One Salt Sea
Page 79
I could worry about that later. “I’m going to go meet with Bucer after I call Danny. You can come, if you want to.” Seeing me shake answers out of the little weasel would be educational for them, right? And maybe showing up with a couple of unfamiliar teenagers in tow would make him more willing to talk to me.
I flinched from the thought as quickly as it crossed my mind. That was Devin’s tactic: bring the kids along, throw your opposition off-balance. Was I really resorting to his techniques? And so what if I was? If it got Gillian back, it was worth doing.
“We’ll hold down the fort,” May said. “I already called Jazz.”
“Good thinking.” I glanced at Connor, asking hopefully, “Do you want to come with us? It’s probably not going to be fun.”
“Like anything has been, this week?” Connor shook his head. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you out of my sight before I have to. I’m coming.”
“Great. I’ll meet you all at the car after I call Danny.” I turned and walked out to the hall, heading for the kitchen. I needed coffee for the drive, or I was going to get a lot less useful, very soon.
Connor followed me. I gave him a questioning look. He shook his head, saying, “I’ll get your coffee. I need to talk to you before we go.”
“Okay,” I said uncertainly, and dialed Danny’s number.
Danny’s voice boomed through the speaker after the first ring, declaring, “Danny here. Where’s the fire?”
“Hopefully, not under my frying pan,” I replied. “Hey, Danny. You get any answers out of those rocks yet?”
“Toby! You ain’t dead!” I couldn’t decide whether it was amusing or disturbing that he sounded so surprised by my continued survival.
I settled on amusing. I needed more amusement. “Not for lack of trying. The rocks, Danny. Have they said anything?”
“Not too much that’s useful, but I’m still tryin’.”
“Do you think you might have better luck with direct questions?”
“Hey, yeah—that’d probably help. Why, you got one?”
“I do. I want you to go to the nearest florist and get some decorative redwood branches. Put the branches with the rocks, and ask them if they’ve ever seen or smelled anything like that before. If any of the rocks says ‘yes,’ see if you can get them to tell you more about where they were before Raysel picked them up.”
Danny hesitated. When he spoke again, it was slowly, with the sort of tone one might use when talking to a crazy person. “Uh, Tobes? Are you really askin’ me to make a rock your star witness?”
“Yeah. You have a problem with that?”
“Fuck, no.” He laughed merrily. “This is the best thing I’ve done all month. I’ll getcha your answers. Count on me.” The line went dead.
I sighed, looking at the phone for a long moment before tucking it away in my pocket. “I sort of think I am counting on you,” I said, to no one in particular.
“Toby?”
“Huh?” I looked up, meeting Connor’s eyes. He held my long-neglected Thermos out to me.
“Coffee,” he said. “For the road.”
“Oh.” I took it, smiling a little. “Good thinking.”
“Yeah. I guess I know you pretty well.” He took a deep breath. “I need to tell you something.”
“Connor, this really isn’t the best time. Gilly’s missing, and we need to—”
“I’ve asked Duchess Lorden to release me from my service to Saltmist. After what you did today, I’m pretty sure the Duke will support my request.”
That got my attention. “Wait—what?”
“I said, I’m leaving Saltmist. I’m leaving the protection of the Undersea. Patrick left one Kingdom for another in order to be with the woman he loved, and so can I.” He smiled uncertainly, looking through his eyelashes at me. “I know I said I didn’t want to be banished, and I still don’t, but I’m staying with you, October. If you’ll have me, I’m yours. I won’t fight against you, and I won’t let them take me away from you again.”
“Connor . . .” I stopped mid-sentence, too stunned to know how to continue. The world was falling down around us, my daughter was missing, and now Connor was giving up the Undersea to stay with me . . . and that didn’t even begin to touch the topic of Tybalt, and the kiss he’d given me before he threw me into the shadows. It was all too much to process.
A look of deep uncertainty flickered across Connor’s face. “Don’t you want me to stay?”
That, at least, was something I could answer. “With all my heart,” I said, stepping forward, and then I was kissing him, and he was kissing me, and for a few beautiful seconds, everything else fell away. Maybe everything else was a mess, but here, finally, was something I could hold onto. Connor was staying.
Unfortunately, like most good things, the moment couldn’t last. I pulled away from him, reluctantly. “Come on,” I said. “It’s time to get to work.” Oberon preserve us all.
TWENTY-SEVEN
I DROVE THE LENGTH OF the docks with my windows down, letting the wind blow through the car. It carried the scent of a hundred deaths—mostly fish and pigeons, although the city’s human police were going to have at least one homicide case on their hands by the end of the night—but none of them was our Selkie. I snarled something wordless under my breath, earning a concerned glance from Connor, and rolled the windows up. Time to head for Bucer’s.
Having a full car kept me from needing to talk much, which was a relief, since my head was pounding and I couldn’t stop coming up with nightmare scenarios, all of them ending with Gillian’s death. Connor sat next to me in the front, while the back was filled with over-excited teenage boys. Raj was better at riding in cars than his uncle was, which wasn’t saying much, and Quentin was grumpy because he couldn’t get to the radio when he was sitting behind me.
“Can you please change the station?” he begged. “I think my eardrums are melting.”
