Part 19 (1/2)
I'd never once heard a word of complaint out of our mother's mouth about Father being so strong or long-lived. In fact, she'd refused the chance to grow far older with him than her life span normally allowed because she didn't think she could handle the extra years.
Menolly sat on the bed next to me and took my hand in hers. ”There's no telling. Not now. But I do know this: Mother never wanted to be a Guardsman. She never aspired to a life outside of being a good wife and mother. Hearth and home was her domain, and Father didn't intrude, so there was no compet.i.tion between them. We don't know if they had problems in the bedroom, but their dynamics were totally different than the dynamics between you and Chase. Why do you think I've been so hesitant about supporting your relations.h.i.+p?”
”I just thought you didn't like Chase,” I said in a small voice.
”At first, I didn't, but no. That's not the reason. He's one of the good guys. Someone we need, someone we can trust. But he's FBH, and that makes him vulnerable. Since we're all embroiled in dangerous work, that puts the both of you on the same playing field. And it isn't level, Kitten. Let me tell you that.” She shrugged. ”Even if we manage to save him, I have no idea how you can overcome this obstacle. Not unless he can detach and not take it personally.”
I stared bleakly at the floor. She was right. How could I have been so blind? But I didn't have much experience with relations.h.i.+ps. I wasn't used to handling the nuances of sharing my life with someone else. This whole love thing was new to me, and now I wondered, was I cut out for it? I was a cat, for the sake of the G.o.ds. Cats were notoriously solitary.
”Kitten? Are you okay?” Menolly stood up and kissed me on the forehead. ”We'd better get moving.”
”Okay? I have no idea,” I said softly. ”But you're right. We've got work to do.” I forced myself to stand as she stuffed the clothes in my hands. Right now, rescuing Chase took priority. ”Are you sure that I have to wear this c.r.a.p?”
She gave me a smile. ”Brace yourself, but yes. If you're going in as my pet, you have to dress the part, and trust me, blood wh.o.r.es wear s.h.i.+t like this.” The look on her face told me there was no wiggle room. ”Change.”
”I do not want to wear this.” On my way to a whine fest, I pulled my best sad-kitty-eyes act, but even that didn't sway her.
”Tough. What about boots? Do you have any high-heeled black boots? Stilettos, not mud thumpers.” Menolly looked ready to paw through my closet, so I motioned her aside and pulled a box down from the upper shelf and shoved it into her hands.
”Camille talked me into buying these. They're cute, but they'll put me at six five. You sure you want a pet that tall? You're barely five one, you know.”
”So what? You're tall, and I'm a vampire. Yes, these are good,” she said, examining them. ”These are really pretty. We want you to stand out, Kitten, and we want you to fit a certain mold. The Fangtabula caters to vampires who keep pets and blood wh.o.r.es. If I go in there with you dressed in jeans and a wife-beater, people are going to question us right from the start, because they cater to clientele who look a little . . . sleazy. I just hope n.o.body recognizes me. My work with Wade could put me at a disadvantage.”
”I don't wear wife-beaters wife-beaters,” I said, sliding out of my clothes. ”I wear muscle s.h.i.+rts, okay? Tank tops.”
”Whatever the h.e.l.l you want to call them.” She motioned to my panties and bra. ”Those, too. You don't have Camille's b.o.o.bs, so you can do without a bra. And you don't want a visible panty line. Doesn't matter if they're tight and anything else shows. Just nothing that even hints of normalcy.”
”Trust me, I won't have even a nodding acquaintance with normal normal when you get done with me.” when you get done with me.”
I worked my way into the skintight pants, holding my breath as they stretched over my hips and hugged my crotch. The material was scratchy and made me itch, and one look in the mirror told me that people were getting a free peep show under the flesh-hugging spandex. You could see my lips, and they weren't the ones I used liner and gloss on.
I tried to tug the crotch down a little, but the material was molded to my body. Finally, I gave up, slipped the halter top over my head, and tied it around my neck. The halter ended about six inches above my belly b.u.t.ton, draping my midsection with long, ta.s.seled fringe that tickled. Actually, it made me want to turn into my tabby form and have a field day batting at it, but I squelched that thought.
Menolly handed me the boots, and I slipped them on, zipping them up. After that, I twirled for her, feeling totally ludicrous.
She nodded. ”Good . . . now you need a collar. Black lace scarf, tied with a bow. If you don't have one, Camille will.”
”Oh for Pete's sake, is there a dress code?” I asked, digging through my dresser until I came up with a chiffon scarf. It was black, plain but sheer.
Menolly gave it her stamp of approval.
”Yes, there is, unwritten though it may be.” She adjusted the scarf so the bow faced the back of my neck. ”There, that's code for a switch-hitter. If you had the bow in front, no vamp-or anybody in the Fangtabula-would approach you, because it would mean I own you and hands off. To the left-I'll let you play with girls only. To the right-boys only. If the bow's facing the back, then anybody can ask permission.”
