mean anything?”
“I’ve restrained myself so you can talk to me and ask your questions. Doesn’t my patience mean anything?” I gave him the full predator, tinged by burning juice. He took two steps back. I heard his steps.
He sighed. “I don’t want to slip up and harm you, madam Arm. Yet your threats move me to protect myself.” He paused and thought. “I have money. Information. I can lead you to a Transform man who will soon be nabbed by Focus Patterson for a fate that makes the predatory kill of an Arm and the softness of a baby’s cheek seem indistinguishable.”
“I’ll take all three.” I would be willing to bargain down to just the juice but I wasn’t giving in without bargaining.
Another sigh. No bargaining. Interesting. “Focus Patterson is the boss Focus of the Focuses in the United States,” he said. So much for Zielinski’s belief in her retirement. “She’s a witch. She’s not to be trifled with. I would say she’s evil, but all Major Transforms are evil. She’s more evil than either of the two of us. Her evil is different, unbelievable.”
I brought out Enkidu’s hand. “I have a question to ask. I’ve seen the trick you’re using now to hide from my vision and metasense before, from an evil Transform who masqueraded as a police officer, trying to recruit me. The question is: did I run into a Crow?”
I heard the faint whisper of Rumor’s breathing as he studied Enkidu’s severed hand. “It’s still alive. It’s in withdrawal, but it’s alive. In about ten days it will hit withdrawal death. Only then will it decay. Only the Major Transform metabolism of a Beast Man can allow his flesh to do such things.” He paused. “Any sufficiently skilled and mature Major Transform can arrange his or her own invisibility, each in his own way. At the present time, in the United States, only Crows and Focuses are mature enough, and of Focuses and Crows, only a few are dedicated enough to learn such skills.” He paused. I cursed my youth and weakness. The lone wandering Arm routine looked more dangerous by the second. I needed to get back to Chicago, dig myself a hole, crawl into it, and improve . “You sensed your attacker’s evil,” Rumor said. “In your view, am I evil?”
I was tempted to lie, just to find out if I could get away with it. On the other hand, he wasn’t hostile, and if my senses didn’t lie he was no more evil than I. “No. You’re on the side of the angels. I’m surprised to find there’s another side, that’s, well, darker than I am. I’m not exactly Gandhi material, you realize.”
“Neither am I,” Rumor said. “The hand?”
I held Enkidu’s hand out for him to take. For a moment, I saw Rumor: tall, lean, like a college basketball player. He and the hand vanished for all of five seconds. Then the hand flew through the air back to me. I snagged it and made it disappear in my suit coat. Rumor hissed.
“Crows are prey to Chimeras, aren’t they?” I asked.
“You are a wonder for one so young, madam Arm, but you must understand that every Transform is prey to Beast Men,” Rumor said, suddenly and strangely formal. “Let us leave this alley. There is a man several miles north of here who sits waiting for you.”
My voice caught in my throat at his phrasing. “Just another trap for me, isn’t it? Focus Patterson has him staked out like a sacrificial goat, waiting for this dumb Arm to come by and grab him.”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “She already hates my guts, but I’m better at hiding than she is at finding me. I’ll remove the Transform from the trap without her watchers ever noticing. I need to cover you, though. If you can stand the thought.”
“You do this often?”
“She stays out of my city, I stay out of her compound.” Another chuckle. “Both of us violate this modus vivendi whenever we desire. If I get
“I’ve restrained myself so you can talk to me and ask your questions. Doesn’t my patience mean anything?” I gave him the full predator, tinged by burning juice. He took two steps back. I heard his steps.
He sighed. “I don’t want to slip up and harm you, madam Arm. Yet your threats move me to protect myself.” He paused and thought. “I have money. Information. I can lead you to a Transform man who will soon be nabbed by Focus Patterson for a fate that makes the predatory kill of an Arm and the softness of a baby’s cheek seem indistinguishable.”
“I’ll take all three.” I would be willing to bargain down to just the juice but I wasn’t giving in without bargaining.
Another sigh. No bargaining. Interesting. “Focus Patterson is the boss Focus of the Focuses in the United States,” he said. So much for Zielinski’s belief in her retirement. “She’s a witch. She’s not to be trifled with. I would say she’s evil, but all Major Transforms are evil. She’s more evil than either of the two of us. Her evil is different, unbelievable.”
I brought out Enkidu’s hand. “I have a question to ask. I’ve seen the trick you’re using now to hide from my vision and metasense before, from an evil Transform who masqueraded as a police officer, trying to recruit me. The question is: did I run into a Crow?”
I heard the faint whisper of Rumor’s breathing as he studied Enkidu’s severed hand. “It’s still alive. It’s in withdrawal, but it’s alive. In about ten days it will hit withdrawal death. Only then will it decay. Only the Major Transform metabolism of a Beast Man can allow his flesh to do such things.” He paused. “Any sufficiently skilled and mature Major Transform can arrange his or her own invisibility, each in his own way. At the present time, in the United States, only Crows and Focuses are mature enough, and of Focuses and Crows, only a few are dedicated enough to learn such skills.” He paused. I cursed my youth and weakness. The lone wandering Arm routine looked more dangerous by the second. I needed to get back to Chicago, dig myself a hole, crawl into it, and improve . “You sensed your attacker’s evil,” Rumor said. “In your view, am I evil?”
I was tempted to lie, just to find out if I could get away with it. On the other hand, he wasn’t hostile, and if my senses didn’t lie he was no more evil than I. “No. You’re on the side of the angels. I’m surprised to find there’s another side, that’s, well, darker than I am. I’m not exactly Gandhi material, you realize.”
“Neither am I,” Rumor said. “The hand?”
I held Enkidu’s hand out for him to take. For a moment, I saw Rumor: tall, lean, like a college basketball player. He and the hand vanished for all of five seconds. Then the hand flew through the air back to me. I snagged it and made it disappear in my suit coat. Rumor hissed.
“Crows are prey to Chimeras, aren’t they?” I asked.
“You are a wonder for one so young, madam Arm, but you must understand that every Transform is prey to Beast Men,” Rumor said, suddenly and strangely formal. “Let us leave this alley. There is a man several miles north of here who sits waiting for you.”
My voice caught in my throat at his phrasing. “Just another trap for me, isn’t it? Focus Patterson has him staked out like a sacrificial goat, waiting for this dumb Arm to come by and grab him.”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “She already hates my guts, but I’m better at hiding than she is at finding me. I’ll remove the Transform from the trap without her watchers ever noticing. I need to cover you, though. If you can stand the thought.”
“You do this often?”
“She stays out of my city, I stay out of her compound.” Another chuckle. “Both of us violate this modus vivendi whenever we desire. If I get
Similar Books
