I didn’t have much time to worry about them for the next four hours, since the crowds around my mother’s booth just about cleaned her out of all of her potions, charms, and spells. I waited until there was a lull, when the band started playing in the main tent, and tucked away the evening’s proceeds, shut down the booth, and dropped off the money with Absinthe.
“Peter says he is not sure if you will join us again or not,” she told me as she wrote up a receipt for Mom’s takings. “He says you may wish to return to your job.”
Absinthe and I never got along, at least we hadn’t when I was young and didn’t know how to protect myself against her mind-reading ability. Now I was an old hand at locking out people. I slid my mental barriers into place and gave her a placid smile. “That’s true. My plans are uncertain at this point.” Such as whether or not my future would involve a sexy vampire.
“Just so you do not forget your debt to me.” She tucked the money away in the big safe that sat in the middle of her trailer.
“I’m not likely to. You haven’t . . . uh . . . had any other visions of my mother, have you?”
One shoulder rose in a careless gesture. “I have not tried. It seemed clear to me that she was happy. I am not worried about her, although if she wishes to leave the Faire, I wish she would close her booth so that we may replace her. Peter says we must give her time, however.”
I murmured something polite and made my escape before she could pin me down with pointed questions, wondering once again how she and easygoing Peter could be twins and yet be so different from each other.
The speculation of what form paying off the debt to Absinthe may take kept me occupied as I sat in a taxi at the edge of the Faire parking area, waiting for the small blue car that I knew was Naomi’s to leave, praying to any and all gods and goddesses I could think of that they were actually taking Naomi’s car, and not going on Ben’s bike. I didn’t want to know if he’d taken her on long rides, where she could smell his hair and feel the warmth of his body pressed against hers, and even if she tingled all over just thinking about the way his muscles stretched and contracted as he moved with the bike . . . I shook away the image that was building in my head, just in time to point at the car that was exiting the pasture parking lot, and say, “That’s it. Could you follow that car, please, but don’t let them see you?”
The driver, dressed like a monk (complete with tonsure) in rough brown robes, and a rope belt upon which was attached his cell phone, gave me a long look in the rearview mirror. “If you get me into trouble—”
“I won’t. I promised you it was simply a little misunderstanding between me and my boyfriend, and that’s all it really is. So if you could just follow them, please?”
The driver gave me another stern look, but obligingly pulled out after them. I was a little surprised to find that Naomi drove not into town but away from it. I guess I’d always connected orgies with nightclubs and sleazy motels, but she drove deep into the countryside, entering what I judged from a sign to be some sort of official park.
“Now this is odd. They’re having an orgy outside?”
The driver, who had pulled up just outside the open gate, shot me an accusatory glance.
“Party, I mean. Not orgy. Er . . . here, will this cover it? Thanks. I’ll just get out now.”
“Yes, I think you should.”
I slipped out of the taxi, waved politely as he pulled a U-turn and sped off into the night, then slipped into the shadows of some scraggly fir trees that dotted a tiny parking lot, and immediately stepped on something soft and squidgy that moved.
Before I could scream, a hand clamped over my mouth. I didn’t wait to find out who it was—I brought my knee up, slammed the heel of my hand into his nose, and was about to gouge at his eyes with my other hand when a garbled, “Stop! It’s me!” reached me. I peered in the darkness at the shape as he doubled over, breathing hard.
“Who’s me?” I whispered.
“David. I think you broke my balls.”
“Frogspawn! I’m so sorry, David. I didn’t know it was you.”
“I really am going to have to stop surprising you,” he said softly, pain threading his voice as he lurched upright. Although the moon was almost full, we stood in the shadow cast by the trees, and all I could see of him was a silhouette. “One of these days you’ll actually succeed in breaking something.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, straightening up even more. “So long as you don’t attack me again. Damn. You have a good right punch.”
“Why on earth are you here lurking in the trees?”
He took my arm and steered me to the side, so that we skirted the edge of the parking lot, deep in the shadows. “For the same reason that I suspect you are here. Diego? How many?”
I stifled a squeak when another shadow loomed up next to me. “Five, counting the Dark One.”
“Two more to come, then.”
Even if I couldn’t see him beyond a black outline, I could feel the other man examining me.
“Fran, this is Diego, one of the members of my pride. Fran is Benedikt’s Beloved.”Diego murmured something polite. He had a Spanish accent that made me think of Antonio Banderas. “Is she staying here?”
