Extending Family

Liliana knocked on the door of a rambling old house with a wrap-around porch on ten acres just outside of Portland proper, adjacent to the National Forest. It was about 2 AM. Maybe 3 AM. Liliana wasn't very good at keeping track of time without her clocks to guide her.

After several minutes of knocking, a young woman who stood six foot two and had twenty pounds more muscle than Detective Hank opened the door wearing a long t-shirt with lion cubs on it and sweatpants. Her hair, in four inch black braids tipped with colorful beads, seemed to have a life of its own, and be just as irritated about being woken up.

"Hello, Leona," Liliana said.

"It's the middle of the freakin' night. What do you want?" The young lioness looked around warily, checking to see if Liliana was being chased.

"I need to speak to your father, and to Marilyn."

"They're asleep. And Dad hasn't been getting much sleep lately, between his construction business and pride business. Can it wait?" Leona asked with a tone that said she didn't expect the answer to be yes.

"My business with your father and Marilyn can probably wait until they wake up. I just need to be here. I need to know they're safe. I need to keep watch."

Leona's lips tightened. She nodded understanding. "Come in, then." Leona opened the door and escorted Liliana into a huge open living room with a fireplace and enough comfortable furniture to accommodate twenty. When the pride leaders met here, many of them ended up sitting on the floor, or leaning against the walls. The vaulted ceiling had beautiful exposed beam construction. Liliana loved houses built like that.

Liliana stared with all eyes up the stairs toward the rooms where her fourth eyes showed her a sleeping boy, a few weeks shy of his fourth birthday, and a woman in her late twenties with long, thick brown hair. They were both safe, and her fourth eyes told her that they would continue to be safe, at least for a few more hours. And then, those two innocent lives, who had already been through so much, would be in terrible danger, simply because they were related to Liliana by blood.

Leona saw the direction of Liliana's gaze. The tall lowan woman got a better look at the petite spider wesen in the electric light of a living room lamp. "Have you been crying, Lilly?"

"More than twenty years ago, I lost track of my brothers and their families. Then the granddaughter of my brother, Petros, walked into my shop. I never would have known Marilyn was family if she hadn't told me that she named her son Simon, after my father."

Leona put a slim, strong, long-fingered hand on Liliana's shoulder and squeezed gently. "What happened?"

"I had two brothers who came to Portland with me. Jason played games with me when I was little, baby-sat me when my parents wanted time to themselves. He looked out for me. When I was nine, a pretty older girl made fun of me for being so tiny and skinny. She called me stick girl and made the other circus children call me that, too." Liliana smiled a little, even as another tear ran down her face. "In front of the other kids, Jason tripped her near the elephants, so she fell in a huge pile of elephant poop. When she got up, Jason handed her a stick to get the goo off her face. He said, 'Who's a stick girl now?'" Liliana had almost forgotten how much she adored her older brother that day. "No one called me stick girl anymore."

Leona grinned. "That's a good brother."

"Yes, he was." Liliana let the tears fall. She was safe here. "I watched him die tonight."

"Oh." Leona clenched her hands into fists. "I'm so sorry, Lilly." Leona hugged her, tight enough to threaten ribs. "He lived a long life, though, if he was older than you and he just died tonight."

"I don't even know when my Jason died. I lost track of him, just like Petros. My own brothers. I just lost them in time, became so self-absorbed that I stopped watching over my own family. The man I watched die tonight had Jason's face, though, and his name. He was my brother's great, great grandson." She looked up at Leona with eyes that were blurred from tears. "This Jason was murdered because he was related to me, and he never even knew who I was."

Leona tensed next to her. "You think Marilyn and Simon might be in danger?"

Liliana nodded. "Daniel is in danger as well. Someone does not approve of a lowan king with a spinnesehen champion, nor of lowans whose blood is mixed with spiders. Killing Jason, and framing your father for the murder, was the first strike. I have no doubt this man is not done with us."

"He framed Dad for murder?" Leona pushed away from Liliana in shock.

Liliana nodded.

"I'll rip his head off," Leona growled, face gone furry and fanged. Her fur was as black as her skin had been, a rare trait that made her bright yellow cat eyes and her long white fangs stand out the more fiercely. The beads in her braids rattled together as Leona shook her head to bring herself back under control. She was young, but Leona had a strong will and the potential for tremendous personal power. She was the true daughter of a king of lions. "Are the cops coming for Dad tonight?"

Liliana looked to see when Nick and Hank would come to Daniel Samson's family's home. She knew that eventually the two detectives would come either here or to Daniel's business. "Tomorrow." The sun was well up, but not yet directly overhead in her vision. "Before noon." It was as precise as she could be with no watch or clock to check near them.

