Author: Victoria Danann
Date: 2000-01-01 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Paranormal Romance; Fantasy; Paranormal; Angels; Romance; Magic; Demons; Urban Fantasy; Witches
Description: NO ONE EVER EXPECTS SOMEONE LIKE CARNAL. The angel, Kellareal, stopped the genocide of generations of hybrids, who had been bred for research and spent their entire lives imprisoned. Against orders, he spirited them away to a dimension where they would have freedom and purpose. In a vindictive fit, Rosie Storm asked Kellareal for a place to hide out. He knew just the place for her to grow up, learn emotional control, and other things. New York Times and USA Today bestseller Victoria Danann brings us a new to-die-for series about a genetically engineered new species. They're beautiful to look a
Publisher: dba 7th House, Imprint of Andromeda LLC

Carnal

- Title Page
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Carnal

Exiled, Book 1

Victoria Danann

Copyright 2015 Victoria Danann

Published by 7th House Publishing

Imprint of Andromeda LLC

ISBN 978-1-933320-82-3

Read more about this author and upcoming works at VictoriaDanann.com

So far …

This series is also a serial saga in the sense that each book begins where the previous book ended.

There is a very old and secret society of paranormal investigators and protectors known as The Order of the Black Swan. In modern times, in a dimension similar to our own, they continue to operate, as they always have, to keep the human population safe. For centuries they have relied on a formula that outlines recruitment of certain second sons, in their early, post-pubescent youth, who match a narrow and highly specialized psychological profile. Those who agree to forego the ordinary pleasures and freedoms of adolescence receive the best education available anywhere along with the training and discipline necessary for a possible future as active operatives in the Hunters Division. In recognition of the personal sacrifice and inherent danger, The Order bestows knighthoods on those who accept.

BOOK ONE. My Familiar Stranger:

The elite B Team of Jefferson Unit in New York, also known as Bad Company, was devastated by the loss of one of its four members in a battle with vampire. A few days later Elora Laiken, an accidental pilgrim from another dimension, literally landed at their feet so physically damaged by the journey they weren't even sure of her species. After a lengthy recovery, they discovered that she had gained amazing speed and strength through the cross-dimension translation. She earned the trust and respect of the knights of B Team and eventually replaced the fourth member, who had been killed in the line of duty.

She was also forced to choose between three suitors: Istvan Baka, a devastatingly seductive six-hundred-year-old vampire, who worked as a consultant to neutralize an epidemic of vampire abductions, Engel Storm, the noble and stalwart leader of B Team who saved her life twice; and Rammel Hawking, the elf who persuaded her that she was destined to be his alone.

BOOK TWO. The Witch’s Dream:

Ten months later everyone was gathered at Rammel's home in Derry, Ireland. B Team had been temporarily assigned to The Order's Headquarters office in Edinburgh, but they had been given leave for a week to celebrate an elftale handfasting for Ram and Elora, who were expecting.

Ram's younger sister, Aelsong, went to Edinburgh with B Team after being recruited for her exceptional psychic skills. Shortly after arriving, Kay's fiancée was abducted by a demon with a vendetta, who slipped her to a dimension out of reach. Their only hope to locate Katrina and retrieve her was Litha Brandywine, the witch tracker, who had fallen in love with Storm at first sight.

Storm was assigned to escort the witch, who slowly penetrated the ice that had formed around his heart when he lost Elora to Ram. Litha tracked the demon and took Katrina's place as hostage after learning that he, Deliverance, was her biological father. The story ended with all members of B Team happily married and retired from active duty.

BOOK THREE. A Summoner’s Tale: The Vampire’s Confessor

Istvan Baka was captured by vampire in the Edinburgh underground and reinfected with the vampire virus. His assistant, Heaven McBride, was found to be a "summoner", a person who can compel others to come to them when they play the flute. She also turned out to be the reincarnation of the young wife who was Baka's first victim as a new vampire six hundred years before.

Elora Laiken was studying a pack of wolves hoping to get puppies for her new breed of dog. While Rammel was overseeing the renovation of their new home, she and Blackie were caught in a snowstorm in the New Forest. At the same time assassins from her world, agents of the clan who massacred her family, found her isolated in a remote location without the ability to communicate. She gave birth to her baby alone except for the company of her dog, Blackie, and the wolf pack.

Heaven was instrumental in calling vampire to her so that they could be intercepted and given the curative vaccine. Baka was found, restored, and given the opportunity for a "do over" with the wife who had waited for many lifetimes to spend just one with him.

BOOK FOUR. Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf

Ram and Elora moved into temporary quarters at Jefferson Unit to protect mother and baby. Sol asked Storm to prepare to replace him as Jefferson Unit Sovereign so that he could retire in two years. Storm declined, but suggested twenty-year-old trainee, Glendennon Catch for the job.

Litha uncovered a shocking discovery about the vampire virus by accidentally leading five immortal host vampire back to Jefferson Unit. Deliverance struck a deal with Litha to assist Black Swan with two issues: the old vampire and an interdimensional migration of Stalkson Grey's werewolf tribe.

In the process of averting possible extinction of his tribe, the king of the Elk Mountain werewolves, Stalkson Grey, fell in love with a cult slave and abducted her with the demon's assistance. He eventually won his captive's heart and took his new mate to the New Elk Mountain werewolf colony in Lunark Dimension where the wolf people’s ancestors had settled centuries before.

Throughout this portion of the story, Litha's pregnancy developed at an alarming rate. Since there had been no previous instance of progeny with the baby's genetic heritage, no one knew what to expect. The baby arrived months ahead of schedule. The birth was dramatic and unique because Storm's and Litha's new daughter, Elora Rose, "Rosie", skipped the usual delivery with a twelve inch ride through the passes and appeared on the outside of Litha’s body.

BOOK FIVE. Gathering Storm

Book Five opened with Storm and Litha enjoying quiet days at home at the vineyard with a brand new infant. Sol shocked Storm with the news that he was getting married to Farnsworth and asked Storm to help Glen run Jefferson Unit so that he could take a vacation – his first ever – with his intended. Storm agreed, but when Rosie reached six weeks her growth began to accelerate drastically.

Deliverance was to pick Storm up every day, take him to Jefferson Unit so that he could spend two hours with Glen and supervise management of Sol’s affairs, then return him to Sonoma, but the demon lost his son-in-law in the passes en route to New Jersey. Every paranormal ally available was called in for a massive interdimensional search. Finally, Deliverance was alerted that Storm had been located.

The demon picked him up and dropped him in Litha’s bedroom, but it was the wrong Storm. B Team, Glen and Litha all undertook a project to do a makeover on the fake Storm so that nobody would find out that there was a huge flaw with interdimensional transport.

Jefferson Unit was attacked by aliens from Stagsnare Dimension, Elora’s home world, with nobody there to offer defense except Elora, Glen, the fake Storm, Sir Fennimore, the non-combat personnel and the trainees.

BOOK SIX. A Tale of Two Kingdoms

The book opened with a look behind the metaphysical scene. It seemed that the strings governing Earth-related operations were being pulled by a group of misfit adolescent deities who were, eons in the past, given the planet and its derivative dimensions as a group project.

Kellareal led the elves and fae to discover the truth that they were once the same people, but were separated in the distant past because of a tragic estrangement of siblings. After believing that they had escaped the politics of their families, Duff and Song were captured and separated. With the angel’s help, however, they were reunited. Meanwhile, Aelsblood, Ram’s older brother was removed as monarch and his son, Aelshelm, succeeded as king in name only under the agreement that Ram’s father, Ethelred Mag Lehane Hawking, would reign in Helm’s place until he was old enough to decide whether he would join the family business and accept a career as king.

BOOK SEVEN. Solomon’s Sieve

Sol crossed the veil, but raised so much hell in the afterlife that the Council was persuaded to place his essence in the body of a Black Swan knight that had recently been vacated. He returned to Jefferson Unit with every intention of concealing his true identity, but intentions often go astray.

Dr. Mercy Renaux was a professor of archeology hired to investigate a vampire tomb unearthed in Bulgaria. She took the job thinking she would change her life and find something to blot out the guy she couldn’t forget, Sir Rafael Nightsong, bad boy member of the infamous Z Team.

She found him even harder to forget when Raif’s team was assigned to escort her on a mission to contain irrefutable evidence that vampire existed. After being trapped inside a mountain together and presumed dead, Mercy and Raif decided the spark that had exploded a New York speed date could be used to ignite a more pleasurable and lasting connection.

PROLOGUE

From A Tale of Two Kingdome, Book 6, Knights of Black Swan

Thursday night Storm and Litha carried on a silent conversation at dinner while Rosie intermittently pushed food around her plate. She hadn’t really expected that Glen would respond to her ultimatum and, perhaps on some deep core level she might have known she wouldn’t have respected him if he had.

In some ways, having been born with her parents’ education and memories, Rosie was both knowledgeable and wise. In some ways though, she was as immature and inexperienced in how to manage life in the world as any twenty-year-old. She was too proud to admit that she’d made a mistake by proclaiming a high stakes, winner-take-all tug of war with Glen over his career choice, and didn’t know how to admit that she’d been wrong and back away from her actions, so she’d determined that she was going to dig herself further into the sinkhole.

Rosie put the fork down and sat back. She looked between the two other people at the table, closer to the physical age of peers than parents. Her eyes flicked to the clock one more time.

“I have something to tell you. I need to go away for a little bit.”

“What do you mean ‘away’?” Storm hadn’t wasted any time slipping comfortably into the role of father and nothing about the unusual character of their situation seemed to deter him.

“I mean I’m going to take a break from what I’m doing.”

Storm choked out a laugh. “Take a break from what you’re doing? And what is that? You aren’t doing anything.”

“Storm!” Litha’s tone was full of reproof.

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?”

Litha stared at him, angry because she was afraid he was hurting Rosie’s feelings and wanting very badly to be able to argue the point. The fact that he was right didn’t make him more endearing at that moment. Sometimes being consistently right was his most infuriating quality. This was one of those times.

Oddly they really had never gotten around to discussing what Rosie might do with her time. In the beginning every day of her existence was a new miracle, right up until those daily miracles were overshadowed by a missing father and a look-alike under house arrest. While everybody was thinking in terms of hour to hour, everybody forgot to talk to Rosie about what she intended to do with her splendid array of abilities and inconceivable list of possibilities.

Rosie wasn’t accustomed to the challenging accusation of paternal disappointment and had flushed pink in the face, either from anger or embarrassment or humiliation. It was impossible to tell.

Storm narrowed his eyes. “Does this have something to do with Glen?”

Rosie’s eyes jerked to Storm’s so quickly that she might as well have shouted yes. “Glen is no longer part of the picture where I’m concerned. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m going to be gone for a while. You’re not to worry.” She looked at Litha. “If there’s an emergency, Lally will be able to find me.”

She kissed Litha on the cheek and gave her a hug. Litha looked a little stunned, but patted her forearm and stroked her hair once, twice. Rosie approached her dad, who sat stiffly. She bent to kiss his cheek and hug him in the same manner. When she put her arms around his shoulders, he melted. He pushed back the chair, stood and put his arms around her.

“Do I need to kick his ass?”

She put her arms around his waist and shook her head. With her cheek against his chest, she said, “No. You went right to the heart of the problem. All I want to do is be with Glen and I tried to force him to feel the same way about me. Maybe, if I spend a little time away… Maybe I need to think about doing something myself. I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, Rosie.”

And she was gone.

As Storm’s empty arms dropped to his sides his mind presented him with a snapshot it had taken on a day when he’d been fourteen years old. He was in the car with Sol, pulling away from his parents’ house. They stood together in the shallow front yard holding hands and watched him drive away. His limited post-pubescent understanding had registered the look on his mother’s face as sadness, the sort that would be forgotten by the time she reached the kitchen and started thinking about what to make for dinner.

Now he knew that look wasn’t something so inconsequential as sadness. It was the face of loss as devastating as the discovery of a missing limb. He made a vow to himself that he would replace the years his mother lost with time and attention. Never too late.

He turned to Litha as his mind replayed part of the earlier conversation. “Who’s Lally?”

Rosie had waited longer than usual on a tabletop boulder on a windswept mountaintop of Prescient Dimension where she went when she needed to contact Kellareal. She spent the time rehearsing how she was going to explain that she wanted a change of environment, where she could take a break from her life and rethink the direction of things.

