Its a very special towel, I told him as I ducked around him and into the house. Dried Elviss hair on the day of the last concert.
Oooh, he said, stepping back so Sam could follow me. He shut the door and, almost as an afterthought, turned the dead bolt. In that case, you certainly need it someplace secure. You want the big safe with all the electronics or something better hidden?
Better hidden would be cool. I didnt think that electronics were going to work against the fae.
He led the way through the house, up the stairs, and past his libraryone side filled with beautiful leather-clad law books, the other with tattered paperbacks that included Nora Robertss complete works. I took two steps and stopped, backed up, and looked in the library again.
If the fae were after the book, and they had some way of tracking itcertainly they would already have it. Instead, it had spent the better part of two days in my Rabbit wrapped in a towel.
Kyle came back and looked at the library, too. Its a book, is it? Youre thinking of hiding it in plain sight? He shook his head. We can do that, but if someone is looking for a book, the first place theyll lookafter the big safeis the library. I have a better idea.
So I followed him to a bedroom. It was painted dark blue with black splatters, and the twin-sized bunk beds had comforters with Thomas the Tank Engine chugging around on his tracknot exactly something I expected to ever see in Kyles house. I knew that he never had family visit, so it couldnt be for a nephew. Kyle continued into the bathroom so I did, too. Sams claws clicked on the slate floor.
Thomas continued to rule the bathroom, too. A plastic toothbrush holder in the shape of a train sat next to the sink, and a set of towels embroidered with Thomas and his friends hung from towel racks shaped like train tracks.
Kyle opened a cupboard next to the sink to reveal two empty shelves and one filled with towels of various colors.
Give me that, he said, so I handed him the book.
He knelt on the floor and unfolded the towel, repositioned the book, and folded the towel in the same way as all the other towels. He handed it back to me, and I put it on the bottom of one of the stacks.
Kyle looked at my work and straightened the stack. The book towel looked just like the ones around it.
One thing pretending to be another.
For some reason I thought about the incident with the bounty hunter this morning. The bounty hunterand the fae armed with a plastic gun loaded with silver bullets just like Kelly Hearts gun had been. Because hed been hunting werewolves.
Maybe . . . maybe that was not what the fae had been hunting. Adam had suggested the silver ammunition might have been used only to match Kelly Hearts, that the shooter might have been after any of us and not just a werewolf. Id thought he was just trying to draw the spotlight off himself and keep me from worrying about him. But what if he was right? What if the fae had been after me?
I was probably being paranoid. The world didnt revolve around me, after all. Just because this past year Id had vampires, fae, and werewolves try to kill me at various times didnt mean someone was after me at present. The old woman in the bookstore hadnt known who I was. Surely, if the fae were trying to kill me, shed have recognized my face. Maybe the fae were willing to kill for the book Id just hidden in my friends home. Warren wasnt always here, and Kyle was just human. Maybe I shouldnt leave it here. Maybe I was paranoid and seeing conspiracies where there were none.
Hey, Kyle? I said.
He looked at me.
You dont risk anything for that book, I told him. If someone comes and threatens youjust give it to them.
He raised a well-groomed eyebrow. Why dont you give it to them? Whoever them is.
I sorted through a number of answers, but finally said, Thats just it. I dont really know who them is or why they want that book. Or really if they want the book. Probably I was overreacting to the whole thing, and Phin would call me in a couple of days and ask for his book back. Probably the bounty-hunter incident was just what everyone thought it wasa publicity-hungry producer. And the armed fae was . . . My imagination failed me. But there could be an explanation that had nothing to do with me or the book.
I couldnt really see someone just killing me outright like that for the book. Wouldnt they at least approach me first? Ask me for it? Tell me that if I didnt give it to them, theyd kill Phin?
Unless theyd already killed Phin.
You okay, Mercy? Kyle asked.
Fine. Im fine.
* * *
WE WERE ON OUR WAY DOWN THE STAIRS BEFORE I finally gave in to curiosity. Okay. Whos the Thomas the Tank Engine fanyou or Warren?