The tall, muscular lioness nodded. "You get some sleep, Lilly. I'll keep watch. I'll wake you before the pride meeting tomorrow morning." Leona went outside and circled the house, then came in, locked the door, checked every window and door in the house, then sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

Liliana knew she couldn't have a more capable guardian, for herself, or for the others in this house, some who were blood family, and some who had become like family.

She laid down on the big, soft couch, and wished she was curled up next to Sean. She didn't want to call and wake her prince, though. Adelind's curse had been poisoning his dreams and making sleep difficult for him.

She wrote him a text. "I need you. Come to the pride meeting at Daniel Samson's house tomorrow morning." She considered not sending it. It was true that she deeply wished to have Sean close, but it was also true that having him close had become a subtle form of torture.

She clicked SEND. Daniel needed help from the police captain. Liliana's personal feelings didn't matter.

She thought she would be awake for the rest of the night, but the next thing she knew, a little boy squealed, "Aunt Lilly!"

Liliana startled awake just in time to be thoroughly bounced on, hugged and sloppily kissed by her great grand-nephew.

"Hello, little Simon," she said, and hugged him back.

"I'm not little. I'm almost four!" He held up the appropriate number of fingers.

"So you are, but the Simon I knew was so big, he was as tall as your Uncle Daniel. So, you might still be little Simon to me, even when you're forty."

Little Simon rolled his eyes. "I'll never be that old." Then he grabbed her hand and dragged her out from under the afghan someone had laid on her while she slept. "Mom made pancakes!"

The meal was served, consumed and cleared at lightning speed. Normally, Liliana would have helped, but everyone treated her as if she were ill. The Samsons, Leona, her mother Arel, and father Daniel, and Marilyn Kramer all insisted that Liliana rest and sip tea while they bustled around like a well-orchestrated dance team.

Everyone treated her like she was ill except little Simon. He sat on her lap after consuming his own pancakes at record speed. Then, he brought her a small collection of imaginative little monsters that lit up when placed on a special pedestal. He told her in great detail what their names were, what powers and weaknesses they had, and why they lit up the color and position that they did when placed on the pedestal. Apparently, the toys went with some sort of game.

Liliana was reminded of Monroe telling her about clocks. All she had to do was nod and smile to hold up her end of the conversation.

When the dishes were cleared, a family council convened around the breakfast table.

The younger of the three lionesses had already told her family the sad news of the previous night's events.

"Should I take Simon outside while you talk?" Marilyn asked.

"No!" Liliana said, and held tight to her little nephew.

Everyone looked at her with surprise.

Liliana ducked her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." She knew she was being a bit paranoid and possessive, but she couldn't help it. "The killer is targeting my family. I am afraid for you both, especially little Simon."

Marilyn's eyes widened and then narrowed. "Maybe Simon and I should leave town for a while. I have some friends in Montana I haven't visited in a few years. Might be a good time." Marilyn tended to be very practical when it came to danger to her child.

Liliana considered that possibility. As long as Marilyn and Simon stayed in Portland, they were targets. She saw several possible futures where one or both of them were murdered, and the sight of her little nephew's bloody corpse made her want to throw up her pancakes.

If the two lowans could safely leave the state until the murderer was caught … Liliana nodded. "Yes. You should go visit your friends. I will call you when it is safe to return. In the meantime, go nowhere alone or without a gun. The enemy has a gun and fights like a ring champion." Marilyn was no fragile flower, but neither was she really a fighter. Liliana would put her bets on Marilyn if faced with almost any human attacker, but their enemy was not human.

Leona and Arel both put a hand on Marilyn's shoulder, one strong dark, feminine hand on each side. "We'll keep you safe." Leona and Arel were both fighters. Arel was past fifty, but still very strong and fast, and Leona had become downright deadly. There were days when the tall, young lioness could defeat Liliana in a toe-to-toe fight.

Marilyn smiled warmly and patted both hands. "I trust you."

The three lionesses were the ones who came to Liliana for help initially. They were united in many ways, a strong bond of love and mutual protection. Arel and Leona had helped Marilyn get away from her abusive ex-husband, and taken her and her child into their home as part of their family. They had encompassed Liliana in that circle after she fought Marilyn's ex-husband to the death in order to make Daniel the new king.

"Why don't you two go with Marilyn and the squirt," Daniel said, voice deep and rumbly. "I'd feel better if you were out of harm's way, too."

Leona shook her head. "You'll need both your champions here, Dad. I'll stay." Liliana had been training the young lioness to fight. Liliana could not be with Daniel Samson all the time, and the older man could no longer fight effectively himself. Leading a pride of unruly lowans occasionally meant busting heads to get a point across, and a lowan king could never be seen as weak or vulnerable. Daniel needed a champion with him always.