She knew she’d pushed things too far with Glen, but she also believed that, despite her feelings and desires to the contrary, the relationship wasn’t serious and wasn’t going to be. Not for a while. He’d made his decision. He was going wherever Z Team went and at least she had enough pride to know she wasn’t going to follow along like a camp whore. Even if he’d let her. Which he probably wouldn’t.

So she’d take a lesson from that and maybe look for a little adventure of her own while she was young. While she was young.

The breeze that blew her wild hair back from her face grew a little softer. Kellareal appeared to float down from the sky wearing a long white robe that billowed around him, arms outstretched as if inviting embrace, and landed in front of her soundlessly. She knew he would want to be congratulated on the theatrical entrance, so she clapped.

He bowed.

“Lally. How long do you think I’m going to live?”

“You called me for that?” He picked up a pebble, sat down beside her, and threw it out over the canyon overlook. “We may have to rethink your summoning privilege if you’re going to abuse it, young lady.”

“No, that’s not why I called, but since you’re here…”

“Well, your elemental side is very long lived, meaning eons. Your human side is cursed with short life under the best of circumstances. Then there is the issue of fragility, the moment to moment uncertainty, the… risk, if you will, of being human. I tell you, it causes me to marvel constantly at their courage. Living under those circumstances, I’m not sure that I wouldn’t just curl into a ball and hope for sudden death to put an end to the suspense.”

“If they only knew how cynical real angels sound, you would never get your own TV shows.”

“Hmmm. No doubt.” He grinned. “But a few feather sightings would bring them right back around.”

Rosie giggled. “You’re hopeless.”

“And is that why you wanted to see me?”

“No. I need to get out of town for a while, change of scenery. Maybe I need to broaden my experience.”

“Get out of town,” he repeated drily. “What does your mother think of this?”

“She thinks she can get in touch with you if there’s an emergency and that you’ll know where to find me.”

The angel pursed his lips, stood and paced for a while. “Vacations are fun. Sabbaticals are informative. Quests are enlightening, sometimes cathartic. Retreats are rejuvenating. Treks are adventurous. This?” He stopped and looked at Rosie. “This sounds like running away. Hard to put a noble spin on running away.”

“I’m not necessarily asking for your blessing, Lally. Just a place to…”

“…hide?”

Rosie flushed. “It’s a favor.”

Kellareal looked at her for a long time. “I can’t decide without hearing the whole story. I want to know exactly what it is you’re running from and what you’re hoping to gain.”

By the time Rosie finished spelling it out, she was sorry she had started the whole thing. Spelling out what had brought her to that mountaintop sounded spoiled, selfish, childish and silly, even to herself as she said it. She supposed that was one of the angel’s goals in having her connect the dots out loud. She hoped that the worst of it, humiliation-wise, was over.

“Have you thought about how long you want to be away?”

She hadn’t thought about it.

“Do I have to decide that now?”

“I might agree to help you on the condition that you agree to spend your time away working on your control.”

“My control?”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about controlling use of your extra-abilities.”

“I could do that.”

“In that case, I might help. I suppose you can do a pay-as-you-go plan.”

“Wait. What do you mean, pay-as-you-go?”

The angel took her elbow and pulled her to her feet. Standing several inches taller, he looked down into her face. “You’re right, Elora Rose. It is time for you to learn something of the world. First lesson, nothing’s free.”

A few minutes later they were standing on the periphery of an enclosure – a crude, gray stone wall. From what Rosie could see, there were homes and buildings built around a park-like area, but the overall impression of the place was of a fort. Through a break in the wall that formed a gate with iron bars, she could see that they were on a hilltop overlooking the lights of a large town.

The air was scented with the welcoming smell of wood-burning fires releasing white smoke into the atmosphere. The prominent feature of the compound was a long row of motorcycles, some of which had parts shiny enough to reflect in the cold moonlight.

“Where are we?” Rosie asked.

“It’s a project of mine, Rosie. A secret. You can’t ever tell anyone.”

“Okay.”

“Promise.”

“I do.”

“They’re what’s left of a Telstar Dimension hybrid experiment.”

“Hybrid? You mean one of the worlds that went crazy with genetic engineering?”

“Guess it depends on what you mean by ‘went crazy’.”

“Okay. Let me put it this way. You start out with a wolf. You end up with a Shih Tzu or a Pug. You start out with a human, you end up with a ...”

“The flaw in your argument is, the owners of dogs like that would say they’re an improvement on the prototype.”

Rosie blinked. “So you’re saying you’re taking me to a place where I should be prepared for…” She left the end of that sentence for him to fill in the blank.

“Okay. Consider this your briefing in a nutshell. There were some experiments that went on for a couple of generations. People became concerned and even invoked religious invective to fuel a movement to eradicate all the produce of the experiment.”

“Produce?” He nodded. “You mean the people?”

“That is what I mean, yes, and I, ah, intervened. I saw an opportunity to solve two problems. There was a group of people… humans, here in need of protection, which is one of the ways hybrid skills might be used. The remnants of the human population were under threat from their own hybrid experiment gone awry. So I paired them up to keep the balance. The hybrids got freedom. The humans in this world got to survive.“

He waved his hand at the darkness. “This dimension hasn’t been ruined yet. It’s stark in places. Pretty in others. The main thing is that it gives them a chance.” He looked at Rosie. “You know?”

“Wasn’t that against some rule?”

The angel pursed his lips and heaved a big sigh. “Rules need to be placed in the context of knowing the rule makers. And their agenda.”

Rosie studied his face in the darkness. “Lally, you’re an anarchist.”

“Guess that depends on who you talk to.”

“Are there others?”

He turned to face her. “What do you mean?”

“Other elementals who think like you do.”

For a moment he thought perhaps Rosie saw him truly.

“I don’t really discuss it with others. Anyway. The hybrids have been here for a while now. Some have started families. Their own take on culture is starting to emerge. Interesting to watch. The one in charge of the place is a solid fellow. He owes me a favor. Simple as that.”

“Does everybody in the multiverse owe you a favor?”

His mouth twitched at the corner as he looked down at her. “Working on it.” His eyes drifted back to the settlement. Rosie thought she saw a hint of pride. Proud sponsor perhaps.

“This could be a good place to get your thoughts sorted out. They’ll keep you busy and who knows? Maybe a new perspective. So welcome to the EC. That’s what they call it, short for Exiled Camp. By the way, don’t mention Telstar. They don’t like to be reminded. I don’t blame them. They left that behind to start a new life.” He turned to face Rosie. “A new world really.”

She looked around again. “What’s with the motorcycles?”

His expression was definitely sheepish. “Oh. The hybrids like them. A lot. So they became part of our arrangement. I made an adjustment to the engines so they’ll run on water and threw tools and maintenance stuff in with the deal.”

“Are you saying that there weren’t motorcycles here before?”

“No. Every dimension develops differently. You know that.”

“Well, yes… So how did you get motorcycles here?”

He laughed. “Rode them.”

“You did not.”

He nodded, grinning. “One at a time.”

“I didn’t know you could ride a motorcycle through the passes.”

“For all I know, I’m the only one who knows it. Let’s keep it that way. Okay?”

She shrugged. “Okay. What do they look like?”

“Look like?” Kellareal laughed out loud. “Oh, sweet baby.”

Carnal Exiled, Book 1

The angel, Kellareal, stopped the genocide of generations of hybrids, who had been bred for research and spent their entire lives imprisoned. Against orders, he spirited them away to a dimension where they would have freedom and purpose.

In a vindictive fit, Rosie Storm asked Kellareal for a place to hide out. He knew just the place for her to grow up, learn emotional control, and other things.

How do you mend a broken heart? - Kellareal

Elora Rose Storm, otherwise known as Rosie, left her dimension in a fit of immaturity over not getting her way. Some might say the behavior was easier to forgive in light of the fact that she was, chronologically, only fourteen months old. Her witch / demon genes had accelerated her physical and intellectual growth, but her emotional equilibrium lagged behind.

She called on her mother’s friend, the angel Kellareal, to find a place to hide out for a while. The angel decided the best place for her to finish growing up, learn about emotional control and having a care for the needs of others, was his special project. The hybrids in the land of Exiled.

The Exiled were a race of hybrids, who, for generations, had lived their entire lives imprisoned for research. Eventually their creators came to grips with the danger of having created beings who were faster, stronger, and smarter. Once that fear was established, the hybrids were targeted for extinction. When Kellareal learned of the plan to execute the entire subspecies, he intervened and spirited the whole population away to another dimension. There the Exiled would have the opportunity to create a balance by protecting the humans of that world from their own hybrid experiment gone awry.

Rosie thought she was getting a few weeks of asylum from confronting her own stupidity. The last thing she was expecting was to meet someone like Carnal.

CHAPTER ONE

Kellareal

If you think I’m as old as the stars, you’d be wrong.

My boss qualifies though. That’s right. I report to one of the Old Ones. It’s my job to try to keep the fabric of Earth together while creatures tied to its myriad dimensions do their best to fuck it up. The dimensions with populations that have acquired technology are starting to make my job even harder than it was.

Some little madman, tyrant of a country that occupies half a small island, is always threatening to blow the entire planet to smithereens if the rest of the dimension doesn’t agree to fart his national anthem. Guess how much I’d like to just take him out? Just grab him by his ridiculous haircut and throw him into space? But that’s neither here nor there, I guess. It’s just the job. And needless to say, I’m barred from acting on my own fantasies.

The latest actual disaster to come along calls itself the Council. Excuse my snort. That little band of brats behaves as if they’ve forgotten that there are beings in the multiverse that dwarf their power. Some idiot instructor gave them my domain as a homework assignment. They weren’t nearly ready to be set loose in a place where they could threaten entire sentient races, but that’s the hand I’ve been dealt.

The “Council” believes that I’m an elemental. Inferior to them. So I play that role and let them think I’m subservient. Pretending to be their errand boy is the best way to have their trust and keep a close eye on what they’re doing. They call me their Enforcer. What a joke! They’re so far up their own asses that they don’t bother to check whether I carried out their wishes or my own. So I work as an independent agent when I can.

My cover is so good that even other elementals think I’m one of them.

I know what you’re thinking. And I readily admit that things have slipped through, but omnipresence is not one of my gifts. I can’t be everywhere at once.

Admittedly, some of the mistakes have been big. Like when Heralda created vampire. She became temporarily infatuated with the darkest representations of Earth’s literary culture and, like the spoiled child she is, decided to act it out. The original vampire were created as real immortals with hearts and minds and consciences. Then, a few centuries ago she decided to cut corners by setting a virus loose in a few dimensions. Five. Or is it six? Only, unlike the original creations, the virus vampires were deeply flawed, more like zombies really.

No. Don’t get all ruffled. Zombies are fictitious. At least until Heralda decides they’re not.

I’m still paying for not being in the right place at the right time to prevent the vampire virus and, yeah, I know it’s caused its share of havoc. If there weren’t some rules that really can’t be broken, like going back in time to make corrections, I’d just follow the kids around, cleaning up their messes as they go. But since that’s not an option, all I can do, while waiting for their assignment to be over, is try to keep them from destroying everything.

Of course I’d love to simply wipe them out, but just like the fantasy about little despots, that’s against the rules, too. The conventional wisdom is that the “Council” must do their homework and learn from their mistakes, even if other creatures are harmed in the process. I don’t agree with it. In fact, you can put me in the Strongly Disagree column. But even the Ancient Ones abide by rules.

Every now and then I get a helping hand. A mere fifty years or so after Heralda unleashed the vampire virus, a couple of grieving widowers formed a reactionary organization called The Order of the Black Swan. As soon as I figured out what they were doing, I began assisting in any way that wouldn’t either break rules or alert the “Council” to my clandestine activities. And believe me. I know how to be creative when it comes to skirting the edges of rule-breaking.

The general guideline is “just let things play out” and, most of the time, that’s exactly what I do, even when I really don’t like it. I imagine I’d be pulled from this assignment if my boss knew that I’d grown personally attached to this place. But what can I say? If you work at something twenty-four-seven for eons, it’s going to leave a mark on you. Right?

I’m allowed to step in to prevent something like a nuclear catastrophe, but I’m supposed to be hands-off with all things evolution-related. Even plague. Natural selection is king. I have to watch entire species of creatures become extinct and not do anything about it unless it threatens the future of all creatures. Believe me. That’s harder than it sounds, which brings me to the Exiled.

