One Thousand Kisses (19 page)

“You’ll miss the ocean.” After Homestead came the bridges. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel and he had to force himself to relax his grip.

“Will you stop so I can go swimming?” she asked.

“Well…no.” He cleared his throat. Without magic she’d be as vulnerable to the vagaries of the sea as any human. “There’s a time crunch.”

She stifled a yawn. “Then I sleep.”

“No lunch?” he asked, a little desperately.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Would you hand me the aspirin?” He might as well beg her not to sleep.

She tossed it over his shoulder. “Don’t take more than three at once.”

His reluctance to resume the silence wasn’t about distracting himself from the water or his headache. Perhaps some, but it was mostly about Anisette. In the Realm, he found the company of other fairies a necessary evil. But now that he had Anisette to himself, he wanted to talk. To hear her laugh. To exchange ideas.

“Would you like to operate the radio?” he offered. She had no idea what a concession that was. He had limited appreciation for human music.

“No, thank you.” She rearranged the backpack to use it as a pillow.

“I could procure you some travel brochures.”

“This isn’t a vacation,” she said. “Nap time, Master Fey.”

The cat remained in front. His tail tip flicked against the passenger door. Embor glanced in the rearview mirror as Anisette wriggled into a comfortable position.

“Come cuddle,” Anisette invited the cat.

“Mrow.” The cat’s yellow gaze was pinned on Embor. He stretched his slinky body across the leather and placed one white paw on the console between the front seats.

It did sound like a no. But Embor didn’t trust the look on the cat’s face. What was the sly one planning? Cats, while impossible to predict, weren’t known to lead fairies into ruin. If they deigned to bestow their attentions, it was to the benefit of the recipient.

Embor wanted to believe. Concluding his pursuit of the Torval agents would benefit him more than anything he could imagine. If the cat’s information proved accurate, he’d recommend an annual Feline Appreciation Day be established in the Realm.

“Fine. I’ll sleep alone.” She plumped her makeshift pillow and continued peevishly, “It shouldn’t be hard. For some reason, I didn’t rest well last night.”

“Hm,” Embor said, well aware he was the cause of her lack of sleep.

The Torvals were his. The Torvals and the damned nightmares. He entertained himself by constructing mental scenarios of their punishment the rest of the way to Key West.

Chapter Fourteen

She didn’t think she’d sleep with Embor stewing almost audibly, but Ani eventually succumbed to the rhythmic thump of the highway beneath the tires. For a man who disliked talking and had perfected the art of the non-answer, he’d seemed eager to keep her awake. Still, her nap should have done them both a favor.

He wouldn’t have to hedge when she asked questions. She wouldn’t have to restrain herself from killing him. Or kissing him. Something about the way he avoided certain topics was almost endearing, like his dry humor.

When she began finding Embor Fiertag endearing, she knew it was time for her to remove herself from the equation.

A hand on her shoulder roused her. “Wake up.”

“Hm?” Ani rubbed her eyes. Her body was stiff and sore. Perhaps cramming herself into the backseat for a nap hadn’t been her wisest decision.

“We’re nearly there.”

She yawned and sat up. They’d parked in the gravel lot of what appeared to be a marina. Embor unfolded a map. Somewhere along the way he’d donned black sunglasses.

“What time is it?”

“Daytime.”

That, she could tell. Sunlight poured into the car, glistening on his hair and skin. He’d queued his hair, as usual, but his new white shirt was more casual than a Realm tunic, with a split neck that revealed a slice of smooth chest. Sea birds swooped in the sky, and a van pulled onto the highway ahead of them. Dust clouded in its wake.

The aspirin occupied the cup holder in the center console. When Embor’s withdrawal symptoms had manifested as a mere headache, she’d begun to wonder if she’d imagined his condition. His emptiness had been so striking, but half a day later, without any access to globes, he was conscious, cogent and, going by this morning, fully functional.

“How are you?” she asked him. “Any tremors? Hallucinations? Nosebleed?” Surely he’d have woken her if he’d had a nosebleed.

“I’m fine.” The lines beside his mouth deepened. “You?”

“Also fine.” Poor liars, both of them. Her stomach protested with a grumble. “Have you eaten?”

“No.” The map crinkled and rustled. He flapped it open, but it promptly folded on itself.

“Meow.” The cat rolled onto his back.

She was relatively certain the cat was agreeing with Embor. “Are we going to eat? I’m sure Master Fey is hungry as well.”

The cat purred and swiveled his ears.

“Soon.”

Before she’d gone to sleep, Embor had been talkative…for him. Now he was back to his monosyllabic self. He shooed the cat out of the passenger’s seat with a whack of the map. The cat leapt into the rear window and shot Embor a dirty look.

