Pocket Apocalypse
Page 51
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Shelby scowled. “No, Daddy, although I might start implying it if you keep refusing to listen. Him getting bitten was a convenient accident. Otherwise, you’d have just kept shoving him into labs and hoping he’d stay out of the picture so you could grill me over and over on what I was doing with a Price from America, instead of coming home and settling down proper with someone from the Society. Did you ever consider that maybe I’m with a Price from America because I love him? It’s a thought you might want to start having, along with the thought that maybe the fact that he’s diddling your daughter doesn’t mean he has no brains remaining in his head!”
“Uh, Shelby, maybe a little less emphasis on our, uh, after-dark activities?” I asked, as the red spread across Riley’s cheeks and forehead. He looked like steam was about to start coming out of his ears, cartoon-style, and I really didn’t want the accompanying anger to be directed at me.
“No, Alex, he needs to hear this,” she snapped, her eyes staying on her father. “Yes, I’m sleeping with Alex, Daddy. Because I love him, all right? I’m going to marry him, and probably give you those grandkids Mum’s always on about, and the fact that he’s an American and from a family you don’t approve of doesn’t matter a toss, do you understand? This isn’t Romeo and Juliet. Our households aren’t alike in dignity, although they may be alike in pigheaded, head-up-the-bum-ness. You’re going to stand aside and let Alex out of this room. You’re going to let him do the job he came here to do. Or I’m going to stand in front of the whole Society and announce that you’ve locked away one of our best prospects, without valid medical reasons, because you can’t stand the fact that he’s fucking your oldest girl.”
The word “fucking” seemed to break something in Riley. The color drained from his cheeks, replaced by a resigned pallor. He shot me a venomous glare before looking back to his daughter and asking, in a soft voice, “Is this really what you want?”
“I want to protect our people, Daddy, and you’re not going about it the best way,” she said. “Humans only isn’t the best way. It’s as short-sighted as anything else that says ‘we should leave people out for their own good.’ Alex is right, and if we want him to help us, we can’t lock him up in here. It doesn’t do anyone any good.”
Riley looked at her for a few seconds more before turning his attention to me. “All right, Price: you get your way. You can move about freely during the day—but don’t be mistaken, everyone will know that you’ve been bitten, and they’ll be watching for signs that you’re trying to spread your disease. Do you understand? And come bedtime, you’ll be locked back in here, in case you decide to change in the night and start going for throats.”
Werewolves could transform as easily during the day as they could at night, but somehow sharing that little piece of information didn’t seem to be in my best interests. “I understand,” I said. Then, pushing my luck a little, I asked, “Can we open discussions with the wadjet about coming here to treat the others who have been injured? They’re unlikely to request much in the way of payment; mostly, they trade in information and in favors.”
“I don’t want to owe any favors to a snake,” snapped Riley.
“Some people may feel differently,” said Shelby. “Mary’s in quarantine, yeah? Her family would probably be happy to owe a snake a favor if it meant they knew she was as comfortable and well-tended as possible.”
“Fine.” Riley threw up his hands. “Fine. You do what you want—but you heed me, Shelby Tanner. If your precious boy there bites anyone, I’ll put him down like the dog that he is. He won’t get another chance from me. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Daddy,” said Shelby.
“Yes, sir,” I said, just in case my understanding mattered.
“I don’t believe this.” Shaking his head, Riley turned and stalked out of the room. He left the door open. That was good: at least he’d meant it when he said I was going to be allowed to continue moving about freely.
“Your father hates me,” I said, sounding faintly dazed.
“My father hates everyone who dates one of his daughters.” Shelby turned to me, smiling brightly. “I think that went rather well, don’t you?”
For once, I had absolutely nothing to say.
A crowd had gathered in front of the quarantine house by the time we finished getting me dressed and shifting my weapons to better align with my injuries. I’ve always been right-hand dominant, which was good, but many of my knives were positioned to be backup weapons for my left hand, and that wasn’t going to work when I didn’t have full range of motion in that shoulder. Especially since most painkillers also fogged cognitive functions, which meant I couldn’t use them if I was planning to go into the field.
Shelby and I stepped onto the porch and stopped, blinking at the people waiting for us in the yard. I didn’t recognize most of them, and the few I had seen before at the previous night’s banquet looked gravely worried, not welcoming in the least. Raina was sitting on the edge of the porch, her back against a pillar and Cooper’s dog stretched out beside her. Jett had her head in Raina’s lap, apparently unperturbed by the fact that the girl was playing with her Gameboy right above the dog’s ear.
Raina looked up at the sound of footsteps. “Oh,” she said. “It’s you. Gabby owes me ten bucks. She said Dad would shoot you before he let you out.”
“I think he was considering it,” I said. I gave the crowd a sidelong look. “Why do we have this much company?”
“They wanted to see that you were still a people, and not a hairy, slavering killing machine.” Raina cocked her head to the side in a gesture that reminded me of Shelby, especially Shelby in the early morning, when she wasn’t quite prepared to be awake yet, and was thus overly critical of everything around her. “You don’t look like a hairy, slavering killing machine. I guess you could’ve shaved. Are you going to rip our throats out with your teeth?”
