Bloodfever
Page 83

So, stab me, he said softly.
I slipped my hand beneath my jacket, fisted my hand around the hilt of the spear. It was pure bluff. We both knew I wouldnt.
Behind the counter the phone rang. I stared into Barrons dark eyes while the phone rang and rang. I remembered kissing him, remembered the images: the desert; the hot, killing sirocco; the lonely boy; the endless wars. I wondered whether if I kissed him again, Id get inside him again. The phone rang. It occurred to me that it could be my dad. Jerking my gaze away with an effort, I pushed off the sofa and grabbed the phone.
Hello? It wasnt my dad. Christian! Hi, yes, actually Id love to. No, no, I didnt forget! I got tied up.
Id had other things on my mind, been wound tight as a knot.
But I was okay now. Things were back to normal. I was Mac Lane, sidhe-seer, armed to the teeth with spear, knives, and flashlights. Barrons waswell, Barrons, and the hunt for the Sinsar Dubh was back on.
And tonight would be a fine night to spend with a good-looking young Scotsman whod known my sister, and learn what he knew.
Ill be there in forty minutes. I wanted to change and freshen up. No, no need to come get me. Ill walk. Dont worry, Ill be fine.
A date, Ms. Lane? Barrons said, when I hung up. He was motionless. In fact, for a moment I wasnt certain he was breathing. You really think thats appropriate in the midst of our current circumstances? There are Hunters out there.
I shrugged. They fear my spear.
The Lord Masters out there.
I gave him a dry smile. Then I guess its a good thing you wont let me die.
He returned my smile with the ghost of one, even dryer. He must be something, if hes worth walking Dublins night.
He is. I didnt tell him hed been my sisters friend. Volunteering information isnt something Barrons and I do with each other. We let each other stew in whatever messes weve created for ourselves. The day he stops, Ill stop.
Shouldnt I be giving you a curfew? he mocked.
Try. I turned for the connecting doors. I would wash my face, brush on blush, mascara, and lip gloss, and put on something pretty and pink. Not because I thought of this as a date. I didnt. Scotty might have known my sister and he might know a little about what we were, but he couldnt live in my world. It was too dangerous for the average man, even one armed with a bit of knowledge.
I would wear pink because I knew my future was anything but rosy. I would accessorize myself to the hilt, and I would wear flirty shoes because my world needed more beauty to counter all the ugliness in it. I wouldwear pink because I hated gray, I didnt deserve white, and I was sick of black.
As I reached the connecting door, I stopped. Jericho.
Mac.
I hesitated. Thank you for saving my life. I slipped through the door. Before I pulled it closed, I added softly, Again.
TWENTY
I had to walk through Temple Bar to get to Trinity where I was meeting Christian.
I passed Inspector Jayne on the way. He and two other Garda were attempting to subdue a group of combative drunks. He gave me a sharp, furious look as I passed, making it clear hed not forgotten about me, or his brother-in-laws murder. I had no doubt I would be seeing him again soon. I didnt blame him. I was hunting a murderer, too, and I knew how he felt. Problem was, he was targeting the wrong person. I wasnt.
Although you might think after everything Id been through I would fear the night, I didnt. Nights just Days other cheek. Its not the darkness that frightens me; its the things that come out in it, and I was ready for them.
I had a spear the Hunters didnt want to get too close to. I had a tattoo at the nape of my neck that Barrons could use to find me anytime he wanted to, anywhere. And if I were in Faery, I suspected news would travel swiftly to Vlane on a Fae wind and I knew he wanted me alive, too. I might have powerful enemies but I had powerful protectors. Then there was Ryodana man capable of surviving a fight with Barronswho was a mere phone call away in case Barrons wasnt around, and I had IYD, in case things got really bad. After what Ive seen from Barrons, I was confident that IYD would be a real petunia-kicker.
If things got stupendously bad, Id bite the nearest Unseelie instead of stabbing it, and start chewing.
Speaking of Unseelie, they were everywhere in the busy party zone tonight, but I didnt focus on them. I focused on the humans instead.
They were my people.
I had a job, a purpose, more so than the task of finding the Sinsar Dubh with which my sister had charged me. I knew now that shed never meant it to end there, anyway. Id just been interpreting her message from my selfish viewpoint.
Everything depends on it, shed said. We cant let them have it! Weve got to get to it first!
I knew her message by heart. Id listened to it over and over in my head. We had to get to it first so that we could do something with it. Exactly what, I had no idea, but I had no doubt my job would be far from over when it was finally found.
Question: When youre one of the few people who can do something to fix a problem, just how responsible does that make you for it?
Answer: Its how you choose to answer that question that defines you.