If Embor had been Tali, Ani would have asked what the problem was. But if he said he was fine, why bother him?

“Blast,” he muttered at the map.

Because she couldn’t help herself. She wanted to be a partner, not a burden.

“Did you miss the turn?” While there were multiple structures, everything was low to the ground and run-down. Tourists wanted to experience this? In the distance, she thought she could see water through the buildings and brush.

“The island is too small to get lost.” He punched the map and leaned back in his seat. With an impatient gesture, he pushed his sunglasses down his nose so he could squeeze the bridge.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yes.” He sighed through his teeth. “All right. No. I found the drive along the bridges unpleasant.”

“Oh.” Anisette recalled how he’d described the bridges and water. Why hadn’t she recognized the stress in his voice? Because she’d been in a sulk. Just because she disagreed with his decisions—in bed and in keeping her uninvolved—didn’t mean she wished him ill. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s an island. There’s water.”

Perhaps it was better he wouldn’t share any details. Once their adventure was over, they could return to their respective positions at Court without further ties.

And still. And still. She wanted to be useful. To gain his respect. She’d worked out a method of communication with the cat. Perhaps Master Fey could show them where they needed to go. “Can I see the map?”

Embor creased it sloppily and thrust it over the backseat. “I know where we’re going.”

“Then what were you looking for?”

“Incongruities.”

“Like what?”

He started to answer but fell silent. A woman wearing a bikini top, shorts and a pair of sunglasses almost as big as her face minced across the road. Embor’s head swiveled to follow her.

The woman glanced at their car and smiled. She headed to the driver’s side door and motioned for Embor to roll down the window.

Conscious of her sleep-mussed hair, Ani fumbled in her backpack for one of the elastics Embor had bought this morning. He’d also gotten her a pink blouse and skirt to replace her green nightgown.

“You folks here on vacation?” the woman asked Embor. She removed her sunglasses, and her eyes crinkled when she smiled.

“No.” Embor removed his own sunglasses, setting them on the console.

Had he done it because the human had done it or so he could see her better? Ani finished cinching her hair and leaned between the two front seats. The cat began cleaning his hind end.

“Need a boat?” The blonde flourished a suntanned hand at the marina. “I do a little charter fishing, some ecotourism. Whatever you need, honey. You look like a man who’d be interested in landing a record-sized barracuda.”

“Do I?”

She laughed throatily. “Oh yeah.”

Ani glanced from the Primary to the woman, wondering why he hadn’t chased her away. Was he enjoying the view?

“Why do you say that?” Embor asked the human. He placed his elbow on the open window. In the rearview mirror, Ani was shocked to see him smile.

“I can just tell.” The woman hooked her thumb in her belt loop. She wasn’t threatening, wasn’t forcing them to stretch the Policy of Discretion. Embor was acting like a human. Yet Ani, who enjoyed meeting people, wanted the blonde to leave. When the woman slid a finger into her miniscule top, Ani yanked open the back door of the car.

The woman pulled a piece of paper out of her bikini and handed it to Embor. “I can help you land that fish. Here’s my card. Call me anytime. We’ll get you out on the water.”

“He doesn’t like the water.” Ani crossed her arms. Her long skirt fluttered in the hot breeze.

“Is that so?” The human toyed with her bikini again and extended a card to Ani. “How about you, honey? Maybe we could see some sights.”

Taken aback by the woman’s change of focus, Ani stammered, “I do like the ocean, but—”

“We’re only here a short time,” Embor interrupted.

A short time during which she’d be twiddling her thumbs while Embor was…directing his assets. Doing undisclosed, possibly dangerous things.

“How long are your tours?” The card, warm from the woman’s flesh, read,
Crazy Merryl’s Chartering
. Underneath, it listed Merryl’s phone numbers and slip address.

“As long as you want. I even do overnights and key camping.”

“Our schedule won’t allow it,” Embor stated.

Ani was tempted to protest on principle, but did she want to put her trust in someone called Crazy Merryl? “Thank you, but I don’t suppose I can.”

Merryl laughed. “He your boss?”

“I’m her husband,” Embor snapped. “Anisette, please return to the car.”

Her husand? What had brought that on?

“I thought I might get something to eat or use the facilities…” Ani trailed off and inspected the office, a metal building with a sailfish painted on the front. Bathroom, possibly. Food, not likely.

“Got everything you need on my boat,” Merryl coaxed. “Why doesn’t your mister come back and pick you up in a few hours?”

Embor replaced his sunglasses. “I think not.”

