Nicole Peeler - [Jane True 01] (25 page)

Ryu shrugged helplessly. “I wish I knew. Because if we knew what Peter’s
intentions were, we might catch a glimmer of
Nyx’s
intentions in sending
him out to create this catalog. Because that’s the real question: Why does she
want to inventory halflings and what does the inventory have to do with the
murders?”

“Which leads us to why Peter was murdered, at all,” I interjected. “Iris
said he recognized someone—someone who shouldn’t be around. Assuming that he
was telling her the truth, and that he
was
innocent of any involvement
with the killings, he presumably caught a few glimpses of somebody when he was
out and about doing his investigations, and then, when he found out about the
deaths, he put two and two together and figured out the identity of the
murderer. And therefore became another victim.”

“But how the hell did Martin and his firm get involved?” Ryu asked.
“They do
not
answer to Nyx. They work exclusively for the Alfar, and
that means our King and Queen. And I figure Martin was probably murdered the
same night as Peter, so Martin had to have been out here either investigating
Peter or doing the same investigation
as
Peter.” Ryu growled with
frustration, his hands back in his hair. “We have lots of questions and no
answers.”

I thought about that, and then I took a great leap. “Why don’t you just
go ask them?” I asked. “Nyx,” I clarified, “and your Court thingy?”

Ryu looked at me like I’d gone gaga. He snorted, shaking his head
disdainfully. Then the head shaking stopped, and then it turned into a slow
nod, and then he was laughing.

“Oh, Jane.” He drew me toward him, burying his face in my hair. “Why
don’t
we just ask them?” he said, laughing. I tried not to shiver.

What you talkin’ ’bout “we” for, vampire?
I thought. There
was no way I was going anywhere near Ryu’s Court. None whatsoever. Not a thing
on earth could get me to…

And then Ryu was kissing me.

And then I was agreeing to everything he said.

Little rat bastard.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Y
ou have
no business bringing Jane into the Compound,” Anyan growled. I took an
involuntary step backward, but Ryu stood his ground. “She is not ready for that
place—not yet, at least.”

“She is as ready to be introduced into our society as she’ll ever be,”
Ryu responded, coolly. “And she has every right to go. She must come to know
her mother’s people.”

Anyan snorted contemptuously. “The inhabitants of the Compound are
not
her mother’s people, anymore than the inmates of an asylum are her father’s,”
he said.

“Just because you turned your back on Court life does not mean that we
all must follow suit.” Ryu’s voice was dry but his body was tense. Anyan
snarled, hackles raised. You could have spread the tension on a cracker and
eaten it.

“Boys,” Nell interrupted calmly from the porch where she was quietly
rocking. “Before you kill one another, why don’t you ask Jane what
she
wants to do?”

I quailed as two sets of eyes swiveled to meet mine. Ryu’s golden eyes
watched me expectantly, believing they already knew my answer. Anyan’s gray
gaze simply spoke of his worry for me.

I knew it was crazy to be going off with a guy I barely knew, but there
were so many reasons I wanted to that they outweighed the crazy. After all, how
many chances would I get to meet my mother’s people? To learn about my history?
And it had been so long since I’d left Rockabill. The thought of being Jane
True, Random Stranger, was too tempting to resist. Not to mention, part of me
wondered if maybe, just maybe, my mother might even be there, at this Compound
thing…

But the boys—well, vampire and giant talking dog—didn’t need to know my
innermost motivations.

“Um,” I began, clearing my throat nervously. “I’ve already got the time
off, and I’m all packed, so I think I’d rather just go ahead and get this over
with.”

Lame, I know.

Yet my weak excuse caused Ryu to smile radiantly at me, even as he shot
Anyan an obnoxiously triumphant look. The dog just shook his head and strode
off to the cabin’s porch, where he lay down like any other dog napping in a
spot of sunlight. Since he hadn’t bothered to speak to me since the night
Gretchen died, I didn’t really understand why he was so concerned. Then again,
his attitude was probably more a product of contempt than concern. He most
likely thought I was such a pathetic little halfling that I’d get eaten alive
by the Alfar.

Will
I get eaten alive by the Alfar?
I worried, for about the
fourth time that day.

Ryu and I had swung by the cabin to pick something up on our way to
Québec, which was our current destination. Apparently things didn’t really get
going in this mysterious Compound till later in the week and Ryu wanted to have
some time with me before we got there. So he’d asked me if I’d like to go to
Québec first, which was on the way. I’d miss a week of work, in total, so first
thing that morning I’d gone by Read It and Weep to ask Grizzie and Tracy if
they’d mind. Grizzie had said I could go if I promised to take pictures. Tracy
had added, “Of churches, and things,” shooting Grizzie a baleful stare. To
which Grizzie had responded, “Fuck that, I meant of your man. Naked.” But in
truth they were thrilled I was going off with Ryu and told me to take as much
time as I wanted. And although I regretted the short notice, because I’d taken
all of two days off my entire five years at Read It and Weep, I didn’t feel
that guilty.

Leaving my dad was another matter. I’d sat him down and told him all the
reasons I shouldn’t go with Ryu. He needed me: Who would cook? Or do the
shopping? Or clean? He would never remember his pills, etcetera. My dad had let
me vent, and then he’d said, “Go, Jane. I want you to go. I want you to stop
worrying you’ll abandon me. You’re not your mother; you will come back. And
everything will be fine. I’ll eat and take my pills. I’m not as strong as I
used to be but I’m not an invalid. Besides, the guys will swing by and give me
a hand if I need anything.”

