A Wolf at the Door

I stood again, offering my arm to Gretchen. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Back at the hotel, we briefed a now-conscious Tai on the events of the day, and both bodyguards took their try at reading the demonic contract. I had some brief hope that Tai’s innate abilities would allow him to miraculously translate it, but no such luck.

Given that his protege had spent most of the day unconscious, Bobby declared it was his turn for a nap, and retired to the spare bedroom. Gretchen followed suit, disappearing into her own room shortly thereafter, leaving me alone with the Maori masher.

He didn’t seem to be any the worse for wear, despite his earlier exertions. His eyes were bright, his color good. Definitely better than Mira looked after some of her spell castings gone wrong. “I’m freakin’ starving. I’m gonna order some Chinese takeout. You want?”

It occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten all freaking day. “Oh, hell yes. Order one of everything.” I was starving!

He chuckled, and after he ordered he went downstairs to wait for the delivery, leaving me alone for the first time in days.

The suite felt strange with everyone asleep. I’d never heard dead silence in this place that usually seemed so full of drama and noise. Though you’d think a little peace and quiet would be a relief, I actually found myself wishing for Tai’s return, just so I wasn’t all alone with my reading.

While I’d have preferred to be reading something with explosions and riveting action, instead I pulled out the much-crumpled copy of Gretchen’s contract. I didn’t have the foggiest idea how to read it, of course, but that didn’t stop me from trying.

It occurred to me that I’d never actually seen a written demon contract. Tattooed into my skin, yeah, but never on paper. A small part of me wondered if my wife, language whiz that she was, could pick up Demonic. Would these wavering black scribbles mean anything to her, if I could find her a teacher? Do they advertise for that on Craigslist?

Half an hour, a huge carton of General Tso’s chicken and a raging freakin’ headache later, I was forced to admit that there was nothing on that paper I was going to be able to interpret. I could think of only one person who might be able to, and man I didn’t want to call him.

He picked up on the third ring and there was no trace of sleepiness in his gravelly voice at all. God only knew where he was, or what time of day it was there. “Dawson.” No hello, no hey, just “Dawson.” Ivan was pissed at me.

“Hey, Ivan, how’s it going?” That too went unacknowledged.

“Is there to being a reason you are not following protocol? A reason that your student is to be calling me, instead of you?”

I knew I was gonna have to take my ass-chewing before I could get to the real reason I’d called him, so I sighed and took it like a man. “I’m not out here for a soul challenge, Ivan. I’m just…repaying a favor I owe.”

“And this favor is to being more important than your safety? This favor must to being very important indeed.” His voice dripped with sarcasm, and the part of me that would always be a teenage boy standing before the judge wanted to curl up and die of shame. It wasn’t that he was mad, it was that he was disappointed. I guess we never outgrow that particular aversion.

“It was a favor I couldn’t refuse to pay back. And that’s all I really feel like saying on the subject.” He snorted, obviously not satisfied with my answer. “Listen, I called you for a reason. I’m looking at a contract here in front of me, and I’m having some trouble reading it. Do you think you could look it over?”

“What language is it to being in?”

“Um…Demonic.”

There was a long pause at the other end of the line. “You have…a written copy?”

“Yeah. It’s a long story. Do you have time?”

“Tak, I can to be looking at it. I could to be arriving in two days.”

“I need it sooner. You have a fax machine handy?”

“Tak.” He gave me the number and I jotted it down on the back of my hand. “I am not certain if I can to be reading this, but I will to be trying. Regardless, you and I must to be talking, Dawson. Much is to being unsaid between us.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll quit dodging your calls if you’ll quit dodging mine.” Again, he snorted, but he didn’t deny it. “I’ll fax this now. Gimme a call back when you’ve had a chance to look at it.”

With Gretchen’s contract flying through the ether to Ivan, there was nothing left for me to do but sleep.

As comfortable as that leather couch was to sit on, sleeping on it is not advisable. I woke with aches and pains in places usually reserved only for post-combat injuries, and my face plastered against the slick leather with my own sweat. I peeled myself off the sofa to find Tai sitting at the bar, still wearing sweats and a T-shirt. “Morning, sunshine.” I flipped him the bird and he laughed. “Breakfast is on its way up. Tread softly though, I just woke Bobby up and he’s cranky in the mornings.” When was Bobby not cranky?

I suppose I should have been disturbed that I’d slept so deeply, but I’d come to rely on my early warning system so much. If I wasn’t all cold and goose bumpy, I was safe. Even in my sleep.

There were no messages on my phone, and a part of me was disappointed. Somehow, I thought I’d wake up and Ivan would have this all figured out for me. What else was I supposed to do now, besides hobble around like a broke-down horse?

“There’s a garden on the roof, right?” I asked Tai, who nodded. “I’m gonna go up, do some exercises and stuff. Holler if you need me.”

A few katas should work the rust out of my muscles. That was my first excuse for riding the elevator up to the roof. The second was that I needed a little bit of privacy for the next call I was going to make. A call that didn’t require my phone.