His daughter had been honored when Liliana suggested that Leona should be that champion when Liliana could not be there. The young lioness still had some of the hot temperament of most adolescent lowans, but her new responsibility had matured her considerably.

Arel Samson's lips firmed into a sharp line. The elder lioness would not be easily sent away. "I am not going to run off like some mousehertz just because …"

Liliana interrupted her. "Marilyn and little Simon are in danger until they leave the state. I have seen several different ways that someone will try to kill them. They need a protector on their journey. They will not be safe until they have left Oregon."

Arel closed her mouth and nodded. The older Samson looked so much like her daughter, even more so now that Leona had begun to get lines of pride and responsibility etched into her dark young face. Only the gray in Arel's braids marked her as really different. "I'll go, then," Arel said. "And I'll take a couple of the strongest of the pride with me." She looked at Daniel, and her face took on a pained look. Protecting Marilyn on her trip meant that she would have to leave her husband behind while he faced murder charges and an attack on his position as king.

Daniel squeezed her hand. "I'll be fine. Lilly and Leona have my back."

Leona straightened her spine and lifted her chin. "I won't let you down, Dad."

"Nor will I, my friend," Liliana said. She looked up at the clock in the kitchen, 7:53. "The first of your pride will arrive in two minutes."

Lilly, with Simon held still in one arm, toys in hand, climbed the fireplace in the living room, and leapt up from the mantle to a roof beam. She caught the beam with one hand, and carefully helped Simon up to the top of the beam with the other.

"Oh, Lilly, I don't know if that's such a good idea," Marilyn said, hand over her mouth.

Simon looked down at his mother and waved with a broad grin. "I'm up high!"

"He will be safe with me," Liliana said. "No one will hurt my nephew." She attached a short line to the beam and wrapped it around Simon's waist, between his legs, and over his shoulders. If the little boy fell, he would drop less than three feet and swing, fully supported. He would probably think it was grand fun.

"Um, okay, I guess." Marilyn did not look overly reassured.

Arel chuckled. "Safety means height to Lilly. She'll take care of him. Let's go get the two of you packed." The first knock on the door came as they were still walking up the stairs.

Daniel let his pride leaders in, greeting the early arrivals with a firm handshake, and a back pat that threatened to knock the breath from some of the smaller lowans. Once the first few people had arrived, Daniel took a seat in a huge old high-backed recliner chair, and let someone else get the door. Leona held a bare-bladed sword, and stood a couple steps behind him, a mute testament that the lion king wouldn't easily be taken down. She didn't expect to actually use the sword, but it was traditional.

Liliana sat on the rafter directly above him. Lilly could overcome her fear of crowds to some extent in this context, when they were all members of the pride. But she was still far more comfortable above the crowd than down in it.

She played mock battles quietly with Simon and his toys on the narrow beam. She told him that if he wanted to stay up on the beam with her, his monsters had to fight with the mute button on. He thought that was great fun, mouthing monstrous roars and explosive sound effects without actually making the sounds. Liliana kept her human eyes on her little nephew, and watched the rest of the room with her second eyes.

Every once in a while, she switched to her third eyes, and glanced down to check on the truth of something that one of the lowan's said. Daniel glanced up at her periodically when he was uncertain. She nodded to him each time. The Portland pride had learned that with a spinnesehen champion, their new king could not be lied to, so they no longer tried. The lowans of Portland had learned to be very honest in their dealings with their king and fellow pride members.

It saved a lot of time.

Another knock came at the door. Liliana looked with her fourth eyes as she did each time.

It was Sean.

She severed the safety line she had put on Simon, scooped him up in one arm, attached a line with the other arm and dropped.

She landed lightly next to Daniel's chair on the opposite side from Leona. She plopped little Simon into Daniel's lap.

"The prince comes," she told the pride.

A murmur of discontent ran through the room. "This is a pride meeting." "He's not lowan." "What does he think he's doing?" And a few fearful voices. "Did we do something wrong?" "He doesn't have any reason to come after us."

"I asked him to come," Liliana announced. "Please, let him in."

One of the pride let Sean Renard in. The rest cleared a path to Daniel's chair so the prince wouldn't have to step over lowans to approach the king.

Sean looked very tall and elegant, suit pressed impeccably, spine as straight as a redwood trunk. Liliana's heart thumped against her chest at the sight of him. She wanted to run to him, jump on him, climb him like a tree and kiss him senseless.

This wasn't really the place for that, though. It certainly would have put a dent in his dignity, and it would have undermined her position as Daniel's champion first, the prince's girlfriend second. Liliana hated a little bit that she was starting to understand politics. She would have preferred to just greet the man she loved how he deserved and to be blissfully ignorant of the rest.