Almost all of the human-dominant dimensions that have acquired technology have dabbled in developing human/animal hybrids. If you’re a woman, you would probably ask why. If you’re a man, your first reaction might be to think it’s an idea worth exploring. I have this theory that men are driven by conception jealousy. The inability to bring new life into the world lies at the heart of a whole range of horrors, from cloning to a desire to see artificial intelligence overtake and obliterate humankind. The creation of hybrids is akin to that insanity. But once the creatures are here, they’re mine to protect.

I don’t normally have the time or opportunity to express opinions. So forgive my digression.

Setting the psychology of reasons aside, I want to talk about one particular group of hybrids. The ones I risked everything for. They were developed by humans on Telstar Dimension and, I’ve got to hand it to them, they did a bang up job. Over a century and a half, they experimented with both canine and feline DNA, combining one or the other with the best human stock available in terms of intelligence, strength, and endurance.

The results were impressive, but anyone looking at the scenario objectively could have guessed the outcome. The hybrids became disinterested in being a class of controlled warriors. When the Telstar humans realized they’d created a credible threat to themselves and their way of life, they conspired to gas the hybrids while they slept and call it an experiment gone bad.

It was pure accident that I learned about it in advance. I mean, what are the chances? I had stopped into one of the elemental watering holes. A salamander demon was saying he heard about it as he was passing through Telstar. He said it was a shame because the hybrids were more worthy of being the last species standing than the humans who made them. Salamander demons are known for profound insights. So I listened.

I was on my way to Telstar before I had a working plan. I just knew I wanted to do something. Somehow, on the way there, the idea came to me.

The humans on Farsuitwail had watched their civilization regress to just this side of Stone Age when a band of feral hybrids, called Rautt, had taken over. They escaped and settled on the other side of a desert wasteland, but not before they disabled every means of technological power and killed everyone they suspected of possessing the expertise to reengineer the power grid. All weaponry and parts that functioned at a distance greater than the length of an arm was also destroyed so that humans were left with nothing more to defend themselves than could be used in hand-to-hand combat.

The humans woke to find themselves terrorized, slaves to their creations because humans were no match for Rautt in close combat warfare. From a point of view, you might say it was poetic justice except for the fact that most of the humans had no say in the decision to breed hybrids or in how they were used and abused. Most were innocents paying the price for the ill-conceived actions of a few.

For that reason I intervened.

I could save the Telstar hybrids from genocide and aid the Blanthekin dimension humans at the same time. A sort of “cold war” balance would be established and balance was my goal. Always. Restoration and maintenance of balance was what I was made to do.

It was easy enough to find where the hybrids were kept. I planted a suggestion in the minds of the guards that they’d been ordered to sleep through the night. Later, when they were held accountable, they would all swear to the same story and be able to pass a lie detector test.

I looked over the adult males, who were confined in single cells when they weren’t being used as proxies for conflict or for breeding purposes. They were also controlled by collars that delivered electric shocks.

I walked down several rows of boxes with bars, it would probably be more appropriate to call them cages. Every one of the adult males was magnificent, the result of selective breeding and culling. Each was also at the prime of life.

You might say it was sexist of me to look for a leader among males, but I suspected the hybrids would be operating on limited societal organization principles. In other words, might makes right. As I passed each cell, I looked into the face of the occupants until I found what I was looking for.

I can’t explain what that was. A hunch I guess you’d say.

Some of the males growled so softly I wouldn’t have heard it if I was human. Not that I blamed them. From what I’d heard about their treatment, they had every reason to growl at me. Some just stared without making a sound.

When I looked into the face of the hybrid who would become leader in the new world, I knew, or felt, that he was different. It might have been the spark of intelligence shining from deep green eyes or the presence emanating from his body. Regardless, he was the one I chose to approach. And it ended up being a good decision.

He was standing in the middle of his cell. To the casual observer he might have appeared to be relaxed, but I could tell that every muscle and sinew was ready to pounce.

One second I was standing in the passageway between cell blocks. The next I was inside his space. That caused a look of concern, but he’d worn a collar far too long and was too wise to respond to that unexpected event by lunging at me. He didn’t even bare his impressive set of fangs. He simply watched with a quiet wariness, waiting to see what I’d do next, exactly the sort of quality that would define a capable leader.

“My name is Kellareal,” I said. “I’m not human. I just appear that way for the moment because I choose to. I’m here to make an offer.” The creature blinked once, but stood as still as a statue, watching with a keen wariness. The intelligence in his eyes was unmistakable. “Will you give me a minute of your time?”

A slight movement of his head to the side adequately conveyed that such a respectful question was far outside the bounds of what he might anticipate. He stared for a full minute before nodding once slowly.

I waved a hand at his collar so that he would make a connection between my deliberate movement and the fact that his collar disengaged and fell to the concrete floor with a loud clang. He took his eyes away from me long enough to glance down at the collar, fallen close to his feet. His eyes jerked back to me as his hand came to his throat to confirm with fingers what his brain thought to be true, that he was unfettered for the first time since he’d been a child.

“An acquaintance heard that all the hybrids, people like you, who live in this world are going to be executed tonight.” He blinked again, but did not look away. “I’d like to offer an alternative. Am I speaking to the right person? If I make a deal with you that saves your people, are you capable of enforcing the terms?”

After a few seconds, he said, “What terms?” in a voice that was decidedly gruffer than that of most men.

“Here’s my offer. I will take your kind away from this place to another world where you will be free to build a new life. In exchange, you will protect the human inhabitants of that world from their enemy - hybrids, like yourself, that terrorize them.”

He vocalized a disbelieving harrumph, but managed to do it without changing expression or moving his mouth.

“I hear the derision in your response. Which part of that is hard to swallow? Hybrids terrorizing humans? Or being transported to a world beyond the reach of your captors?”

“The idea of protecting humans is… ludicrous.”

I smiled. Apparently the hybrids were either educated or exposed to vocabulary. “I see that and can’t blame you for the way you feel. But if the choice is that or death…?”

Without moving or changing his expression, the big male said, “Why should I believe anything you say?”

“We would both be taking a risk. You’d be taking a risk that I can deliver what I’m promising. I’d be taking two risks. First, that you are capable of leading your people so that your promise to me will be fulfilled. Second, that you will honor your promise.”

At that his head came up, just an inch or so, but the reaction was unmistakable. He was offended that I questioned his honor, which was entirely curious since he’d spent his entire life being treated like a dangerous animal.

“If I give my promise, I will enforce it.”

“If I accept your promise, you and your people will be free in every sense except that you will be bound to defend the human population from raids by native hybrids. To the best of your ability.”

He reached up and touched his throat where the collar had been most of his life. “My people will be free and together?”

“Yes.”

“Take me first to this new world. Let me see. Then I will give my answer.”

My expression remained blank, but I was secretly pleased with that response. “We need to hurry. There are, by my count, a hundred and sixty-three of you to move before morning. And there’s only one of me.” I reached out to take his shoulder in my grip, but he flinched and swatted my hand away. “I have to touch you to transport you.”

He studied me for a couple of seconds, as if looking for treachery, then nodded. A couple of minutes later we were standing on a hill overlooking a wide valley. It was dusk, but there was enough visibility to enjoy the view and make out the shape of buildings where the human city was concentrated.

“Most of the humans were killed during the hybrid uprising. There’s no nuclear or electrical power and the roads are little more than a memory.” I looked at his profile. “You could create your own settlement here, on this hill. The native hybrids, they’re called Rautt, live on the other side of a desert.” I gestured toward the north.

“And we’d be free,” he said in a tone that was unmistakably wistful. “Able to have families.”

I looked at him. “Yes. Families.”

He looked at me. “Yes, Kellareal. I give you my promise. For this we will defend the humans. I promise.”

I nodded. “Be ready to take control of your people. By morning they will all be here looking for leadership. I will help you with supplies to house and feed your tribe until you are self-sufficient.” I looked at the number on his shirt. “What do you want to be called?”

He looked away for just a second. When his eyes found mine again, his chin came up. “Free,” he said.

“Yes. You are. But what would you like your name to be?”

“Free,” he repeated like I was dim.

I laughed. “I see. A good choice. Suits you.”

Without waiting for a response I began the work of emptying the cells. Free assured each and every one that I was on the level and insisted that he be the last to leave. I transported all the males first deciding, in the interest of prudence and brevity, to leave their collars on until they reached what would come to be known as Newland. I left the explaining to Free.

That’s the story of how I spirited the Exiled away during the night. Their disappearance would be tops on the list of mysteries in Telstar culture for many generations.

It took eight hours to move the hybrids to their new home and several more hours to transport tents and food. Water was not a problem. There was a waterfall that fell into a series of pools near the spot where I’d delivered Free. It had pure, clear, clean-tasting water and would sustain a tribe much larger than the number moved to Newland by me. In other words, lots of room to grow.

It seems this narrative is also a confessional because I have to admit to a slight dalliance with the culture. There was no good reason to introduce motorcycles to Blanthekin, except that the Exiled needed transportation to do the agreed-upon work. At least I did my bit to keep the environment clean. I modified them to run on water and operate so quietly you could hear a rat pee on cotton.

As Fate would have it, my choice of Free as most likely leader was right on. He organized the unruly lot to enjoy times of peace and respond appropriately in times of conflict, which wasn’t easy, considering the animosity the hybrids held for humans.

They called themselves the Exiled. Not because they weren’t glad to be free of Telstar, but because Exile was all good from their point of view. They didn’t know how to read and write. So I provided some elementals who could maintain a disguise for several hours at a time. When they wanted to establish schools for their young, I provided books.

That was twenty-five years ago. Free mated with a lion-dominant hybrid who named herself Serene. Their first son, Carnal, had been born in captivity, but their second son, Crave, was the first child to be born in the new world.

Over the years, I developed a relationship with Free that could almost be called friendship. It’s hard to say since I don’t really have ‘friends’, but I know it made me sad when I first saw a streak of gray appear in his hair and knew that someday I would go on, and he wouldn’t.

When Rosie summoned me, the idea of putting her in temporary Exiled foster care was appealing for many reasons. Just as human parents like to give their children college, when they’re able, so their kids have a relatively safe place to finish growing up, Exiled might serve that purpose for Elora Rose. I hoped so. There was a lot riding on it.

At the time she was fourteen months old, but resembled a human of about twenty-three. She was expressing enough demon genes to be able to instantly understand and speak any language on contact with its culture.

I thought Newland would be a good fit. Rosie would get her ‘break’ and have some time away from familiar pressures. I hoped she would use that time to mature, gain some emotional control, some appreciation for her parents, and some empathy for the needs and desires of others.

Like the Exiled, Rosie was a pet project of mine. I’d been watching carefully ever since she’d been born to a mother who was half demon, half ninth-generation witch, and a father who was a quarter human and three-quarters demon. The event of her birth sent a wave of disturbance throughout the Earth plane and all its dimensions. The Council didn’t notice, fortunately, but it attracted my attention. If they ever discovered there was a creature, native to Earth, who rivaled their power, they would almost certainly kill her.

My hope for protecting Rosie was twofold. First, try to keep the Council busy indulging silly and relatively harmless preoccupations. Second, try to convince Rosie not to use the power available to her.

Both plans were precarious. To say the least.

CHAPTER TWO

Rosie stood off to the side, where Kellareal had told her to wait, while he talked to the good-looking fiftyish man wearing a black Henley-style shirt and leather pants. When Kellareal pointed at Rosie, the man leaned out to get a look at her. It made her feel a little self-conscious, all of a sudden wondering if she had anything caught in her teeth. He was unapologetic about staring which, in her book, meant she had permission to look as well. He had longish black hair with a few streaks of gray. Rosie thought the gray probably made him even more handsome than he’d been without. The man nodded toward her and Kellareal smiled. She supposed that meant the two had come to an understanding.

The angel motioned her over.

“Rosie, this is Free. He’s the leader of the Exiled here at Newland.” Kellareal turned to Free. “This is my adopted niece, Rosie.”

Rosie jerked her attention to the angel. She’d never heard him suggest a title for their relationship before, adopted or otherwise.

“With your permission, I need a couple of minutes with Rosie to say goodbye. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks to check on things.”

“Always good to see you,” Free said to Kellareal, in a gravelly voice that was strangely compelling.

The angel took her by the elbow and walked her toward the edge of the settlement, near the wall.

“So here are the rules.”

“Rules?” She sounded a little alarmed. ‘Rules’ wasn’t her favorite word.

