A Lady of the Realm (11 page)

“Are you poor of hearing too? We’re to keep her here and others out. Why did he choose you?”

“Likely because I have better pedigree then you two mutts put together. A Lady needs a Lady’s companion.”

“Humans view companions such as Chihuahuas, not bulldogs.”

“You two have no taste.”

I stared incredulously at the three dogs, suppressing a bubble of hysterical laughter. Irritation replaced my murderous thoughts, and a protective rush shot up when the boys, as I gathered by their voices, ganged up on the old ugly bulldog.

Talking dogs. The irony of the moment wasn’t lost on me. Here I was petrified of dogs and most likely having to rely on one of those hairy beasts for help. And humans say the gods don’t have a sense of humor.

The bickering among the dogs continued as I gathered my courage. It was now or never.

“Will one of you guys help me out here?” I asked feeling completely foolish for actually speaking to them.

They all stopped talking, turning their heads as one in my direction with a look of complete surprise on their hairy faces.

“Did she talk?”

“Humans can’t speak.”

“Idiots.” The brindle bulldog turned towards me. “What do you need m’lady?”

I coughed and stammered out my request. “Oh, ah, thank you, could you untie me please, these are starting to hurt, and my ass is asleep.”

The two male dogs started to howl and growl, the hair on their backs standing up straight. Yet through the howls and growls, I heard their true words.

“Holy shit.”

“I’m right behind you.”

The two male dogs ran up a flight of stairs and disappeared from view. Mom always said a woman shouldn’t count on a man for much more than thirty seconds and a sperm with a sense of direction. I looked down at the lone dog that was sitting in the same spot as when I started talking. She looked up, and the faint trace of a smile appeared on her gray muzzle.

“Hey, I’m Peaches. I’m not like those mongrels that just left with their tails between their legs, I was born to serve.”

Peaches, what an interesting name. I’d never seen a dog as ugly as this one with such a cute feminine name. Her “voice” didn’t quite match her name. It was rough and raspy as if she spent a number of years doing the circuit on Bourbon Street.

“Thanks, Peaches, ya think you could free me?”

The pudgy dog tilted her head to the side, an obstinate tooth peeking out from the brindle folds on her face. She snorted and coughed before she said anything.

“I could try. It’ll be kind of hard and long to chew my way through those ropes. Unless you don’t mind if I accidently nip you once or twice,” she barked out in enthusiasm. I cringed at the thought.

“I’ll mind. Why don’t you give it a go, slow like?”

Peaches began gnawing at the rope slowly. I found out quickly that my new companion was a talker. Between the chewing, grunting, and general slobbering, she managed to keep a steady monologue going without much encouragement. It wasn’t long till I knew exactly how she came to be one of my captors.

“So when Tina overdosed I needed a new job. Figure it was time to see how the other half lived. They usually don’t take to my kind.”

“What kind is that?” I asked.

“The purebreds that humans developed. We’re no more dogs than the goldfish is a barracuda, but we’re still in the same family. I couldn’t wait to serve once I found out what the assignment was. You’re the last DeDe. Heard the dark elf likes you.” She stopped chewing long enough to look up. Whatever she saw seemed to have satisfied her. She continued chewing and talking.

“He must if he went through this much trouble. Rumor has it that the DeDe House was always fond of animals, including humans. The shapeshifters use our form, you know animal forms, but don’t care about our actual needs.” She dropped a bit of rope on the floor, resentment echoing in the room.

“The elves care a bit, but not enough to change the quality of life if it doesn’t benefit them. The vampires could care less about us. The fairies, keep out of their way if you can, are monsters. I don’t trust them as far as I can spit.”

“Dogs can’t spit,” I said as I tried to unravel the meaning behind the words.

So, the DeDe witches were known to be fond of animals. How quaint. The only fondness I felt towards hairy beasts was the possibility of a fine bar-b-cue. I’d never owned a pet in my life, never wanted a pet. Pets were annoying, leaving fur, slobber and other bodily fluids best not dwelled upon. Not to mention the incessant need for food, drink and attention.

“Are you not American? It’s an idiom …”

I sighed, for all that Peaches was intelligent for a pooch she certainly had no sense of humor. She continued talking as she chewed through the ropes, and I concentrated on Sasha.

