“That wouldn’t be fair with all
you’ve been through, and from what Temperance tells me, you’ll want to do as
much research as possible before—”
Another
knock interrupted him. A muscle in Kathan’s jaw jumped and he glared at the
door. It swung open. Fatigues was back.
“Sorry
for the disturbance, Mayor Dark. Tough Whitney is in the parlor. Mikal’s on her
way to take care of it, but she said you’d want to know.”
“I
wasn’t informed that the Tracker was going after him,” Kathan said.
Fatigues
shook his head. “Didn’t have to. The kid drove up the lane and walked in on his
own.”
Kathan
cracked a smile and stood up.
“I’d
like to see this,” he said. He looked at Tempie. “Why don’t you keep your
sister company? I’ll be back before long.”
“Promise?”
Tempie asked in this disgusting, saccharine voice.
I
wanted to scream at her. Over the years, Tempie had been a lot of things that
weren’t very good, but she’d never acted like one of those stupid twee-girls.
Seeing that was worse than knowing what she’d done for that tattoo artist and
his friends back in Santa Barbara.
Kathan
followed Fatigues out into the hall, his bare feet making almost no sound on
the thick carpet. The door eased shut behind them.
I
picked up another cookie. Eight months following her across the country. I’d
traded clothes and shoes with some girl trying to confuse a tracker so I could
have a pair of boots that wouldn’t wear out as fast as my flats had. I’d sold
my hair for the cash to make it from Tucson to Fort Worth, sold my phone for
the cash to make it from Fort Worth to New Orleans, hitched halfway up the
Mississippi, then finally broke down and used the bank card I stole from Mom to
get myself to Halo. Eight months of getting hassled by demons, sirens, undead,
mambos, primals, and just plain creeps. Now Tempie was sitting right there,
happy and healthy and apparently in love, waiting for me to say something.
“Cookie?”
I asked, pushing the cart toward her with the toe of my boot.
She
thought about it for a second, which was another new, ugly thing to see.
“Yes.”
She took one and ate it in four bites. The next one was gone in three. “Man,
these are so good. I wish Kathan would keep our room stocked with them. He
forgets about food sometimes since they only eat for the taste, anyway, and
then I have to remind him that humans eat every day.”
“How
long’s it been since you ate, Tempie?”
“I
ate earlier today. I think. Don’t you give me that look! Kathan treats me well
and he doesn’t have to. You should see some of the torture shit Mikal does to
her familiar. The whole basement—”
“Colt,”
I said.
“Huh?”
“His
name is Colt.”
“Who
cares? He’s just an enforcer’s familiar. Kathan’s an alpha—and he’s able to be
a commander. Everyone around here treats me like a queen because I’m his.” She
got this wicked smile on her face, almost exactly like the one she’d had after
she got home three hours late from her date with Leif Barnhart back in ninth
grade. “When we make it out of the bedroom, anyway. We’re usually too busy.”
“City
budget work and stuff?” I said.
Tempie
laughed. Why did she sound and look so much like my sister?
“He’s
incredible, right?” She looked at the door as if she could see Kathan behind
it. “That face and those abs—and I’m pretty sure if you shot him in the ass, the
bullet would bounce off. I don’t know if he spent his whole existence working
out and screwing, but let me tell you, a forked tongue—”
“Yeah,
he’s a sex-god. I got it,” I said. I leaned forward and looked into the matched
set of my eyes. “Tempie, he said if you wanted to come home, he’d let you.”
“If
I wanted to live with a pathetic loser whining and crying about the asshole
that dumped her for someone younger, I wouldn’t have left in the first place.”
“Mom
needs us, Tempie.”
“She
doesn’t give a crap
you’ve been through, and from what Temperance tells me, you’ll want to do as
much research as possible before—”
Another
knock interrupted him. A muscle in Kathan’s jaw jumped and he glared at the
door. It swung open. Fatigues was back.
“Sorry
for the disturbance, Mayor Dark. Tough Whitney is in the parlor. Mikal’s on her
way to take care of it, but she said you’d want to know.”
“I
wasn’t informed that the Tracker was going after him,” Kathan said.
Fatigues
shook his head. “Didn’t have to. The kid drove up the lane and walked in on his
own.”
Kathan
cracked a smile and stood up.
“I’d
like to see this,” he said. He looked at Tempie. “Why don’t you keep your
sister company? I’ll be back before long.”
“Promise?”
Tempie asked in this disgusting, saccharine voice.
I
wanted to scream at her. Over the years, Tempie had been a lot of things that
weren’t very good, but she’d never acted like one of those stupid twee-girls.
Seeing that was worse than knowing what she’d done for that tattoo artist and
his friends back in Santa Barbara.
Kathan
followed Fatigues out into the hall, his bare feet making almost no sound on
the thick carpet. The door eased shut behind them.
I
picked up another cookie. Eight months following her across the country. I’d
traded clothes and shoes with some girl trying to confuse a tracker so I could
have a pair of boots that wouldn’t wear out as fast as my flats had. I’d sold
my hair for the cash to make it from Tucson to Fort Worth, sold my phone for
the cash to make it from Fort Worth to New Orleans, hitched halfway up the
Mississippi, then finally broke down and used the bank card I stole from Mom to
get myself to Halo. Eight months of getting hassled by demons, sirens, undead,
mambos, primals, and just plain creeps. Now Tempie was sitting right there,
happy and healthy and apparently in love, waiting for me to say something.
“Cookie?”
I asked, pushing the cart toward her with the toe of my boot.
She
thought about it for a second, which was another new, ugly thing to see.
“Yes.”
She took one and ate it in four bites. The next one was gone in three. “Man,
these are so good. I wish Kathan would keep our room stocked with them. He
forgets about food sometimes since they only eat for the taste, anyway, and
then I have to remind him that humans eat every day.”
“How
long’s it been since you ate, Tempie?”
“I
ate earlier today. I think. Don’t you give me that look! Kathan treats me well
and he doesn’t have to. You should see some of the torture shit Mikal does to
her familiar. The whole basement—”
“Colt,”
I said.
“Huh?”
“His
name is Colt.”
“Who
cares? He’s just an enforcer’s familiar. Kathan’s an alpha—and he’s able to be
a commander. Everyone around here treats me like a queen because I’m his.” She
got this wicked smile on her face, almost exactly like the one she’d had after
she got home three hours late from her date with Leif Barnhart back in ninth
grade. “When we make it out of the bedroom, anyway. We’re usually too busy.”
“City
budget work and stuff?” I said.
Tempie
laughed. Why did she sound and look so much like my sister?
“He’s
incredible, right?” She looked at the door as if she could see Kathan behind
it. “That face and those abs—and I’m pretty sure if you shot him in the ass, the
bullet would bounce off. I don’t know if he spent his whole existence working
out and screwing, but let me tell you, a forked tongue—”
“Yeah,
he’s a sex-god. I got it,” I said. I leaned forward and looked into the matched
set of my eyes. “Tempie, he said if you wanted to come home, he’d let you.”
“If
I wanted to live with a pathetic loser whining and crying about the asshole
that dumped her for someone younger, I wouldn’t have left in the first place.”
“Mom
needs us, Tempie.”
“She
doesn’t give a crap
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