“Yes. Rules,” he clipped, sounding serious enough to get her full attention. “Extraordinary measures have made these people stronger and smarter than humans. Given the right circumstances, they’re also more dangerous. As far as they know, you’re a human girl, who needs a place to hide out for a bit. I don’t want them to suspect differently. Do you get me?”

She pulled back, looking affronted. “Yes! I get you! You don’t want me to do anything a…” she made quotation marks with her fingers, “…’human girl’ wouldn’t do.”

“Exactly. And lose the adolescent attitude.” She rolled her eyes. “Rosie, I’ve got to have your promise that you absolutely will not do anything extra-human. No matter what. More than you can imagine depends on it.”

She sighed. “Okay.”

“This is serious. You won’t forget. Right?”

“No. I won’t forget. And I appreciate this.”

“Well, I hope you still feel that way after a couple of weeks of working here.”

“Working?” She seemed surprised.

“Yes. Working. It’s not all kittens and rainbows here. Pull your socks up.”

Rosie was narrowing her eyes and gearing up for a reply when Kellareal vanished leaving her wondering what ‘pull your socks up’ meant. She turned toward the Exiled leader, whom Kellareal had called the Extant, and began walking in his direction. When a gust of wind ruffled her hair, she looked toward the east, where the human city could be seen below and in the distance.

Free looked down at her and smiled when she reached him. “Let’s get you situated. I see you didn’t bring belongings?”

She looked around like she’d misplaced them. “No. I guess I didn’t think about it.”

“No matter. We’ll sort it out. You can stay at my house with my family. We can always use help at the Commons. The unmated males spend a lot of time there. Drinking. Eating. Since they’re not mated,” he added smiling as if that explained the whole of the universe. “If anybody gives you any trouble or unwanted attention, just come to me. I’ll take care of it.”

For a scant instant she wondered what it might be like to be a young woman who had to worry about men trying to press their physical advantage and thanked the gods she’d never have to find out how vulnerable that would make someone feel.

“Thank you.” She smiled in return. “I don’t have any experience working at… um, working.”

Free looked at her sideways. “You seem capable. You’ll learn.”

By the time they reached Free’s house, it was almost dark and evident that Newland had no power for lighting. The house, like the other buildings, was made of roughhewn logs, with a small but cheerful light coming from the front windows. It appeared to be three stories and larger than most of the other buildings.

Free opened the door and entered before Rosie. The room wasn’t plush or luxurious, but was definitely inviting. The upholstered furniture was worn, but friendly-looking. The fire was small, but welcoming.

“Serene!” his growly voice rumbled. Rosie couldn’t tell if he was displeased or if his voice always sounded like that.

A woman, roughly the same age as Free, appeared from the back of the house, wiping her hands. She cocked her head at Rosie. “Hello,” she said. Her voice was also raspy, but not as deep as Free’s.

“Hello,” Rosie replied. “I’m…”

“She’s Kellareal’s ward,” Free interrupted. “She needs a place to stay for a while.”

Serene smiled. “Of course. You’re welcome.”

The door crashed open behind Rosie. “Hey, I…”

Rosie turned to see an extremely good-looking boy staring at her.

“Rosie. This is our youngest son, Charming.”

She looked from Free to Serene for a hint that he was joking, but saw none. Turning back to the new arrival she said, “Nice to meet you, Charming.”

She fully expected him to break into a fit of laughter and tell her that wasn’t really his name. Instead, he said, “Hi. Rosie.”

“She’s going to be staying with us for a while. Show her to Carnal’s room.”

“But…” Charming started.

“Show her to Carnal’s room,” Free repeated with a bit more insistence in his tone. “Then come back down for dinner.”

“Okaaaay.”

Rosie estimated Charming’s age at eighteen or so. He had honey-colored hair, streaked with blonde, just like his mother. And yellow-green eyes. Also just like his mother. He was as tall as Free with a powerful, athletic build that suggested it would become even more impressive in a couple of years.

He gave Rosie a smile that was, well, charming and motioned for her to follow up the stairs. “This way.” He stopped at the second story landing and said, “Carnal’s room is there.” He pointed down the hall to the right. “My room is up there.” He pointed to a narrower staircase that led upward. “The attic room. It has a great view. I can see just about everything that happens in Newland,” he said proudly.

Rosie smiled and turned toward the room Charming had pointed out, noting that there was another room down the hall.

“Am I, um, displacing someone?”

“Displacing?” He opened the door to a decidedly masculine space. It was minimalist to the extreme. A wood platform bed with four thick square legs, but no headboard. A double shelf unit with a few books, rocks, and feathers on one side and folded clothes on the other. There was a paraffin lamp on a small square stand by the bed and another on the shelf unit. There wasn’t much there, but what was there was neat as a military barracks. Bed perfectly made. Nothing out of place. “No. Not at all. This is my oldest brother’s room, but he doesn’t come home often.”

“Oh.”

“Do you need help with your stuff?”

“No. I, ah, didn’t bring anything. I’ll get my, ah, stuff in the next couple of days.”

Charming nodded. “Well, then, let’s have supper.”

When Rosie told Kellareal she needed a retreat, the last thing she had in mind was becoming an exchange student. She didn’t want to get to know and be part of a family, but not eating would raise suspicion. After all her cover was human and humans must eat. So she said, “Okay,” and followed Charming back downstairs.

“Is Carnal away at school?”

Charming paused mid step to laugh. “Nothing like that. No. He’s on patrol right now.” He resumed descent, but stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Smell that? We’re having elk stew with parsnips and onions. You’ll love it.”

Rosie had to admit that it did smell good. The kitchen was square with a table and chairs in the middle of the room, but the first thing that attracted her eye was the wood stove and the precision cut stack of firewood next to it. The front panel had been left standing open to heat the room with coals left smoldering from cooking. She’d seen photos of antique stoves, but had never seen one in person.

Charming’s parents had already filled their bowls and were waiting patiently.

She sat down across from Charming and pulled in her chair just as he reached out and tore off a large chunk of brown bread from the dome-shaped loaf in the middle of the table. Next to it sat a pot of stew.

“Go on. Help yourself,” said Charming with his mouth full.

So she stood and ladled a medium-sized portion into her bowl, while Free carried on quiet conversation about livestock enclosures.

After a few minutes, Charming said, “Why aren’t you eating?”

Everyone stopped and looked at Rosie.

“Well, it looks so good and smells even better,” she said, looking from one to the other. Serene smiled in response. “But to be honest, I’m worried about the sauce.” It was tomato-based. “These are the only clothes I have at the moment.”

She blushed when they all looked at her thin white boyfriend shirt, but she blamed herself for calling attention to it.

Serene rose from the table and retrieved an apron. She flicked it in front of Rosie and tied the top close to her neck.

“There,” she said. “Tomorrow we’ll see about scrounging up some other clothes.” She looked at Free. “What was Kellareal thinking?”

Rosie was grateful enough to begin warming to the idea of getting to know the family.

Free shrugged. “Always got a lot on his mind I imagine.”

“Thank you,” Rosie told Serene as she took a small bite from her largish spoon. “Oh my gods. This is incredible!”

She hadn’t quite finished the first bite before that exclamation, which Serene took as an added compliment. She beamed, which in turn pleased Free. He turned to Rosie.

“The large building next door is the Commons. Tomorrow morning, Charming will take you there and introduce you to the woman in charge. She’ll lay it out for you and get you started right.”

“Okay. And thank you for having me.”

Serene interjected. “We’re being sincere when we say you’re welcome here for as long as you’d like to stay. Kellareal must think very highly of you. If you’re special to him, you’re special to us.”

Rosie nodded and returned the smile, not wanting to spout off about what a flaming pain he could be. She thought it better not to tarnish the rosy esteem in which he was held, especially since he was doing her a favor.

“No reason to wait till tomorrow morning. I’m headed over there right now.” Charming was talking to Rosie. “Come and go with me. I’ll be the envy of Newland, arriving with a beautiful woman.”

Free glanced at Rosie. “You want to go?”

She hesitated. Charming pled with his eyes in such a cute way and she couldn’t think of a single reason to say no. “Maybe for just a little while.”

Free then turned to Charming. “Make it clear that she’s a special guest of mine,” he warned.

“Sure, Pop.”

“Charming, this is not a joke.”

“I know.”

“Can you be trusted to take care of Rosie?”

When his father’s silent message sunk in, Charming grew instantly serious, transforming his looks so that he appeared older. “Yes.”

Free nodded.

“Let me get you a shawl.” Serene rose from the table and disappeared from view. When she returned a minute later she held out a shawl woven with muted fall colors in the softest wool Rosie had ever touched, with bits of fur interwoven. It was a piece of art.

“This is gorgeous,” Rosie said.

“She does the weaving herself,” Charming said proudly.

“The sheep here grow wool so soft it’s almost like air and so very warm,” said Serene.

“Amazing.” Rosie looked into Serene’s eyes, which were both beautiful and not quite human. “I could sell these for a fortune at home.”

Serene looked at Free, clearly embarrassed by the praise and attention.

Smiling at his mate, Free simply said, “We have all we need.”

“Right!” Charming looked at Rosie. “Let’s get out of here before they start making out right in front of us.”

Pulling the shawl around her shoulders, Rosie felt as beautiful as if she was heading out to a club in platform heels and a killer black dress.

The Commons room had a large square fire pit in the center and a vent that hung just above. It gave off just enough warmth and light to make Rosie glad she came.

They’d just walked in when a gruff voice said, “Charm. Who’s your little friend?”

“Her name is Rosie,” he said. “She’s a special guest of the Extant. Under his protection. If you scare her, you answer to him.”

The room had gotten quiet during Charming’s speech. The thirty or so people present stared for a few seconds then, to Rosie’s relief, turned away, resuming their conversations. She noticed the men were mostly dressed like Free. Dark jeans-style pants. Henleys. The few women there were dressed in long sleeve solid colored tee shirts, colorful wraparound skirts, and combat boots. It came off as Bohemian, fashionable in its own way.

Charming took her elbow and steered her toward the man behind the bar, who looked to be about the same age as Free. Rosie’s initial assessment was that all the hybrids would be intimidating to most people, if not outright scary. They were big and imposing, but it would be impossible to ignore the fact that they were also physical perfection. She didn’t imagine that people who were the product of breeding experiments would want to be complimented on their looks though. It could be a sore subject.

“Scar,” Charming said, “this is Rosie. She’s going to help you out while she’s here.”

“Yeah?” said the man Charming had called ‘Scar’. Rosie saw no scar, but there was a lot of body covered from view. “Why would she do that?”

Charming’s smile fell. “Because Kellareal said.”

Scar leaned toward Rosie. “Well, in that case…”

Charming stepped in front of Rosie. “Like I said, she’s a guest. Should I tell the Extant you don’t plan to be nice?”

He sneered at Charming. “I’m always nice. Nice to humans. Nice to guests. Nice to everybody except our own kind, the ones we’re protecting humans from.”

“That’s really your answer?”

Scar stared at Charming, who seemed to have grown taller as he transformed from good-natured boy to serious messenger.

“No. Here’s my answer. I’ll leave the girl alone. Best I can do.”

“That is acceptable. Give us two ales.” Scar drew ale from wood barrels and set two pewter mugs on the bar. Charming took both mugs and motioned toward a table by the fire pit. “Let’s sit by the fire.”

Rosie sat across from Charming.

“Tomorrow morning,” he said, “I’ll introduce you to the people you’ll be working with. They’ll be nicer. I promise.”

Rosie smiled. “If you say so.”

“Don’t let Scar give you the wrong impression. The old ones like him, they remember how things were before we were Exiled. Some of them are having a hard time letting hard feelings go.”

“You mean you aren’t holding a grudge against humans.”

He shook his head. “It’s different for those of us who were born here. What happened before is history for me, but for him it’s memory. Makes a difference. You know?”

“I think so.”

“Charming.”

Rosie heard a raspy female voice behind her. Charming didn’t look pleased.

“Midnight,” he replied in a neutral tone that bordered on cold.

“You should introduce your guest around. Let us all get to know her.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that. She just arrived.”

Rosie turned in her chair and looked up into a face that was beautiful and ferocious at the same time. The young female was grinning, displaying pearly white fangs. “I’d like to meet her now.”

Charming stood up. “I said no.”

“Let your friend speak for herself, Charming.”

The female he’d called Midnight continued to stare at Rosie, her grin looking more like a grimace.

