Nicole Peeler - [Jane True 01] (13 page)

“It’s the job, remember?” He smiled at me.

“Yeah, yeah… the job.”
Smug little shit
, I thought.
Very hot
smug little shit
, I corrected myself.

Right then Miss Carol laid a hand on Ryu’s arm and asked him about his
presence in Rockabill, giving me a chance to look around the Sty. There were a
fair few of Rockabill’s great and good sitting around the place. Those who were
just drinking were mostly sitting around the actual bar. Joel Irving was
propped up in what I imagined was his usual place. He was nursing a shot and a
beer.

Other patrons were eating dinner at tables. The Sty was basically an
enormous rectangle. Two-thirds were made up of a huge bar, the kitchens—which
served the aforementioned incredibly tasty but artery-clogging burgers and
brats and things—and a little dance floor around the jukebox. The other third
held tables for eating, the washrooms, and a small stage for karaoke or
whatever entertainment the Vernons managed to entice out to Rockabill.

Next to me, the supernatural folk were talking about the murder. They
were asking about its implications, I think, for whatever power structure
existed in their world. I hadn’t the faintest clue what any of it meant.

I was distracted when I spotted Stuart and his thuggish band of brothers
sitting at a table in the very far corner of the eating area, partially hidden
by a couple of one-armed bandits that the Sty has “for entertainment purposes
only.” I hoped he hadn’t spotted me. Or, better yet, that we were still
glamoured as we must have been for what had turned out to be our rather
dramatic entrance.

Sarah had come back over to hear what Ryu was saying to Miss Carol, and
I watched the little group as if from a very great distance.

All this time,
I thought
, and right under my nose
…
The thought of having been surrounded by all these different creatures, and not
having realized it, was overwhelming. I thought of all the humans sitting in
this room, some of whom had been quite happy to brand me a freak.
If they
only knew what was really going on
, I thought, watching as the stone spirit
nodded assent at something the dachshund was saying. The young gnome, who
looked like an elderly lady, flirted with the handsome vampire and I grinned.

I’m practically normal,
I thought, feeling hope well up in
that deep, dark place within me that was lonely and tired of feeling outside of
my own life.
Hell, to them I’m probably so normal I’m boring—

Someone touched my hand. It was Marcus, holding out a five-dollar bill
toward me. “Why don’t you pick out some tunes on the jukebox?” he said.

I smiled back, taking the money. I didn’t feel like Marcus was getting
rid of me, I just assumed he knew how lost I was by the neighboring
conversation.

“Tunes it is,” I said. “Thank you.”

He returned my smile and I hopped down from my bar stool. The jukebox
was on the wall behind where we were sitting, and I knew from past experience
how well it was stocked, at least by my standards. It had all the classic bar
anthem-type artists, like Aerosmith and AC/DC, as well as popular selections
that were playing on the radio right now. But it also had a bunch of artists
that were less well known whom I absolutely loved.

Five dollars bought ten songs here at the Pig Sty, and I nearly quailed
at the pressure. That was a lot of songs; whatever I picked was going to be the
bar’s soundtrack for well over an hour.

Lay on, Macduff
, my brain intoned, solemnly accepting the
challenge.

I tried to pick out a selection that included every genre and that
alternated between fast and slow songs.
Just like a good mix tape
, I
thought. Not that anyone made mix tapes anymore. I did sneak some of my
favorite songs by the Indigo Girls, David Gray, and REM into the mix.

It took me about ten minutes to complete my selection, and when I got
back to the bar the others were winding down their conversation. Ryu put a hand
on my waist to help me up onto my bar stool, which was completely unnecessary
and totally sexy. At that exact second, my first selection ripped out of the
speakers: Great White’s “Once Bitten Twice Shy.”

“You did
not
choose this song,” he said, laughing.

