. . whatever that was. Though if you did have to make yourself sick, you should have transported us to your apartment.”
“ That would have been a supremely poor idea.” Jack slumped sideways into the snow, and I fell with him, still trying to protect his body from the cold air. He grabbed my hand and held it over his chest. I buried my face, briefly, against his shoulder. Savoring the hard, quick thump of his stolen human heart.
“I’m a wanted man, my dear,” said my grandfather quietly. “And so, I’m afraid, are you and Grant.”
ZEE brought back a tent. Given the sleeping bags and thong underwear I found when I poked my head inside, I had a feeling it had recently been in use. I looked back over my shoulder, staring at the little demon. He shrugged.
“Left them a car,” he rasped.
“How magnanimous of you,” Jack murmured, crawling into the tent, which was only several degrees warmer than outside. He fell on his side with a sigh and flicked away the thong underwear with both idle curiosity and distaste. “And how good to leave us this slingshot with which to hunt for our dinner.”
“Yes,” I said dryly. “I’ll go now and take down a deer with it.”
Jack rolled over on his back. I lay on top of the other sleeping bag, a headache pricking the base of my neck, spreading upward into my scalp. Dek and Mal wound through my hair and began pressing their tiny claws against my head. Little masseuses. One of my ancestors had studied briefly with a master of acupuncture. Three hundred years later, the boys still remembered some things.
Raw and Aaz tumbled into my lap, already sucking on their claws. Purrs rumbled, and I smelled popcorn on their breath. Babies. I rubbed their hot, round tummies. Zee crouched by the tent entrance, gazing into the cold night, and the moon glinted against the silver scales of his blunt little nose.
I openly studied Jack. The old man must have been in his eighties, but he seemed younger. Lean and strong, with silver hair and a strong, rugged face. Handsome as a classic movie star. Respected archaeologist and adventurer, a man of dignity and secrets. Not-quite-human secrets.
He was dressed in khakis and a battered navy overcoat, beneath which I spied a pale blue denim shirt that matched the color of his eyes. A stained cloth messenger bag that looked as old as the Russian Revolution slung over his chest.
“How did you find me?” I asked quietly. “Why now?”
Jack’s eyes glittered, even in the darkness of the tent, human eyes, with an inhuman soul, in residence. “I found you easily, my dear. I felt you. I felt . . . it. And so I came.”
It. Inside me. I closed my eyes, bowing my head as Dek kneaded a particularly tender knot. “I needed you before that. Months ago. But you disappeared, without a word. Not even the boys could track you. I was . . . worried.”
Frantic. Terrified. For the first time since my mother’s death, I had family—an impossible, miraculous discovery—and then Jack had gone away. My mother had been murdered. I could not discount the possibility that the same had happened to my grandfather.
And now that he was sitting in front of me, I still could not relax.
Jack said, “I had business. Matters that needed my attention, not the least of which was cleaning up the mess Ahsen created during the brief time she was free.”
“I could have helped you.”
The old man hesitated, glancing down at Zee, who watched him, as well, red eyes glowing faintly. “Yes. But it was something I wanted to do alone.”
I forced myself to breathe, and the air around my mouth puffed white. I suddenly noticed the cold again. I was freezing. Zee reached up and brushed his knuckles across my brow, gazing deep into my eyes. “Hard dreams, Maxine.”
“Strange days,” I told him, and gently squeezed his little hand. “Need you to do something for me, if you can. Find Grant, wherever he is. If he’s on the plane, you must take care.”
Zee nodded,
“ That would have been a supremely poor idea.” Jack slumped sideways into the snow, and I fell with him, still trying to protect his body from the cold air. He grabbed my hand and held it over his chest. I buried my face, briefly, against his shoulder. Savoring the hard, quick thump of his stolen human heart.
“I’m a wanted man, my dear,” said my grandfather quietly. “And so, I’m afraid, are you and Grant.”
ZEE brought back a tent. Given the sleeping bags and thong underwear I found when I poked my head inside, I had a feeling it had recently been in use. I looked back over my shoulder, staring at the little demon. He shrugged.
“Left them a car,” he rasped.
“How magnanimous of you,” Jack murmured, crawling into the tent, which was only several degrees warmer than outside. He fell on his side with a sigh and flicked away the thong underwear with both idle curiosity and distaste. “And how good to leave us this slingshot with which to hunt for our dinner.”
“Yes,” I said dryly. “I’ll go now and take down a deer with it.”
Jack rolled over on his back. I lay on top of the other sleeping bag, a headache pricking the base of my neck, spreading upward into my scalp. Dek and Mal wound through my hair and began pressing their tiny claws against my head. Little masseuses. One of my ancestors had studied briefly with a master of acupuncture. Three hundred years later, the boys still remembered some things.
Raw and Aaz tumbled into my lap, already sucking on their claws. Purrs rumbled, and I smelled popcorn on their breath. Babies. I rubbed their hot, round tummies. Zee crouched by the tent entrance, gazing into the cold night, and the moon glinted against the silver scales of his blunt little nose.
I openly studied Jack. The old man must have been in his eighties, but he seemed younger. Lean and strong, with silver hair and a strong, rugged face. Handsome as a classic movie star. Respected archaeologist and adventurer, a man of dignity and secrets. Not-quite-human secrets.
He was dressed in khakis and a battered navy overcoat, beneath which I spied a pale blue denim shirt that matched the color of his eyes. A stained cloth messenger bag that looked as old as the Russian Revolution slung over his chest.
“How did you find me?” I asked quietly. “Why now?”
Jack’s eyes glittered, even in the darkness of the tent, human eyes, with an inhuman soul, in residence. “I found you easily, my dear. I felt you. I felt . . . it. And so I came.”
It. Inside me. I closed my eyes, bowing my head as Dek kneaded a particularly tender knot. “I needed you before that. Months ago. But you disappeared, without a word. Not even the boys could track you. I was . . . worried.”
Frantic. Terrified. For the first time since my mother’s death, I had family—an impossible, miraculous discovery—and then Jack had gone away. My mother had been murdered. I could not discount the possibility that the same had happened to my grandfather.
And now that he was sitting in front of me, I still could not relax.
Jack said, “I had business. Matters that needed my attention, not the least of which was cleaning up the mess Ahsen created during the brief time she was free.”
“I could have helped you.”
The old man hesitated, glancing down at Zee, who watched him, as well, red eyes glowing faintly. “Yes. But it was something I wanted to do alone.”
I forced myself to breathe, and the air around my mouth puffed white. I suddenly noticed the cold again. I was freezing. Zee reached up and brushed his knuckles across my brow, gazing deep into my eyes. “Hard dreams, Maxine.”
“Strange days,” I told him, and gently squeezed his little hand. “Need you to do something for me, if you can. Find Grant, wherever he is. If he’s on the plane, you must take care.”
Zee nodded,
Similar Books