Rosie stood from her chair slowly. At full height she was a good four inches shorter than the hybrid. “Say what you have to say, Midnight, is it?” When it became clear that Rosie would not be displaying any fear response, Midnight’s grin began to falter. “Well, you’ve met me. I’ve met you. Unless you want to dance, we’re done.”

Midnight blinked a few times, looking confused and uncertain about how to back down. Rosie reached down and picked up her mug. “Here. You want my ale?”

The female glanced down at the mug. “Drink after a human?” She made a disgusted face and turned to leave.

Charming leaned over the table looking impressed. “That was prodigious.”

“Yeah, well. It also looked a lot like jealousy to me.”

Charming sat back, looking uncomfortable. “It’s nothing. She wanted me to be her Promise.”

“Her Promise?”

“You know. Promise to be her mate.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“And you’re just not feeling the love?”

He smiled. “You have a funny way of putting things.” Rosie laughed. “And a great laugh.”

“Be careful. If you start complimenting me, you’re going to make me Midnight’s target.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you here, Rosie. You’re safe. Some of the Exiled like to put on a show. That’s all. I hope it doesn’t make you too uncomfortable. Most are going to like you. I do. Just give it a chance.”

“Okay.” She wiggled her head, which Charming thought was very cute. “I like you, too. And you have a killer name. Lot of pressure living up to it, I’ll bet.”

“Not at all.” He grinned. “Being charming comes naturally.”

Rosie chuckled as she finished her ale, which warmed her so much that she no longer needed the shawl. “It’s been a long day, Charming. And since I’m working tomorrow? I guess I should turn in.”

“Yeah. Okay.” He turned the mug up as he gulped the rest down. “Let me walk you over.”

As they headed for the door, some younger males called out to Charming. “You leaving? Night’s young.”

“I’ll be right back,” he told them.

At the foot of the stairs, Rosie turned to Charming. “Thanks for making me feel welcome.”

“You are welcome. Sleep tight. See you tomorrow.”

Rosie found that someone had lit the lamp by the bed in Carnal’s room so she could find her way. It was a nice gesture. So she went to bed telling herself that no place is perfect. She took off her ankle boots and slid under the covers. Even though the ale still warmed her bloodstream, she laid the shawl on top of the covers. After some experimentation, she was able to figure out how to turn off the lamp without having to ask someone.

She lay awake mulling over how the hybrids were different from humans, aside from the fact that they were all beautiful. They had gruff voices that rasped, but not unpleasantly. They were tall and muscular with longer canine teeth and retractable claws, like cats. Judging from what she’d seen of Free and Serene, they were also capable of deep, abiding love. She fell asleep wondering what other differences were still to be discovered.

CHAPTER THREE

When Rosie opened her door the next morning intending to shuffle toward the shared bathroom, she found clothes and boots neatly folded just outside her door. She picked them up and saw that they were similar to what she’d seen other women wearing. There was a long sleeve moss green tee that brought out the green in her eyes, a rust and black print wraparound skirt, and brown combat boots. She gathered up the bundle and took it to the bathroom with her. In the privacy of the bath, she used magick for purposes of hygiene and making her hair presentable.

The skirt fell to just about an inch above the tops of the boots. She didn’t know which one of her hosts had picked out the clothes, but the fit was perfect so she wasn’t complaining.

When she arrived in the kitchen, Serene was drinking tea and seemed to be waiting for her.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Rosie.”

“Did you leave these clothes for me?’

“Yes. I hope they’re alright.”

“More than alright. You got the size just right.” She chuckled. “Well, I guess you can see that for yourself.”

Serene nodded. “There’s tea and breakfast in the warming oven.” Rosie poured tea and opened doors until she figured out which was the ‘warming oven’. She withdrew a saucer with biscuits and sausage links and sat down at the table.

Serene took another sip of tea. “Later today, after you’ve had a chance to learn your way around the Commons bar and kitchen, I’ll take you to the weaving barn and you can pick out some things for yourself.”

“That’s very generous. Thank you. So you weave everything you wear?”

“Except for the leathers. And furs, of course. We trade with the humans for undergarments.”

“That’s really impressive.”

Serene shrugged. “It works for us. You can keep the shawl you wore last night or choose another.”

“That’s very kind. I can’t imagine one more beautiful.”

“What happened at the Commons last night?”

The abrupt change of subject took Rosie by surprise. “Not sure what you mean.”

“Charming said you encountered some unfriendliness. I just want to make sure you’re not feeling overwhelmed. Or… frightened.”

Rosie laughed out loud before recognizing how inappropriate that was. She realized the mistake immediately because of Serene’s reaction. Of course, a human girl would have been intimidated and, almost surely, would want to leave.

“It’s probably an indication of stupidity, but I don’t scare easily.” That was the best cover she could come up with.

“Well,” Serene set her cup down, “I’m glad. If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable or gets out of line with you in any way, just come to one of us. You’re safe here, but I want you to also feel safe.”

“Thank you, Serene.” Rosie took a bite of biscuit. “You all have unique and interesting names.”

Her hostess seemed to give that consideration, like seeing it from Rosie’s point of view. “I chose Serene when we came here. Our lives are so full of war, I wanted to remind myself that my goal was to give my children a sense of peace any way I could.” She gave Rosie a self-deprecating smile. “I guess that’s a silly wish coming from one of a people who’ve promised to be on battle alert until the day we die.”

Rosie felt sympathy. It was an unmistakable tug at her heart that was familiar even though she hadn’t had many opportunities to feel sorry for others. “A desire for peace isn’t silly. Isn’t that what all sane people want?”

“I… suppose.” Serene wiped her hands on her apron and lifted it over her head. “I need to go. Charming should be down any time. Walk with me to the front door so I can show you which building is the Weavers’ Barn.” Rosie accompanied Serene to the front porch. “That one over there.” Serene pointed to a large structure past the houses and on a little rise. “Anything disturbing happens, if Free or Charming are not around, either come to me or tell someone to come get me.”

Rosie gave Serene a reassuring smile. “Got it, but don’t worry. And thank you. Again.”

Serene waved as she stepped off the porch and pulled her shawl around her.

Rosie walked back to the kitchen. Charming had come down and was standing by the oven scarfing down sausages. He flashed his boyish grin and said, with his mouth full, “These are good, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know,” Rosie replied.

He looked down at the last biscuit in his hand, which was half-eaten. “You didn’t have any?”

“Yeah, I did. They were good, but I’m full. You have it.”

He started shaking his head. “Nooooooooo. It’s not okay.” He held out the half biscuit in his hand. “Here.”

Rosie laughed. “I’m not taking your half-eaten breakfast, Charming.”

He looked down at it, then back up to her. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Take it.” He held it out again. “I don’t have plague or anything.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah. Don’t I look healthy?”

“Yes,” she smiled, “you do. I was kidding. I’m really full.”

Charming looked relieved. “Really?”

“Eat the biscuit,” she commanded.

He stuffed it into his mouth with a big smile. “Okay.”

Rosie retrieved her shawl from the bedroom, and walked to the Commons with Charming.

There was no one in the room other than a young female behind the bar.

“Present for you, Dandy,” Charming said. “You know the help you’ve been whining about for so long? Here she is. This is Rosie.”

While Charming talked, he reached over and petted the gray cat sitting on the bar. The animal’s eyes closed to little more than slits. It looked like it was in nirvana and rubbed its ears against his hand as if to say, “Pet more. Harder. Now.”

Dandy was tall with tawny hair and yellow-gold eyes like many of the Exiled Rosie had seen. She wore a black shirt, lime green and tan skirt with swirls in the print, and black boots. Rosie thought that she was probably very close to the same age Rosie appeared to be. Monq thought that was in the neighborhood of twenty-three.

She looked Rosie up and down and said, “Human,” in a noncommittal tone.

“She’s the Extant’s honored guest. Please let everybody know that an affront to her is an affront to him and a bad mark on the reputation of all of Exiled.”

“Wow,” said Dandy.

Charming gave Dandy a warning look. “You’ve been wanting help. Here she is. Whether or not you get to keep her depends on how you treat her.”

She angled her head to the side as if studying Charming for the truth of that, then said, “Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeated in confirmation.

To Rosie he said, “She’s practically family. She’ll show you around and get you situated.”

“Okay,” Rosie said, following suit like it was the word of the day.

Charming stopped at the door to toss one last smile her way. Then he was gone.

Rosie reached over to pet the gray cat, as Charming had, only instead of welcoming the attention, the cat hissed and slashed at Rosie with claws extended. Rosie pulled back in time, but was aghast that the cat meant to draw blood. When she recovered from the shock enough to focus on the cat, she could have sworn the thing smiled.

“Why you…” She was just about to send it into the Netherworld when she remembered Kellareal’s lecture. Taking control of her impulses, she reined in her temper.

Dandy glanced over. “Problem?”

“This cat tried to scratch me.”

Dandy looked at the cat. “I guess she doesn’t like humans.”

Rosie narrowed her eyes at the cat sending it the telepathic message that she wasn’t really human and that there was only one angel save per cat. She couldn’t do anything to the cat visibly, but she sent the sound of a snarling wolf into the cat’s mind and almost laughed when Catty Kay jumped straight up in the air with fur standing out like a cartoon. When the cat landed on the floor scanning its surroundings for the direction of the threat, Rosie smiled. It was on.

Ready to change the subject, Rosie said, “Thanks for showing me the ropes.”

“That’s a phrase you don’t use around people who were recently held captive by your kind.”

“Sorry. Dandy’s a nice name.”

“Short for Dandelion.” Her reply was also short to the point of being curt and didn’t leave a bridge for further dialogue.

Rosie tried again. “Did you choose it?”

“No. I was born here. My parents chose it. They like the yellow flowers and the indefatigable spirit.”

Rosie was impressed. You didn’t hear the word ‘indefatigable’ used in conversation every day. “So you’re practically family, Charming said?”

That made Dandy stop although she didn’t change expression. “Crave is my Promise.”

“I think I understand what a Promise is, but I don’t know Crave.”

Dandy’s eyes widened for a second. “Crave. The son in the middle? Between Carnal and Charm?”

Rosie grew serious. “I didn’t know there was another son. No one’s mentioned him.”

“Well that figures,” she said. “He was captured by the Rautt. Don’t know for sure if he’s alive or dead. If he’s alive, don’t know for sure that we wouldn’t wish he was dead.”

Dandy delivered that news in a monotone as if she was reading the newspaper.

“I’m sorry,” Rosie whispered. “I didn’t know.”

Dandy shrugged it off. “So what do you know how to do?”

Rosie looked around the bar. “Nothing.”

Dandy stared at her for an awkward few seconds. “If I take you into the kitchen and ask the same question? Will the answer be ‘nothing’?”

Rosie nodded.

Dandy barked out a laugh, but it quickly faded into mild amusement as she shook her head. “What kind of work have you done before?”

“I’ve, ah, never worked before.”

Dandy blinked slowly as if she was having trouble processing that information. “Never?”

“No.”

“Nothing?”

“I’m, um, not as old as I look.”

“Yeah. I’ll bet.” After giving Rosie another look up and down, she said, “I guess this is Free’s idea of a joke. You going to do what I tell you?”

Rosie nodded. “Within reason.”

“Let’s start here. You know how to sweep?”

“No.”

“Mop?”

“No.”

“Wipe down tables?”

“No.”

“Wash and dry glasses?”

“No.”

Dandy sighed then lifted a broom by the handle. “This is a broom.”

“Okay, well, I knew that.”

“But you don’t know what to do with it.”

“I’m a fast learner?”

Dandy nodded. “No doubt. You’re cute for a human. The boys will like that.” Under her breath, she added, “At least most of them.” Dandy cocked her head. “Do you want to work?”

“I want to feel useful.”

“That’s a start, I guess.”

Rosie spent the next two hours learning the fine art of sweeping, mopping, wiping down tables, washing glasses and drying them to a spotless shine. Oddly, she found herself smiling, feeling good that she’d mastered new tasks. There was an odd sense of satisfaction in performing manual chores. She never would have guessed that.

When the last glass was stacked, and the last mug was put on the shelf, Rosie said, “Hmmm. What’s that I smell?”

“Lunch. In about an hour, the people who are not on patrol, or in school, or not cooking for themselves will show up hungry. We’ll put fully loaded plates on the bar. They’ll carry their own food to the tables and put the empties in those sinks over there.” She pointed to a galley way between the bar and kitchen that was lined with deep sinks. “You stay behind the bar and watch me get drinks.”

Rosie looked around for a cash register. “Okay. How do they pay?”

