“No, comment!” Baird bellowed, putting an arm around Olivia protectively and using his other arm to push his way through the crowd of media. “I said, no comment!”
Storn was protecting Mia in a similar fashion but luckily the reporters were keeping a respectful distance from the Satyr Kindred. The video of him trampling Mia’s ex-mate with his sharp hooves might have had something to do with that, Baird thought grimly. Of course, Storn had been in Rage at that time—he would never act that way now, unless someone threatened Mia.
Unfortunately, most humans just couldn’t seem to understand that. They seemed to think that Kindred were likely to fly into a killing fury at any time, when in fact, almost the only time a Kindred warrior would attack a human was when his mate was in danger.
“All right, all right—clear off! Get back!” A human male who was clearly the head of the security detail, finally got the reporters to step aside so that Baird and the rest of them could enter the Crystal Dome. He gave Storn a hard look as the Satyr Kindred passed through the doors, but he said nothing.
Once inside with the doors closed, the clamor of the reporters outside was rendered nearly silent. The plasti-glass the dome was made of was an effective noise barrier, in addition to its other protective properties.
Sylvan was already inside, standing by Secretary-General Perce and another female that Baird recognized as the human male’s mate.
Aldus Perce was a short, squat human, with wide-set eyes and a wide-lipped mouth, framed by large jowls. Baird thought he looked like a cross between a toad and a bulldog—and neither of those Earth animals was known for its beauty. At least none of the Monstrum looked like that, he thought. From what Sylvan had told him, many of them seemed to bear physical characteristics that resembled Apex Predators. Which was a shame, because the humans were that much more likely to see them as a threat.
“What in the world is that demon-monster doing here?” Aldus Perce demanded, staring first at Storn, and then at Sylvan. “I brought my wife to this meeting and you dare to bring an alien threat?”
“I brought my wife too,” Baird growled, before Sylvan could answer. “And Storn—because that’s his name, not “demon-monster”—brought his as well. And he is not a threat to any of them!”
“Peace, Baird.” Sylvan raised a hand, but it was too late.
“You mean that…that thing is married to a human woman?” the female beside the human Secretary-General demanded. She was an Elite—a female with generous curves, which most Kindred warriors favored—and she had lovely, wavy reddish hair. But the disgusted look on her face when she stared at Storn and Mia would have curdled milk.
“It’s all right, Kimberly my pet,” Aldus Perce threw out his chest and lifted his chin dramatically. “I’ll protect you from the filthy beast! It’s well known that humans are superior to Kindred—you have nothing to fear.”
Since the human leader of the World Council was only about five-foot-eight to Storn’s seven-foot-two and the Satyr Kindred towered over the other male, Baird had no doubt as to who would win in a fight. But of course, Storn wasn’t about to attack the human—none of the Kindred were—so Perce could get away with his posturing, knowing he had nothing to fear.
Baird felt a flash of irritation. Just once he’d like to shove his fist into that smug, human face, he thought. Technically, the Kindred could have taken whatever they wanted from Earth. There were much fewer of them, but they had superior firepower and weaponry. However, they were a civilized race and they preferred to negotiate rather than conquer other species. Of course if Baird had been in charge, it might have been another story, he thought.
“Which is probably why the Goddess appointed Sylvan as the Head of the High Council instead of you, sweetheart.” Olivia’s mental voice sounded amused. “Just let Sylvan work on them—you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, you know. Or maybe I should just say you get further with polite words than a punch in the face.”
“Some people need a punch in the face,” Baird argued back. “And I think this Perce asshole is one of them.”
“You could be right but there’s nothing we can do about it,” she pointed out. “So let’s just let Sylvan argue his case and try his best to win Perce over.”
“He hasn’t got an ice crystal’s chance in the Seven Hells of that,” was Baird’s grim reply, but he settled down to watch how his half-brother would handle the situation.
“You have no need to fear Storn,” Sylvan said in a calm, courteous voice. He nodded at the Satyr Kindred as he spoke. “He was only violent in the vid that you saw because his female was being attacked.”