hidden talents (10 page)

When Adam caught Ari"s elbow, she found she could walk after all.

The room they entered was on the smallish side, with pale blue walls, no carpet on the floorboards, and one tall uncurtained window behind the desk. Its glass was frosted too, the light that glimmered through it milky. Low bookshelves lined the side walls, their contents sparse and dusty. The space was very plain, hardly decorated at all.

“So nice to see you again,” the Mayor said to Adam, rising to shake his hand.

“Sir,” Adam responded. When the Mayor let go, Adam rubbed his palm

against his pants leg like maybe he"d got a shock.

“Would you like to?” the Mayor asked her, his arm extended in offering.

Ari didn"t look at Adam. She was an independent agent. She didn"t need his permission or guidance. If she secretly wanted it, that was her problem. She let the man they"d come to meet clasp her hand.

The instant his skin touched hers, she knew damn well there were more than eight levels on the magical measuring scale. Power thrummed against her at the contact, so immense and yet so gentle she might have doubted it was there.

Planets would rotate backwards for power like that, and maybe whole galaxies.

She rocked back on her heels after he let go.

“I guess I know how you won the election,” she burst out.

Adam inhaled sharply beside her, but the Mayor laughed and sat. “I
try
not to cheat. Sometimes it"s difficult.”

She sat herself, and Adam did as well.

“Ari,” said the Mayor, though she was relatively certain her name hadn"t been mentioned. “I like visitors. New blood is interesting.”

“I"m glad you think so.” This was honest, but probably impolite. At least Adam didn"t gasp this time.

The Librarian"s eyes were a strange color, not quite gray and not quite silver.

They seemed to shift as she looked into them, like an optical illusion to make you think you were falling. What the hell sort of creature was he? One of the fae who"d built the city? A demon? Something even more peculiar?

He met her regard patiently, as if he were accustomed to being stared at.

Belatedly, Ari realized that whatever she was sensing behind his gaze, he"d be reading much more in hers.

With a decided effort, she wrenched her attention to her hands, which she"d clenched in her lap. Her fingers were slippery from sweating.

“I have your warrant,” the city official said, though thankfully not to her. He slid the manila folder he"d been perusing across his desk to Adam. “I also took the liberty of calling the Gargoyle Council. They"re waiting to talk to you on the roof.”

Adam took the folder and rose stiffly. “Thank you, sir.”

Since their interview seemed to be over, Ari pushed up too. Some impulse made her bow to the Mayor before she left, though neither mayors nor librarians were royalty. His eyes met hers one more time.

“Good luck,” he said softly.

She had to be imagining what she saw in his expression. Totally scary dude though he was, he seemed sorry to see them go.

Adam wasn"t sorry to leave.

“Jesus,” he said, settling his coat again once the door swung shut. “God help me if I ever get used to that.”

With strides so brisk she had to run to keep up, he led her to the next set of stairs. To her relief, he slowed as he went up them.

“What is he?” she asked in an undertone.

Adam shook his head tightly. “Better not to ask, I suspect.”

Ari couldn"t help agreeing any more than she could help being curious.

∞

Adam"s occasional meetings with the Mayor tended to leave his bones

shaking in their sockets. He couldn"t put his finger on why the man terrified him.

The Mayor had never harmed Adam or his pack. His many terms leading the city were unsullied by scandal. Benevolence and fairness seemed to be his bywords.

No one Adam knew hated him, regardless of their species.

Nonetheless, before he could push the roof access door open, Adam had to wipe a sheen of sweat from his face.

A flock of silent gargoyles awaited them outside. He"d never had a formal meeting with their Council. The Police Commissioner was the person who

handled that. Adam held the metal door for Ari, whose steps out onto the roof were a bit unsure. She walked close enough to his side to reach out and touch but not so close she"d appear to be cowering. Adam gave her props for nerve.

Everything she"d experienced this evening was new to her.

When they were a car"s length distant from the front gargoyle, Adam touched Ari"s arm to let her know she should stop.

Gargoyles were unnerving to be close to. The youngest could be two or three times human size. The oldest only looked small from street level. The huge gargoyles who"d saved the cars from the Washington Street Bridge disaster had probably hit the five century mark. Though they were flesh, their uniform gray coloration caused them to look like stone. Only their irises were different hues. If they were motionless or sleeping, they were difficult to distinguish from statues.

