Bound to Shadows Page 0,67

I said, grinning as her chubby little arms wound themselves around my neck and she planted a slobbery kiss on my cheek. She smelled of soap and powder and everything that was good in this world. "How was swimming today?"

Her amazingly bright violet eyes twinkled with mischief. "Swimming sucked!"

I just about choked on my own laughter. Dia was going to kill me for teaching her that particular expression.

"I thought you loved the water?"

"Water sucks."

I bit down my grin as I walked through the restaurant. Dia was in the far corner, sitting in a booth near the large play area. She was, as usual, both immaculate and stunning. Her hair, like her daughter's, was a pure whitish-silver hair that shone with an almost unnatural brilliance, and when combined with the luminous blue of her eyes and the matching brightness of her summer dress, she was hard to miss.

Of course, neither the blue of Dia's eyes nor her silver hair were natural. Dia wasn't only a psychic, but a clone with Helki shapeshifting genes, and she could subtly alter her appearance as easily as I could become a wolf. The silver and blue suited her psychic business better - and enabled her to use her true form when she didn't want to be noticed.

Little Risa's coloring was natural, and had obviously come from her father, although Dia never talked about him. Nor was there mention of him on Risa's birth certificate.

Dia's gaze met mine as I neared the table. Few would have guessed she was blind, because there was an amazing directness in her gaze. Of course, despite her blindness, she could see, thanks to the presence of a creature known as a Fravardin - an unseen guardian spirit that was by her side whenever she went outside the confines of her house. By linking lightly to the creature's mind, Dia was able to move with a serenity and grace that belied her handicap. I had no idea where the creature was right now, but given she was looking directly at me, it had to be somewhere close.

"You," she said heavily, "have created a monster."

"Who knew she'd take the word up with such gusto?" I slid into the u-shaped booth and untwined Risa's arms from around my neck, putting her on the seat beside me.

"Coke?" she said hopefully.

"I don't think your mom would approve," I said. Especially not right now.

I half expected the little girl to come out with the immortal 'Mommy Sucks', but she leaned forward on the table and gave Dia the sweetest of smiles. "Please mommy?" she said, the bottom lip quivering ever so slightly.

The child really knew how to work it. I grinned and leaned back in the seat, watching Dia struggle to control her smile.

"A small one," she said, "and only if you go play for a while."

Risa flung herself at Dia, gave her a big slobbery kiss, then scrambled over her and ran for the play equipment.

"That child is going to be so dangerous to the male population when she gets older," I said, shoving my handbag on the seat beside me.

"Especially given she seems to think you're a brilliant role model," Dia said dryly.

"Well, let's face it, she could do far worse as role models go. At least I work on the side of the angels,"

"Yes." Dia's expression darkened. "I'm not sure she will, though."

I frowned. "You've had a vision about her future?"

She nodded. "It was a little confused. There were angels and demons and goodness knows what else."

"Angels?" I had no trouble believing that demons existed - after all, I'd crossed paths with hellhounds on several occasions, and they were apparently classified as low level demons - but for some reason, I couldn't quite believe that angels really existed. But maybe it was simply a lack of solid proof. I hadn't really believed in demons, either - until one of them had tried to rip me to shreds.

But angel - like creatures had existed, and they'd been called the Aedh. Quinn's father had been a priest of the Aedh, and while Quinn might not have gotten the wings, he did have many of their abilities. Although just how many - and what they were - was something he'd never really explained.

Still, no surprise there. He might have opened up a whole lot more in recent months, but my sexy old vampire still had many, many secrets.

"Which is why I needed to talk to you," Dia said.

"Me?" I glanced up as the waitress appeared at