Changer (Athanor) (12 page)

Lovern frowns thoughtfully.  If he deactivated it now, the one in his ring would be potent for some hours more, but he does not think that he should alert the Changer to its existence.

“A day,” he says, “perhaps two.”

“I will leave as soon as the stone is ready,” the Changer says.  “With Vera as a guide, I need not waste more time.”

This time when he rises, he is clearly weary of conversation.  Arthur does not attempt to hold the feral ancient.

“We will keep you apprised of the situation,” the King says, allowing those words to stand in the place of a formal dismissal.

“Thanks.”  The Changer bends and picks up his daughter.  “I’m taking her to the
bosque
.  She needs to learn to walk on a leash if I’m going to be taking her out into the human world.”

A few nods of agreement answer him, most relaxed because the interview has gone much more smoothly than they had hoped.  Eddie, however, hears the edge in the Changer’s voice.

“You plan to keep her in the human world?”

“Of course,” the Changer says.  “She’s too young to survive in the wilds and, if you’re right and Lilith is innocent, then I may have a much longer search in front of me.”

Arthur frowns.  “I don’t suppose that you would consider turning the preliminary investigation over to us, would you?”

The Changer’s smile is more a baring of fangs.  “No.  Someone has involved me.  I plan to stay involved.”

“I thought,” Arthur says when the Changer is gone, “that we were making things better.  Now, for some reason, I have a feeling that they have just gotten much, much worse.”

“You’re just being pessimistic again,” Eddie says, but his tone holds no conviction.

Vera rises.  “I’d better go and check the hours of Lil’s gallery and Tommy’s show schedule.  I’d hate to take the Changer to Santa Fe and find them on the road.  The ancient is quite likely to put that pup in a carrier and hop the nearest plane.”

“Or camp in Lil’s bedroom,” Lovern agrees.  “I had better prepare the amulet.”

“Aren’t you just going to give him the one from your ring?” Arthur asks, curiously.

“No.”  Lovern grins sardonically.  “I don’t know how much attention he pays to such things, but I don’t care to have the issue of our testing him raised after the crisis is past.”

“And we”—Eddie turns to Arthur—“need to go and review today’s messages.  Just because the Changer has descended upon us doesn’t alter the fact that we have duties to perform.  Anson is just back from Nigeria and may be up to some new mischief.”

“Tricksters!” Arthur almost spits, he himself being the antithesis of these chaotic, creative types.

Eddie is more tolerant, at least of Anansi, who is a particular friend.  Their shared fondness for professional wrestling has bridged the gap between their lifestyles.

“On a less individual front,” he soothes, “we have a formal protest from several of our kinfolk who reside in South and Central America, noting that if the athanor do not act to affect the environmental abuses in those regions, they will intervene.”

Arthur rubs his palms against his eyes.  “I almost wish I could let them.  We’ll work out a compromise.”

“Are we adjourned then?” Vera asks, already halfway to the corridor toward her office.

“We are indeed,” Arthur says.  “At least for now everything is under control.”

He taps the teak chair on which he had been sitting.

“Knock on wood.”

 5 

“For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.”

—Rudyard Kipling

Demetrios
>> I’ve been thinking about this summer trip to Albuquerque.

Moderator
>> Not getting cold feet, are you?

Demetrios
>> The opposite.  Isn’t the weather really hot in Albuquerque in the summer?

Moderator
>> Fairly.

Demetrios
>> I’m not sure that summer is a good time for some of the theriomorphs to go there.  The sasquatch and the yeti have lots of fur… and my legs aren’t exactly hairless.

Moderator
>> Wear slacks.

Demetrios
>> That will do for me, but what about the others?

Rebecca
>> I’ve been “listening.”  Demi has a point.  I don’t think I could
stand
being bundled up at summer temperatures.  And humans wear a lot less in the summer!  Wouldn’t we stand out more if we were wearing long pants and shirts and hats and all??