Kyle threw back his head and laughed. Maybe we should have hidden it in the bathroom of the Princess room. Then you could have asked which one of us likes to sleep with a pink canopy over his head. The grin died down. I have guests, Mercy. Mostly divorces are messy and hurtful for everyone involved. All that hurt can explode on the wrong people. Sometimes people need a place to be safe for a whileand if theres a pool and a hot tub in the backyard, so much the better.
Kyle hid people in his home, children who needed to be safe.
Sam growled.
I reached down and rested my hand on his head, but Kyle didnt seem to recognize that Sams reaction was a little extreme even from a wolf who loved children. No one was being hurt here and now.
YesKyle started down the stairsI agree, Samuel. Those are the men I really love sticking it to in court. He paused. And women, too, sometimes. Abuse and violence goes both ways. Did I ever tell you about the client I had who took a contract out on her husband?
You mean a killing-for-hire type contract?
He nodded. It was a first for me, too. Whod have thought it would happen in our little town? Killer took him out with a single shot. Theyd been married for thirty-two years, and he took up with their grandsons girlfriend. Apparently she decided divorce and the lovely settlement Id gotten her werent enough. She turned herself in that afternoon. Seemed pretty happy to do so. He paused at the kitchen. Would you like something to eat?
I think Id better go, I told him. Id rather no one realized I stopped by here.
Werent you carrying that walking stick of yours? Did you leave it in the bathroom?
It was gone. Id been carrying it, and I hadnt noticed when it left. Dont worry about it, I told him. Itll show up again when it wants to.
He gave me a delighted smile. Thats right. Thats what Warren said. The thing just follows you around like a puppy?
I shrugged.
Pretty cool.
At the door, he hugged me and kissed my cheek. Sam gravely raised one paw like a well-trained dog, and Kyle shook the lion-sized foot without flinching.
You take care of Mercy, he told Sam. I dont know what shes gotten herself into this timebut danger seems to be her new middle name.
Hey, I objected.
Kyle looked down his nose at me. Broken arm, concussion, sprained ankle, stitches, kidnapped . . . He let his voice trail off. And thats not the end of the list, is it? You keep Samuel or someone next to you until this blows over. I dont want to be attending your funeral, darling.
Fine, I said, hoping that he wasnt right. Ill be careful.
You just let Warren or me know if we can give you any more help.
* * *
I DROVE TO THE BIG MALL IN KENNEWICK BECAUSE I felt a strong desire not to park somewhere isolatedand I wanted to call Tad. I had to park in Outer Mongolia because on a Saturday, that was the only place with parking spaces. But I was as far from alone as it was possible to be. Then I called Tad.
Hey, Mercy, he answered. Dad told me that you were nearly involved in a shoot-out at the OK Corral in East Kennewick this morning.
Thats right, I told him. But let me tell you about the whole day and see what you think.
I ran through the whole thing from beginning to endleaving out only the part where I hid the book.
When Id finished, there was a small pause while Tad absorbed what Id said. Then he asked, Just what is in that book anyway?
Its a book written about the fae by someone who was fae, I told him. I dont think theres anything magical about itor if there is, I cant tell, and I usually can. Theres a lot of information in it and a lot of fairy tales retold from the other side. I had to laugh. Gave me a whole new perspective on Rumplestiltskin and a real aversion to ever reading Hansel and Gretel again.
Nothing shocking?
Not that I read. Not a whole lot that isnt already out in the realm of folklorethough this is more organized. Particularly in regard to the variety of the fae and the fae artifacts. I suppose there could be something shocking in the part I havent gotten through yetor theres something concealed by magic or a secret code . . . Invisible ink, maybe? My imagination failed me.
Let me tell Dad all of this, Tad said. I cant think that there would be that much interest in that old book. Sure, its valuableand there would be a desire, I think, to keep it out of the hands of the humans. But it wouldnt be disastrous if theres nothing in it but fairy tales not that much different from books already available . . . Wait a minute. He paused. Maybe that old woman in the shop was Phins grandmother.