I blinked. What rock had I been hiding under? ”How the h.e.l.l do you know all this?”
”I get around,” she said, arching her eyebrows and giving me a wicked grin. ”Remember, this code only applies in the vamp subculture.” Menolly motioned for me to sit down and picked up my makeup bag. ”You'll find owners.h.i.+p and domination symbology runs differently through each subcult.”
She sorted through the pots of paint. I had enough of Camille's cast-off supplies to last me for years. ”Let's see what we have-oh! This will do nicely.”
Within moments, I was sporting brilliant red lips and wild chartreuse eye shadow. After outlining my eyes in brilliant liner the color of green velvet, she dusted me with enough powder to pale me down. ”You can't look too robust if I've been feeding on you regularly.” She stood back. ”I think we're done.”
I stared at myself in the mirror, blinking. ”Uh, yeah, stick-a-fork-in-me done. I look like a drag queen. So, what's our story?” I asked, following her downstairs.
”We met in a lesbian club. If anybody asks, say it was at Sapphic Blue. I picked you up, took you home, made a meal off of you. You liked it so much you came back for more.”
”So now I'm a lesbian? Works for me, I guess,” I said. ”Just don't expect me to French you one.” As I let out a snort, Menolly whirled around and pushed me back against the wall.
”Fun and games are fine, but remember, this isn't a joke, Kitten this isn't a joke, Kitten. Don't screw this up. Chase's life depends on finding Karvanak. This little fiasco may well lead us to that demonic SOB. So work the story and play it for real if you want to find your boyfriend.”
She looked so fierce that I stumbled and slid down to sit on the steps. ”I'm sorry. You're right.”
”d.a.m.ned well I'm right. Okay, you want a story? Listen up. We're a couple. You're one of my pets-which means you're a kept woman. I drink from you, and we have s.e.x. When I'm not using you, you hang out in the living room and watch TV and talk on the phone.”
I swallowed. ”So I don't have a job?”
”No job. I take care of you, and I pay wherever we go. So leave your purse and money in the car except for an emergency stash in your boot. I'm an easy mistress. You don't have to ask permission to eat, go to the bathroom, talk to people, but I make all the decisions. When you address me, do so as Mistress.”
I coughed. ”Mistress? Oh boy, this is getting better and better every minute. So what do we do first?”
”Our first goal is to attract Fraale's attention. Chances are, if she's new in town, she won't have had time to get a bead on us, and we'll be lucky. If Karvanak has filled her in, and she's working for him, we're going to have to switch gears. We may have to kill her. Roz a.s.sures me she'll be interested in you and want to try you out.”
”But she's not a vamp-”
Menolly stopped at the bottom of the landing. ”No, but vampire clubs are good hunting grounds for her play. And apparently succubus blood is tasty. I've never had it, so I don't know. My bet is that she offers a vein in exchange for an hour or so with the pet of her choice. She'll play for a while, give the vamps a drink, and then be off. We need to find out why she's hanging around Karvanak and where he's hiding. If we're lucky, she'll mention him. If not, then we make contact, play for a bit, and trail her home.”
”Delightful. I might get a spanking out of this, you mean.” It wasn't a question. I'd given up trying to fight the current.
”You might at that.”
I shrugged. ”Okay. Let's do it. I guess if Camille could face a dragon's bed for us, I can face seduction at the hands of a succubus. Just why do we always end up using s.e.x to pay for help? Can't we just cook them dinner and take in a movie?”
It was Menolly's turn to let out a snort. She smiled at me, then sobered. ”Let me tell you something, before we rejoin the others. Rozurial and Fraale were married before he was transformed into an incubus and she, a succubus. They loved each other dearly. She was the only family he had after Dredge killed his parents and siblings.”
”They were normal Fae?”
”Right,” Menolly said. ”This happened when he was around ninety-still quite young. A traveling wizard stopped at their house and tried to seduce Fraale. As Roz stepped in to chase him off, the wizard's wife showed up and transformed Fraale into a succubus. That's when they realized they weren't facing a wizard and his deranged wife at all. It was really Zeus, who was trying to play the field again.”
”Let me guess. Hera was the wizard's wife?”
”Bingo. And she was out for blood. Hera was p.i.s.sed at Zeus, but she took it out on Fraale. Roz begged Zeus to change Fraale back, but Zeus couldn't, so he turned Roz into an incubus, somehow thinking that might help matters. Of course, it just made them worse.”
”The G.o.ds can be real s.h.i.+ts sometimes, can't they?” I let out a low growl. ”They don't always play fair.”
”The Greek G.o.ds have never played fair.” Menolly let out a sigh. ”I guess the dynamic duo forgot all about Roz and Fraale. As their new natures began to take over, they ended up separating. They couldn't stay together without traumatizing each other. They'd been monogamous, you see. Like Father and Mother. Rare among two full Fae, but it happens.”