Nicole Peeler - [Jane True 01] (32 page)

Yet so much had happened so quickly and I knew I was not confronting any
of it. I was just trying to bluff my way through without contemplating how my
life was changing. Because I didn’t want to think about that aspect of this
past week—the fact that my life
would
be changed, but not in any way I
could anticipate or control.

But what if it doesn’t?
my cynical self queried.
You’re
going back to Rockabill when this is over, to your dad and your friends and
your life. And you know damned well that Ryu isn’t going to give up the
excitement of his life in Boston or here at Court to join you. So maybe you’ll
just go back home and nothing will have changed. You’ll know this stuff is out
here, somewhere, and you’ll feel a little closer to Amy and a little more
welcome at the Sty—but what happens if that’s all you get? No membership card
to a secret society or special access to a world of excitement, danger, and
romance—just memories and some cute, but incredibly impractical, shoes.

I thought about what I’d said to Ryu about there being two Janes. Was
that how I imagined the rest of my life? One Jane for Rockabill, and one Jane
for outside Rockabill? Cause
that
strategy sure as hell wasn’t going to
solve anything.

I frowned down at my reflection rippling on the surface of the water.
Here’s
an idea
…
don’t go there
, I thought, as my body used my mental
distraction to help itself to a fourth finger dip. My spine vibrated with
energy.

I sighed. I really wanted to swim—to feel water on my limbs and to bury
my worries in the monotony of physical exertion. But I knew I’d be back to
reeling around like a drunken sailor if I dared get in that pool. So instead I
stood up and wrapped my towel around my waist. I’d have to find something else
to do for the next few hours.

I turned to go back through the little gate separating the pool from the
courtyard, and I heard a rustling behind me.
Ryu?
I wondered, although
he hadn’t had enough downtime yet to be awake.
Probably Elspeth doing
something considerate
,
like bringing me my clothes or a robe,
I
decided. The dryad was like a mind reader—I’d not only woken up to find her
waiting for me, but somehow she’d gotten ahold of what we’d worn last night and
had it all cleaned.
I wonder who does the dry cleaning in this place? Magic brooms?
I turned to greet her.

But it wasn’t Elspeth. Instead of the somewhat woody friendliness of my
personal tree spirit, there loomed Jimmu. He stood silently across the pool
from me, having emerged from what I could now see was a little path bisecting
the dense tropical vegetation surrounding the grotto. He was only wearing a
pair of black board shorts and he must have been working out. He glistened with
sweat and piercings, including quite a few more that his shirtless state
revealed. His Mohawk had fallen down to drip greasily around his face.

Let’s not forget the sword he’s carrying
, my inner voice
interrupted. At the sight of that sword, I wanted to flee but I found myself
rooted to the spot.

We stood like that, staring at one another, for at least thirty seconds.
I think he was as surprised to see me as I was to see him. The sword was
sheathed, thank goodness, or there’s a distinct possibility I would have wet
myself. All I know about swords I learned from watching
Highlander
, and
this one definitely looked designed for decapitation.

My legs were finally working, and I made the mistake of taking a step
back.
Never show fear
, I recalled, too late. Jimmu’s cold eyes narrowed,
and he came toward me.

The pool was between us, so he had to skirt around it. I had more than
enough time to run away: to hightail it out of the gate behind me and back to
the Compound and safety. But I was motionless, hypnotized by Jimmu’s sinuous
movements. He kept his eyes on me as he approached, and I finally understood Kipling’s
descriptions of Rikki-tikki-tavi’s battle with the cobras Nag and Nagaina.
Jimmu’s emotionless eyes held me captive, his serpentine physicality lulling my
reflexes. I had no doubt that he intended to kill me—and yet I stood there,
frozen, as if waiting for my lover rather than my murderer.

That’s not to say I wasn’t panicked. Fear was flooding through my
system, and every voice rattling around in my head was screaming at me to move,
to flee, to get the hell out of there. But those voices were overwhelmed by the
weight of Jimmu’s gaze.

Suddenly there was another sound, straight ahead of me, from the hidden
path Jimmu had just vacated. Jimmu halted his sinuous progress and then his
tongue flickered between his lips. But he kept his eyes on me, holding me
still.

He’s tasting the air
, I realized, shuddering.

I couldn’t see my savior, although something was definitely there,
crashing about in the vegetation. Jimmu’s eyes narrowed, and then he looked
toward the sound, finally breaking his contact with me. My breath escaped with
a whoosh as I was released from whatever spell I’d been under.

As I whisked around to run toward the gate to the Compound and away from
the power of Jimmu’s gaze, I caught a glimpse of the naga unsheathing his sword
and heading back the way he came. He was pursuing whoever had ruined his
murderous intentions for me, and as I ran through the gate and flew through the
courtyard I thanked my mystery rescuer with every ounce of my being. I knew it
hadn’t just been a rabbit; the look on Jimmu’s face when he turned toward the
noise was one of recognition and anger. And I couldn’t imagine Ryu hiding like
that, so I had no idea who it was. I just hoped that whoever it had been knew
what he or she was getting into, waking the wrath of Jimmu like that.

By this point I was well into the Compound, but I didn’t stop running
till I saw my first creature. A passing cougar—which I hoped was a nahual and
not the real deal—paused to look at me curiously, before shrugging its
shoulders and shaking its head as it continued on its way. There were a few
other beings flitting about the end of the large room I’d found myself in—some
sort of music space, it looked like, from the instruments lining the walls—so I
took the opportunity to double over, gasping for air. I had a terrific stitch
in my side, and I seemed to have dropped my towel by the side of the pool. I
was also covered with sweat, mostly from my shattered nerves, and shaking. In
other words, I looked as good as I felt.

