eyes and not
talking.
My chin dropped a couple inches. “Are you
eating again?”
“They have blueberry pancakes.” I remained
silent. “You were busy and we were in a coffee shop…”
“Never mind. What do you mean by nuts?”
“ You’re talking to yourself.”
“ No I’m not. My grandfa …” Oh. Shit. I
peeked at Fin from the corner of my eye, just to make sure he was
still there. His grin was even more annoying than all that corn
chip crunching I’d had to endure for the last hour. I smiled at
Jay, trying not to show my irritation. “You go ahead and eat. I’ll
go out and get some air. Order something for Samson.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
I gritted my teeth, still smiling. “Sure. I’m
fine.” I grumbled under my breath as I wove through the tables, all
eyes still on me. “ Typical, just typical. Would it be too much
to have one normal relative? No. Every freakin’ one of them is some
kind of crazy-assed supe.”
I pushed my way through the door with a
little too much force, making it bang against the wall. I winced,
hoping no one would call the medics to send me to the looney bin,
or the cops to drag me off to the city lock-up.
I untied Samson, then stomped as far from
civilization as I could get without leaving Jay and the restaurant
too far behind. I ended up half a block away in a small playground
that bordered a park. Looking at the sky, I was shocked to find it
was almost dark. The playground was empty so I sat on a swing and
glowered at my pirate-wannabe fae grandfather. If he said arrrr I was going to punch him, fae king or no fae king.
He looked at the swing set with a curious
frown, deciding finally to sit on the swing next to mine. “What is
the purpose of this machine?”
It’s for kids. They swing back and forth.” I
tried to show him, but I wasn’t in the mood to go all out. “It’s
fun, at least for kids.”
He shifted his feet against the ground,
moving his body forward and back a few inches. “Ah, I see.”
“You can go higher, but since no one else can
see you sitting there, I don’t recommend it. People will think the
park’s haunted.”
“Of course.” He stopped.
“I called you ‘cause I got this.” I showed
him the note, which he sniffed first, then read. He wasn’t grinning
now.
He held it beneath my nose. “Tell me what you
smell, cheetah.”
“Paper. You. Me. Jay. Samson.” I paused.
“Blood. Human blood. I didn’t notice that before.”
The blood is combined with…?
“I can’t tell.”
“Elderberry, a binding herb, and lemon
verbena, a plant which encourages travel and communication. This
creature wishes for you to visit. The herbs and blood he’s mixed
with the spell encourage you to take that action.”
“Creature?”
“So many questions.” Fin stood, walking
slowly between each piece of playground equipment, marveling at
their design. He climbed on the jungle gym and slid down the slide,
laughing when he reached the bottom.
One normal relative would have been
awesome.
“These structures are all for children? For
play?”
“Yes,” I snapped, angry that he was wasting
time and hadn’t told me what to do about the creep who was watching
me.
His body whipped around faster than any
vamp’s, his hands on my shoulders pulling me off the swing, his
furious gaze on mine. This fae male had fought in battles waged
long before humans existed. He could stop my heart with a thought
or shred the skin from my body with a gesture. I’d never be his
equal in power. Pissing him off was not a good idea. I forced
myself to breathe.
“You are young.” I hated conversations that
started with those words, but I didn’t let it show. “The young are
careless and cruel, impatient, concerned only with themselves. Yet
here is a monument erected to ensure their happiness, built by
humans for their human offspring. Parents are forgiving of their
children’s sins.”
He tilted his head, indicating that I should
follow him onto the
talking.
My chin dropped a couple inches. “Are you
eating again?”
“They have blueberry pancakes.” I remained
silent. “You were busy and we were in a coffee shop…”
“Never mind. What do you mean by nuts?”
“ You’re talking to yourself.”
“ No I’m not. My grandfa …” Oh. Shit. I
peeked at Fin from the corner of my eye, just to make sure he was
still there. His grin was even more annoying than all that corn
chip crunching I’d had to endure for the last hour. I smiled at
Jay, trying not to show my irritation. “You go ahead and eat. I’ll
go out and get some air. Order something for Samson.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
I gritted my teeth, still smiling. “Sure. I’m
fine.” I grumbled under my breath as I wove through the tables, all
eyes still on me. “ Typical, just typical. Would it be too much
to have one normal relative? No. Every freakin’ one of them is some
kind of crazy-assed supe.”
I pushed my way through the door with a
little too much force, making it bang against the wall. I winced,
hoping no one would call the medics to send me to the looney bin,
or the cops to drag me off to the city lock-up.
I untied Samson, then stomped as far from
civilization as I could get without leaving Jay and the restaurant
too far behind. I ended up half a block away in a small playground
that bordered a park. Looking at the sky, I was shocked to find it
was almost dark. The playground was empty so I sat on a swing and
glowered at my pirate-wannabe fae grandfather. If he said arrrr I was going to punch him, fae king or no fae king.
He looked at the swing set with a curious
frown, deciding finally to sit on the swing next to mine. “What is
the purpose of this machine?”
It’s for kids. They swing back and forth.” I
tried to show him, but I wasn’t in the mood to go all out. “It’s
fun, at least for kids.”
He shifted his feet against the ground,
moving his body forward and back a few inches. “Ah, I see.”
“You can go higher, but since no one else can
see you sitting there, I don’t recommend it. People will think the
park’s haunted.”
“Of course.” He stopped.
“I called you ‘cause I got this.” I showed
him the note, which he sniffed first, then read. He wasn’t grinning
now.
He held it beneath my nose. “Tell me what you
smell, cheetah.”
“Paper. You. Me. Jay. Samson.” I paused.
“Blood. Human blood. I didn’t notice that before.”
The blood is combined with…?
“I can’t tell.”
“Elderberry, a binding herb, and lemon
verbena, a plant which encourages travel and communication. This
creature wishes for you to visit. The herbs and blood he’s mixed
with the spell encourage you to take that action.”
“Creature?”
“So many questions.” Fin stood, walking
slowly between each piece of playground equipment, marveling at
their design. He climbed on the jungle gym and slid down the slide,
laughing when he reached the bottom.
One normal relative would have been
awesome.
“These structures are all for children? For
play?”
“Yes,” I snapped, angry that he was wasting
time and hadn’t told me what to do about the creep who was watching
me.
His body whipped around faster than any
vamp’s, his hands on my shoulders pulling me off the swing, his
furious gaze on mine. This fae male had fought in battles waged
long before humans existed. He could stop my heart with a thought
or shred the skin from my body with a gesture. I’d never be his
equal in power. Pissing him off was not a good idea. I forced
myself to breathe.
“You are young.” I hated conversations that
started with those words, but I didn’t let it show. “The young are
careless and cruel, impatient, concerned only with themselves. Yet
here is a monument erected to ensure their happiness, built by
humans for their human offspring. Parents are forgiving of their
children’s sins.”
He tilted his head, indicating that I should
follow him onto the
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