Dandy looked confused. “Pay?”

“Yeah. Do you use credit cards or currency?”

Dandy knew what currency was. Humans used it in Farsuitwail and, if the Exiled wanted to buy something, they had to use paper the humans called money. They had money. Humans gave it to the Extant and he gave it to Exiled when they wanted it. She swept her hand out to indicate the Exiled settlement. “We don’t pay. We share.”

“Oh,” Rosie said. “Interesting concept.”

“We’re not human. Don’t forget that about us.” She gave Rosie a ghost of a smile that almost looked mischievous. “We won’t forget that about what you are.”

Rosie wasn’t sure whether she’d just been warned or put in her place. She was sure that Dandy tolerated her well enough, but was not at all sure she was liked.

“The Rautt that took, um, Crave. They’re hybrid. Like you.”

“What’s your point?”

“I’m just saying that all species, everywhere, have it in them to be misguided.”

“Misguided.” Dandy repeated the word as if she was trying it out. “You should sit out at the fires one night and listen to the old ones’ stories about what happened to us at the hands of humans. And then we’ll see if you think their actions were merely ‘misguided’.”

The kitchen workers brought out two plates of food with stew and a roughly torn piece of brown bread like that she’d had the night before at the Extant’s house.

Dandy pushed one of the plates toward Rosie. “Eat and make it fast. Lunch crunch starts in a couple of minutes. I’m behind today because of training you.”

“Sorry.”

“Just eat.”

“Okay.”

Rosie ate in silence sitting at the bar near Dandy, who never looked up from her food until the door opened. A group of Exiled filed in bringing a wedge of sunlight and rowdy conversation. Her lunch was half eaten when Dandy swept it away and into the galley hallway sink.

After dumping dishes, Dandy grabbed two black aprons. She shoved one at Rosie and began hurriedly pulling the other over her head. “Put that on.”

Rosie had never worn an apron until Serene had put one on her the night before at dinner, but the concept was simple enough.

“Stand over there and watch unless I ask you to do something,” Dandy told her.

One of the kitchen staff, a girl who appeared to be in her late teens, ducked into the bar and began helping Dandy fill containers, some with water, some with cider.

Rosie obediently stood out of the way. She was as curious about the Exiled as they were about her. They stared openly, but said nothing.

As quickly as the kitchen staff set plates on the counter, they were claimed by happy, and apparently, hungry diners. Plate in hand, they turned to Dandy for drinks, which she was setting on the counter as fast as she could fill containers. Within a few minutes the Commons was crowded and loud with conversation.

Free didn’t come in until about half the diners had eaten and left. He nodded to Rosie, and sat down with another man who was near his own age.

Dandy picked up a plate and a glass of cider then held them out to Rosie. “Here,” she said, “take these to the Extant.”

Rosie was grateful for something to do other than watch. When she’d said she knew how to do nothing, that wasn’t entirely true. She did arrive knowing how to fill containers with liquid.

With plate and mug in hand, she started toward Free’s table where he was laughing at something his companions had said. She could feel all eyes on her as she made her way across the room.

When she set Free’s lunch before him, he said, “Thank you.” Then added, “They’ll get used to you after a couple days.”

Rosie nodded, thinking that she hadn’t hid her self-consciousness as well as she thought. By the time she was back at the bar, the serving line had dwindled to nothing. Twenty minutes later the only two people in the Commons rooms were Rosie and Dandy.

“Whew,” Rosie said. “That was like a whirlwind.”

“Same thing every day,” Dandy deadpanned.

“Well, I think I can help you with drinks tomorrow.”

“We’ll see.”

“Where are the women?”

“They usually eat in their own houses or at the Weavers’ Barn. They’re welcome to come. They just prefer to keep female company at lunch. The choice is theirs.” She eyed Rosie like she was trying to decide whether or not to say more. “Men and women were kept separated before we came here.”

“Oh.” Rosie didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Except for breeding, which was usually forced.”

Rosie was horrified by that insight and didn’t like the images it conjured. Dandy waited as if she expected Rosie to respond, but the best she could come up with was to whisper another, “Oh.”

“Look. I know you weren’t one of the humans that did that to us. But hard feelings live a long life.”

Rosie nodded in understanding. “I hope when you get to know me, you’ll come to believe that I don’t have it in me to treat others that way.”

Dandy suppressed a sneer. “I’m sure you believe that. But I think all humans ‘have it in them’.”

Rosie soon fell into a routine. She had a breakfast snack standing in the kitchen, sometimes alone, sometimes with Charming. She went to the Commons to sweep, mop, and right chairs from the activities the night before. She drew water and cider from tap for the midday meal, carried the Extant’s lunch to him, and cleaned up after to be ready for the nighttime crowd.

The cat made intermittent appearances at the bar. The thing seemed to be extraordinarily affectionate with the hybrids. All of them. But so far as Rosie was concerned, she and the cat were at a standoff. Catty Kay could sit around and glare at her all day for all Rosie cared. And frequently that’s exactly what the cat did to pass the time between scraps and pets from Newland residents.

In the evening Rosie had dinner with Free and Serene. Sometimes Charming was there. Sometimes he wasn’t.

Free would talk about the politics of dealing with human representatives from the city, the challenges of managing the common funds of the Exiled along with food supplies, structure maintenance, and scheduling crews for patrol. She learned that all of the able-bodied adult Exiled were marshalled to defend the humans in the event of an attack by Rautt, but at any given time only fifteen percent of their population served a singular purpose of full-time warrior. Most were young males in their prime. Some were female. She gathered that Carnal was one of those, but didn’t ask.

Some nights she walked around the settlement after dinner, keeping to shadows. As Dandy had suggested, she would stop here and there and eavesdrop on a fireside conversation. Dandelion was right. The old ones told horrific stories about life in captivity. After hearing some of the memories told in graphic detail, she was surprised that Free and Serene were able to treat her with such warmth and kindness.

One night, when Charming was walking with her, she asked, “Did your parents know each other before?” He looked over at her like he was waiting for more. “Before, um, coming here?”

“Yeah.” Charming smiled. “Carnal was born when we were still,” he paused and winced with the phrase that finished that thought, “in captivity.”

“But…”

“Just ask what you want to know, Rosie.”

“Dandy told me breeding was forced.”

“Well,” Charming hesitated, “that’s true. But sometimes people were paired with a partner who was right for them. When we came here, my father claimed my mother. He loved her. She felt the same about him. He would have formed a family unit with her regardless, but he knew Carnal was his.”

“How?”

Charming smirked. “Smell.”

“Oh.”

He laughed. “Now I have a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“Why are you here?” Blunt. Abrupt. To the point. He must have seen that she was taken aback. “Not that I don’t want you here. I do. I just… was wondering?”

Rosie looked straight ahead. “I had a boyfriend. We had a disagreement. I needed a break. He was leaving anyway.”

She glanced at Charming, whose eyebrows were raised as high as they would go. “Some guy left you!”

Rosie laughed, feeling a blush coming on. Charming sounded so incredulous, it made her feel like she’d just received the highest compliment ever.

“It was work,” she said. “I forced him to choose between the job and me. He chose the job.”

It was Charming’s turn to say, “Oh.” After a few more steps, Charming slanted his gaze toward Rosie. “I’ll bet he’s sorry. No job would be worth giving up a prize like you.”

Rosie smiled. “Wow. That was charming.”

“Got to live up to our names. Just like you did a minute ago when you blushed.”

“Did not.”

“Did.”

He laughed. “Whatever.”

“So what do you do during the day?”

“Train.”

“I need more.”

“Next year I’ll go on active duty. I’ll patrol like Carnal does.” Then in a quieter tone, he added, “Like Crave did.”

When they were almost back to the door of the house they shared, Rosie said, “Dandy told me he was…”

“Taken prisoner.” He finished the sentence for her. “Yeah. Don’t mention it in front of my mom and pop.”

“No. I won’t.” Rosie stepped onto the porch. “Where do you train?”

He waved toward the south. “Just beyond the south wall. Come tomorrow when you’re done at work. I’ll show you around.”

Rosie smiled, glad that they could end the walk on a more pleasant note. “I will.”

As promised, the next day Rosie looked around the Commons and saw that everything was in its place and spotless so that Scar wouldn’t have cause for complaint when he came in to take over the night shift. She deposited her apron in the laundry bin and set off for the south wall.

She unlatched the narrow gate and walked through. The first thing she saw on the other side was a large Exiled male, probably in his forties. He was craggy, but attractive, like every single one of the Exiled hybrids.

A quick calculation in her head told Rosie the man would have been in his mid-teens during the exodus to Newland, probably too young to have experienced some of the atrocities she’d heard about.

“Where you headed, human?” He seemed more amused than annoyed.

She had to angle her head back to make eye contact. “Charming invited me.”

The guy hooted. “A guest of Charming’s? Well, in that case…”

“Track!” Rosie followed the direction of the commanding voice and saw that Free was standing off to the side of the field where young people, boys and girls, were going through maneuvers. “Let her pass,” he ordered.

Rosie gave ‘Track’ a look as she stepped past him. He was unfazed and responded with a wink and a smile that made her feel more uncomfortable than any encounter with Exiled up to that point. Track’s leering interest was more disturbing than Scar’s outright hostility.

She walked away from the gate, staying close to the wall so that she could observe, but stay out of the way. By her count, the ratio of boys to girls was about seven to one. The girls were dressed in the same clothes as the boys, but gender differences were conspicuous. If she’d been asked to name the most remarkable thing about the event, it would have been seeing the Exiled in action. Their strength and grace was both astounding and beautiful to watch.

Compared to young athletic humans, they could jump twice as high, run three times as fast, and, apparently, take a lot of punishment and laugh it off. Charming jogged over to where she was spectating, clearly glad to see her.

“You came.” He grinned.

“Said I would.”

“Come on. I’ll introduce you to my friends.”

It didn’t escape Rosie’s notice that Charming was showing her off, sometimes introducing her with a postscript that she was staying at his house. At one point she noticed Free watching them. It could have been her imagination, but she thought he looked concerned. She hoped the Extant didn’t think she had a romantic interest in Charming, that he knew Charming’s friendly easygoing ways had been her support while she was making an adjustment to the Exiled and Newland society. She really didn’t want to be seen as a potential ‘older woman’ threat.

On that note, she decided that, perhaps, she should see less of Charming. The last thing she wanted was to be a problem of any kind. The whole point of a break was to lie low and regroup emotionally.

“I’m not coming in tomorrow,” Dandy announced. “Going down to the market at Farsuitwail.”

Rosie wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with that information. “You mean I’ll be doing our jobs? Alone. With no one to talk to?”

Dandy cocked both her head and her hip. “You do what you do every day. Just not with me.”

“Oh.” Rosie frowned for half a second, then smiled. “So I’ll be the boss.”

Dandy snorted. “You wish.”

It was the friendliest Dandy had been to date and it made Rosie smile like she’d scored a coup.

The next morning she was in the kitchen before Serene and Free had left, which meant early.

“You’re up early,” Serene said.

“I’m on my own at the Commons today.” She realized she sounded a little excited and sort of proud about that.

“Oh? Dandelion’s not feeling well?” Serene asked.

Free stopped what he was doing and looked over, interested in Rosie’s response.

Instead of answering, Rosie was sidetracked and asked Serene, “You call her Dandelion?”

“Yes. I know her mother.”

Serene and Free both continued to look expectant, like they were waiting.

“Oh. No. She’s not sick. She’s going to Farsomething.”

“Farsuitwail.”

“Yeah.” Rosie smiled. “So I’m in charge. Until Scar comes in. Of course.” Serene and Free exchanged a look that Rosie couldn’t decipher. “I know how to do the work,” she said defensively.

“Of course,” said Serene. “No question about that.”

Rosie grabbed a popover, stuffed jam inside with a spoon, and said, “Gotta go.”

She was out the door and opening up the Commons within five minutes. There was only one thing that would be done differently than when Dandy had the helm. There would be no nasty kitties on or around the bar.

Everything went like clockwork. Many of the diners had begun to acknowledge her. Some even called her by name. Even the kitchen staff was friendlier than usual and she began to wonder if Dandy really needed to go to market or if it was a ploy to get the community past the cold shoulder stage. It was hard to tell with Dandy because she was the least evocative person Rosie had ever encountered. Effusion would have been as alien to her as the dragons of Emboldt.