I knew exactly what was happening now. Is this the real reason that he didn’t want me there? As if I cared who he fucked? I couldn’t decide what hurt the most. His locking me up in bum fuck Egypt with my deepest darkest fears, or his not telling me he intended to sleep with Lilith for whatever reason. I’d find him tonight to prove a vital point.

Peaches finished chewing through the ropes. With a grateful sigh, I shook my arms out and winced as the blood began to flow once more. I needed to find out where I was. My tentative link with Sasha should lead me in the right direction. The pull was towards a specific direction; an unnamed yearning to go a certain way without understanding precisely why. Peaches trailed behind as I walked slowly up the circular staircase.

It wasn’t an old house. It had modern recess lighting in the ceiling. The smooth walls were some warm becoming shade of yellow, like burnt gold. The stairs leading up were in the left corner of the room. Beautiful wrought iron that must have cost a small fortune. I climbed up wearily with Peaches behind. I didn’t dare say a word as I rose up into a small alcove with a door. There was a doggie door at the bottom, which is how I assumed the other two dogs had escaped. I turned towards Peaches whose labored breathing up the stairs had settled into a grunt.

“Is there anyone else in the house?” I whispered softly to the dog.

Peaches sat down, stretching her short muzzle out in an attempt to sniff out any strange scents.

“Nope, this house hasn’t seen any visitors, human or otherwise, in several days.”

I glanced down into the pudgy face as my hand grasped the doorknob gently.

“Where are we?”

Peaches grunted once, straining to scratch behind her left ear. “I don’t know what humans call it, but we’re in Ming’s territory. The Region after the bridge over troubled waters.”

“Uh-huh.” I mumbled to myself as I grasped the knob tightly in my hand. A bridge, well that solved that. There were, let me see, countless freaking bridges that I could think off the top of my head, and those were only the ones in the New Orleans metropolitan area. God forbid I was farther away than that. With Sasha’s ability to shift, I wasn’t sure what he defined as near.

I stepped through the door and walked into a modern kitchen. This had to be Sasha’s place. There was foliage everywhere I turned. His unique sweet-woody scent of sandalwood was lingering, emanating from the floor vents that were emitting a steady stream of warm air.

I also detected another scent. This one was warmer, balsamic but still woody somehow. I thought it was Malachi’s but wasn’t certain. I went straight to the fridge hoping that there was something to drink that didn’t involve alcohol. All that crying and yelling since the moment I had awakened was catching up with me.

When I opened the fridge, I was in no doubt that this was Sasha’s pad. It was full of bottles of Fiji Water, a staple of his. I’d never deduced the reason since he drank nothing but alcohol. I found cans of Mountain Dew and Red Bulls, my favorite nonalcoholic choices, on the second shelf. He must’ve stocked up in anticipation.

I grabbed a Dew and popped the can open, tilting it into my mouth and savoring the sweet, caffeine laced soda. Peaches snuffled loudly, and I poked around the cabinets until I found a bowl into which I poured water for my new faithful companion. Once our thirst was quenched, I grabbed another can for the road and went towards the door in the back of the kitchen.

It was glooming outside, just this side of twilight. I thought I spotted a body of water, a canal or river of some sort. Stepping outside quietly I walked towards the shimmering surface. It was a balmy night, the breeze softly stirring the water as it flowed quickly downstream. The unmistakable bellow of bullfrogs punctuated the endless chirping of crickets. The water vibrated from across the river, the unmistakable call of a male alligator in a timeless mating ritual. I hadn’t heard that in years. Wherever I was, it was going to take some time to get back to the city.

I back peddled and headed around the dimly lit house, turning towards the road that was visible in the moonlight. There wasn’t a street sign visible, or a car in the carport. Very few lights were noticeable along the stretch of deserted road. At least it was paved so I wasn’t out in the deep bayous of Louisiana. Paved meant public transportation of some sort. What I didn’t want to think about was the schedule. Busses were to run twenty-four hours, but honestly, who’d need it out here.

Looking down at my companion, I hooked a finger through a loop in my jeans and held back the sigh that was threatening to escape. A heavy grunt came from my feet as Peaches stuck her muzzle in the air.