“No, she’s not,” I answered firmly.
Diego gave a soft chuckle. “It’s like that, is it?”
“On the nose.”
“Don’t mention noses,” David said, obviously feeling his nose. “Ow. Benedikt would have my balls if I left you alone, Fran, so it’s best if you come with me. Diego, you know what to do.”
“I’ll be on the south side. If he shows up, do you want me to take him?”
“No. It’s important we see what they are doing. If things get out of hand . . . we’ll deal with it.”
“Agreed.”
Diego moved off, as silent as the shadow he was.
“Who’s the ‘he’ Diego was talking about?” I asked as I followed David around the edge of the parking lot and up a steep, forested hill.
“Luis, Diego’s brother. He is the one the Agrippans have taken. We expect them to bring him here tonight.”
“For what purpose?”
David was so hard to see in the dark, I grabbed the back of his black shirt and held tight to it as we climbed up and over a rocky hill covered with dried pine needles. “Most likely to kill him.”
“They’re going to orgy him to death?”
“Sex isn’t the only thing they do at the tyro.” His voice was grim.
At the top of the hill, he paused. To the south of us was an open area ringed with tall, narrow fir trees. A couple of rustic tables and fire pits indicated it was normally used as a picnic area, but the tables had been stacked to one side and several blankets had been laid out in the center of the ring. As we watched, torches were placed and lit in an outer ring, while the two fire pits on either end had been set ablaze. The light from the fires and the moonlight made it possible to see the people beyond just their shapes. I was suddenly nervous as I recognized Ben’s form before he stepped into the firelight. I was sick at the thought that Naomi and her people might actually harm someone, but at the same time, I definitely did not want Ben there.
I’d gone and fallen in love with him, I chastised myself, while being very careful to keep my mental shields in place so Ben could not pick up on what I was thinking. All that talk about wanting to know if you were really meant for each other, or just programmed that way, and what do you do? You fall for him. Hard. Fran, you’re a boob.
David turned toward me, still in shadow. “Did you say something?”
“No. Just yelling at myself.”
“Ah. About what?”
“Ben.”
He gave a ghostly laugh. “I won’t say I’m glad you’re yelling at yourself, but in fact, I am. It means you care about him.”
“Yes, I do.” My gaze shifted from David’s shadow to the group in between the fires. I could see three women, including Naomi, as well as Ben, and another man, who looked to be arguing with Naomi. Every once in a while he gestured toward Ben. “Do you know who they are?” I leaned into David so I could whisper my question in his ear.
He did likewise. “We know their names. The two women are from Austria and Switzerland. One is related to Naomi, although we aren’t sure how; the man is Micah, a biologist from England. The last one we’re expecting is Isaak, a Dane. He’s the leader of the set. We believe he’s been holding Luis somewhere around here, but we haven’t been able to locate him.”
“Are you planning on rescuing your guy from them?”
“Of course. But after we see as much of the tyro as we can—even after almost a decade of trying to find out the truth, we have no idea why they are killing random members of the therion community.”
I squatted down on my heels, making myself comfortable for what I feared would be a long wait. And I was right. I spent most of the time watching Ben, not because I distrusted him, but for the simple fact that my eyes were drawn to him. He sat on a cooler, somewhat separated from the others, most of whom lolled around on the blankets talking, laughing, and guzzling beer. Naomi, I was annoyed to see, had evidently forgiven Ben for the shower episode, and spent most of her time hovering around him, touching his shoulders or his arm or head. Twice she leaned down to kiss him, which just made me grind my teeth.
A spike of jealousy ran hot through me when she tugged him onto his feet, then plastered herself against him, both hands on his hair as she slapped her lips on his. Ben’s arms went around her in a loose embrace, which sent me to my feet, my hands fisted, and fire in my eye.
“Steady,” David said, one prohibitive hand on my arm. “I know it’s difficult, Fran, but she’s just kissing him, that’s all.”
“That’s more than enough,” I growled, somewhat surprised to find that I was holding the Vikingahärta. I narrowed my eyes on Naomi as she giggled up at Ben, wiggling herself against him. The Vikingahärta had a good deal of power . . . perhaps I could use that to deal with Naomi. Change her into something fitting, like a slug. Or a cesspool. Or a patch of mildew.