CARNAL, The Beast Who Loved Me (16 page)

When Charming returned to the table, Rosie said, “That was wonderful. What talent you have.” Charming shrugged. Rosie laughed. “It’s too late for you to pretend to be humble.”

At that he blushed a little. “I thought you’d forgotten what happened at dinner.”

“I lied. I plan to use it as leverage as often as I can, in any way I can.” She patted his arm. “Thanks for bringing me. I wouldn’t have missed getting to hear you sing, but I’m ready to call it a night. Working girl, you know.” When she stood up, Charming rose with her. “No. Stay here with your friends and enjoy the music.”

“You sure?”

“Positively. See you tomorrow.” She turned to Charming’s friends. “Night.”

They all said goodbyes while she grabbed her shawl from the back of the chair and moved away.

She stepped into the cool night and started toward the Extant’s house when she heard the new north door open behind her. The sound of music and laughter inside grew louder, then quieted when the door closed. She looked over her shoulder and saw a silhouette outlined by the lamplight. Carnal.

He didn’t speak or attempt to catch up with her, but followed at a distance. When she reached the front door, she turned around. He was standing in the shadows close enough to watch over her, but not close enough to be in her space. She stood at the door for a few seconds, waiting to see if he’d come closer. When he didn’t, she went inside and went to bed. But the image of the female’s lips so close to Carnal’s ear plagued her thoughts, robbed her of a timely rest, and had her tossing and turning. She didn’t know why. He was an egotistical, cocky smarmy player. He was also an unbelievably gorgeous male who reduced her insides to quivers when he stood close, leaning over her and speaking in a low rumble with that little smile dancing around his mouth.

She told herself that it didn’t bother her that he was with a girl at the Commons. It wasn’t like she wanted him for herself. She opened her eyes in the dark and looked at the ceiling, wondering if she was kidding herself about that and asking herself if she was willing to risk giving Carnal a chance.

She didn’t see him at all the next day. She walked to the Weavers’ Barn by herself, visited level four, and walked back to the Extant’s house. Alone.

Again, Carnal was absent at dinner.

The following day as Rosie was finishing up the after-lunch tasks, she opened the door to let some fresh air in. With the new addition complete, the interior door opened onto a porch lined with windows instead of directly to the outside. After a quick look, she decided to add sweeping the porch to her routine.

That was how she was engaged when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Carnal and the four companions she’d seen him with had pulled up on their steam-powered motorcycles. The bikes were utterly silent except for the crunch of an occasional rock under a tire. They backed the bikes into a line facing the porch, got off, and each began retrieving a stack of books from their saddlebags.

When Rosie saw them coming her way, she opened the nearest porch door and held it open. They filed past her with armloads of books, each nodding as they went by. Carnal was last.

“Delivery,” he said. “Where do you want them?”

“Over here.” She hurried to the end of the bar and cleared enough space in the shelves below. “Is this everything?”

“Serene says there’s a sample from all ten levels. If you want more when you’re done, she’ll send more.”

“Okay,” Rosie said, attempting a small smile. “Thank you.”

“This is my crew. Carnal waved toward the others. “Clash, Easy, Yellow, and Joy.”

Rosie’s initial impression was that they looked rough and tumble in their boots, leathers and fur-lined vests, but sexy enough that any one of them would have attracted Hollywood’s attention in her world. Like most Exiled they wore their hair the way they wanted to without regard for conformity, which meant short, long, in between, braided, shaved, spiked, or any combination thereof.

The one pointed out as Yellow had a three-inch blonde beard with two braids, one at each corner of his mouth.

Rosie nodded and said hello. “You want something to drink while you’re here?”

They all looked to Carnal. “Sure.” He shrugged. All five took a stool in front of her at the bar.

“What’ll it be?”

“Ciders all around,” said Carnal. Rosie thought it was rude that he didn’t let them speak for themselves, but knew it wasn’t her business.

“You’re very cute. You know that?” said the one Carnal had identified as Easy.

Clash laughed at him. “Like she’s never heard that one before.”

“Don’t waste your time, boys,” said Carnal. “She’s not interested in hybrids.”

“
Oh. So you tried running the flag up that pole already.” That was Easy’s contribution to the taunt.

Carnal took a drink of cider, looking at Rosie as he did. “Just sayin’.”

Joy grinned at Rosie. “Maybe she’s just not interested in hybrid boys. How you feel about females, sweet thing?”

“Well, Joy, if I did girls, you’d definitely be at the top of the list.” They all laughed as Rosie finished setting ciders in front of them. She glanced over at Carnal. Her comment had brought the twinkle back to his eyes. “I never said I wasn’t interested in hybrids.” Rosie heard herself speaking, but couldn’t believe she’d invited commentary on the subject.

All four of Carnal’s ‘crew’ stopped and looked over at him to see how he’d respond. He continued to stare at Rosie with a blank expression, sipping his cider, but saying nothing more.

“So, Rosie,” Clash said. “You ever been on a bike?”

“As a matter of fact I haven’t,” she replied.

“Well, hey. I got time to take you for a ride.”

She didn’t have time to decipher whether or not there was innuendo there. Carnal stood so fast it startled Rosie. She jerked back, knocking over one of the ciders in the process. Whatever had gotten him going was set aside as his attention was diverted by cider spilling over the bar.

