Wildcat Fireflies (32 page)

I didn’t know what to say. “You came into DG; you lied about car trouble.”

He nodded. Maybe his expression implied sheepishness but he was impossible for me to read. I didn’t think I’d be able to decode his face even under a spotlight. “We lied, you’re right. Merry, she thought you were in trouble.”

“Trouble?” I asked.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. He was so tall I felt short. His broad shoulders were straight as a plank of lumber. “Could you come off there before you fall in?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so.” At least out here I had distance between us. Though no one would hear me if I screamed, I doubted anyone up at DG would care.

He nodded, as if he had expected me to say no. I guess it might look scary, me up here dangling, but I knew this trunk as well as I knew my own body. Better, maybe.

“Trouble?” I repeated. “What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to explain.” He blew out a breath that was either frustration or irritation, maybe both, maybe directed at me.

“Try,” I pushed.

“Merry would do this better. Why don’t you come with me? She can tell you.”

“No. Besides she already tried, remember?”

“Look, I know you don’t have reason to trust me, us, but try, please?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I needed to think.” His gaze dropped to the water.

“Here?”

He nodded. “I needed to check on you. Make sure you’re okay.”

“You keep saying that. Like you expect me not to be.”

He stayed silent.

I blinked. “Are you saying I’m not okay?”

“I’m saying—” He sat down, rubbing his hands along his raggedy sweatpant-clad thighs. He wore sneakers without socks and a T-shirt that looked like it might fall apart with one more wash cycle. “I don’t know what I’m saying.” Maybe we had more in common than I thought.

I held my tongue. I knew what it was like to try to find words when there weren’t any. I should have felt fear, or at least discontent, out here, alone with him in the middle of the night. But while I didn’t feel safe, I didn’t feel threatened.

He shook off the cobwebs and began, “There once was a girl—”

I cut him off with a snort. “In a faraway land? Does this
end with ‘happily ever after’? Because, really, I can make up stories too.”

His eyes flashed irritation. “Just listen, okay? This girl was really sick all the time; she had inexplicable pains and animals died around her. She’d wake up with them next to her pillow; they’d die in her hands. She thought she was a freak. She thought she killed them with her mind or was monstrously evil. She didn’t know what was going on, but as she grew older the animals grew in size, and in number. Her physical symptoms got worse too. Exhaustion, malnutrition, stunted development. Until—” He broke off and looked at me.

My heartbeat stuttered. There were parts of this I recognized as my own truth. “I’m listening.”

“Until she turned sixteen and found out that not only did animals seek her out as they died but so did people.”

“What happened?” I asked, curious and drawn to this tale. I felt the maze of my life lose a few of its blind corners.

“She was special. A special kind of human that long ago added angel to her ancestry. She found out that she was a window for souls to pass through to the afterlife. But knowing wasn’t enough. She had to learn how to let the souls through without being dragged along with them.”

“Or what?” I cocked my head and played with the bark under my fingers.

He hesitated. “Or she died, too.”

I snorted. “Cheery story.”

“There’s more. You want to hear?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

“There were evil angels after this girl. They wanted to
force her to choose between the people she loved and becoming one of them.”

“Did the prince ride in and save her?”

“No, she saved him.” He shook his head with a smile that seemed very personal.

Not the answer I expected. “Then what?”

“Then the girl and the boy were told they had to find more people like themselves. More people to work for good and help souls make it to the window. And they had to defeat the bad guys, no matter what.”

“And?”

“And they’re trying. They’re really trying. They’ve found another girl and they want to help her.”

I saw lights blink on high up in DG’s attic. Nicole was awake. Time to go to work. “You need to work on your storytelling skills. That’s creepy.”

He nodded. “I told you Meridian would tell it better.” He backed away, giving me room as I crawled toward him.

I hurried along the tree, scooting until my feet touched the ground. “You owe me a flashlight.”
And a piece of my history
. But I didn’t say that last part out loud.

“Okay, we’ll leave one out here.” He seemed like he had more to say.

I’d believe it when I saw it. “Sure, whatever.”

Mini licked the wolf’s muzzle. I heard her purring.