“It’s one of my all-time favorites and I thought it was fairly
appropriate, given the circumstances,” I said. “And if I have much more of
this,” I held up my champagne glass, “you might get the chance to see my best
one-legged hopping, air-guitaring, spontaneous riff.”

Ryu was grinning like the Cheshire cat. “Garçon!” he cried, holding up a
single finger. Marcus obligingly fetched another bottle of bubbly.

I started to protest, but Ryu shook his head decisively. “It’s a good
night,” he said. “And you need a good night. Anybody can see that you’re wound
tight as a guitar string.”

I accepted another glass without complaint, and we clinked another
toast. “To the Pig Sty,” he said, giving me that damned wink. “To the Sty,” I
echoed, as we drank together.

We sat, not speaking, for a moment. I was enjoying the music and the
taste of my third-ever glass of champagne. I don’t know what Ryu was thinking.
Then Miss Carol started talking to me about the bookstore, and we talked about
how great Grizzie and Tracy were, and different books she wanted to order. She
recommended to me a few things that were already lurking in my dirty
drawer—presents from Grizzie. I promised her I’d read them, but kept my fingers
crossed. Ryu chatted with Marcus, while Sarah took over from him for a bit, and
I think they were talking about me because they kept glancing over to make sure
Miss Carol had my attention.

Another favorite song of mine, the Killers’ cover of “Romeo and Juliet,”
came on the juke box when Russ stood up and held out a hand. “Will you dance
with an old dog?” he offered, very politely.

I didn’t know how to react, so I just said yes. He limped out on to the
dance floor with me, and we took a very formal waltz position. The song wasn’t
really right for slow dancing, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him. As we
moved awkwardly around the floor, him gimping so badly I felt like I was more
his crutch than his dance partner, we talked about the morning he found Peter’s
body. He told me that he’d tried to distract Mr. Flutie, but there was only so
much a dog in a sling could do when his master had spotted a dead body on the
path. I apologized for making things difficult. I’d gotten the distinct
impression they’d rather the authorities not become involved. He shrugged, and
told me not to worry—such things were always handled with the minimum of fuss.

I had thought of something while we were dancing, and I said so.

“Fire away, child.” Russ smiled benevolently at me.

“Rockabill isn’t a very big place, but there seems to be a fair
proportion of, um, your kind of folk living here. Are there that many of you,
or is Rockabill special or something?” I was thinking about
Buffy’s
Sunnydale, and wondering if Rockabill was a Hellmouth.
Which would explain
Stuart and Linda
.

“Oh, no, Rockabill is just Rockabill,” the dachshund-man replied. “And
there are proportionally very few of us left anymore. But those of us who live
among humans usually prefer either large cities or places like Rockabill that
have small native populations but busy tourist seasons. In the former, you are
another anonymous city-dweller; in the latter, you have a lot of contact with
people at different times of the year and yet you have fewer locals to deal
with. Many of our kind are rather territorial, as well, so we have to spread
out. But Nell is very generous in sharing her territory and her protection, so
we’ve got a fairly large congregation here in Rockabill. Does that make sense?”

I thought it over, and yes, it did make sense.
So much for Linda and
Stuart being demon spawn
, I thought, regretfully.

When the song was over, Russ gave me a gentlemanly bow and thanked me
for the dance. “Thank you, Mister, er… Mister Russ,” I finished uncertainly.

Sarah interrupted our awkward exchange as Pink’s “U & Ur Hand”
blared forth. “Can you swing dance?” she asked as she took my hands in hers.

“No, sorry.” I shook my head.

“Too bad,” she said. “Just try to follow and hold on to your hat!”