“Criminently, Carnal. You think you might move in something less than warp speed?” she asked.

He looked at the spilled cider and at Rosie rushing to contain it with bar rags.

“What’s warp speed?” He sounded like he was at a loss.

“Just… It means really, really fast.” Rosie alternated swiping at the mess and dropping soaked rags in the sink, while Carnal watched, looking like he had no idea what to do. “Never mind.”

When she had finished cleaning up the mess, she looked at Carnal and pointed to the spot where his cider had been before it was spilled.

“Want another?” she asked.

Carnal looked at his ‘crew’ who looked like they couldn’t wait to see what he’d do next. “Everybody out.”

When Rosie saw the others leaving, she started to follow them. He caught hold of her arm. “Not you.”

“You said ‘everybody’.”

“Not. You,” he clipped. When the door closed and they were the only two people left in the bar area, he said, “If you want a ride,
I’ll
be the one to give it.” She blinked slowly. He looked around. “Can you leave?”

“No,” she said. “Dandy would have a cow.”

Carnal stared, looking like he was trying to form an image of that and not liking what he was seeing in his head.

“You want to go with me?” he demanded.

Rosie hesitated, thinking she could be making one of the biggest mistakes ever, but said, “Yes.”

Carnal’s face softened. “When?”

“Um. I can get somebody to cover for me tomorrow afternoon.”

He stepped toward her, rested his hands on her waist, leaned close, and spoke quietly. “Tomorrow.”

“Yes.” She liked the fact that he smiled when she said that word, but at the same time, she was a little afraid of the kind of smile she was getting from Carnal. “I’m saying yes to a ride. Right? Nothing more.”

Carnal nodded. “Nothing more.” He put his finger under her chin and tipped her face up. “Nothing less.” The first was an acquiescence. The latter sounded like a warning.

She grinned. “Nothing less.”

Abruptly he let her go and walked toward the door, but he threw another smile her way before he exited. Beyond the porch windows, she saw that the others were waiting for him while straddling their machines. She watched as he threw a leg over and started his bike. As he led them away, she was wondering what she’d just gotten herself into. One thing was certain. She’d promised nothing less than a ride and Carnal gave every appearance of being the sort who collected on promises.

Eager to think about something else, she pulled out some of the books and began arranging them according to which ones she’d read first. Serene had marked them according to level, which made it considerably easier. An hour later she’d lined them up along the bar. Her first impression was that Kellareal had supplied books that were innocuous at best, pablum at worst. What was in front of her on the bar were the basic tools of education minus the passion, tragedy, and triumph of history and literature complete with flights of heroics and shames of failure. Or the creativity of art. Or the challenges to conventional modes of thinking of philosophy or social critique. Conspicuously absent were texts pointing to innovations in science and technology.

Rosie suspected that Kellareal had reasons for his choices, but she was quickly coming to the conclusion that she neither understood nor agreed with them.

She was poring over the materials, when a deep, gruff voice said, “What’s this then?”

It was Scar. Rosie raised her head to acknowledge him, looked up and down the bar, then at the wind-up clock they kept on the middle shelf. Almost the entire bar was covered with books.

She jumped off the stool where she’d been sitting. “Oh, sorry. I’m looking at the school books for Serene.”

“Serene. Good woman.”

Rosie nodded. “Uh, yeah,” and hurried to gather the books and stack them under the bar at the end nearest the porch.

“Why does she want you to look at the books?”

“Because I said that at least some of the books ought to be about hybrid children and not human children. For instance, a hybrid child wouldn’t relate to reading that Johnny was sad because he couldn’t jump the fence like his older brother.”

Scar blinked twice and then laughed out loud. It was the second time that day that Rosie had been startled by a sudden movement or loud sound made by one of the Exiled. She jumped. Visibly. Which made Scar laugh harder. Even so, she didn’t regret the experience. It was the first time she’d heard his laughter, which was deep and loud with an underlying rumble like a thunderstorm.

“You slay me, Rosie,” he said when his amusement began to wane.

“That’s a good thing. Right?”

He shook his head. “You’re done. Go home.”

“Home,” she repeated, looking confused. He’d meant the Extant’s house, but the image that had come to her mind was the Sonoma villa where she’d spent her developmental months with her mother and an imposter posing as her father. She missed home and wondered if it wasn’t time to go back and face real life. Newland wasn’t real life. It was real life on pause.

“Did you get the books?” Serene asked when Rosie came down for dinner.

It was just the three of them for dinner. No one mentioned why Charming wasn’t there and she didn’t ask.

“Yes. Thank you. Carnal and his friends brought them. It was really helpful that you marked them according to level. I got them organized and started looking through them.”

“Well, what do you think?”

“Still forming conclusions.”

Serene looked intrigued. “I think I’m eager to hear those conclusions.”

“There may be some, well, what I would think of as holes in the curriculum.”

Serene’s brows came down. “Holes?”

Rosie wiggled her head. “Things that would typically be included where I’m from, but I won’t know that for sure until I go over everything.”

“Are those things that are important?” Free asked.

“Well, they could be. Yes.” Rosie felt put on the spot and wanted to be careful about how she phrased things. “I don’t know what the human children are studying, but I think it’s important that
you
know what they know. Where I come from, that’s called a balance of power.”