Loverboy
>> Babes in miniskirts!!  Hot pants!!!  Shorts!! :)

Demetrios
>> Yeah, bud.  Think of what you’d look like in shorts!  They couldn’t miss your horse’s legs.

Loverboy
>> That isn’t what they’d be looking at, not once they got a look at my…

Moderator
>> Sorry to interrupt, but this
is
a “G” rated site.  Watch your language.  There are ladies present.

Loverboy
>> Prude! :(

Monk
>> The Moderator has a point.  So does Demetrios.  I think we had better move the date to later in the season.

Moderator
>> Not too late!  If we do that, then those in colder climes may miss because we won’t be able to fly them out.

Demetrios
>> How about Halloween?  That would be appropriate.

Moderator
>> Well… Denver often has snow by then.  I may need to use their airport.

Rebecca
>> How about some time in September?  We should have good weather.

Demetrios
>> Daytime temperatures can still get pretty high, as I recall, but given the altitude, it does cool off at night.

Moderator
>> I can work with September.  It gives me a bit more time to get things into gear.

Loverboy
>> I can get it into gear anytime!

Demetrios
>> Rebecca, how are things going with Bronson?

Rebecca
>> Not so good.  He’s still pretty adamant.  Won’t even discuss it, really.

Demetrios
>> Oh.  Sorry.

Loverboy
>>  If Bronson won’t give his bride a GOOD TIME, I’d be happy to oblige.  Huh baby?

Logged off: Rebecca

Loverboy
>>  What do you think, babe?

Demetrios
>> She’s logged off.

Loverboy
>> Some girls!

Demetrios
>> You really need to consider restraining your urges if you’re going out in public.  All we need is you getting arrested on an assault charge.

Loverboy
>> Not you, too!  I don’t recall
you
being so prudish in the days of yore.

Demetrios
>> These aren’t the days of yore and there aren’t likely to be days like those again if we don’t pull this off.

Loverboy
>>  Maybe I should just stay home. :(

Monk
>> Sulk if you want, satyr, but, remember, we’ve got our future in our hands.  If we back out, hope dies with our retreat.

Loverboy
>> Pretty poetry doesn’t win dames, not anymore.

Monk
>> No, but our moderator’s plan may put us in the position to do so once more.

Loverboy
>> Position… heh, heh…

Forced log-off: Loverboy

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” the Changer says after he and Vera have been driving for about a half hour.  His hand rests lightly on his daughter, who sleeps on his lap.

Vera is startled, both by the comment and that the Changer is actually making conversation.  “Yes, I think it is,” she says at last.  “I think it’s the sky that wins one first.  The horizons go on forever—like over an ocean.  Clouds, sunsets, thunderstorms…  They all seem bigger here and yet somehow more intimate than they do at sea.”

The Changer grins.  “Almost makes you understand those stories about Father Sky and Mother Earth f– … meeting and engendering all creation.”

Vera realizes that the Changer’s statement as he had first framed it would have been far more earthy, that he has edited his words out of respect for her tastes.  She smiles warmly.

“Yes, it does, doesn’t it?  Have you ever lived out here?”

Her hand leaves the wheel to gesture at the surrounding terrain.  The Changer nods.

“Not specifically here for centuries, I think.  I was raven, then.  Wings are good things when there is so much emptiness between meals and water.”

Vera bites her lip, aware that her next question violates etiquette.  “Don’t answer if you don’t care to,” she begins, “but are there certain animals you prefer taking the shape of?”

The Changer stretches, long arms brushing the roof of the Ford Explorer.  His daughter rouses enough to make a few little noises and flip her brush of a tail over her closed eyes.

“Yes, I do,” he says after a time.  “The survivors appeal to me more than do the victims or the great predators.  I also prefer those who mate monogamously and raise families.  Years ago, after losing a beloved mate, I spent a year as a grizzly bear.  I thought that the respite from dependence, from fear of loss would be a pleasure.  Yet, by the next spring, I could hardly wait to assume a more social form and go courting.  I like having someone to care about.”