I also didn’t know what to do. I knew I needed to get back to Ryu; he
was the one being I trusted in this Compound. And I had to tell him what had
passed between Jimmu and me, not least because I didn’t think I was safe left
alone.

There was no doubt in my mind that Jimmu’s intentions had not been to
shake my hand and ask me about New England’s chances in the Super Bowl that
year. He’d definitely wanted to commit some atrocious act of violence on my
person, but
why
?

Just because I’m a halfling?
I wondered.
Or
is there more to it?

I really hoped Jimmu wanted to kill me for a better reason than my
genetic heritage, although I knew that humans were more than happy to massacre
one another for that very reason. But if halflings like me were so hated that
killing us was considered sporting by some of the supernatural community, then
I would
never
be safe in my mother’s world.

And no longer entirely at home in your father’s…

I shook myself—now was not the time for reckoning with my future. Right
now, I had to get to the safety of my room and Ryu without being hacked to
death by snake-men. No small feat, I might add, since I had no idea where the
fuck I was.

They really need to provide visitors with maps
, I
thought, looking around while trying to figure out which way to go. I normally
had a really good sense of direction, but this place baffled my navigational
systems.

I knew I didn’t want to return the way I came, in case Jimmu had
finished chopping to bits whatever had interrupted us, so I went forward toward
a large set of double doors. I felt foolish in my faded old swimsuit, but
nobody paid me any attention. Which was good, since I was pretty convinced by
Jimmu’s behavior that
anybody
could be out to kill me just because I was
what I was. Not a nice feeling, I might add.

I quietly opened one of the big doors and slipped through. Shutting it
gently, I turned around to find myself face to face with the Alfar queen,
Morrigan.

Oh, crap,
I thought, as I managed a particularly
graceless little bow.

The queen nodded her head regally toward me. Standing, she was probably
about five foot six but the power pulsing from her made me take a step back.
Two lovely attendants stood slightly behind her, protectively, but when they
saw who it was and what I was wearing, they backed away.

I’m not much of a threat, am I?
I thought, wishing
they’d share that opinion with Jimmu.

“Jane,” the queen’s heavy voice intoned, as she smiled slowly. “What a
pleasure to see you.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” I replied.

“Did you rest well?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Did you enjoy our pool?”

“Oh, yes, thank you,” I said.
For putting drugs in it,
my inner
crack fiend added. “It’s very strong,” I finished.

“Yes, it would be, for you.” Her eyes met mine and for the first time
since we’d met I felt like she was really
looking
at me. “You live in
Nell Gnome’s territory, no?” she asked. I tried not to giggle.

“Um, yes, I think so. Nell Gnome’s.”
Say
that
twelve times
fast.

The queen eyed me appraisingly. “She’ll have to train you. I’ll be in
touch with her. We cannot leave you defenseless.”

No, we certainly can’t
, I thought, recalling my paralysis
in Jimmu’s presence.

“In the meantime, how are you enjoying your time in our Compound?” The
queen took my arm, and I relaxed. Jimmu wasn’t going to get to me through
Morrigan, and I doubted if the queen would let a houseguest get her head
whacked off in front of her, even if I was just a halfling.

“Oh, it’s really lovely,” I said.
Except for the threats of violence,
my nearly engulfing myself in flames, and the fact that I’m always lost the
minute I leave my room.

“It must be very strange for you, after spending all of your life among
humans.”

“Yes, well, there are many things here that I find… challenging.” I
figured that was diplomatic enough. “But it’s also very beautiful and very
exciting.”

The queen inclined her beautiful head toward me and I thought I heard
the faintest of laughs come from her lips. “It’s not often we Alfar are called
exciting
,
although I suppose that, taken as a whole and with everything being so new to
you, the Compound would seem intriguing.” She paused, briefly. “And our younger
factions do race around so; they still enjoy such activities.”

And the Alfar don’t?
I thought, skeptically. I’d seen the way
Jarl looked at me, and his introducing me to Jimmu the way he did was definitely
the first roll of the dice in some little game he was playing. Not that I knew
what the game was, or how I fit into it.

Morrigan had led me back into the room with the instruments and then out
a side door to the left. We walked down a few stone stairs into the first of a
series of kitchens and other domestic areas. If I’d been expecting brooms
sweeping by themselves, like in
Fantasia
, or pots stirred by unmanned
spoons, like in
Harry Potter
, I was disappointed. There were many
creatures at work here, although the nature of the creatures themselves was
more than entertaining. There was a room full of washing machines being loaded
by a particularly disgruntled looking orangutan, and I saw what had to be an
ifrit lazily painting her nails as she sat beneath a large spit upon which an
entire pig turned, roasting. A particularly voluptuous succubus waddled past us
carrying a bucket of cleaning products, and I would have given my right eye to
see her scrubbing something, anything, on her hands and knees.
How
do
they
get any work done?
I wondered.

The queen was still talking about “the younger factions,” by which I
assumed she meant all the other types of supernatural beings that were not
Alfar. I knew she didn’t mean
young
as in newborn, since basically everyone
I’d met since I’d learned about this world had mentioned the fertility problem
thing. At the same time, the Compound was very large and seemed relatively
crowded. If there were other Compounds like this throughout the country and all
over the world, then the supernatural population—especially considering their
long lives—must be quite large.

“…coordinated tonight’s entertainment,” Morrigan was saying. “So it
should be amusing. She’s very original.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I pursed my lips and gave
a considered nod: my
how een-teresting
pose.

“My, um, lady?” I asked awkwardly, working up my nerve. “How many of you
are there? Do you know?”