.
