Tam/Talon snippet from The Trouble with Demons

As promised, here's a snippet from The Trouble with Demons -- Tam is experiencing some of the trials and tribulations of parenting a goblin teenager. Enjoy! (For those of you who voted for the first page of Bewitched & Betrayed, I'll post that in the next Saturday or two.)

Tam ran through the apartment to Talon's bedroom door. It was locked. Tam kicked it once and the lock ceased to be a problem -- and so did most of the door. The kid was halfway out the window when Tam jerked him back into the room by his collar.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Talon looked at his dad like he'd lost his mind. "I have a date."

Tam blinked. "A date?"

"You know, with a girl."

Tam gave him a shake, and I couldn't help but notice that the kid's boots weren't touching the floor.

"Okay, okay. Technically a woman." Talon grinned lasciviously. "Two women, actually."

Tam put him in a chair, but kept his hand right where it was. "I told you not to leave this room."

"Well, see, here's the thing. When you told me not to leave, it was after I'd already set this up. So technically my plans supercede--"

"Nothing!" Tam roared in his son's face. "Your plans supercede nothing!"

"You don't have to get so--"

"Yes, I do."

In a split second, Tam's voice went from a roar to a tight, hissing whisper. Talon's aqua eyes went wide as saucers. I think he wanted the roar back.

"I'm sorry?" Talon guessed.

With some effort, Tam unclenched his hand from the back of his son's neck. "You could have been."

Talon stopped just short of rolling his eyes. "Give me some credit. I take precautions; I always carry protection."

A vein I'd never noticed before was throbbing in Tam's temple. "That's not the kind of protection I mean."

"My bodyguards?" Talon shrugged. "They can come along; I don't mind. They just can't watch. I'm not into that."

If Piaras hadn't been in even more danger, I would have enjoyed watching Tam's attempts at parenting a goblin teenager.

I raced back through the apartment and flung open the door. "Phael--"

Phaelan and Vegard fell into the room from where they'd been trying to listen through the door.

"The damned thing's soundproof," Phaelan said indignantly, as if him getting caught eavesdropping was entirely the door's fault.

"We couldn't hear a thing, ma'am." Vegard managed to sound incensed and apologetic at the same time.

"I'm sure Tam had it built that way," I told them both. "Phaelan, Guardians took Piaras back to the Fortune. I need to know if he's still there."

"He should be."

I felt my own temple start to throb. "Does your crew know to keep him onboard?"

Phaelan had to think about that one. "You would think so."

I couldn't believe my ears. "Dammit!"

"Dammit, what?"

I told them what Sarad Nukpana had said.

Vegard's next words blistered the air blue, and if I hadn't grabbed his arm as tight as I could, he'd have been running for the ship. As it was, he almost jerked me off my feet.

"You won't get there in time," I told him. "Phaelan, get hold of your ship's contact wizard. Tell him to keep Piaras onboard. And if he's gone -- Go. Get. Him."