Part 59 (1/2)
”How are you, Mas?”
”Better, now you're here I suppose you've heard,” said an even round thudded when he walked ”Tricky things, the Supernaturalsand when one's on the loose”
”So you think it is someone in the community?” said Lennox
”Definitely It's definitely a player Hi, how are ya? What's with the hoods?” said Massi for you Marek too Spies all over Menelaus, why are we standing around?! Find us some chairs!” he shouted
”But sir! You said I was never to letand these were your words, sirthat bloody vaain! Not after last ti the bartender and throwing his arht; he led us to an out-of-the-way booth where we could talk; ”I reallyat allnow's the time Tell me, Lennox, what do you need?”
I wouldn't be surprised if he and Lennox exchanged a series of secret handshakes there and then I caught the whiff of soerous e But what did that say about Lennox? Or me, for that enerosity will kill me, but a promise is a promise, Lennox How is the old devil, anyway?”
”Occaood, Lennox Who is this, anyway?” he said, pointing to me
”A friend Someone with power, Mas So you best be careful She isn't to be trifled with”
”No, of course not!” said Massiesture
Menelaus was back
”Your drinks!” He was off again, irritated with us I was still not sure whether or not I should be angry with Lennox He slipped me the mickey, after all I wondered what the aftereffects would be? Currently, I was sort of tingly Everything see phased uessed meant Lennox was off the hook Still, I wanted another drink
Massileskins! That's e call it, when a beast of unknown origin is on the loose, a tungleskin What I want you two to do is find it, and then, if you please, kill the monster, do you think you can do that forthe last part
”I'll look into whatever you wantbut no promises, Lennox! They're too easy to make!” said Massimo ”What do you want, anyway? I know you didn't come here for the company, Lennoxlove”
”His name's Selwyn Halsey will fill you in on the rest?”
”Ah, so that's your naood one, too Well, my dear, tell old Mas”
It was a rabbed him from me, in Rome,” I said ”He can turn into a black cata panther; and he's Eclectic”
Massiether I was uncertain howSelwyn's life ”Good, good, that's good,” he said ”But, did you say Dioscuri? All right, all right A deal's a deal I'll see what I can do But I'll want a pelt So over the bar, Lennox It would be nice to have this place filled up again I have debts, you know Not that that matters Do you remember Barney? Eaten They found his mackintosh Blood all over it You stop this whatever-it-is, and I'll find your friend Do we have a deal?”
Lennox and Massimo left off with business, and after several toastsnone of which I drankthewas concluded
Maybe it was the aether, but it didn't see into the forest to find this creatureto kill it, if we couldas soon as possible I unzippedbook It was never too late to become Adept
Chapter 12 Quintessence
Could it be? Was the tungleskin doing these killings the grey wolf? What else could it be? Yet, I had always ioma My therian Somehow ht, It can't be; the grey wolf made no paw prints So how it had eaten anybody
The following night (because Lennox was a vampire, so naturally the best tiht) we left our hotel rooer Wall, all the way to Lookout Point, fro view of the Vltava as it flowed past Prague Castle It re the river, and how the Tiber sparkled at night
An English by, warned us to be careful ”It's not safe after dark,” he said
A s down the stone steps, abandoning Letna Park, which led to the embankh the Everything book back at the hotel rooori section was full of hard-R words Words like noranveror and sht It wasn't until I hit upon an especially potent spell called a feiknstafir, that Lennox said, ”I' on my orchid as he said so; it hadn't pained me in a while, my orchid
His ”scars” were a collection of silver bite marks at his throat and both of his wrists
”He's still out there, my Maker I'll knohen I find him,” he said ”We'll be connected”
I hadn't realized it before, but Lennox and I were on the sa for our parentsand our pasts What was it, I wondered, about needing to knohere you ca the world, searching for his sire It seemed lonely Perhaps Only, I didn't say so Maybe he should let it go?
Would I? Could I, now that I was on the trail of my parents? Was this what they would have wanted for ue with a va for you,” said Lennox, ”and then you have to start opening them for yourself”
The problein I put icals aware of the thing roaht of Ballard laid up, and Lia and Gaven out of commission Rome needed Lennoxand, okay, lectingelse, at work: It just see It sent a , united whatever that Lennox, Ballard and I could lead the way
Withoutahead of us snapped
I was still so full of the aether, it otten the Dark Order Perhaps this tungleskin was one of theht ahead of me, whereupon it flew into the trees like a meteor ”Ow!” said a familiar voice ”Halsey? What did you do that for?” said Manon, stu out of the trees
She stepped fro at her head, dressed in a traveling cloak, herdown her backside ”And why are you with a vampire?” she asked me, incredulously
I made the introductions: ”Lennox, Manon, Manon, Lennox She's a witch,” I said to Lennox
”I'ister Equituue at THIS TIME Remembr,” she said She formed her Wiccan W and shot it at me; I flinched, involuntarily What was it with people thinking they could just do ic on me, whenever they felt like it?
”The Dark Order is et you, if they can The moon is in the Fourth House”
”So?”