His grandmother? She was older, but not that old. Phin is . . . It had been difficult to pin his age, I remembered. But he had been an adultat least in his thirties, possibly as old as a well-preserved fifty. Anyway, this woman was maybe early sixties, no older than that.
Tad cleared his throat. If shes fae, Mercy, it doesnt matter how old she looks.
Phin doesnt have much fae in his background, I said. I was certain of that. This woman was big-time old-school Gray Lord kind of fae.
Tad laughed. The woman he calls his grandmother is probably more like his great, great, great . . . Add a lot more greats to the end of it. He told me that one time, when he was a kid, she drove off a bunch of fae who were unhappy that he was so human . . . or maybe that he, a human, had a touch of fae blood at all. After that, shed drop in now and then until she started to keep up with him just by cell phone.
So shes a good guy? You think I should talk to her? Tell her about the book and ask her where Phin is?
I dont know if this piece has any good guys or villains, Mercy, he said. And I certainly dont know if the fae you saw was Phins grandmother or a Gray Lord. And if it was . . . theres no surety that shes safe to deal with. Fae are not human, Mercy. Some of them could eat their own children without anger or regret. Power motivates them more than loveif they can love. Some of them are so alone . . . You have no idea. Ill call Dad, then get back to you.
He hung up.
Well, I asked Sam, excitement enough for one day? Do you want to go home?
He looked up at me, and I saw that he was tired, too. More tired than a day mostly running around in a car could account for. Sad, I thought suddenly.
Dont worry, I told him, bending down until my forehead was on the back of his neck. Dont worry, well find some answers for you, too.
He sighed and wiggled until his muzzle was on my lap. I drove home that way.
* * *
I MADE MEAT LOAFSAMUELS RECIPE, WHICH INCLUDED plenty of jalapeños and several other peppers. Day-old and out of the refrigerator, it could burn the skin off the roof of your mouth if you werent careful.
My phone rang, and I looked at the number. I set the timer on the oven, and it was still ringing.
Bran, I answered.
Youre playing with fire, he said. He sounded tired.
How did you know Im making Samuels meat loaf?
Mercedes.
Youre supposed to give us some time, I told him. My stomach roiled. I needed more time to prove Sams ability to keep the peace.
I love my son, Bran said, but I love you, too.
I heard everything that he didnt say. Hed chosen his son over me beforethat was how he saw it. That was how I might have seen it at the time, too.
Hes not going to hurt me, I said, looking into Sams white eyes. He stiffened, and I remembered to drop my gazethough he hadnt been making me do that after last night. Usually, once the wolf knows youve acknowledged hes the boss, those kinds of things only crop up when the more dominant wolf is upset.
You dont know that.
I do, actually, I replied. I had a gunman break into the garage and point a gun at him, and he didnt attack because I asked him not toand because someone, a child, might have gotten hurt in the cross fire.
There was a very long pause.
I need you to be very clear on what is wrong, he said.
But I interrupted him. No, you dont. If I tell you that Samuels wolf is in charge, you will have to kill him.
He didnt say anything.
Maybe if he werent your son, you could afford to be more lenient. Or if you hadnt used your position as Marrok to force wolves who would rather have stayed hidden out into the open. But that lost you a lot of moral support that you havent recovered yet. If you loosen those rules even a little . . . well, you probably wont lose your positionbut there might be a lot of dead bodies on the ground. Maybe more than can be explained away to the humans. Id been doing a lot of thinking about this.
I let that hang in the air for a little while. We needed that week to justify Sams reprieve to the other wolves.
Stay by the phone, he said, and hung up.
Sam looked at me and sighed, then flattened out on the floor on his side like a big fur rug.
When the phone rang next, it was Charles, Samuels brother and Brans enforcer. Mercy?
Right here, I answered.
Tell me about Samuel.
Is it safe?
I wont know until you tell me, will I?
Was he trying to be funny? With Charles, I could never tell. Of all the Marroks wolves, his younger son was the most intimidatingat least to me.
I meant for Samuel, I said.
Im under orders, he said, with a cool smile in his voice, to keep the contents of our conversation to myself.