Demon's Vow: Part 2 of the Final Asylum Tales (The Asylum Tales series) by Jocelynn Drake Read Free Book Online Page B

thinking, I sat on the tattooing chair next to her and then leapt back to my feet, worried that she didn’t want me that close when we talked about this, that she might prefer a little space.
    “Sit, Gage,” she said with a tender smile, patting the seat I had just vacated. She waited until I was seated again, her hands clasped in both of mine. “Yes, I’ve been to a doctor. She said that everything is progressing just fine and that I’m in good health. She doesn’t think I’m going to have any problems despite my age.”
    “Despite your age! What the hell is that supposed to mean? Does this quack know that you’re an elf?”
    “Yes she does.” Laughter tinged her words at my outburst, while I was barely managing to keep my seat. I was fighting the urge to call of this so-called doctor and give her a piece of my mind. Despite her age!
    “You’re still incredibly young.”
    “I’m almost six hundred years old, Gage,” she said patiently.
    “Sure, but that’s young for an elf.”
    Trixie gave a little shrug. “Reasonably so, but it is somewhat old to be having a baby. At least a first baby.”
    “ Pfttt. You’re in perfect health. Age has nothing to do with it. You and the baby will be fine.” But even as I uttered the words, a chill ran through me. What if she wasn’t? What if something went wrong and the pregnancy hurt her? The worry must have shown on my face because Trixie placed her hand against my cheek, drawing me back from my dark thoughts.
    “You’re right. We will be fine,” she reassured me before pressing a kiss to the tip of my nose.
    I took a deep breath and slowly released it, pushing those fears away. There was no reason to go borrowing trouble, as my mother used to say. I had plenty of trouble already on my plate that needed taking care of.
    “Do you know what it is?”
    “I’m pretty sure it’s a baby,” Trixie teased.
    “You know what I mean, woman! The sex. The gender. Are we having a boy or a girl?”
    She laughed at me, the wonderful sound rising up to fill the entire parlor so that I was laughing as well. When she could catch her breath again, she shook her head at me. “It’s still too early. Another month.”
    I wanted to ask her more about the baby in general, and if there was anything she worried about because the child would be part elf and part human. I wasn’t ready to think about the prospect of the baby inheriting more from me than just my blue eyes and big feet. The child was likely to be magically inclined already, due to its elvish heritage. With any luck, that would be enough to mask anything that might catch the attention of the Towers. Unfortunately, a chime echoed through the parlor, indicating that someone had come in the front door. A glance at the clock revealed that it was likely to be Trixie’s first appointment of the night. We’d have to circle around to this later. Right now, it was time to get some work done.
    I t was just the two of us for a couple hours and then Bronx joined us at seven thirty. With it getting darker sooner, the troll had shifted his hours as well, taking advantage of the longer nights to make some extra cash. He paused in the doorway and also commented on my choice of music when I looked up from the dwarf I was tattooing. I swore under my breath, and made a mental note to change the music as soon as I was finished with my customer.
    We settled into our easy routine without batting an eye. Trixie was kept busy with her client and I was relieved to be busy as well. December wasn’t usually a big tattooing month, as most people chose to use money for gifts and holiday celebrations, but people were making exceptions this year. My calendar was full for the next couple of weeks and it looked the same for my companions. I welcomed the brisk pace, as it meant that I couldn’t spend time worrying about things I couldn’t fix.
    As I bandaged up my customer and walked him to the lobby, Trixie started pulling out her greasepaint as