Daniel pulled Liliana in close by the hand and murmured in her ear, his voice disapproving. "You didn't tell me about this, Lilly. Why is he here?"

"I am sorry, Daniel. I should have consulted you first." she said sincerely. "Considering the current situation, I thought it was a good idea to request his aid."

"I don't need help from a human royal to keep my title." Daniel looked like he'd bitten something sour.

"Perhaps not, king of lions, but the help of a police captain could be very valuable right now, I think."

Daniel let her go with a grunt of understanding if not approval.

The lowan who had let Sean in bowed respect before closing the door behind him.

Sean Renard walked up to Daniel through the path made for him. His long legs took only five strides to cross the wide room.

He bowed his head slightly in respect to Daniel Samson.

Daniel bowed exactly the same amount, no more, no less.

They had an odd sort of equality of position. Daniel was king of all the lions of Oregon, but Portland was his home. Sean was prince and undisputed ruler of all the wesen of Portland. So, technically, Daniel owed allegiance to Sean, even though some would say that Daniel out-ranked him.

"King of Lions," Sean said, giving Daniel the respect of his full formal title in front of his pride. "Your champion requested that I come. Is there some way that I can be of service to a valued ally?"

"Your highness," Daniel returned respect, giving Sean his proper title. "It seems that I am about to face some legal trouble. My champion gave me warning earlier this morning. I'll let her explain."

Liliana smiled at Sean.

His expression barely changed, but she saw his eyes soften. "It's good to see you, little spider."

"And you, my prince. I wish it was under better circumstances. Daniel is about to be under suspicion of murder."

A collective gasp of shock went through the room.

Sean's eyebrow went up. "Did you kill someone in my canton, king of lions?" The question came out mild enough, as if Sean were merely curious, but his eyes had lost their softness.

"I didn't. You have my word on that," Daniel said. A lowan king's word was law. It was his bond. It was his honor. It was his power.

Sean nodded respect. "I believe you, of course. A lowan king's word is beyond reproach."

Liliana could taste the irony in that statement. Leo Taymor, the last lowan king, had been a liar, a cheat, a bully, and a coward.

"The problem is that someone wants the Grimm to think I did kill someone," Daniel added. "Someone wants me off the throne, and with a Grimm's axe at my throat."

Sean's jaw muscle jumped. "I see. I assure you that I had nothing to do with this. But I will not condone violence toward my Grimm. Anyone who does him harm will answer to me." He said the last part a bit louder, clearly a warning aimed at everyone in the room, not just Daniel.

There were a few whispers among the lowans, but they were more of the surprise and shock and speculation variety than fear. Sean had deliberately referred to Nick as "his" Grimm. The entire pride was now wondering if Nick had sworn fealty to the prince.

Liliana spoke up. "I have already spoken with Nick, and shown him the difference between evidence that was planted, and evidence that is genuine. He must do his duty as a police officer, but I do not believe he will attack my king as a Grimm. Whoever targeted my king did not know that the Grimm was my friend."

Sean looked puzzled. "What was it that you wanted from me, then?"

Liliana spoke directly to Sean, voice gone soft, but still loud enough to carry in the quiet room. "Daniel is in danger, my prince, because he has dared to call a royal prince ally, and name a spinnesehen champion. You and I are the reason Daniel's rule, his life, and his freedom are threatened." Liliana touched her prince's hand with hers. The touch was electric, making his breath catch and her voice tremble. They had been apart too long. "Once Daniel is arrested, I will not be able to protect him. I am the lion king's champion. I ask you, please, my prince, protect my king when I cannot."

Sean squeezed Liliana's hand, then turned to Daniel and bowed. "The request was unnecessary, King of Lions. Any time you spend in police custody, you will spend with two lowan officers from your own pride as your constant escorts. And you need have no fear of the Grimm."

Daniel snorted. "I'm not afraid of Nick Burkhardt. His reputation for treating wesen justly is practically legend in Portland. Wesen kids around here are starting to pretend to be him when they play. The only one who needs to be afraid of Portland's Grimm is the scum who murdered my champion's grand-nephew."

Sean turned to Liliana in surprise. "The victim was related to you?"

Liliana nodded. "From what I have seen, every lowan who has spinnesehen blood is now being targeted." Liliana automatically reached out to touch the silken hair of her tiny nephew.

Sean's eyes followed the movement. "How many lowan relatives do you have?"

Liliana shrugged. "I know of only two, little Simon here and his mother, but I lost track of my brother Jason's family. There might be many more that I …" Liliana stopped as another knock sounded at the door.

She automatically looked with her fourth eyes to see who it was, and nearly fainted.

Liliana's father, Simon of Nemea, stood outside the door, looking determined and very, very angry.