With that she swirled me around in a perfect twirl. Sarah was incredibly
strong. Which was good, since I was doing my best to fall on my face. But
between her patient tutelage, and her being able to lift me up and set me down
wherever she wanted, pretty soon we were doing what was, for me at least, a
pretty good approximation of a swing dance.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had this much
fun
. I loved
the song we were dancing to and I couldn’t think of anything better than the
feeling of moving my body to one of my favorite songs playing over a jukebox so
loudly that the speakers rattled. It was made even better by the fact that
Sarah was such a strong partner. I felt like I was dancing well enough not to
be embarrassed, so it was just unmitigated pleasure. I was panting and aching
by the time we were done, but I didn’t want the song to end. When it finally
finished I couldn’t help it, I threw my arms around her and said, “Thank you,”
like she’d just saved my life.

She pinched my cheek. “Thank
you
,” she said. “We’ve been waiting
to have you in our bar like this for a long time. It feels good.” She gave me
another little hug.

“Well, I need to get back to work,” she said, pulling back. “And it
looks like there’s someone trying to cut in.”

I turned around to find Ryu waiting behind me, holding my champagne
flute. I took a grateful gulp, having discovered that swing dancing was thirsty
work. He took my glass and set it down on the bar, and then extended his hand.

“Am I on your dance card?” he asked.

“Hmm, let me check,” I teased. I think I was slightly drunk, as flirting
was suddenly coming a lot easier.

“Well?” A dark eyebrow arched questioningly over a golden eye and my
heart skipped a beat.

“I guess I can squeeze you in. For a quick one.”

He glided toward me and suddenly I was in his arms.
Just like that,
I wondered, shocked by the ease of it all. Then I realized that the champagne
probably had my inhibitions in a head lock.

The song that was playing was one of the sexiest I could think of: David
Gray’s “Debauchery” from his album
A Century Ends
. It’s about a rather
inebriated couple who meet on a ferry, go to his house for more drink, and have
sex in front of his gas fire. It sounds awful, but it’s both funny and really
erotic at the same time. Plus David growls like an animal at one point, and my
knees go weak every time I hear it.

Ryu and I danced like kids at a school prom: my arms over his shoulders
and his around my waist. I could feel every inch of his body against mine as if
it were electrified.

One thing I couldn’t feel, however, was his power. He wasn’t glamouring
us. Instead, he was dancing with me, in public, and letting everyone see. I was
so flattered that he wouldn’t mind being associated with the town crazy that I
didn’t warn him it probably wasn’t the best idea, considering Stuart lurked.

Ryu raised his eyebrows as David Gray sang of stripping his new ladyfriend.
Then Ryu laughed as David sang of encouraging her with that classic enticement:
copious amounts of vino.

“Nice choice,” he said, holding me a little tighter.

“Yes. I like it. A lot.”
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. I certainly do like
it…

I pressed my cheek against his chest so I didn’t have to look at his
face. His beautiful, beautiful face.

But when I heard his heartbeat pounding just as hard as mine, I raised
my head again. The sound of his heart hadn’t helped to calm my hormones one
bit.

I sought frantically for something to talk about. There was one thing
that had been bothering me…

“Ryu?”

“Yes?” he murmured, his lips brushing my ear.

“You said that you… that vampires, that baobhan sith, I mean, feed off
either fear or lust. Does that mean that you prey, like really
prey
on
humans, even if you don’t kill them?”

Take that, hormones!
I thought, exultantly. Imagining Ryu
pursuing terrified women through dark city streets was better than a cold
shower.

“Some of us do,” he admitted. “But emotions flavor the blood. So it
becomes a matter of preference, like preferring red or white wine. I don’t
enjoy the taste of fear.”

I mulled over the implications of what he’d just said, feeling my knees
weaken. And David Gray hadn’t even growled yet.
Lust it is, then
, my
libido exulted.

One of Ryu’s hands moved lower, gently stroking the small of my back. He
was sort of massaging me, sort of bringing my hips closer to him.

The song helped him along, as David Gray urged his own lover closer in
the song. And then David growled. David’s growl always got to me.

Ryu’s other hand was brushing my hair away from my face, and then
stroking over my cheek. Then he was supporting the back of my neck as he tilted
my face up toward his…