By late afternoon everything was in order. The floors were swept and mopped. The table tops were clean. The bar was polished to a shine so perfect she could see herself in it. The glasses were spotless and stacked. The mugs were neatly shelved. Four green logs were banked on the fire pit so that there would be embers to start the evening fire.

Looking around, she was satisfied that Dandy would be pleased. At least she’d have no cause for complaint. Rosie was moving toward the galley hallway to put her apron in the bin and end her shift, when the door burst open. She turned when she heard the frantic sounds of alarmed voices, gruff male voices. Though there were perhaps only seven or eight Exiled who rushed inside, their energy filled the space to capacity. One of them, whom she couldn’t see, was screaming something and it was a sound that sent a chill through her system.

She heard Free give an order to someone near the door. Just as Charming nudged inside, Free said, “Nobody else comes in!”

By the look of them, Rosie surmised that she was looking at a clutch of active warriors. She moved back behind the bar and stood still, hoping to not be noticed, because whatever was going on was very bad.

Over the screams, she heard one of them tell Free, “They killed his crew. Cauterized the wounds so he wouldn’t bleed out. Left him like that to send a message. By the gods, Free. These creatures. They’re not like us! Blaze was a good male.”

When the huddle parted, Rosie jerked her hand to her mouth to stifle a scream. One of the young males, who she knew must have been beautiful beyond compare, was being held upright in a chair. All four of his limbs had been cut away at the body. It was grotesque beyond the worst nightmare imaginable.

He was shaking his head violently from side to side. In between screams and ragged breaths, she heard what he was saying. “Kill me.” He repeated it over and over. “Kill me. Don’t leave me like this.”

The man he was addressing looked up. In the middle of the horror, her mind processed instantly that he had the same tawny hair and yellow-green eyes as his mother and brother, combined with his father’s intensity.

It was hard to make sense of what was going on through the chaos, but something told her that the imposing figure, with anguish written all over his beautiful face, must be Carnal, the infamous older brother. He was covered in a mixture of desert dirt and blood, but underneath that was an undeniable magnetism.

While he was trying to sort between his emotions and the right thing to do, his gaze found Rosie and remained there. The starkness of the grief in his eyes made her want to plunder every promise and use her talents to ease his pain. If he’d continued to look at her like that, she would have. But his attention was wrenched back by the pleading screams coming from what remained of his friend.

During the few seconds before he tore his eyes away, he’d seemed to be searching for an answer. For a reprieve maybe. Or for someone else to take the responsibility. She watched the emotions change the expressions on his face. First resignation, then determination.

Carnal put his forearm around the neck of the screaming man from behind, then whispered into his ear as he applied pressure.

Rosie read his lips. He said, “Because I love you,” before swiftly wrenching the neck he held locked in his arm so that it separated from the spinal cord. It only took a glance for Rosie to read the depth of his devastation before he turned and walked out.

Free turned to one of the men with Carnal and said, “Follow him. Keep him safe.” The male nodded and hurried toward the door.

Rosie moved around the end of the bar to where Charming stood motionless. She caught his shirt in both fists. “What just happened?”

Charming turned his head toward her, but didn’t seem to actually see her through glazed-over eyes. “That was my brother, Carnal. The guy he just killed was his best friend.”

She released Charming’s shirt. Her eyes scanned over the silent warriors who looked stoic but utterly defeated as they stood over the remains of their comrade. It was evident that, at the least, he’d been respected by all of them.

Free stepped forward. It was so quiet in the room that there was no need to raise his voice. He spoke softly, but was heard clearly. “Prepare Blaze for his wake. We’ll burn the body at sunset tomorrow.” Without waiting for acknowledgement or looking back, he exited the same door his oldest son had passed through minutes before.

Rosie looked at Charming. “What kind of people would do a thing like this?” She searched Charming’s face for an answer, knowing there wasn’t an answer to that question.

He looked at her like he hadn’t realized she was there before and shook his head sadly. “The Rautt. They like torture. They delight in this kind of thing.”

Rosie’s eyes drifted over Charming’s boyish features that suddenly seemed incongruent with the expression he wore. “How many times have you seen something like this?”

“Too many.”

Rosie moved back behind the bar, feeling numb. She sank down to the floor where she wouldn’t be seen, and sat there, replaying the macabre sounds and images in her mind, not finding the motivation to get up and leave. After some time, she knew by the silence that everyone had gone, but still she was not prompted by either body or mind to move from where she sat.

She didn’t know how much time elapsed before she heard the door creak open and closed. That was followed by the heavy footfalls of someone large. Scar appeared at the other end of the bar donning one of his king-sized aprons. He stopped when he caught sight of her.

“What’s this then?” he asked gruffly.

Rosie didn’t move, not even when Scar stood over her. “Why are you sitting there like that, Human?”

Rosie turned her head so that she was looking at the worn knees of Scar’s pants.

“Well?” he said. Her eyes traveled upward to his face. Whatever he saw there caused him to soften his tone. “Were you here when Blaze was brought in?”

Her only response was a single tear that trailed down her cheek.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you home.” He squatted and pulled Rosie to her feet with one arm around her waist. He didn’t give her a choice about walking, but supported her weight. He grabbed her shawl and clumsily draped it over her shoulders.

Halfway to the Extant’s house, she pushed away from him and said, “I can walk.”

Scar let go of her, but accompanied her the rest of the way. He knocked on the door twice, loudly, before opening and guiding Rosie inside. Without a word, she walked straight to the stairs and began to ascend like she was having an out of body experience.

Free met him at the door.

“The world has gone mad, Free. Our own kind makes an abomination of a fine male and a human who never met Blaze weeps for him.”

Free looked back at Rosie slowly climbing the stairs before saying, “Thank you for bringing her.”

Scar nodded before starting away. “Mad, I tell you.”

Charming jogged up to the porch, looking between Free and Scar. “Is she here?” His father nodded. “Thank mercy. Where was she? She wasn’t in the Commons.”

“She was sitting behind the bar,” Scar said, “looking like the living dead.” He walked away shaking his head.

Rosie lay on top of her bed covers in the dark, curled into a fetal position. She heard a knock, but didn’t answer. After several tries without a response, Serene cracked the door.

“Rosie, we don’t want to intrude, but we want to be sure you’re alright.” When Rosie didn’t respond, Serene opened the door wider and glided toward the bed with the almost eerie grace of the Exiled women. She sat down on the bed next to Rosie. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Me, too.”

Serene looked at Free, who was standing just outside the door looking on, then back at Rosie. “Have you never seen something awful before?”

“Not like that.”

Serene nodded. “I envy you.” Rosie looked at her. “All of us have seen awful things.”

Rosie sat up. “I don’t care what you promised Kellareal. You can’t let your babies go out there and face that.”

Serene gave her a motherly smile and smoothed the hair away from her face. “You think we should just tell Kellareal that we changed our minds?”

“Yes! If you don’t want to, I’ll tell him for you.” She glanced at Free. “I’ve got an even better idea. Let’s just obliterate the animals that did this.”

Serene angled her head to the side. “How do you suggest we do that?”

Rosie realized that all creatures didn’t have her options, her choices. “I don’t know,” she lied. The truth was that she could do away with the ‘Rautt’ with a thought. And after what she’d seen, she’d feel good about it.

She heard a deep and weary sigh come from Free. “All of us who were there today will wear that image on our souls forever, like a brand. But that’s exactly what the Rautt intended. They wanted to make an impression. Carnal got the worst of it. And not just because Blaze was a brother of his heart. Because he had to snuff out a life that was precious to him. He’ll always be asking himself if he should have done what he did. I’m proud of him. He did the harder thing because it was the right thing.”

“Nothing about that could be called right.”

“Come down and have something to eat with us,” Serene said.

“I’m not hungry,” Rosie answered.

After a few seconds, Serene said, “I’ll leave food out in case you change your mind.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Sleep had been hard to find and Rosie didn’t know how much she’d gotten at the end of a night of tossing and turning. She’d formed a habit of rising at the same time every morning. So she woke when it was time to get ready for work, whether she wanted to or not. Since she wasn’t scheduled to report at the Commons until later that morning, she closed her eyes and stayed in bed. When she gave up on going back to sleep, she headed downstairs looking and feeling worse than if she’d just risen at the usual time.

On hearing the sound of voices drifting up from below at the front door, she stopped at the head of the stairwell. Charming was saying, “He’s drinking and fucking his way through Farsuitwail. He’ll be alright.”

“Go tell your mother you know where he is so she won’t be worried,” Free’s deeper voice rumbled in reply just before the door closed after him.

In an instant Charming appeared at the foot of the stairs, looking up toward Rosie. It was evident that he knew she’d been listening, but his face didn’t indicate that he judged her harshly for it. He watched as she descended and when she reached the bottom step, he said, “On my way out. There’s food in the kitchen.”

“Okay.” She didn’t feel like trying to force a smile.

She ate breakfast cakes and went to work, but couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that, based on what Charming had said, she might have to live through something like that again. And next time it might be someone she knew.

She went straight to the galley hallway, put her shawl on a hook, and pulled an unbleached muslin apron over her head. Dandy was wiping out glasses, but she looked up when Rosie entered the other end of the bar. The gray cat was sitting at her end and gave her an ugly meowl when she walked by.

Rosie turned on the cat. “I wouldn’t if I were you. Not today.”

The cat blinked slowly, rose, turned its back showing Rosie its asshole with tail high and twitching, then settled onto its haunches. The thing tried to give the appearance of nonchalant uncaring, but had its head turned just enough to watch Rosie in its peripheral vision, with one ear lowered to horizontal position as if to advertise annoyance.

“Why is that cat always here? Who does it belong to?”

“Tough day yesterday?” Dandy said. Rosie nodded, but didn’t answer. She went straight to work with the broom. “Look. I got nuts for the bar.”

Rosie looked at the bowls Dandy was pointing to.

“There will be cat hair in those bowls if you let that thing continue to sit on the bar.” Then it dawned on her that Dandy had made an effort to initiate conversation. Nothing could be more unlike her. “You’re talking to me now? After all this time? Why? Why now?”

“Because you’re a… good human,” Dandy said softly.

Rosie cocked her hip and put one fist on it. “How would you know that, Dandelion?”

“Scar told me.”

Rosie puffed out a breath of air. “Scar,” she said, shaking her head.

After that Dandy left her alone with her own thoughts.

Around ten o’clock Free came through the door. Nodding to Dandy he said, “I need a few with Rosie. That okay?”

“You want me to leave?” asked Dandy.

“No. We’ll sit over there.” He indicated the corner. To Rosie, he said, “Could you take a break so we can talk?”

She let the broom fall to the floor unceremoniously, walked to the corner table, and sat down in mock obedience. An observer would say she was behaving like a teenager or a diva, depending on the observer’s life experiences.

Free either didn’t notice or ignored it. “For the next small while, I’m making myself available to you. I’ll answer any questions you might have. I’ve decided you’ve been here long enough and witnessed enough to deserve that.”

She held Free’s gaze. “Is there a term limit on your service to Kellareal?” she asked.

Free’s lips parted and he looked surprised, like that wasn’t the sort of question he’d been expecting, but to his credit he answered in a simple and straightforward manner. “No.”

“You made an open-ended deal?” He nodded. Rosie secretly thought that lacked foresight, at the very least. An open-ended deal with an angel? If people realized that angels and demons were first cousins they’d stop doing that shit. “Have you thought about a renegotiation?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Free looked honestly puzzled by the question. “Because that’s not the deal I made.” He paused. “And, truthfully, I’d never considered it.”

“So your people are going to be locked in a perpetual struggle with monsters. FOR ETERNITY?”

Free’s jawline hardened. “That’s the deal I made.”

“Well, it sucked.”

Free wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but he surmised it was disapproval.

“Compared to what we had before, this is paradise.”

“Paradise,” she said drily.

“It’s not one-sided. The humans give us medicines we don’t have when we need it, money if we want to buy something, healthy livestock, and fruit and vegetables they grow in the valley. Most importantly, they leave us alone. Which is exactly the way we want it.”

Rosie pressed her lips together.

“You have something to say?” Free asked.

“I don’t think Kellareal would approve of me being rude to my host.”

Free sat back and adopted a closed look, like he was preparing himself. “Say what’s on your mind.”

“Either end the conflict or renegotiate the deal with Kellareal. Sacrificing your people for a never-ending war is insanity.”

Free looked sober, but not angry. “I don’t see how either of those things is an option.”

“Why not?”

