Marriage is Murder

"Brant has been never known to know when to simply shut it," Edward said. "Although, this would be an excellent time for him to start. Marriages do seem to last longer if one knows how to do that."

"Indeed they do," Kate said, coming back in from her art studio, rubbing her hands. The winter cold felt like it was radiating off her clothes. Edward went over and purposely took her hands.

"You're like ice. Where were you?" he frowned.

"My studio," she said. "That's what I came back for. The heating enchantment seems to have failed in the greenhouse. Its like ice, and the plants are literally starting to freeze."

"Not good at all," Edward said. "That's a good portion of our food source in the winter. Jack and Steven, can you go out and find out what the hell is wrong with it?"

"Dress for it," Kate said. "It was starting to snow in my studio."

"Come warm up," Edward said, picking up a blanket from the sofa. "What you need is a hot buttered rum to warm up with--if anyone but me remembers how to make one. We don't need you catching your death of cold from exposing yourself to that sort of cold."

"Double the ground patrols," Michael said. "Have them work in pairs. I don't know of anyone on our staff that would do this. Escobar would have told us if our protection spell had been breeched. We can't eliminate the possibility that whoever did this is already on the grounds. Tell the outside security team to be very, very careful. And lets make sure our protection spell on the house is stronger. No one in or out who doesn't live in this house--at least for now. We'll have to replenish our supplies from London somehow without being noticed."

"I can do that," Khaat said, more asleep than awake.

"I thought you were sleeping," Marcus said.

"I am," she said. "Get me a cup of French roast?"

"That's not good for you," he said.

"Just do it," she yawned, trying to wake up. He brought her half a cup, asking Suki to fix the hot buttered rum for Kate. Khaat tried to sit up to drink the coffee, but found she was having trouble sitting up. Marcus smiled and reached behind her and helped her sit up.

"Baby in the way?" he asked.

"I need to quit laying flat," she said. "Its too hard to get up." She sipped on her coffee. "Get my coat, Marcus. A quick trip into Sparks will have everything we need ordered, and Lizzie can deliver it to us. And it'll be cheaper at wholesale prices for us."

Marcus looked at Michael, unsure about her going out again. Michael merely nodded. They needed supplies, and if they had indeed been breeched, she was safer of the grounds anyway. Marcus got his coat and hers.

"Anything other than fruits and vegetables that we should get while we're out?" Marcus asked.

"Not unless someone wants something that somehow we don't already have," Michael said. "Anybody else know of something we should stock up on?"

"No," Michael said. "If we've been breeched, then its best to get her off the grounds until we know we're safe. I'd rather, this time, that Marcus take her out. Even if its just for the short time it takes them to go to Sparks and back.

"In the meantime, we need to be sure that we don't have a dozen little ones scattered through the house. Get them all together somehow and let's be sure no one can get to them.

"And lets make sure that Brian and Robert and Escobar know," Michael added. "They've been upstairs by themselves all day. We need Robert to be safe, and we don't want any of them taken by surprise."

"And how will I know if its safe to bring her back?" Marcus asked.

"Jack and Steven can work very quickly. I can' imagine you'd need to be gone more than 30 minutes at best," Michael said. "Unless one or the other of them starts a war here while you're gone."

"I have no intention of losing her," Marcus said. "We won't be long." He wrapped himself around her and they ported out.

Losing the crops would mean they were less self sustaining. That would make them vulnerable until new crops could replace the ones that were lost. That got the attention of Brian, Robert, and Escobar--all three.

"Not good," Brian said. He looked at Escobar. "You stay with him. Kill anyone who doesn't belong. Don't bother with questions."

"I intended to," Escobar said. Robert shifted, wanting to get up. If there was a fight coming, he needed to be up. "Do you think you might manage to do this fight without needing to first shower and clean up to meet your enemies?" Escobar asked. "Must we really take time for that? Can't you just meet them as you are?" Robert nodded. Escobar handed him his wand. "Try to keep the pointy end towards the bad guys, would you?" He knew Robert really knew better, but he also wasn't trusting in his ability to battle the curse today. Robert merely scowled at him.

Marcus and Khaat ported into Diagon Alley and went straight to Sparks, to the kitchen door. Marcus took her into her office, and the two of them worked together to put in an enormous order that would keep their estate running for weeks without any noticeable shift in operations.

Khaat decided to break the order up into regular pick ups that Jack or Steven would need to manage at in irregular ways to avoid anyone following the orders back to the estate.

They'd been in Sparks for perhaps an hour, and they decided to leave the same way they came. Marcus looked outside, make a check, and saw nothing. Nothing.

"Quickly," he said to her. "Let's not waste time. Sun's going to be going down soon, and we need to get home." He took her hand, and they stepped outside, closing the kitchen door.

As soon as they had, something struck Marcus with blinding speed. It ripped him away from her. Hurled him into the brick wall and then down an outside stairwell. The last he heard before all went black was deep animalistic laughter.

Khaat had seen. She had seen James make a leap from a rooftop and land just in time to either hit or claw Marcus. She wasn't sure just which. Marcus was ripped from her, and she saw him hit the wall and fall down the stairwell.

"Marcus!" Khaat shrieked, terrified. The sight of James was, by itself, almost more than she could deal with anymore. But to face him without Marcus? That shook her too the core.

She utterly panicked. She apparated to the bottom of the stairwell in front of Marcus's fallen form. He was stunned. She threw herself onto the ground and backed up tightly against Marcus. She drew her wand, intending to shield him herself. James leaped into the stairwell, laughing.

He saw her baby belly and it made him laugh.

"I think I'll keep the cubs," he said to her with a hiss. "I'll take you, and I'll keep the cubs. A three for one sale."

Marcus was waking and saw that Khaat was not about to surrender him under any circumstances. He wasn't about to betray to James that he was fully awake now. Instead, it only took a very slight movement that was well hidden behind her to hit his emergency alarm.

He was hoping to hell that Jack would respond and draw James off from Khaat enough that he could get her out of here and get her home.

James was momentarily thrown when somehow there were more of her guards in the alley. But there he was. His puny little kid brother.

"What a pest," James sighed. "You were a pest then, and you're a pest now." He released Jack's hold on him and pushed him roughly into the brick wall. "Get off me," James hissed at him. "I don't have time for you."

Marcus could now feel Khaat's violent shaking that only confirmed how badly afraid of him she had become. He made a mental note to tell her how proud he was of her for not showing it and for being willing to stand up to James.

"I'm good," Marcus said, honestly not sure if he was okay or not. He managed to sit up, hurting more places than not. He wanted to stand up but he felt Khaat's iron hold on him. She was gripping him so tight that he couldn't get up. "Khaat," Marcus said gently, "I need you to move with me. We're going to stand up." He tried to stand up and take her with him but she was frozen, unable to move. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Marcus looked up at Steven. "Stand in front of her?" Marcus asked. He was hoping Steven would block her view of James and make it a bit easier for him to get up with her.

"You know nothing about being a higher being," James said to Jack, disgusted. "You've been brainwashed by them. You don't even know the rules, do you? She's mine. Figure it out, Jackie Boy. Werewolves are the superior life form, and I am the superior werewolf. That means anything I want is mine. And I claimed her a long time ago. Look at her face. I already marked her. She's mine and so are all those lovely little cubs of hers. The ones she's already got, and the ones still in the oven. They're all mine."