Iced
Page 104
Nope. I havent seen you for three weeks, four days, andhe looks at his watchseventeen hours.
I let out a low whistle. I knew time moved different in Faery but it didnt occur to me that the White Mansion was part of Faery. No wonder Ryodan was so pissed at me! I missed work for weeks. I snicker. It must have been driving him crazy. My snicker dies. I forgot for a sec that he was dead. I feel sick all the sudden so I tear open a candy bar and eat it.
I was worried.
I look at him. Hes looking me right in the eyes, more serious than I ever seen him. It makes me uncomfortable. Like Im supposed to say something and I dont know what.
I stare back and we just look at each other for a few seconds. I root around in my repertoire and come up with: Dude, get over yourself. Im the Mega. You never got to worry about me. I been on my own forever. I like it that way. I flash him my trademark grin.
I get a faint smile in return. Got the message, Mega. Loud and clear. He turns around, walks back to the slab. Hes not moving smooth anymore. Some of those wires are back. I dont like those wires. They look I dont know, grown up to me.
Just saying, dont worry about me. Stupid to worry about me. I can take care of myself.
Now Im stupid.
I didnt say you were stupid. I say it was stupid to worry about me.
And itthe act of worryingisnt to be confused with the person doing it.
Exactly. Im the Mega, remember? I kick butt all over Dublin! I dont know whats wrong with him. Hes not responding right to anything Im saying!
Ability to defend oneself has absolutely no bearing on or relevance to deportment or emotional comportment of others.
Huh?
Dont tell me what I can and cant feel. If I feel like worrying about you, I buggering well will.
Dude, no need to get snippy.
Im not snippy. Im offended. You were gone nearly a month. Between dodging the psychotic jackass that stalks you day and night, analyzing evidence, and trying to save this city, Ive been haunting every iced scene that pops up. Visiting them two and three times a day. Do you know why?
To collect more evidence?
Ive been waiting for them to melt enough that I could see if you were in there. Dead. Never to be talking to me again.
I stare at him. We never talk about stuff like this. It reeks of a cage to me. Like theres one more person Im supposed to check in with now. Like my life isnt already owned by too many other folks. I got my sword back now, I say stiffly. Im not going to get iced.
Invalid. Those two statements haveno relevance to each other. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. The sword wont protect you from getting iced. I left notes for you in the pantry of every hideout Ive got and all of yours I could find. Do you know what I heard? Nothing. For almost a month.
Dude, I got the picture. You didnt like not being able to find me. Too bad you cant put a leash on me, huh? Maybe stick me in a cage somewhere? Hes pissing me off. I think were having our first ever fight. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Excuse the crap out of me for caring about you.
Dude, whats wrong with you? This aint us. Why are you ruining us?
Caring about you is ruining us?
Caring is one thing. Trying to lock me up is another.
He gives me a look that I just dont get. Like Im being obtuse when hes the one being obtuse. I thought our way of hanging was clear and well-defined. Were superheroes. Hes not sticking to the script. If he keeps deviating, Im jumping comic books.
My mistake. I wont make it again. Just like that, he goes back to being Dancer, all business. That day at the castle was the first time I got a look at whats been freezing things. A lots happened since then. It freezes a new place just about every day. Ryodan and his men have been tearing this city apart looking for you. He raided half my stoops. I moved down here to get the bloody feck away from him. Hes going to kill you when he finds you.
Not if I kill him first, I mutter around a mouthful of candy bar, pretending I didnt already. When you have a secret that folks would kill you for, you sit mum on it. From everyone. Course, if Im learning from my mistakes, I should kill Christian like I didnt kill those stupid lisping fairies that ate Alina and ratted me out to Mac. Im a little irked that Dancers back to talking about stuff like we never even had our first spat, because its a big deal to me. Its going to take me hours to stop feeling nauseous and confused inside. I eat when I get confused. I stuff another candy bar in my mouth.
Even Barrons got in on the hunt. So did those abbey girls you sometimes hang with. The city keeps getting colder with each new place thats iced. People are falling apart. Nobody knows what to do, how to stop it, or even where its safe to be anymore. He steps back and looks at the map. So far I havent been able to discern the pattern. Weve got to figure out what its looking for.
What do you mean looking for? That was exactly the feeling I picked up with my sidhe-seer senses, but Dancer doesnt have those. I start to feel a little less sick. I dont know if its the candy bars in my stomach or thinking about work.
