Fox Fate (20 page)

Then Sonya turned to our guide. "Anna roar?" She had remembered the word.

Anna smiled then opened her mouth widely. She started with a snarling growl, and while it was frightening, it was nothing compared to Lara's growl. But then she curled her lips up more and began a series of short growls, over and over, about five in a row before growing silent. Her vocalizations were much briefer than a wolf's, but I had to admit: they were intimidating nevertheless.

Yes, I was jealous. I was a predator, too, but no one was ever going to be afraid of my fox sounds. Well, the wolves had learned to fear the sharp edge of my tongue, but that wasn't the same, was it? I had a greater range of vocalizations than my natural cousins, but none of them were terribly intimidating.

But Anna's roar was definitely intimidating, and I bet it was even better in her fur. I wondered if I'd hear it some day.

When Anna finished roaring, Sonya clapped her hands happily and spoke in Russian for a while. No one had a clue what she said, but her joy was clear. But then she offered a small bow to Anna before pantomiming fear. "Anna no meow," she said with a final nod. "Anna roar."

Then she turned to my mate. "Lara roar?"

"Nyet," Lara said. "Lara growls."

"Lara howls," I added.

Sonya looked back and forth between us. "Lara growls? Lara howls?"

Lara looked at Anna. "Do you mind?"

"Be my guest," the panther said.

Lara turned back to Sonya. "Lara growls." And then she began a low growl in the back of her throat. Sonya pulled back, but only a few inches, then nodded. Lara grew still, breathing heavily for a moment, then said, "Lara howls." She lifted her nose to the air and began to howl.

As always, I loved that sound, and she could keep it up for minutes at a time. She howled for several seconds, then the other wolves lifted their noses and joined her, first just Elisabeth, then the other enforcers. And for thirty or forty seconds, we were treated to a wolf serenade.

Then they faded off, lowering their noses, all of them grinning broadly.

They loved to howl even more than I enjoyed hearing it.

Sonya clapped in joy. "Lara howls."

"Well," Anna said. "We need to point this boat back to the docks."

* * * *

For the ride back, I hung out at the starboard railing, Deirdre on one side and Sonya on the other. Lara and Elisabeth were talking with our guide, and the other enforcers had spread themselves around the boat, seemingly relaxed, but I knew they were all on high alert.

I had no doubt the jaguar could kill either Sonya or I in a single clasp of her strong hands. I wasn't worried about it, but the wolves wouldn't have taken her loyalty to Carissa for granted.

I glanced at Sonya, her hair blowing in the breeze of our passage along the bayou. I ached to have another fox next to me, and I would have taken her back to Madison with me. But I knew she wouldn't leave Ekaterina any more than I would leave Lara. Sonya looked in my direction, perhaps feeling my eyes on her. She smiled and clasped my hand, and she wouldn't release it until it was time to climb into the cars twenty minutes later.

"Sonya Michaela sisters," she said, repeating the little phrase from earlier.

"Da," I agreed, but inside I thought,
another sister I won't ever see again
. I looked away, letting one of the countless birds take my attention.

It was a few minutes before Deirdre said, her voice low, "It's been a challenging trip for you."

"When dealing with vampires, perhaps that is expected."

"But perhaps you also encounter the unexpected."

"I suppose that's true," I said. I glanced over at Sonya, who pretended not to notice. "Two remaining specimens, Deirdre," I said.

She said nothing immediately, and then in a different tone, almost a casual tone, she said, "I talked to my grandmother."

"Oh?"

"She is by any standards very old. With the fae, it is hard to measure age. I could say she was alive when this historical event or that historical person was alive, but time spent in Elfame passed differently than here. But by any account, she is probably about as old as Carissa."

"Elfame?"

"Underhill. Fairyland."

"How much of the mythology is correct?"

"Some, but you can't count on it."

Then she offered nothing more, so I prompted her. "You were speaking with your grandmother..."

"She knew about you."

"It seems the fox alpha from Wisconsin is known even amongst the elves."

"No. It seems the hunter from New England is not unknown."