“What’s the wolf’s name?” I asked.

He swallowed. “Custos. It means ‘guardian.’ ”

Weird name for a pet
. I walked to the fence.

“Do you want to know what the cat’s name is?” he asked.

“Her name is Mini.” I hefted myself back over the fence.

“It’s Minerva. She says Bodie wants pancakes for breakfast.”

Nice try, crazy boy
. “He doesn’t like pancakes.”

Tens shrugged.

I turned and ran back toward DG, Mini keeping pace with my strides. When I got to the door and looked back, Tens and Custos were gone.

“Morning.” Inside the kitchen, Nicole had coffee brewing.

“Hi.” I kept glancing out the window, expecting to see Tens standing there, waiting for me. I shook my head to clear my confusion. “It’s too early. You should still be asleep.”

“I came to help you.” Nicole started gathering ingredients. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” Confused. Near breaking. Falling apart.

She frowned but let my answer stand. “Bodie made the weirdest request last night as he was falling asleep.”

“He wants to watch a Disney movie?”

“No, he wants pancakes with chocolate chips in them for breakfast.”

I stopped, shocked. “He doesn’t like them.” He refused to eat anything but cold cereal or oatmeal for breakfast unless Mistress forced him. Even when I tried to make more interesting breakfasts and smuggle them to the kids, he stuck to his guns.

Nicole shrugged. “I guess he does now.”

Coincidence? Crazy? Maybe
.

We worked in silence. Dishes and laundry and cleaning waited. I turned my mind toward the paper from my file and
tried to decipher what little of it I’d read before losing it in the creek.

“Have you looked at that paper?” Nicole lowered her voice. “Anything interesting?”

I glanced around, feeling as if the walls of DG leaned closer to hear our conversation. I was becoming paranoid. “Nothing really helpful. I was at a kids’ home before coming here.”

“Do you remember that? Any people?”

I shook my head. “No, I remember waking up in the attic here.” With Kirian offering me his hand in friendship, love, and protection. Even though he was nine to my six years, he acted much older and took care of me until I learned the rules and routines.

“Oh, anything else?” She seemed disappointed.

“Can you— I need— Can you get a camera for me?”

Surprise made her freeze, then relax into a fake Southern accent. “Are you fixin’ to make Southern fried Kodak?”

I laughed. “No, I need you to take my picture.”

Nicole’s face grew troubled and she turned away, suddenly very busy. “Why?”

“I can’t explain it. Do you think you can find a camera? Soon?” I asked.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I want photos to give to Bodie and Sema when I leave.”

She nodded. “Give me a little time.” She wiped her hands on a towel and hung her apron before disappearing up the stairs.

“Juliet!” Mistress barked on the intercom.

Coming!

I found Mistress in her office, pointedly staring at the clock. It had taken me two minutes to get to her. That wasn’t fast enough.

“We have two new guests arriving today. They’re sisters, so they’ve requested the same room.” I knew this game. She’d charge for two rooms and tack on a special care fee for the privilege of a single. “Prepare the first room on the left; it’s the only one large enough. With the rash of deaths, we need these ladies happy for at least a day or two. I’m taking a vacation as soon as they’ve recovered. You’ll be on your own until your birthday.”

“No nurses?”

“Are you implying you can’t handle this?”

“It’s fine.” I nodded. Mistress taking a vacation? I’d never seen her shut DG down, never even heard that it had ever happened. Sure, she’d been more and more absent of late, but what would happen to the other kids?

“Get going.”

My feet were glued to the floor. I felt like I had to ask. “Excuse me, but what about—”

She sneered at me. “Everything is taken care of. Now go! They’ll be here by the hour, so I suggest you get moving!” she yelled in my direction, back to her preoccupation with her computer screen.

I had thirty minutes to clean the Green Room, change the bedding, and move in an empty hospital bed from another room. I’d need all hands on deck. The upstairs, especially the
Green Room, was a disaster from the deaths the night before. I knew cleaning was top of my list today, but this felt like insanity. We usually got twelve hours’ notice before replacements arrived. For whatever god-awful reason, there seemed to be a waiting list to get in here. Why? I didn’t know. I assumed if a person was conscious, they’d choose other care. Maybe that was why they rarely stayed conscious long.