“Not planning to, thanks,” I said, and turned to face the crowd. They continued to watch us, staring and silent. I raised a hand and waved. “Hello.”
“How come you’re out here?” demanded a voice from the back of the crowd.
“Uh, Shelby, maybe a little less emphasis on our, uh, after-dark activities?” I asked, as the red spread across Riley’s cheeks and forehead. He looked like steam was about to start coming out of his ears, cartoon-style, and I really didn’t want the accompanying anger to be directed at me.
“No, Alex, he needs to hear this,” she snapped, her eyes staying on her father. “Yes, I’m sleeping with Alex, Daddy. Because I love him, all right? I’m going to marry him, and probably give you those grandkids Mum’s always on about, and the fact that he’s an American and from a family you don’t approve of doesn’t matter a toss, do you understand? This isn’t Romeo and Juliet. Our households aren’t alike in dignity, although they may be alike in pigheaded, head-up-the-bum-ness. You’re going to stand aside and let Alex out of this room. You’re going to let him do the job he came here to do. Or I’m going to stand in front of the whole Society and announce that you’ve locked away one of our best prospects, without valid medical reasons, because you can’t stand the fact that he’s fucking your oldest girl.”
The word “fucking” seemed to break something in Riley. The color drained from his cheeks, replaced by a resigned pallor. He shot me a venomous glare before looking back to his daughter and asking, in a soft voice, “Is this really what you want?”
“I want to protect our people, Daddy, and you’re not going about it the best way,” she said. “Humans only isn’t the best way. It’s as short-sighted as anything else that says ‘we should leave people out for their own good.’ Alex is right, and if we want him to help us, we can’t lock him up in here. It doesn’t do anyone any good.”
Riley looked at her for a few seconds more before turning his attention to me. “All right, Price: you get your way. You can move about freely during the day—but don’t be mistaken, everyone will know that you’ve been bitten, and they’ll be watching for signs that you’re trying to spread your disease. Do you understand? And come bedtime, you’ll be locked back in here, in case you decide to change in the night and start going for throats.”
Werewolves could transform as easily during the day as they could at night, but somehow sharing that little piece of information didn’t seem to be in my best interests. “I understand,” I said. Then, pushing my luck a little, I asked, “Can we open discussions with the wadjet about coming here to treat the others who have been injured? They’re unlikely to request much in the way of payment; mostly, they trade in information and in favors.”
“I don’t want to owe any favors to a snake,” snapped Riley.
“Some people may feel differently,” said Shelby. “Mary’s in quarantine, yeah? Her family would probably be happy to owe a snake a favor if it meant they knew she was as comfortable and well-tended as possible.”
“Fine.” Riley threw up his hands. “Fine. You do what you want—but you heed me, Shelby Tanner. If your precious boy there bites anyone, I’ll put him down like the dog that he is. He won’t get another chance from me. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Daddy,” said Shelby.
“Yes, sir,” I said, just in case my understanding mattered.
“I don’t believe this.” Shaking his head, Riley turned and stalked out of the room. He left the door open. That was good: at least he’d meant it when he said I was going to be allowed to continue moving about freely.
“Your father hates me,” I said, sounding faintly dazed.
“My father hates everyone who dates one of his daughters.” Shelby turned to me, smiling brightly. “I think that went rather well, don’t you?”
For once, I had absolutely nothing to say.
A crowd had gathered in front of the quarantine house by the time we finished getting me dressed and shifting my weapons to better align with my injuries. I’ve always been right-hand dominant, which was good, but many of my knives were positioned to be backup weapons for my left hand, and that wasn’t going to work when I didn’t have full range of motion in that shoulder. Especially since most painkillers also fogged cognitive functions, which meant I couldn’t use them if I was planning to go into the field.
Shelby and I stepped onto the porch and stopped, blinking at the people waiting for us in the yard. I didn’t recognize most of them, and the few I had seen before at the previous night’s banquet looked gravely worried, not welcoming in the least. Raina was sitting on the edge of the porch, her back against a pillar and Cooper’s dog stretched out beside her. Jett had her head in Raina’s lap, apparently unperturbed by the fact that the girl was playing with her Gameboy right above the dog’s ear.
Raina looked up at the sound of footsteps. “Oh,” she said. “It’s you. Gabby owes me ten bucks. She said Dad would shoot you before he let you out.”
“I think he was considering it,” I said. I gave the crowd a sidelong look. “Why do we have this much company?”
“They wanted to see that you were still a people, and not a hairy, slavering killing machine.” Raina cocked her head to the side in a gesture that reminded me of Shelby, especially Shelby in the early morning, when she wasn’t quite prepared to be awake yet, and was thus overly critical of everything around her. “You don’t look like a hairy, slavering killing machine. I guess you could’ve shaved. Are you going to rip our throats out with your teeth?”
“Not planning to, thanks,” I said, and turned to face the crowd. They continued to watch us, staring and silent. I raised a hand and waved. “Hello.”
“How come you’re out here?” demanded a voice from the back of the crowd.