I let out a low whistle. I knew time moved different in Faery but it didnt occur to me that the White Mansion was part of Faery. No wonder Ryodan was so pissed at me! I missed work for weeks. I snicker. It must have been driving him crazy. My snicker dies. I forgot for a sec that he was dead. I feel sick all the sudden so I tear open a candy bar and eat it.
I was worried.
I look at him. Hes looking me right in the eyes, more serious than I ever seen him. It makes me uncomfortable. Like Im supposed to say something and I dont know what.
I stare back and we just look at each other for a few seconds. I root around in my repertoire and come up with: Dude, get over yourself. Im the Mega. You never got to worry about me. I been on my own forever. I like it that way. I flash him my trademark grin.
I get a faint smile in return. Got the message, Mega. Loud and clear. He turns around, walks back to the slab. Hes not moving smooth anymore. Some of those wires are back. I dont like those wires. They look I dont know, grown up to me.
Just saying, dont worry about me. Stupid to worry about me. I can take care of myself.
Now Im stupid.
I didnt say you were stupid. I say it was stupid to worry about me.
And itthe act of worryingisnt to be confused with the person doing it.
Exactly. Im the Mega, remember? I kick butt all over Dublin! I dont know whats wrong with him. Hes not responding right to anything Im saying!
Ability to defend oneself has absolutely no bearing on or relevance to deportment or emotional comportment of others.
Huh?
Dont tell me what I can and cant feel. If I feel like worrying about you, I buggering well will.
Dude, no need to get snippy.
Im not snippy. Im offended. You were gone nearly a month. Between dodging the psychotic jackass that stalks you day and night, analyzing evidence, and trying to save this city, Ive been haunting every iced scene that pops up. Visiting them two and three times a day. Do you know why?
To collect more evidence?
Ive been waiting for them to melt enough that I could see if you were in there. Dead. Never to be talking to me again.
I stare at him. We never talk about stuff like this. It reeks of a cage to me. Like theres one more person Im supposed to check in with now. Like my life isnt already owned by too many other folks. I got my sword back now, I say stiffly. Im not going to get iced.
Invalid. Those two statements haveno relevance to each other. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. The sword wont protect you from getting iced. I left notes for you in the pantry of every hideout Ive got and all of yours I could find. Do you know what I heard? Nothing. For almost a month.
Dude, I got the picture. You didnt like not being able to find me. Too bad you cant put a leash on me, huh? Maybe stick me in a cage somewhere? Hes pissing me off. I think were having our first ever fight. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Excuse the crap out of me for caring about you.
Dude, whats wrong with you? This aint us. Why are you ruining us?
Caring about you is ruining us?
Caring is one thing. Trying to lock me up is another.
He gives me a look that I just dont get. Like Im being obtuse when hes the one being obtuse. I thought our way of hanging was clear and well-defined. Were superheroes. Hes not sticking to the script. If he keeps deviating, Im jumping comic books.
My mistake. I wont make it again. Just like that, he goes back to being Dancer, all business. That day at the castle was the first time I got a look at whats been freezing things. A lots happened since then. It freezes a new place just about every day. Ryodan and his men have been tearing this city apart looking for you. He raided half my stoops. I moved down here to get the bloody feck away from him. Hes going to kill you when he finds you.
Not if I kill him first, I mutter around a mouthful of candy bar, pretending I didnt already. When you have a secret that folks would kill you for, you sit mum on it. From everyone. Course, if Im learning from my mistakes, I should kill Christian like I didnt kill those stupid lisping fairies that ate Alina and ratted me out to Mac. Im a little irked that Dancers back to talking about stuff like we never even had our first spat, because its a big deal to me. Its going to take me hours to stop feeling nauseous and confused inside. I eat when I get confused. I stuff another candy bar in my mouth.
Even Barrons got in on the hunt. So did those abbey girls you sometimes hang with. The city keeps getting colder with each new place thats iced. People are falling apart. Nobody knows what to do, how to stop it, or even where its safe to be anymore. He steps back and looks at the map. So far I havent been able to discern the pattern. Weve got to figure out what its looking for.
What do you mean looking for? That was exactly the feeling I picked up with my sidhe-seer senses, but Dancer doesnt have those. I start to feel a little less sick. I dont know if its the candy bars in my stomach or thinking about work.