I’d sat there, shocked into silence by his mention of my mother. Was
that
really
what I was afraid of? That something would take me away the
way it had her? Deep down I knew my mother had loved both me and my father, and
yet she’d still left. Did I think I’d disappear one day?

My dad had touched my hand and asked me if I was okay. I didn’t know
what to say, and I was afraid if I said anything serious I’d start crying. So
I’d bravely confronted the real issues. “You’re
sure
you’ll remember to
take your pills?” I’d asked. He’d only squeezed my hand and nodded in response.

Packing, meanwhile, had been a cinch. I washed and packed my “best”
clothes, all of which Ryu had seen, thinking those would be okay for tourism in
Québec. Then I used my dad’s old garment bag to carefully pack the outfits that
Ryu had bought me, hoping those would be appropriate for the Alfar Compound. I
also packed my mother’s red dress, smiling at the thought that she’d bought it
from Iris, as well as a pair of low, black, sling-back heels I found in her
closet. After that, it was just a matter of shoving my toiletries and makeup
into my duffel bag and I was ready to go. I’d swum that morning for an extra
long time, not knowing when I’d next get into the ocean, so I was pretty hyper.
I could feel the power glowing under my skin, a little like the effect of about
six shots of espresso. Not that I knew what to do with it.

Something to ask Ryu
, I’d thought, looking forward to this
weekend for so many reasons.

And as I began to daydream about those reasons, my brain touched on
something that made me blush. Right before Ryu was due to pick me up, I’d run
back upstairs with my duffel bag. I’d unzipped it and turned to my dirty
drawer. Only this time I had made a withdrawal instead of a deposit.

I shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at my only other companion on the
porch to check if he’d seen my suddenly flaming cheeks. Ryu had gone into the
cabin with Nell, and I’d sat down on the stairs next to Anyan. But the big dog
still seemed intent on ignoring me—which just made me more uncomfortable.

“Be careful, Jane,” he said, suddenly, without lifting his head. If he
hadn’t addressed me by name, I would have thought he was muttering to himself.

“I’m sorry?” I asked. I wasn’t going to make his rude behavior any
easier to get away with.

“Please, just be careful. The Alfar and their Court are dangerous. You
have been raised as a human—their ways are not your ways.”

“Ryu will keep me safe,” I said, annoyed at how petulant my voice
sounded.

“Ryu will do what is best for Ryu,” Anyan admonished, finally lifting
his head from his paws. “He would not hurt you, no. Nor would he willingly
allow others to harm you. But he will not take
care
of you.” Anyan’s
voice, throughout our exchange, had been calm. But now he sounded sad.

I laid a hand on his head and scratched behind his ears, trying not to
take it to heart when I felt him flinch. He was a complicated dog.
Never
thought you’d say
that,
did you?
I thought.

“Thank you,” I told him. “I will take care, I promise.” Then I let my
hand drop. I could tell he didn’t want me touching him.

Right then Ryu and Nell emerged from the door behind us, Ryu holding
something heavy in a plastic shopping bag. He put the mystery item in the back
of the car, where my own luggage was wedged. Ryu hadn’t let me put anything in
the trunk, for some reason.
I really hope there aren’t any dead goblins
riding along to Canada with us
, I thought, with a shudder.

We got in the car and sped off into the afternoon, Trill and Nell waving
us good-bye. But when I looked around for the barghest, Anyan wasn’t there.

The hotel in Québec was incredible. For our rare vacations, my dad and I
always went camping. So the disparity between our old pup tents and Le Château
Bonne Entente—which I think translates as “Oui, We Take Kidneys”—was rather
alarming. It wasn’t a hotel so much as an
estate
, complete with pools
and golf course and a spa and all of the other accoutrements of the rich and
Botoxed.

I stood there, trying to fade into the background, as Ryu checked us in.
He was, of course, a loyalty-program member, and all of the staff recognized
him. I noticed that a few of the ladies seemed really to
recognize
him,
and I stifled a wave of jealousy. For the first time since I’d met Ryu I began
to appreciate the implications of his existence. He had to gather power from
feeding off humans—although apparently halflings like me would do the
trick—which meant that sex couldn’t just be sex, could it? It was also
sustenance, something he had to do regularly, no matter what the circumstances,
in order to survive.

But the fact that these ladies might have been the equivalent of a Big
Mac to Ryu didn’t make their sultry glances at him any easier to bear. Nor did
the appraising looks they sent winging my way. It was about an eight-hour
journey from Rockabill to the hotel—although it had taken Ryu the Rocket about
six—and I’d dressed to travel, not to impress the native
Québécoise
. I
was wearing my kelly-green sweater and matching Converse—which I
had
cleaned
up for the occasion—and my most comfortable jeans. But I knew I looked like a
freshman in college just off to the library to study something geeky. At
twenty-six, I was probably older than some of the women currently eyeballing me
like they just
might
consider pulling out my hair, but they all looked
eons older than me and oodles more sophisticated. Under the weight of their
painted gazes, I suddenly had a tremendously powerful urge to do the running
man. I don’t know why.

If Ryu was at all aware of the tension his presence had created, he
wasn’t showing it. He just kept up his smooth patter—in French, no less—with
first the receptionist and then the concierge. Then he came over to me, took my
hand to kiss my palm, and led me off to the elevators, leaving our bags to be
delivered up to our room. If he’d pulled out a sword and decapitated me, the
various female employees who’d slowly congregated behind the desk would not
have looked any more horrified. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next day they
all went out and bought themselves some Converse.