I drew in a breath, but Deirdre set her hand on my arm. "Carissa should not have told you about that."

"She didn't. Grandmother did. And Grandmother is parsimonious with her information."

"And yet she told you."

"Well, I'm her favorite," Deirdre said with a lift of her nose and a smirk. "I tell you about this only so you know that Grandmother knows things no one would expect her to know."

"Oh."

"She declined to offer specifics, but she assured me there are at least three other bands, Michaela. Your race is shy and difficult to track, and she has put little effort into doing so."

I looked into Deirdre's gentle eyes for several heartbeats before turning back to watch the cypress trees as we gently passed them.

"Is there any way I could speak with your grandmother?"

"Unlikely," she said. "I do not believe she could tell you more than I already have."

"I was going to ask her to look for them."

"You don't have to. Carissa already did."

I felt a lump in my throat. "I'll thank her later."

We stood quietly, shoulder to shoulder for a mile or so before Deirdre said, "There are two other things you should know." I glanced over at her. "Grandmother summoned me, and she told me everything I just told you. I didn't have to ask."

"There are implications in that, aren't there?"

"You have her attention. That isn't necessarily bad, but it isn't necessarily good, either. I am sure she expected me to relay what she had said, so she has many subtle messages."

"Am I in her debt?"

"You should never admit to an elf you are in her debt," Deirdre said. "Even thanking us for the smallest favor is dangerous."

"You and I have thanked each other."

"I am not a typical fae," she replied, and I caught a smile. "But I hope you will not thank me in front of any other fae." I nodded understanding.

"Do you know what she is trying to tell me?"

"Know? No. I do not believe she means you ill. If she did, she wouldn't warn you. She may expect to need you in the future, and she may believe sharing what she can will make you more well disposed to speak with her when she calls on you. This is probably some sort of diplomacy. It cost her little, and maybe she felt your good will had greater value than making you pay for information that isn't terribly useful, even to you."

That I could understand.

"The other thing you should know is this: if Grandmother does learn anything useful, the price will be high. Carissa expects to pay it, whatever it is."

"She doesn't have to do that."

Deirdre looked around, ensuring we weren't being overheard, but she still spoke cryptically; it may have been that Sonya's grasp of English was far better than she let on. "The reason you desire this information means the information has value, but is perhaps not priceless. Grandmother understands this."

I said nothing to that.

"Fae are subtle," Deirdre went on. "Well, usually. Grandmother has many methods of collecting information. They aren't necessarily fast. She may learn something next week, or next year, or sometime during the next century. I'm sorry, Michaela. There is hope, but this hope is at least as shy as the people involved."

I sighed. "I shall not arrange my life around this hope," I said. "I have no intention of traveling north from Wisconsin in random search of distant cousins."

"That's where they would be, isn't it?"

"Or far east of this closer cousin's home." By that, I meant the depths of Siberia.

"There may be foxes in Asia, Japan or China."

"If there are, I'd never find them," I said.

"I don't know," Deirdre said. "You could try a very mundane method."

"Oh?"

"Sure," she said. "You could take out an ad and let them find you. You're assuming any other foxes are living like you once did. But perhaps they are just as integrated into modern society as you are."

Dinner

We returned to Carissa's plantation. I expected the wolves to complain about needing to change clothes for dinner, but it seems everyone had been busy. Anika and Joanna had -- with Lara's permission, unknown to me -- stopped by our temporary home in New Orleans and collected everything we needed. Carissa offered us space to prepare.

Elisabeth herself handed me a garment bag with a smirk, and I wondered what was in it. I found a new dress waiting for me. It was long and elegant and unlike anything else I owned. And, like everything else she picked for me, it was off the shoulder.

Elisabeth sure did enjoy leaving my shoulders bare.

I showered and primped and coiffed before sliding into the dress and pulling on the matching pair of heels. The dress was long enough to hide my ankles, so I added two knives and hoped they didn't peek out too obviously. Elisabeth and Lara were waiting for me next door, and I presented myself for inspection.

