pink hair stood up in gelled spikes and she’d clearly only stopped adding piercings to her ears because she ran out of flesh. She wore a cropped black top, which displayed the full sleeve tattoo on her right arm. Crucifixes and roses featured prominently in the design, along with a surprising number of butterflies.
McKenna looked barely old enough to vote, and had the biggest blue eyes I’d ever seen outside of an anime character. Her light brown hair had natural-looking blond streaks. A couple of strands had escaped her ponytail and curled softly round her face. Anything less like a werewolf would be hard to imagine.
“You could have told me they were girls,” I said to Garth after they’d gone upstairs to settle in.
He dropped into the chair across from me and put his feet up on the desk. “Why? Does it matter?”
“No … Guess not.” Wolves were wolves. They all fought like trapped animals, and were damn near unstoppable. I glared meaningfully at his giant clodhoppers till he took them off my desk. “I was just surprised. Jerry and Mac? Not your average girls’ names.”
He grinned, unrepentant. “There’s nothing average about those two.”
“They look so young.” Sometimes Leandra’s pragmatism won out, but other times Kate’s motherly instincts were aroused. Mac, in particular, made me uneasy. She could have been playing with Lego herself only a few years ago.
“Leandra wouldn’t have cared.”
I couldn’t read his expression. Was that a criticism or not? Did he think Leandra had changed for the worse?
I guess the real question was whether or not she could still win. All our lives depended on it. There was no backing out once a proving got started: you either won or you were worm food. No middle ground.
The doorbell rang and I pushed it out of my mind. No point worrying. It was beyond my control now. We’d both changed, and the new me that had been formed would have to deal with whatever crap the shifter world found to throw at her.
And there sure seemed to be a lot of it.
Steve filled the doorway with his bulk. I was on the computer again, hunting for any mentions of “Taskforce Jaeger”, but the only official word was the original bland announcement. Other than that it was all speculation. “There’s a herald at the door.”
I rolled my chair away from the desk and stretched, easing the kinks in my neck. “Did you check his Hermes charm?”
“Of course.” He looked offended at the question. “He’s legit. But I’ve got three of the guys watching him.”
“I’ll get Ben,” Garth said, as untrusting as I was. Is it still paranoia if everyone really is trying to kill you?
“Tell him to be careful.”
It could be a genuine message—or it could be an assassination attempt. I waited, nerves jangling, till Ben came in.
Relief rushed over me. “All clear?”
“Yep. I knew the guy. He’s the real deal, and the package checks out.”
Ben knew all the heralds working in Sydney. There wasn’t any kind of guild or association; they were more like contractors to the queen, but there weren’t that many of them. For most the business had been in the family for generations. He perched on the corner of the desk next to me and handed over an envelope, in the familiar buff colour. I’d delivered a few of these myself.
I turned it over. The insignia stamped into the red wax that sealed it was an unfamiliar design. Not from Elizabeth or Alicia, then. I broke the seal and slid out the dragon scale inside.
Bigger than my hand, it had a soft metallic sheen like pewter. At first it showed me only my own hazy reflection, then, as it warmed in my hand, words started to appear, dancing across the surface in lines of fire. As soon as I put it down they’d disappear again. Only my touch could bring them to life. Such was the paranoia of dragons. It was why they didn’t deal in emails or phone calls. When they had something they wanted kept secret, nothing beat a method of
McKenna looked barely old enough to vote, and had the biggest blue eyes I’d ever seen outside of an anime character. Her light brown hair had natural-looking blond streaks. A couple of strands had escaped her ponytail and curled softly round her face. Anything less like a werewolf would be hard to imagine.
“You could have told me they were girls,” I said to Garth after they’d gone upstairs to settle in.
He dropped into the chair across from me and put his feet up on the desk. “Why? Does it matter?”
“No … Guess not.” Wolves were wolves. They all fought like trapped animals, and were damn near unstoppable. I glared meaningfully at his giant clodhoppers till he took them off my desk. “I was just surprised. Jerry and Mac? Not your average girls’ names.”
He grinned, unrepentant. “There’s nothing average about those two.”
“They look so young.” Sometimes Leandra’s pragmatism won out, but other times Kate’s motherly instincts were aroused. Mac, in particular, made me uneasy. She could have been playing with Lego herself only a few years ago.
“Leandra wouldn’t have cared.”
I couldn’t read his expression. Was that a criticism or not? Did he think Leandra had changed for the worse?
I guess the real question was whether or not she could still win. All our lives depended on it. There was no backing out once a proving got started: you either won or you were worm food. No middle ground.
The doorbell rang and I pushed it out of my mind. No point worrying. It was beyond my control now. We’d both changed, and the new me that had been formed would have to deal with whatever crap the shifter world found to throw at her.
And there sure seemed to be a lot of it.
Steve filled the doorway with his bulk. I was on the computer again, hunting for any mentions of “Taskforce Jaeger”, but the only official word was the original bland announcement. Other than that it was all speculation. “There’s a herald at the door.”
I rolled my chair away from the desk and stretched, easing the kinks in my neck. “Did you check his Hermes charm?”
“Of course.” He looked offended at the question. “He’s legit. But I’ve got three of the guys watching him.”
“I’ll get Ben,” Garth said, as untrusting as I was. Is it still paranoia if everyone really is trying to kill you?
“Tell him to be careful.”
It could be a genuine message—or it could be an assassination attempt. I waited, nerves jangling, till Ben came in.
Relief rushed over me. “All clear?”
“Yep. I knew the guy. He’s the real deal, and the package checks out.”
Ben knew all the heralds working in Sydney. There wasn’t any kind of guild or association; they were more like contractors to the queen, but there weren’t that many of them. For most the business had been in the family for generations. He perched on the corner of the desk next to me and handed over an envelope, in the familiar buff colour. I’d delivered a few of these myself.
I turned it over. The insignia stamped into the red wax that sealed it was an unfamiliar design. Not from Elizabeth or Alicia, then. I broke the seal and slid out the dragon scale inside.
Bigger than my hand, it had a soft metallic sheen like pewter. At first it showed me only my own hazy reflection, then, as it warmed in my hand, words started to appear, dancing across the surface in lines of fire. As soon as I put it down they’d disappear again. Only my touch could bring them to life. Such was the paranoia of dragons. It was why they didn’t deal in emails or phone calls. When they had something they wanted kept secret, nothing beat a method of
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