“I would very much like to see that,” said Raj. He sounded sincere enough to make Quentin stop complaining for a moment. Then Raj started to snicker, Quentin smacked him, and the cycle started up again.
I flinched from the thought as quickly as it crossed my mind. That was Devin’s tactic: bring the kids along, throw your opposition off-balance. Was I really resorting to his techniques? And so what if I was? If it got Gillian back, it was worth doing.
“We’ll hold down the fort,” May said. “I already called Jazz.”
“Good thinking.” I glanced at Connor, asking hopefully, “Do you want to come with us? It’s probably not going to be fun.”
“Like anything has been, this week?” Connor shook his head. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you out of my sight before I have to. I’m coming.”
“Great. I’ll meet you all at the car after I call Danny.” I turned and walked out to the hall, heading for the kitchen. I needed coffee for the drive, or I was going to get a lot less useful, very soon.
Connor followed me. I gave him a questioning look. He shook his head, saying, “I’ll get your coffee. I need to talk to you before we go.”
“Okay,” I said uncertainly, and dialed Danny’s number.
Danny’s voice boomed through the speaker after the first ring, declaring, “Danny here. Where’s the fire?”
“Hopefully, not under my frying pan,” I replied. “Hey, Danny. You get any answers out of those rocks yet?”
“Toby! You ain’t dead!” I couldn’t decide whether it was amusing or disturbing that he sounded so surprised by my continued survival.
I settled on amusing. I needed more amusement. “Not for lack of trying. The rocks, Danny. Have they said anything?”
“Not too much that’s useful, but I’m still tryin’.”
“Do you think you might have better luck with direct questions?”
“Hey, yeah—that’d probably help. Why, you got one?”
“I do. I want you to go to the nearest florist and get some decorative redwood branches. Put the branches with the rocks, and ask them if they’ve ever seen or smelled anything like that before. If any of the rocks says ‘yes,’ see if you can get them to tell you more about where they were before Raysel picked them up.”
Danny hesitated. When he spoke again, it was slowly, with the sort of tone one might use when talking to a crazy person. “Uh, Tobes? Are you really askin’ me to make a rock your star witness?”
“Yeah. You have a problem with that?”
“Fuck, no.” He laughed merrily. “This is the best thing I’ve done all month. I’ll getcha your answers. Count on me.” The line went dead.
I sighed, looking at the phone for a long moment before tucking it away in my pocket. “I sort of think I am counting on you,” I said, to no one in particular.
“Toby?”
“Huh?” I looked up, meeting Connor’s eyes. He held my long-neglected Thermos out to me.
“Coffee,” he said. “For the road.”
“Oh.” I took it, smiling a little. “Good thinking.”
“Yeah. I guess I know you pretty well.” He took a deep breath. “I need to tell you something.”
“Connor, this really isn’t the best time. Gilly’s missing, and we need to—”
“I’ve asked Duchess Lorden to release me from my service to Saltmist. After what you did today, I’m pretty sure the Duke will support my request.”
That got my attention. “Wait—what?”
“I said, I’m leaving Saltmist. I’m leaving the protection of the Undersea. Patrick left one Kingdom for another in order to be with the woman he loved, and so can I.” He smiled uncertainly, looking through his eyelashes at me. “I know I said I didn’t want to be banished, and I still don’t, but I’m staying with you, October. If you’ll have me, I’m yours. I won’t fight against you, and I won’t let them take me away from you again.”
“Connor . . .” I stopped mid-sentence, too stunned to know how to continue. The world was falling down around us, my daughter was missing, and now Connor was giving up the Undersea to stay with me . . . and that didn’t even begin to touch the topic of Tybalt, and the kiss he’d given me before he threw me into the shadows. It was all too much to process.
A look of deep uncertainty flickered across Connor’s face. “Don’t you want me to stay?”
That, at least, was something I could answer. “With all my heart,” I said, stepping forward, and then I was kissing him, and he was kissing me, and for a few beautiful seconds, everything else fell away. Maybe everything else was a mess, but here, finally, was something I could hold onto. Connor was staying.
Unfortunately, like most good things, the moment couldn’t last. I pulled away from him, reluctantly. “Come on,” I said. “It’s time to get to work.” Oberon preserve us all.
TWENTY-SEVEN
I DROVE THE LENGTH OF the docks with my windows down, letting the wind blow through the car. It carried the scent of a hundred deaths—mostly fish and pigeons, although the city’s human police were going to have at least one homicide case on their hands by the end of the night—but none of them was our Selkie. I snarled something wordless under my breath, earning a concerned glance from Connor, and rolled the windows up. Time to head for Bucer’s.
Having a full car kept me from needing to talk much, which was a relief, since my head was pounding and I couldn’t stop coming up with nightmare scenarios, all of them ending with Gillian’s death. Connor sat next to me in the front, while the back was filled with over-excited teenage boys. Raj was better at riding in cars than his uncle was, which wasn’t saying much, and Quentin was grumpy because he couldn’t get to the radio when he was sitting behind me.
“Can you please change the station?” he begged. “I think my eardrums are melting.”
“I would very much like to see that,” said Raj. He sounded sincere enough to make Quentin stop complaining for a moment. Then Raj started to snicker, Quentin smacked him, and the cycle started up again.
