"Thank you," she said, looking down at her pink sweater and khaki pants. "I feel much more normal now, which is really freaky when you consider just how abnormal I've become."
Smiling, Wren gave her an encouraging look before he led her inside.
The dark-haired receptionist frowned at them as they entered. A middle-aged woman who had obviously been chosen for her job because she could intimidate Evander Holyfield, she eyed them suspiciously. It was obvious she didn't recognize Wren. "Can I help you?" she said coolly.
Wren brushed a hand through his hair. Maggie could sense his unease as he addressed the woman, who had a snobby attitude that would make Marguerite's father proud.
"Yeah. I'm Wren Tigarian and I was told that my father sent something here for the firm to hold for me."
The name immediately registered on the woman's face as she stood up. She looked at him with much more respect. "Oh, you're one of Mr. Laurens' personal clients. If you and your friend will wait right here, Mr. Tigarian, I'll go get him for you." She paused as she reached the door to the office area. "Would either of you like anything to drink?"
Wren looked at Marguerite.
"I'm fine," she said quickly.
The woman looked at Wren, who shook his head in declination. "Very good, sir. I'll be right back with Mr. Laurens. Y'all just make yourselves at home."
Wow, the change in her tone was remarkable.
Marguerite could feel Wren's agitation as they waited for Bill.
Not that they had to wait very long. He entered the reception area one step behind his receptionist, who returned to her seat.
Bill frowned nervously as soon as he saw them. Not that Marguerite blamed him. They were still being hunted.
"What are you doing here, Wren?"
"My father sent something to you. He told me you'd have it in your safe."
Bill shook his head. "No, we didn't."
Wren lowered his voice so that only she and Bill could hear him. "I just left him, Bill, and he said he was going to send something here for you to hold on to. He said it would prove my innocence."
Bill's eyes showed his own upset for Wren. "No letter ever came from him. Believe me. There's nothing here. I would have told you a long time ago if I'd had something for you."
She saw the disappointment she felt mirrored on Wren's face. "Are you sure?"
"I would never joke about this."
Damn. Marguerite shivered. How could his father have not sent it? Or, God forbid, it fell victim to the mail service. This was awful.
"What are we going to do?" she asked Wren.
Wren rubbed his head to relieve the ache that was starting just behind his eyes. He was angry and disappointed.
But most of all he was sad. His heart ached for the father he'd barely known. A father who hadn't hated him after all.
That knowledge alone had been worth the trip into the past. So what if he couldn't prove his innocence? At least he finally knew that his father had loved him.
He looked at Maggie, who was dependent on him to keep her safe. And in his heart he knew what he had to do.
"I'm going to the Omegrion." His tone was low so that the receptionist couldn't overhear him.
"Are you insane?" Bill hissed. "They'll kill you."
"They'll kill me if I don't. You know that." Wren looked at her, hoping to make her understand why this had to be done. "Savitar is my only hope. I'll ask for a diki and then we'll see what happens."
"What's a diki?" Marguerite asked, her tone barely more than a whisper.
"Trial by combat," Bill explained. "Wren confronts his accuser and they fight it out."
She was aghast at the idea. "No!" she said firmly.
"We have no choice, Maggie. They'll run us into the ground. Neither you nor I will ever have rest from them. There's nowhere we can go they won't find us. Tell her, Bill."
Bill sighed heavily. "He's right. As much as I hate to admit it. They won't stop until he's dead."
Marguerite straightened up and eyed Wren with raw determination. "Fine. Then I go with you."
"Maggie-"
"No, Wren," she said sternly. "You are not going to do this alone. You need someone in your corner."
Wren stared at her. And it was then he knew the truth.
He loved this woman. He loved her strength and her courage. She was absolutely everything to him. Mated or not, he would never feel like this toward another female.
In truth, he didn't want to go alone. If he had to die, he wanted to die in Maggie's arms, with the touch of her hand on his skin to ease him on his way.
"Okay." Wren looked at the receptionist.
Bill followed his line of sight. "Terry? Could you go grab the file I have on my desk and bring it to me?"
