Ready Or Not

Horrible, Amazing Things

**Daniel**

“So how did it go?” The clear, almost musical voice of Anna came over the line.

I looked at Theo, who shrugged as he settled onto the couch. I didn't have her on speaker, but we all hear one another when we're on the phone anyway.

“About as well as could be expected, really.”

“So no excited jumping up and down while she cried happy tears?”

I laughed a little as I emptied my pockets of my keys and wallet. “No. But she did promise to think about being a part of it, and managed not to bring God into it too much.”

Theo crossed himself and made a rather obscene and blasphemous gesture while his eyes rolled back in his head. I threw my wallet at him and he grinned. When he smiles I can almost forgive him for making fun of my sister.

Anna sighed. “She'll come around.”

I was glad to hear her say so. Anna puts a lot of faith in people, but she wouldn't tell me that just to make me feel better. She's a ray of sunshine, but she won't shine light where there isn't any. She eased my mind.

I walked to the living room and sat beside Theo, my arm automatically encircling him. “Yeah, maybe. Probably. How was your afternoon?” I sort of wanted to not think about Melanie for a little while. I needed time to let it all settle before I started mulling things over again.

“Not bad. I cleaned. I listened to my own music at a volume that didn't shake the walls.”

Theo scoffed. “Then you did it wrong, princess.”

I squeezed him. He and Lydia had the same love of loud.

“Lydia didn't take over the playlist or crank the volume knob? Is she alright?”

“She isn't here. Hasn't been all day.”

Theo sat up straight at this. “Is Anna okay? Why did she leave you alone?”

He really didn't want her alone for long. He still hadn't gotten over what he saw as his failure to protect her- even though he'd been the one who’d been locked up against his will and she'd gone voluntarily into the den of her unhinged maker.

She groaned softly. “We have gone over and over this. I'm fine. I'm less anxious, and I have Duke.”

“Who's deaf!” Theo exclaimed, pulling the phone away from me and putting it to his own ear.

“And still perfectly capable of sensing danger, and still enormously comforting to me,” my best friend argued. “I'm fine, Theo. Lyds is allowed to go out sometimes. She's bored.”

“She's not allowed to be bored,” Theo whined, “I all but threw my assistant at her!”

I laughed. “Last night, baby. Jesus she probably didn't even get her number yet.”

Theo glared at me. “Quiet you, you aren't helping.”

He put his fingers against my lips and I kissed them.

“Full disclosure, brother dear?”

He scowled and pulled his hand away from me, but I caught it and held it in my own.

“I expect nothing less, Anna.”

“I couldn't handle her wistful sighing. And then the bored puttering. Followed by more dreamy sighing and then the restlessness again. I made her leave. Told her to go for a run.”

“A run,” said Theo flatly.

I raised an eyebrow. A run could mean actually running for the sake of running, or it could mean hunting. It did sometimes.