Alek and Thorne followed close behind, their dour expressions and black-clad figures calling to mind the image of two underpaid bodyguards. All they needed were twin pairs of mirrored sunglasses.
“Moira, darling, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Lucifer smoothly cut in.
She cocked a brow. “Since when are we on a first-name basis, devil-boy?”
“I assure you, I am no boy.”
“What can we do for you, Moira?” If I didn’t interject, the two of them were likely to come to blows, and we’d never get to the bottom of her visit. With her it could be any number of things,ranging from a general announcement to revealing one of her recent visions.
She whipped her gaze to meet mine. “I think I have a solution to your paternity problem.”
Something that might have been excitement sparked within me. “Oh?”
“We did something similar when Sunday got pregnant,” Alek offered, speaking for the first time.
Thorne nodded, adding, “Not that it went as smoothly as it should have. But knowing that our situation was unique, Moira feels confident it should work this time.”
A little furrow of annoyance vee’d her brows, but it was gone as quickly as it arrived. I could only assume, based on our handful of interactions, that she didn’t appreciate the men speaking for her. “Right. I just need all possible baby daddies, the mama to be, a bit of blood, and”—she made a dramatic flourish with her hands—“presto change-o, paternity solved.”
Lucifer crossed his arms and leveled a heavy stare her way. “As a rule, I don’t give out my blood. Especially not to witches.”
She smirked. “Chicken?”
He puffed up like a peacock. “No. I’ve been around long enough to know you never use blood for just one ritual. All you need is a drop for a hex. They’re nasty and difficult to remove, even for me.”
“I’m not going to hex you. I have better things to do with my time. Like save the world.”
“That’s what they always say. Then your crotch itches for weeks.”
I cleared my throat. “When do you want to do this? Do we need to wait for some sort of celestial event?”
“No, not for this one. So now’s as good a time as any.”
“I’ll gather the others. Where should we meet you?”
Alek chuckled under his breath. “Every group always has a Caleb. Is it written somewhere in the rules?”
“More than likely,” Thorne said sagely.
Any other time, I wouldn’t have let the insult go unanswered, but I had enough on my plate at the moment, so I ignored them and kept my attention on the witch.
“Here? Mostly we just need space, but this should do. I’ll get it ready while you grab the others.”
Minutes later the six of us were all stood in the living room, the furniture shoved against the walls, floor bare with the exception of strategically placed candles. None of us were comfortable. Merri glanced from me to Lucifer, then to Moira.
“What is this about?” she asked.
“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt the baby. I just need some blood from all of you, and we’ll know who your baby daddy is in two shakes of a demon goat’s tail.”
“I take exception to that,” Lucifer said with a glare.
“Of course you do,” Sin said with a smirk. “Just about everything seems to offend you.”
“Demons answer tome. I don’t want my child to be exalted as anything less than?—”
“All she said was ‘demon goat’s tail.’ It had nothing to do with the baby,” Alek said, coming to Moira’s defense.
The witch made a face and grumbled beneath her breath. “Who knew the High Lord of hell would be such a sensitive snowflake?”