From what Adam knew of their culture, amongst themselves they communicated telepathically. When using spoken language they were less adept, though - as a rule - they were highly intelligent.

The particular gargoyle who faced him - the Council"s leader, he presumed -

had a bovine head attached to a lioness"s torso. Her wings were feathered and folded gracefully on her back. Some sort of tail swished behind her as she inclined her great stony head to him. Limned by the fading light, her outline was as big as a city bus.

“Greetings, werewolf,” she said in a voice like millstones turning.

“Greetings, ma"am,” Adam responded respectfully, knowing gargoyles

weren"t big on titles - or names, for that matter. “I appreciate you agreeing to speak to me.”

Beside him, Ari bobbed an awkward curtsey.

The Council leader"s head swung around to face her. “My son talk you.”

A smaller gargoyle shambled out from behind her bulk. He was only as large as a minivan. He lifted his lion"s paw in a friendly wave, his broad goblin"s mouth grinning. The gargoyles who flew might have any sort of animal wings. His were those of a bat, but no less graceful than his mother"s.

“He sorry scream,” said she, sounding disapproving of her son"s behavior.

“That"s okay,” Ari assured her. “I was only startled. I feel honored he said
hello
.”

“Hmph,” said the matriarch.

Her son ducked his head to hide what Adam suspected was a mischievous

smile.

“Ma"am,” Adam said. “Before we start, might I ask you to look at a few

pictures? They"re Talents from Outside who have disappeared. We"re wondering if any of the gargoyles noticed them doing magic here.”

Unsure how to hand the sketches over to a being with paws so large, Adam pulled them from his pocket and spread them across the roof in front of her. Only the gargoyle leader looked at them, but only she needed to.

“We sorry,” she said after a few moments. “No see these.”

Though he knew the people in the pictures might have family or friends, Adam didn"t ask if she was sure, just gathered up the printouts and shoved them away again. An instinct he couldn"t have traced beyond knowing it was wolfish told him his introduction of an unexpected topic was a faux pas. He shut his mouth and waited.

After a pause to consider him, the Council leader folded her lion"s forelegs one over the other. “Mayor say you disguise.”

“Yes,” Adam confirmed, relieved he hadn"t thrown a permanent wrench in

their negotiations. “I need to be mistaken for a Talent from the world outside our borders. If you"d consent to enhance my small gift temporarily, that would be helpful.”

The giant gargoyle blinked at him. “What trade you?”

This Adam was prepared for. “I and two of my friends own a building on

Alchemist"s Way. Would your people be interested in landing rights?”

A stir rustled through the flock. Gargoyles might land anywhere casually, but how long they were allowed to stay depended on the property owner"s tolerance for their race. Landing rights gave them access for the term of an agreement.

“It"s a good strong building,” Adam added. “Depending on the size of the gargoyle, the roof could easily support three or four.”

“Your friends law also?”

Adam repressed his smile at the leader"s question. Policemen fascinated gargoyles, perhaps because of their own affinity for protecting and serving. “They are police detectives,” he said gravely.

The Council leader twisted back toward her son. Their matching tails

twitched as they stared at each other, engaged in a communication Adam hoped would come out in his favor. When the lead gargoyle"s attention returned to him, he was unable to decipher her alien expression.

“Would like nest rights,” she said. “One gargoyle only. One hundred years.”

Adam"s eyebrows shot up. Nesting rights were a big commitment.

Essentially, the gargoyle would take up residence on his roof. It wasn"t permitted to make itself a nuisance, but it also couldn"t be shooed away without taking the case to court.

“Your son would be the nester?” he asked, wanting to be clear.

The smaller lion-bodied gargoyle nodded, his yellow eyes bright with

interest. His goblin face wasn"t as hard to read as his mother"s. Adam thought he perceived a hint of shy eagerness, like a high school freshman who longed to hang out with a quarterback. That could end up being annoying but, considering what he was asking, the request was reasonable.

“Agreed,” Adam said.

The lion-bodied gargoyle let out a little crow.