Merryl smirked. “Like that, is it? Well, you two have a nice day.”

“One more thing, madam.” Embor’s request halted Merryl’s departure. “Where is Gumbo Gumbo Street?”

He’d fibbed about being lost. Ani got into the car, in front, and rubbed her mouth so he wouldn’t see her grin. She added poor map-reading skills on his list of imperfections under split ends and fear of water.

“Three blocks, hang a left, pass the preserve, and it’s the next intersection,” Merryl said. “Call me if you change your mind. The weekend’s coming and I book fast.”

Ani watched Merryl strut off and couldn’t resist a tiny comment. “Is Gumbo Gumbo Street not on the map?”

When he said nothing, she asked, “You’re my husband now?”

His lips pursed. “Cover story.”

“Humans don’t require marital vows to travel together. Nor are females required to obey the males.”

“Very well. We’re not married.”

“Mrow,” disagreed the cat. Well, he
had
encouraged her to mate with Embor. Who was she to guess how the sly ones dealt with relations?

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and tried to quit imagining relations with Embor. “Technically, as Primary, you’re my boss.”

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I ask you to do something.” Embor put the car in gear and checked up and down the road before pulling out.

Cool air poured from the vents, and Ani tilted the nearest to blow in her face. The clock on the dashboard read 4:13. “Is there food where we’re going?”

“Yes.”

The car inched down the street, past scrubby trees, buildings and parked cars and boats. Chain-link fences separated properties, and sandy lots outnumbered grassy ones. “Good. I’d like to eat and use the restroom.”

“Miaowww,” added the cat. Cats in humanspace utilized boxes of soil for toilets. She wasn’t sure what Fey cats did, aside from the incident with Embor’s blanket.

“The cat had best not take it upon himself to hose down our belongings.” Embor’s head swiveled as he inspected the terrain. The lines beside his mouth deepened. “I don’t know where…”

The words burst from Ani before she could stop them. “We
are
lost.”

“…the closest restaurant is,” he continued. “I’m not lost. Usually Skythia drives and we have a GPS.”

“You come here with Skythia?” While management of the Court required two individuals, their duties were such that Primaries spent as much time apart as they did together. Why would both Primaries be in humanspace at once?

“She likes it here.” He increased the gas.

Ani might too, if she were allowed to explore. Was there some reason she couldn’t cruise with Merryl—besides the fact the human claimed to be crazy? She couldn’t even see the water from here, and she’d foolishly slept all the way to Key West. She stared into the distance, hoping for a glimpse of the sea. A white privacy fence followed the road, treetops and roofs visible within.

Embor finally reached an iron gate in the wall where a human in a turret was reading a newspaper. Embor punched numbers into a keypad and the gates swung open. The man didn’t even wave.

Inside the barrier, the yards had grass. The houses were pale cottages with plenty of foliage. Palms and other sub-tropicals clustered in various locations. The farther they crept down the narrow streets, Embor inspecting the house numbers, the more Ani was convinced they were headed in the wrong direction.

If they drove around much longer without a potty break, she was going to throttle the Primary of the Realm. She fidgeted, unsnapping the belt. “Almost there?”

“Aha.” Embor parked in the driveway of the last house. The most striking thing about the dwelling was the large tree in the backyard with reddish, peeling bark.

“Here?” Ani asked. “Are you sure?”

This didn’t seem like anyone’s choice for a humanspace home away from home, much less Embor, Skythia and these mysterious assets. The houses nearby were more pleasant. They were doubtless more secure, soundproof, weatherproof, or whatever quality it was covert operatives required.

In response, Embor retrieved their belongings from the trunk. She opened the back door for the cat, who trotted into some bushes near the wall.

“Be careful,” she called. Master Fey could doubtless take care of himself in humanspace as well as the Realm, but she did worry.

With some trepidation, Ani returned her attention to the house. It was even more unappealing than it had been a minute ago. There was nothing obviously wrong, but the yellow cottage across the cul-de-sac was much more charming. Its wrap-around porch was partly concealed by fan-leaved palms. She’d like to sit there and breathe in the scent of flowers.

“It can’t be this house,” she told Embor. She took a step toward the yellow cottage.

“It is.” He strode up the walkway.

Ani felt a distinct reluctance to follow. Embor had become lost on the way here. Perhaps their true destination was several streets over.

He glanced back, sighed and returned to take her arm. “Come.”

Unenthusiastically, she accompanied him up the sandy flagstones to the stoop, which had matching bushes on either side.

Her inner senses tickled on the doorstep. They were far from a ring, but Ani could swear she felt magic. “What is this place?”