“Nico, Bodie, Sema, I need you,” I called up the attic stairs.

“Whas’ up?” Bodie climbed down the rickety stairs. I hated them living up there, but Kirian once told me that, for a boy, it was like living in a tree house or a fort. That made me try to look at it like an adventure, rather than as unholy banishment.

“We have two oldies arriving soon. We have to get the Green Room spic’ed.”

“ ’Kay. I’ll find Sema. I think she’s in the parlor.”

“Hiding again?”

“Yep. Curtains.” Bodie raced past.

I didn’t know how to coax the girl into the real world. I’d think I was making progress and then she’d spend the day wrapped in brocade or dusty lace, face pressed against the windowpane, staring at the world outside. What would happen when I left? Would anyone make an effort? Notice?

“I found a camera.” Nicole opened a bag for me when she reached the bottom of the stairs. “It’s old. Instant Polaroid film. It works.”

I bit my lip. We didn’t have time now. “Later.”

“Okay.”

Nicole and I stripped beds, while Bodie battled dragons and evil sorcerers with the mop. Sema cleaned out what was left of the deceaseds’ belongings—the night staff and transport team had claimed anything of value, so most of it was trash. We moved the dresser and armoire over to the side and shoved in a bed from the Train Room. Soon, it was as squeaky clean and empty as a hotel room. We checked the clock. Fifteen after.

I frowned. “They were supposed to be here by nine.”

“Really?” Nicole arched a brow.

Rookie mistake. Crap
. “No, she said the hour.”

Nicole nodded. “Which means
any
hour in Mistress-speak.”

I laid my sweaty face against the cool sheets. “Fine, we’re not done yet.”

“What?” Bodie looked around, clearly trying to figure out what we still had left to do.

“Close the door.” I nodded at Sema, who did so quietly and then stood facing me, curiosity proving more irresistible than the curtains.

“Where’s the camera?” I asked.

Nicole smiled. “Right here.” She pulled it out from the bottom drawer of the dresser. “Why are we doing this again?”

I shrugged, not wanting to explain. “I need to see something, prove a theory.”

“What exactly do you think this will prove?”

“I don’t know. But I need you to take my photograph,” I said.

“There are a few shots left. The camera was in Mr. Dailey’s things. I don’t know how well it will work.”

I sighed. Nothing to lose. “We’ll try.”

“How’s it go?” Bodie peered at it.

Nicole showed him. “I press this and then we wait for it to turn into a picture.”

His eyes widened with delight. “That’s all? It shows up like magic?”

“I guess.” She ruffled his hair.

“Okay, take a couple and let’s see.” Antsy, I held my hands at my sides; I wasn’t posing.

“Are you going to smile?” She looked at me over the camera.

I frowned. “This isn’t a photo shoot.”

“Okay, don’t get snippy.”

“Sorry. Just take it.” I rubbed my gritty, burning eyes. The all-nighter had caught up with me.

“Why is this so important?” Sema edged over to Nicole and stared at me with haunted storytelling eyes. Her little braids needed redoing, especially since her hair had grown out.

I licked my lips and tried to dodge her question. “I can’t explain it yet. Let’s just see if it works.”

Nicole clicked the first one, the minutes ticking by while the square of photo paper rested on the bed. We peered at it. Waiting. The edges started to turn and I held my breath as it showed the room around us. Finally, all but the center was left. A bright white blur was right over where I should have appeared in the photo.

“Is that long enough?” I asked.

“It’s been twenty minutes.” Nicole checked the clock. “Is there something wrong?”

I sighed, agitated. “Try another one. I’ll move over here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, come on.”

“It didn’t work.” Bodie flapped the photo in the air as if he could shake it into developing faster.

We tried with all the lights on. Then with none on, just the morning sunlight from the windows.

Bodie jumped up and down. “I wanna be in the picture too.”

“Okay.” I motioned him in.

Of the two of us only he showed up, slightly grainy, but evident. I was just a bright spot. Not even human in shape.

“That’s crazy cuckoo! Where are you?” Bodie asked.