I found a couple of additional memories ofOscarand Diana hanging out around her house in Brooklyn, watching movies, and lounging on her bed while she read. The last memory was of Oisín in his cat form sitting in the bay window of the safehouse that overlooked the front of the property, watching us fight the reptile shifters. He had seen the last shifter approach Diana and rushed to her aid, morphing into his normal form just in time to fade her to safety.
Showing Diana and I those memories allowed us to confirm that he was being truthful with us, and that he benefited from taking both Red and Damon out. Diana would see him in an entirely new light. He’d boldly risked his life by lying to their half-brother’s face multiple times about the extent of her powers, where she was, and why she was missing for the first two weeks she was with us. He chose to stay with her in Vegas when he could have let her fend for herself. The results didn’t lie; he was firmly on our side. I broke the mental link between the three of us.
“Everything checks out,” I announced. “Welcome to the team, Oisín.”
“You losers have a team name?” he wisecracked. “I’ve been calling y’all the Penis Parade for a while, but the name is turning out to be a two-pump chump.”Ha ha ha, very funny.
Desmond slammed his hand on the table, snarling as he eyed him down with an intensity as sharp as a blade. “This is how it’s going to be, asshole–” he started, but was interrupted when Oisín morphed into a giant boa constrictor. He slithered to Desmond with lightning speed and wrapped himself around Desmond from legs to throat. His cream and orange scales shimmered in the fluorescent lighting as he squeezed Desmond hard enough that his face turned purple. Oisín’s yellow eyes stared directly into Desmond’s, promising him a swift punishment.
“No,youlisten, asshole. You fucking kidnapped my sister, let Mal get possessed and murder her, and acted like a complete douche to her because you think you’re above emotional maturity,” he hissed. His tongue flicked out, vibrating through the air before it licked Desmond’s cheek. “You are not worthy of my sister’s affection. But she continues to waste her time with you. If you don’t treat her right, I’ll come for you when you least expect it and end you myself,” he threatened as his grip around Desmond’s body tightened enough that his hands started to turn purple too.
“I’m not sure if I’ll waste any more time with him, actually,” Diana said offhandedly. In her anger, she looked just like her father: the same searing gaze, raised brow, and tight jawline. The resemblance in her face was unmistakable, and I kicked myself for not realizing her parentage sooner. “He apparently thinks I’m a slut who plays games. Thanks for the backup, but I’ll handle him…for now.”
Oisín unraveled himself and morphed back into a man again. The sight unsettled me, even when I reminded myself how useful he could be down the line. “Diana, I’ll always have your back–that’s what family is for. I promise we’ll find Dad and take Red and Damon down.”
Desmond rubbed his hand over the inflamed red marks left behind. Those would take longer to heal because of Oisín’s power signature. Charlie leaned into Diana’s side, whispering in her ear.
“Oooooh, Diana, the gingers have drama,” he teased. “A beef between them could put Wendy’s out of business. My money is on your brother—he’s a savage.”
“Thanks cutie, but if you really wanna see me go savage, take me to bed,” Oisín flirted, winking at Charlie from his seat on Diana’s other side. Charlie looked down at his hands, blushing tomato red.
“Oisín, is that a magic unique to you, or did you teach yourself to turn into different animals?” Diana asked, ignoring her brother’s comment.
“Some of our siblings have the gift, others don’t. Either way, you can teach yourself bodily manipulation up to a point,” he replied as he took stock of Diana’s shock. She had no clue how extensive her family actually was. “Oh sister, you have no clue how big and crazy our family is. Dad apparently doesn’t believe in wrapping it up, so we have siblings alive and dead all over the place. We have so much to talk about.”
Is he going to tell her that he killed some of them?Desmond linked me. I didn’t have the patience for his alpha male bullshit right now, choosing to focus my attention on Diana instead.
“That may have to wait until after we take care of Diana’s family back in Brooklyn,” Ares reminded us all. “Little Goddess, I thought about how to get them out here safely, and I planned a strategic way to get in and out without alerting anyone of our presence.”
