Riding the Red Ch. 06

"Non," he whispered back. "That would be my Aunt Charlene."

"Oh, that's right—she's a seer, oui?" Eiric asked.

"And I can hear, as well," Charlene said loudly. "Allez-vous ici—I haven't seen you two in years." She began to kiss, hug, and fuss over them, then sharply turned, giving Aurelie her full attention as her little sister explained the situation to her siblings.

Alain moved to stand next to Eiric and Julien, clapping a heavy hand on their shoulders. "We'll help you find your little one," he promised.

Julien patted his uncle's back in restrained gratitude, then turned to his wife. "We should go."

She nodded, then made the rounds, hugging and kissing the aunt and uncles one last time. She paused before Aurelie, and they just held hands for a minute, looking at each other wordlessly. Some things transcended language. Aurelie pulled Eiric and her son in for one last brisk, emotional kiss.

Aurelie watched her handsome son and his wife, whom she loved, get into the car and drive away. She tsked to herself, thinking that she should have made them something to eat on the road. Eiric was looking entirely too thin. Turning to her siblings, she now allowed herself to fall into the role of coddled one. Though she never would have admitted it to Julien and Eiric, she too, was scared. But they didn't need what-ifs, they needed decisiveness, and certainty. With her siblings, however, she didn't have to pretend to be all-knowing. That was Charlene's job.

Moving back into her house, she listened to her brothers avidly discussing methods of ascertainment. She found Charlene in her kitchen, examining the cold potion from this morning.

"You tried to scry?" Charlene queried.

She nodded. "The crystal flew across the room and hit the wall, there." Aurelie pointed.

Charlene examined the dent in the wall, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "That means that there's a lot of power shielding her, wherever she is. Especially when coupled with what happened to Eiric when she tried." She took a deep breath, and then smiled reassuringly at her little sister. "Make me some hot chocolate. I'm going to see what I can do." Charlene searched for a suitable spot, and then decided to ensconce herself in the breakfast nook.

By the time that Aurelie came in with her chocolate, Charlene was already mentally far away, using her gift to search for Adrienne.

Aurelie brushed an errant curl from her sister's placid face, and then turned to go discuss alternate plans of attack with her brothers.

**********************

"Turn into here," Eiric told her husband.

"The store?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," she rejoined. "If you're going to do this with me, then you need to be prepared." She turned to him, placing a hand on his thigh. "I may have to do things, Julien. You are my back-up, comprends? You are to stand there, stay silent, and look menacing. You can't flinch, you can't show any distaste for my methods...if it comes to that."

He took her hand, and kissed the back of it. "For Adrienne," he said simply.

Eiric looked at him, blew out a breath, and exited the car. As she led him into the weapons store, he noticed that her body language had undergone a subtle shift. Her energy seemed tighter, she stood taller, and she didn't so much walk, as slice through the air. She moved like a shark. And while part of him was amazed that this silent, steely little person was his warm, passionate, affectionate wife, and part of him admired her deadly intensity, part of him was also a little sad that this was a part of her. He wished that she had never had to learn these skills.

Sighing in regret, he took up a position by the door, locking it to ensure that no one else would come into the already empty store. He watched Eiric approach the store owner, whose back was turned to them. Julien's head involuntarily snapped back as he heard his wife purr something that he never thought he would hear her say to another man.

"Hello, lover."