His mother"s slapping tail silenced it.

∞

Ari hoped the night wouldn"t get much weirder, but she wasn"t holding her breath. As odd as the Mayor had been, standing on a roof with a dozen gargoyles took the prize for not-normal. Not only wasn"t she in Kansas, she was barely in the real world. Hard as she tried, she couldn"t keep her hands from shaking. It didn"t help that with the sun gone down, she was freezing in her short-sleeved dress.

Adam and the gargoyle"s matriarch were debating what sort of Talent he

ought to impersonate.

“Sight no good,” she said. “You need flash.”

“That would be better,” Adam said politely as if he talked to giant stone people every day. “But don"t you need to build on a gift that"s already there?”

The lady gargoyle spread her feathered wings proudly. “Twelve here. Much magic. Pick any gift.”

“Wait,” interrupted the boy gargoyle, the one who"d gotten permission to live on Adam"s roof. “Girl cold.”

“Oh,” Adam said, spinning around to her. “Sorry, I didn"t think.”

Before Ari could decide if she was embarrassed, Adam had his dark sport coat whipped around her shoulders. Once she was in it, no way would she let it go. The silk-lined cloth was warm from his body. And it smelled just like him.

Adam bent to look into her eyes. “You hanging in, sweetheart?”

“F-firebug,” she said through her chattering teeth. “Henry Blackwater loved the one he used to have. He was always having him burn up things. After he disappeared, he never could find another one.”

“Hm,” mused the head gargoyle. “Fire-starting big flash gift.”

“And a hard gift to control,” Adam said.

“Hah!” barked the lady gargoyle. “You hot practice much!”

Apparently, the telepathic version of this joke was hilarious. The formerly silent gargoyles burst into thunderous laughter. Ari grinned herself. Unless she misunderstood, Hot Cop"s sex appeal was apparent across species.

The sight of Adam blushing like a schoolboy didn"t lessen her amusement.

That he didn"t know how to respond was obvious. Seeing his dilemma, the lady gargoyle"s cow face appeared to smile. “No worry, werewolf,” she said, her crunching voice actually sounding kind. “We give just-right power. First, though, you bite girl.”

“Uh.” Adam glanced at Ari and back to the gargoyle. “Me bite girl?”

The lady gargoyle made shooing motions with her front paws. “You bite girl.

Two for one.”

“My mother wants you two to entwine your energy,” her son interjected in perfectly intelligible English. “If you form a moon bond, the Eunuch will be more likely to take you both. He won"t even realize why he wants to.”

His mother stomped the roof so hard with one back paw that a crack formed in the concrete.

“Sorry,” said her son, though he didn"t seem very. “I"m just trying to move this along.”

She glowered at him, which - considering her size - would have made Ari quail. Her son held firm. After a few more heartbeats, she turned her great brown eyes to Adam. “You bite girl,” she said stubbornly.

Adam looked helplessly at Ari. A pulse beat in his neck, visible in the rooftop security lights. The quickened rhythm told her he was only part reluctant. Another part of him longed to do exactly what the head gargoyle demanded.

Feeling very much the same, Ari shrugged under his jacket. “Who am I to argue? If that"s what we need to do, you bite girl.”

∞

Ari"s eyes were nervous, though - like his - her respiration was coming more shallowly. Adam dragged one hand down his mouth, where the throbbing length of his fangs reminded him how intensely he wanted to go along with this.

Hoping he was thinking clearly, he reached for Ari"s wrist.

“We need to speak alone,” he said over his shoulder to the head gargoyle. “I promise we won"t be long.”

“We wait,” she said. A second later, she and her compadres had settled into such stillness they could have been statues.

Aware that this was as private as they were going to get, Adam tugged Ari a bit too fast into the stairwell. She stumbled as the heavy door clanged shut. Adam caught her, then slid his hands under his jacket to frame her waist. This wasn"t likely to help either of them make a rational decision, but at that moment he couldn"t not touch her.

Her hands came to his chest and stayed there.

“I"m not sure we have a choice about this,” she said.

The stairwell"s landing was lit by a single bulb, which illuminated her upturned face. With the rose-pink flush in her cheeks, Ari looked more innocent than ever.