They both grinned widely. Elisabeth made a turn around gesture, so I did my best model on the runway impression, giving them both a good view. Lara whistled her appreciation.

"Knock it off," I said.

"You look stunning," she said. "But Sister, I believe something is missing."

"I believe you may be right, Sister," Elisabeth replied.

"Come here, my mate," Lara commanded.

I stepped over to her. They were both dressed in suits, and they looked damned good. From an inside pocket, Lara withdrew a slender, black jewelry case. Elisabeth held out her hands, and Lara set the case down, using Elisabeth's hands as a shelf. She opened the case and withdrew the most stunning necklace that I could imagine.

I said nothing as she wrapped it around my neck.

It was very, very glittery, with more small diamonds than I could count, all paying homage to a central amethyst that rested in the cleft of my delicate bosom. At least in this dress, I had a bosom to form a cleft.

"Lara, it's stunning." I fingered it. I couldn't believe she bought it for me. It wasn't typical amongst weres to invest in expensive jewelry; we tended to lose it when shifting. Then I eyed them both carefully. "How long have you two had these?"

They both grinned.

"We changed our plans," I said. "We weren't supposed to be here today. We were going to leave this morning. Why were you holding these in reserve?"

"Michaela, do you really expect us to believe you wouldn't have wanted to spend time with Deirdre? Do you really believe Carissa wasn't going to try to extend our trip by a day or two?"

I felt completely unlike myself. I was fox. I spent years of my life living in a literal hole in the ground. I was the definition of down to earth. I never would have envisioned myself looking this elegant.

But I moved away from them and looked at myself in the mirror, fingering the necklace, turning this way and that.

I wondered if Lara and Elisabeth were trying to turn me into something other than what I was.

But I had to admit, although not out loud: I looked stunning.

Yes, I am vain. I am vain to write those words. And I am very vain to have enjoyed it.

"Trust Michaela to find a mirror," Elisabeth said. It was said teasingly. I ignored the barb.

I turned to my mate. "I will wear it only when you wrap it around my neck."

She smiled. "Then you will wear it often."

"Not too often."

She looked at me, considering. "Perhaps not too often, but often." And I nodded acceptance.

I smoothed everything, and then I took Lara's offered arm.

* * * *

The restaurant was attached to another plantation, a half-hour from Carissa's. As we'd been warned, it was quite upscale, and I realized my attire was entirely appropriate for the evening.

The enforcers were all dressed in their own suits; it fit their physiques far better than anything else would have. The two vampires, Deirdre, Sonya, Anika, and Joanna were all in their own evening gowns. Sonya looked at least as good as I did and appeared far more accustomed to her clothing that I felt in mine. But she clapped when she saw me and then offered a deep curtsey, which I returned in kind.

The panther, Annabelle, met us at the restaurant. She was dressed in her own suit, black with a white shirt, and she looked good. When it came to looking dashing, she definitely gave Lara and Elisabeth a run for their money.

And I discovered she was entirely the flirt that Deirdre's words earlier suggested. She kissed my hand and Sonya's. She offered gracious bows to both vampires, kissing their hands as well. Deirdre, Anika, and Joanna got their kisses on their cheeks, and she lingered with each of them in her arms. Deirdre laughed and told her to behave. Lara and Elisabeth both received firm handshakes, but she lingered with both of them as well, causing Lara to smirk her amusement.

She was more proper when introduced to Violet, James, and Hanna, and I was impressed by her gracious manners. Deirdre moved to my side and said, "She defines southern charm."

"She's as dangerous socially as she is physically," I said.

Deirdre laughed. "That she is. She has cut a wide swath through the supernatural community, and she seems to be perfectly fine breaking both male and female hearts."

"Natural jaguars are solo creatures and highly territorial."

"Were jaguars don't take that to such an extreme. Actually, she reminds me something of you and something of Lara."

"Oh?"

"She has your loyalty to your friends, which is why Carissa trusts her."

"Well, and the blood thrall-"

"She's not bound," Deirdre corrected. "Carissa trusts her, anyway. Well, not with anyone's heart, but with anything else."