“Left’ll lead us to the bridge, but it’s a good trot from here.”

I could feel the inexplicable pull. It tugged north, but I was sure that the pull was a direct thing, as the crow flies so to speak. I started left, hoping that I would run into some kind of sign. I walked steadily on with Peaches keeping up a nonstop monologue. As we rounded a bend, I spotted a sign that made me grunt in frustration.

Clenching my teeth tightly I stomped the ground like a two year old. “Jean Laffite Highway, it’ll take us hours to get back to the city walking.”

We trudged along nonetheless in companionable silence. With time, I forgot my irritation with the whole mess and started to question Peaches as a means to kill time.

“Peaches, why are we here?”

“This is where we were left; I think he likes it here. Lord Alek has had some kind of establishment down this way for at least three centuries. It’s private.”

Private indeed. There was only one road into and out of Lafitte. The city was a community of human fisherman. Those in Lafitte stayed to themselves. From the few people that I’d met from here, you could say that they were all related. Somehow.

After several hours of walking, a pair of headlights illuminated our way from behind. I was grumbling, my feet aching and back hurting from all the physical activity. I avoided exercise with every breath I took, and I wasn’t enjoying the forced activity. I held a thumb out and shaded my eyes against the glare.

The vehicle rumbled to a stop right beside me. It was an old school bus, decorated with a crawfish, catfish, and alligator mural in neon colors. The doors popped open and a cloud of smoke wafted out, pungent with the sweet scent of cannabis. It was the good stuff too.

“ ‘ey, sugar, needs a ride?”

“Yes, thank you. How far are you going?” I asked as sweetly as possible. I smiled slowly, letting his imagination explode with all kinds of thoughts. His eyes roved up and down my body, his tongue darting out to moisten his full lips. This was the time to play damsel, trampy damsel, in distress. Guys couldn’t wait to help out with whatever I might need.

“The line ends in Terrytown.” The reply came in a cloud of smoke.

Yes! I could find a bus to the ferry and hop over to Riverwalk Mall. From there it was but a couple of miles to Sasha’s place and a car, if luck would shine down for a split second. Sasha was in some cemetery in the city, it couldn’t be that hard to find.

“Cool, I’m in all the way,” I said injecting honey into the words.

“Sure thing, sugar, it’d be my pleasure.” I looked down and regarded Peaches. I couldn’t leave her behind, not after all she’d done for me.

“I have my dog, is it a problem?”

He slid over to regard the dog in question and snickered under his breath.

“Mighty ugly dog.”

I felt the object of his derision bristle from the insult, and I kicked her with my toe. I smiled brightly and jumped in.

Chapter Ten
:
Reliable Men

Romeo, what a name, had the typical Lafitian accent. It was a seductive southern drawl with a French twist. The French wasn’t as accented as those from Cut Off or Lafayette, but it was strong enough that I had to concentrate on his words. He puffed away on his special Black and Mild blunt as he regaled me with his adventures of shrimping and fishing in the bayous. He did graciously offer me a toke, which I declined as politely as possible.

Once he found out I’d be going to the ferry, he drove me over himself. Luckily, his route didn’t run a strict schedule, and he was more than willing to help me out. A Southern gentleman wouldn’t let a lady out in the middle of nowhere. I thanked him warmly and tucked the pack of matches with his number on it into my pocket. I doubted I’d ever call, and I was sure he didn’t expect me to, but we still went through the ritual.

The cops on the ferry wouldn’t let me board with Peaches until I had a leash on her. Slipping my belt off and looping it around her neck, Peaches grumbled and whined about the absurdity of human laws.

“It’s insane humans believe we’re dangerous. It’s them that destroy everything in their path to world domination. They wouldn’t know what to do with it if they got it. Imagine what would happen if these inept hairless apes actually ruled the world? It didn’t go so well the first time.”

“Will you shush it, Peaches. I’m trying to concentrate.”

My whole attention was on Sasha. He kept coming to me in small waves of intense feelings. If I clutched the gem at my throat, I found that I could channel the feelings better. I could focus more on the reason why. Feel his emotional aura no matter the distance. He was reaching the end of his fun time.