"Sure, Mr. Laurens. I'll be right back."
Wren waited until she was out of their sight. Wrapping his arms around Maggie, he closed his eyes and teleported them to Savitar's home.
Wren didn't move for several seconds as he glanced around the large circular room. Even though he had a seat on the council, he'd never been here before. The room was large, almost overwhelming.
"Where are we?" Maggie asked as she gaped at the opulence of the place.
"A traveling island."
She arched both brows. "A what?"
"It's an island kind of like Brigadoon. It vanishes and reappears at Savitar's whims."
She looked even more confused "And who is Savitar?"
"That would be me."
They both turned to see an incredibly tall man standing behind them. Dressed all in white like a typical surfer, Savitar had shoulder-length dark brown hair and deeply tanned skin.
Wren's jaw went slack as he recognized Savitar. "You?"
"You know him?" Maggie asked.
Wren nodded. "He's the man I met in the woods after my father died."
"The one who took you to New Orleans?"
"That was me," Savitar said again as he walked past them, toward a throne that was set against one wall.
Marguerite was gaping at the man's nonchalance.
As he sat down, the room filled with people who appeared to have been in the middle of doing other things. One man was even holding a fried drumstick against his lips as if he'd been in the middle of eating dinner.
"What the hell is this?" a dark-haired man asked as he quickly flashed clothing onto his naked body. "Savitar? I was in the middle of my shower."
Savitar looked completely unrepentant.
Marguerite was about to laugh until her gaze fell to one of the tigers who had been pursuing them. The man curled his lip an instant before he changed to a tiger and rushed at them.
He leapt at Wren.
Just as he would have reached them, he slammed into what appeared to be an invisible wall. He fell to the ground yelping.
"Don't piss me off any more, you stupid punk," Savitar growled. "Now get up, Zack."
The tiger became human. His mouth was bleeding as he turned to face Savitar's throne. "I demand justice!"
Savitar laughed evilly. "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."
Marguerite exchanged a completely confounded look with Wren, who seemed to understand about as much of this as she did. What was going on here?
"Animals," Savitar said. "Sorry to disturb all of you. But it seems there is new evidence for you to consider."
"He knows something," she whispered to Wren.
Wren took her hand into his and held it tight.
"Nicolette?" Savitar addressed the bear who had been so nasty to them. "Care to share with the council what you told me earlier?"
"Oui."
Zack growled a warning to Nicolette. "Think of what you have to lose, bear."
"Worry about your own ass, tiger," Savitar said snidely. His gaze softened as he looked back to the bear. "Speak, Nicolette. To be rather cliched, the truth shall set you free."
Nicolette glanced at Wren and Marguerite before she spoke again. "Zack Tigarian admitted to both me and my daughter that he knew Wren hadn't gone mad. That he and his father were accusing him only to get his money."
Another dark-haired man frowned at Nicolette. "What about your earlier testimony? You said you had witnessed his madness yourself."
Nicolette nodded. "He has been more hostile lately, I did not lie. And he has exposed us to unnecessary human scrutiny."
Zack sneered. "He's standing here right now with the daughter of a senator. Tell me what kind of animal would do such a thing? It's obvious he is insane. He even launched himself into a tiger cage at the zoo, where he was filmed by the humans."
Savitar looked at Maggie and Wren with a stoic expression. "Do you have anything to say, Maggie?"
"How do you know my name?"
One corner of his mouth twisted up wryly. "I know everything, kid. And the vast majority of it, I wish I didn't... especially those girly thoughts you're having about Wren right now. They're really grossing me out, and I seriously wish Dante would stop thinking about Pandora's..." Savitar made a face, then appeared to shake it off. "Now speak if you have something to say that refutes these allegations."
Marguerite let go of Wren's hand to step forward as she addressed the Were-Animals who were gathered at the round table. "In every event that you accuse Wren of, I was there as a witness. He never once attacked unless it was in defense of himself or me. He only jumped into the tigers' cage because a small boy's life was in danger and he knew he could save him. That wasn't madness, it was kindness."