Bite Marks

somebody friendlier than the mystery creature who’d recently entered his life, Jack caught a scent.

Noting the rigidity of his ears and the tension in his haunches I reached down and slowly clicked his leash back onto his collar.

“What is it, boy?” I asked softly. He didn’t even turn to look at me, just lowered his nose and began to walk, setting one paw carefully beside the other.

“Jasmine?” Vayl sounded like he was standing right next to me, though I knew he must be crouched on the roof by now. Good to know Bergman’s gadgets performed above standard.

“Jack’s onto something,” I said. “Maybe it’s just a rabbit. You know dogs.” Okay, I assumed he did.

But maybe not. Had Vayl ever owned one? I realized we’d never had that conversation. And we should’ve. I also didn’t know his mother’s name. Or if he liked lobster. A thread of panic wrapped around my lungs, making me suck in my breath. I should know these things! Why didn’t I know these things?

Because you don’t belong with him. You never did. The only man you were meant for died eighteen months ago and you will never, ever find another like him. Now that I’d outed Brude in my own mind his accent had thickened considerably. Too bad I could still translate his brogue.

I tucked my chin into my chest. You’re in forbidden territory. Go there again and I’ll kill you.

You cannot kill me without killing yourself.

Yup.

You would commit such an atrocity?

Not happily. But you’re a menace. Better to get rid of you while you’re trapped inside me than let you pull off whatever heinous plan you’ve devised that includes me.

I waited. Listened. The only voice I heard was Vayl’s, smooth and sweet as hot fudge as he said,

“Jasmine, what is wrong?”

“Brude,” I said shortly. “Nothing I can’t handle.” For now. “If you’re finished up there we might’ve found something interesting down here.” I thought for a second. “Also, I need to know your mother’s name.”

Was it just my imagination or was Bergman’s doohickey sensitive enough to pick up the catch in Vayl’s voice as he asked, “Why?”

“You know all about mine. And yours was like, a thousand times better.” Because, even though she never knew you, she cared enough to demand that the family make Cirilai to protect you. “Plus, we could use her name as a code word or something. For when one of us is about to do something the other should just take on faith.”

“It was Viorica.”

“And if you were going to pick between lobster and crab, which would you choose?”

“What?”

“These are things we should know. What if we have to take a quiz someday? I can tell you right now that Bergman is allergic to eggs, and Cassandra’s all-time favorite place to visit is Monaco. Have you ever had a dog?”

“I prefer crab. And yes, I have owned several dogs. But I grew tired of burying them every decade or so. Thus, my only pets are the tigers carved into my cane.”

“There, was that so hard?”

Jack had begun to tug at his leash hard enough to make my shoulder ache, so I stopped resisting and followed him toward the northwest corner of the schoolhouse. Concrete steps led down to a basement entrance that had been both boarded and padlocked shut. But that wasn’t the part that interested him.

His nose led him to the side of the steps, to a gray brick wall so ordinary I’d never have given it a second look if not for him. I took a knee.

“What’s that on your nose, dude?” A smudge of powder, the same color as the wall. I reached out to rub the spot he’d sniffed it from. Yanked my hand back. Because my fingers hadn’t touched the rock-hard surface my eyes had registered. It had felt more like membrane, giving like Jell-O at the contact.

“We’ve got something over here,” I said.

“Be casual,” Vayl reminded everyone.

I looked up as Bergman reached the top of the steps and clicked off a couple of shots. Cassandra joined him, exclaiming over the viability of using this spot in our movie’s murder scene. And then Vayl split the two of them in the middle, Astral sitting at his feet like a real cat, which was when I realized that was exactly the kind of pet he needed. Battery-driven. Likely to outlast even him.

Now that I had my audience, I flicked the barrier with a finger. It wiggled, pulling an excited gasp out of Bergman. He ran down the steps, jumping the last two in his rush to get a closer look.

“What kind of technology are we talking about here?” he asked himself as he poked at the fakeness. He gasped when his finger went through. Sagged against me when it came out whole, if dusty.

“I doubt if it’s mechanical so much as chemical mixed with magic,” said Cassandra as she and Vayl descended the steps. “But as soon as I touch it I’ll be able to tell you a great deal more.” Jack and I backed toward the boarded door to give her room to work while Bergman pulled Astral out of the way. Vayl leaned on his cane, watching with interest as she knelt, steadying herself with one hand on the bottom step. She gently pressed the other against the Jell-O wall, squeezing her eyes tight as images filled her mind. Her lips flattened, like she’d just taken a bite of bad potato salad but couldn’t spit it out, because her auntie had made it special, just for her.

Finally she nodded and stood. “This is a new doorway into a gnome warren. It’s the one Pete told us about.