“Truth, you can never be too careful with all the enemies you four made in Brooklyn, let alone the entirety of NYC,” Oisín snarked. “What’s your grand plan, God of War & Chaos? Are we going to Trojan Horse our way through Brooklyn, pretending to be hotdog vendors?” The smirk he wore made Ares’ crazy face pop up–the one with the eye twitch and scowl that made lesser beings piss themselves–but one stern look from Diana had him quelling his anger.
“Not quite, but a similar principle. All of us pass for normal, everyday humans unless we shift. The weather is cool enough that we can wear winter gear and walk around with Christmas gift bags. We’d pass as merry shoppers, spreading the holiday spirit,” Ares explained.
“Ares, I can feel Diana’s power signature from a mile away. Once she goes back to Brooklyn, she’s a walking target,” Mal said as he got up and paced around the table. “We could temporarily mute her power signature, but that involves binding her powers, which leaves her defenseless if shit hits the fan.”
“I hate to burst your bubble bun boy, butallof our power signatures scream ‘come fuck around and find out, fellas!’”Oisín sing-songed in a high-pitched falsetto. It was such a stark contrast to his beefy stature that I started laughing. “Wow, so happy you find this funny Sebastian. This isn’t going to be easy like when you broke into my sister’s bedroom and crashed her dreams for two months.”
“Actually… it could be that easy. He faded through my family’s wards and snuck into my bedroom like a psycho stalker for months. Thanks for warning me about that, by the way,” she reprimanded her brother before turning her attention to me. “You keep a low profile. Sneak in, disable the wards, and we’re in.”
“So, technically, I couldn’t fade into your house. The ward they had to block fading would alert them. I disabled other wards and physically broke into your house through your window,Romeo and Julietstyle, Birdie. However, I could use a summoning circle and loop it to make a portal we could travel through. It’s doubtful that your family would be able to protect against that.”
Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds, pondering the idea. It was stealthy enough for sure, and could work. There were a few caveats though, as Desmond so bluntly pointed out.
“What if your family changed their wards after you passed away?” Desmond asked. “What if they aren’t home? What if someone is surveilling their house? There are a lot of what-ifs this plan hinges on, and I think we need to sit down and look at all the possible options before we decide on something.”
“Nonna and Angie are home all the time nowadays. Frankly, they’re depressed as fuck. They legit think Diana died in that fire and have zero reason to suspect anything foul. Also, tomorrow is Monday, so their butcher shop is closed. They’ll be home all day,” Charlie piped up. He had been unusually quiet throughout the whole meeting and kept staring at Oisín with wide owl eyes. I guess a bomb like that was a lot for a human to take in, even one as open-minded as him.
“I can always do a test run before the mission. It’s actually a great idea. We lower our risk of exposure, and there are enough wards on their house that any lower-level beings won’t be able to tell we’re there,” I mused aloud.
“The longer Diana’s family is in Brooklyn, the more danger they’re in. We can ignore the elephant in the room, but Red isn’t dead–he’s just laying low. He’ll eventually come out of hiding and get revenge. Diana’s family is the perfect target,” Oisín said as he rose from his seat and looked everyone at the table in the eye with a lingering gaze. “What do you think, Judas? What we do from this point out impacts your coven as much as does us.”
“I’m not worried about Red. Hell is a fucking mess right now. My sources told me there’s open dissent, and the factions are restless, which should take up a lot of his focus for a while.I’mworried about Damon. How do the reptile shifters keep popping up unannounced when they’re least expected? First at the bar Diana worked at, then the airport. Now at their safehouse?” Judas rubbed his goatee, a pensive expression on his heart shaped, angular face.
“Great question,” Desmond spat as he glared at Oisín with open suspicion. “Why not ask Damon’s spy?”
“You know they share blood, right? He’s already used blood magic to find her once,” Oisín told Desmond like he was an idiot.
“Maybe Desmond should ask himself why he’s so openly hostile toward someone we already proved is telling the truth. Seems likesomeonedoesn’t like not being in control of everything.” Diana gave Desmond a saccharine smile as she delivered the blow, crossing her legs for emphasis. “I say we vote. This is a unit where everyone is going to put their life on the line–we should all have a say.”