“The Rautt live on the other side of the wasteland. They can see us coming for hours. And prepare. It would be all of us against all of them and they hold a defensible position.”

Rosie felt her demon blood stirring. There was a loophole. “From what Kellareal said, the Rautt set this up on their terms, destroyed technology so that there would be no weapons with a range further than a person can throw.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, you didn’t agree to that?”

Free’s brows came together for an instant before his eyes cleared. And slowly, very slowly, he formed a ghost of a smile. “I didn’t agree to that. I only agreed to protect the human population from the Rautt. How I do it was not part of the deal.”

“Exactly.”

“I suppose you have a suggestion to go with your insight.”

“I do.

“The Rautt killed the humans who had technological knowhow. Probably the military strategists as well. But a lot of those people had already passed on gene pool proclivities. I’m going to bet there are some alive, right now, who could meet the challenge of designing weapons that would bring an end to this.”

“What would stop those humans from also designing the means to imprison us?”

Rosie raised her chin. “You’ve been here twenty-five years.” Free nodded. “You made friends with any of the humans in Farsitsit?”

“Farsuitwail. I don’t know that I would call them friends, but there are people I deal with regularly.”

“Okay. Those people see you as people. Not animals.”

“You’re suggesting it’s possible to make weapons that could simply wipe out the Rautt and solve all our problems?”

“Weapons exist elsewhere that could do that. Yes. There’s no such thing as life without problems, based on what I’ve seen so far. But people do manage to live in peace. Sometimes for long periods of time.”

Free took in a big sigh. “I have another son.”

“I know. Crave.”

Free’s eyes jerked up to hers. “Yes. Crave. I don’t know for sure if he’s alive, but I can’t…”

“One step at a time. What do the humans have going on in the way of education?”

He cocked his head. “I don’t know, but I can find out.”

“Good. Kellareal is a close, um, family friend. But I don’t agree with what he’s done here. This isn’t freedom. It’s just another kind of servitude. And twenty-five years is quite enough to repay any debt.”

Rosie went back to work feeling a small consolation knowing she’d planted the seed of an idea that might eventually stop the cycle of Exiled sacrificing their children to monsters. She didn’t know what Kellareal had been thinking when he set this up, but she didn’t like it.

She went through the motions of performing her tasks. Dandy tried to be pleasant. That is to say, pleasant for Dandy, but Rosie was too traumatized by the scene she’d witnessed to care. Her mind was busy thinking of ways to wipe out the Rautt without using her abilities as witch or demon or both.

The next morning she woke from a bad dream and rose before it was light. She thought she’d go down to the kitchen for water, then try to go back to sleep, but part way down the stairs she realized there was quiet conversation in the back of the house. Focusing her attention, she could hear bits and pieces. Enough to know that Free was talking to Serene about his conversation with Rosie the day before. She wanted to eavesdrop, but she’d been born with her parents’ memories intact, including her father’s ardent sense of right and wrong.

That voice in her head said to turn around and go back to her room. Quietly. So she did, where she lay in bed wondering, for the thousandth time, if she shouldn’t just go home. Nothing was keeping her there. She didn’t need Kellareal for transportation or permission or to help her find the way. She’d just been letting life take her along like a leaf floating on a river. Every day she’d made the decision, consciously or unconsciously, to give it one more day.

Maybe she wanted to see what would come of Free’s and Serene’s discussion. Maybe it was the beginning of the end of their quarter century of bondage to a misbegotten deal. If she’d played a small part in that, she’d feel good about it. She decided to wait a little longer and see.

When she woke again later, a stream of light was coming through the shutters on her window like a vestige of hope and she found she was feeling a little more like herself.

That day she was more open to Dandy’s attempts to engage her. She even managed a laugh when one of Charming’s friends spilled a glass of cider on his own crotch. His friends were merciless, including Charming.

“Cub. You didn’t really shit yourself! The john’s just over there.”

“Wait till the sun hits the leather! Ouch!”

“You’re gonna be begging for mercy in a really high voice.”

The kid turned a bright red, not appreciating the laughter at his expense, even if it was all in good fun. Rosie approached the table, sending a rippling wave of magic-laced intention ahead of her.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

Charming and his two cohorts turned and pointed at Cub, whose pants were perfectly dry.

“He spilled cider…”

Rosie looked at them like they were crazy. “The glass of cider is full.”

They looked at the glass and, seeing that it was full, regarded it like it was a snake about to strike. Cub, on the other hand, looked at her like she’d hung the moon. He was just as confused as the others, but he didn’t miss the fact that his reversal of fortune coincided with Rosie’s arrival.

CHAPTER FIVE

Carnal hadn’t slept in his parents’ house in so long he couldn’t remember exactly when the last time had been, but he still thought of it as ‘home’. The incident with Blaze had left him with such a profound sense of loss and guilt that, for the first time in memory, he felt like he had no discernible direction. The status quo with the Rautt seemed pointless, in addition to being fruitless.

They had his brother, dead or alive. What they’d done to his best friend was shocking even for Rautt. For days after it happened he fought vomiting every time he thought about it, but there was another memory that had slid in behind the horror and paired itself with the recollection. The girl behind the bar.

She’d looked at him in a way… well, it had seemed to him that she understood everything he was feeling. It was all there, in her eyes. Her very green eyes. He got the feeling that she not only saw what he was feeling, but felt some of it herself. He knew it could have been his imagination. After all, he was out of his mind with grief at the time, but he didn’t think so.

He pushed the ale away and stood, having decided it was time to grow the fuck up and face the fact that drinking wasn’t going to make the pain go away. It just made good sense go away. It was time to get the hell out of Humantown, connect with his family, and face life without Blaze.

That newfound wisdom was bolstered by his curiosity about why that human girl had been behind the bar in the Commons. It had also been growing, nagging at him, and overriding the power of his usual distractions to distract. Humans were rarely invited to the Exiled settlement, and employing one of them was simply out of the question.

Carnal arrived in the dead of night, but at least it could be said that it was deliberate, since he was sober for the first time since Blaze’s death. He closed the door slowly enough that even Exiled ears wouldn’t be disturbed in sleep, climbed the stairs with the same stealth, and closed the door to his room.

It was a dark night, no moonlight coming through the shutters to make out where his bed was, but it didn’t matter. He knew his own room well enough to find the bed in the dark.

He pulled his boots off and set them on the floor one at a time, let the leather vest fall from his arms, and pulled the Henley over his head. That left him in heavy cotton pants comfortable enough for sleeping. So he pulled the covers back and crawled in. When his body came in contact with what could only be another person, he said, “What the…?” and pulled back, but not fast enough.

He didn’t remember exactly how he’d managed to fly across the room and hit the far wall, but once he slid to the floor, he jackknifed to his feet, ready to face the attacker, who seemed to be a woman.

“Who is that?” she demanded. “What are you doing in here?”

Carnal could hear footsteps from upstairs. Charming. And from downstairs. Free and Serene. Within seconds the room was full of people. Charming found the matches by the lamp and lit it.

Carnal looked at Rosie, who was wearing a white shimmery nightie that left little to the imagination, along with a confounded mix of interest and confusion.

“Brother,” Charming said simply, “welcome home.”

Carnal stared at Charming for a couple of beats before turning his attention to Free and Serene. “What is this human doing in my room?”

It sounded like an accusation. Hearing that tone, Free’s jaw tightened. He didn’t like the entitlement he heard in his son’s tone. “Not like you were using it.”

Quickly interjecting in hopes of keeping things from escalating, Serene said, “She’s a friend of Kellareal’s. He asked your father for a favor.”

Carnal looked back at Rosie, who thought it best to sit on the bed, pull the covers over her lap, and keep quiet while the family hashed things out. But while that was taking place, her eyes were wandering over Carnal’s upper body, which was tan and defined in a way seldom achieved by human males. He was a living, breathing work of art. She remembered what she’d overheard Charming say about Carnal ‘fucking his way through Farsuitwail’. She had no doubt that he’d had plenty of opportunity to do exactly that, between the divine body and the cocky attitude that exuded male confidence.

The next time he looked her way, she gave him a fine impression of her Auntie Elora’s little wave and said, “Hi. I’m Rosie.”

He cocked his head to the side as if considering that while his eyes fell to her breasts. “Yeah. I see that.”

“She’s not for you,” Charming said in a way that caused Free and Serene to exchange a worried glance with each other.

Carnal turned to his brother with a little smile. “No? I think she’s old enough to decide for herself,” he taunted. Charming took a foolish step forward, but Free put out his arm and stopped his youngest son’s progress before it became a middle-of-the-night sibling scuffle.

Carnal laughed at that, then turned toward Rosie. “So. What do you say, human? The bed’s big enough for both of us.”

Rosie started to get up. “I’ll sleep downstairs on the couch-thing.”

Serene stopped Rosie and pulled the covers back over her. “No, you will not. Carnal will sleep in, um, his other brother’s room.”

“Crave’s room?” Charming looked and sounded astonished.

Even Carnal, who seemed to Rosie like the sort who’d be hard to surprise, looked stunned at that.

“Yes, Carnal,” his mother said. “Go get some sleep. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

For the first time, Carnal looked at the decidedly girlie surroundings. “What in crapnation have you done to my room?!?”

“Carnal!” Serene took on a no-nonsense mother voice that was deeper and almost boomed. “Go to bed.”

He looked at his mother. “I’ve been defending Shit City for seven years. I’m not a child, Serene.”

“Then don’t act like one. Go to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow and you will be respectful to our guest.”

Carnal looked back at Rosie. “With all due respect.” He could not possibly have said that with more sarcasm. He picked up his stuff and, on the way out, with arms full of boots and discarded clothing, bent and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled. He chuckled. They all filed out closing the door and Rosie was left alone in the ‘crapnation’ room that belonged to the eldest son. She turned off the lamp and replayed the event in her mind again and again while sleep evaded her. One thing was certain. There was something about Carnal, something besides the obvious.

Rosie woke at the usual time, got ready for work and, as usual, found that everyone else had gone by the time she made her way downstairs. Serene had left something for her in the warming oven. When Rosie took it, she made a mental note to thank Serene for looking after her in that way. It was a kindness beyond mere hospitality.

She’d halfway expected to see Carnal downstairs, but like the rest of the family, he was, apparently, gone.

The night had brought a chill that made Rosie draw her shawl tighter on the short walk to the Commons. She hadn’t closed the door before Dandy was saying, “Build up the fire, Rosie. Every time the door opens, the heat goes with it.”

“Okay,” she said.

Rosie built the fire to a bright blaze, went through her list of chores that were practically second nature at that point, and stopped to have the sausage and biscuit snack she’d picked up from Serene’s kitchen on the way out.

“So…” she said, taking a bite.

After a minute, Dandy looked up from cleaning the ale tap. “So?”

“So, Carnal came home last night.”

“Carnal?” Dandy returned her attention to her task. “Did he?”

“Yes. Do you know him?”

Dandy looked at Rosie like she was slow. “I’m his brother’s Promise. Of course I know him.” As realization dawned, Dandy narrowed her eyes. “Oh. No. Do not think what you’re thinking.”

Rosie looked up. “I’m not thinking anything. Just asking a question.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m just saying. Do not ask any more questions. That boy goes through humans like corn shucks. You’re a good worker and I’ve gotten used to you. I don’t want anything messing with that.”

“Dandy,” Rosie laughed, “I think there was a compliment in there.”

“What was ‘in there’ was a good stiff warning, if you have any sense at all.”

“Okay. Okay. I hear you. Carnal is a bad boy. Play with fire, you get burned, and all that.”

“Play with fire, you get burned? I like that. And it definitely fits. Exiled females wouldn’t take Carnal’s escapades seriously, but human females are different. They get the idea that a fuck is a promise. Or so I hear.”

Rosie nodded. “Got it.”

“Good. Back to work. And forget about Carnal.”

“Right.”

“You’re not forgetting about him, are you?”

“I am.” Dandy raised her eyebrows. “I am! Really!”

Dandy shook her head and turned back to cleaning the tap. “Don’t say I didn’t tell you.”

The door opened, letting in the chill. Rosie looked up to see Carnal striding toward the bar looking for all the world like he owned it. And everything else.

“Speak of a demon on horseback,” Dandy muttered and Rosie made a mental note to ask how that had come to be a saying.

Carnal took a stool right in front of her. “Dandelion,” he said while looking at Rosie.

“Carnal,” she answered matter-of-factly.

“Rosie.” He said her name in a way that was teasing, but also like he’d known her for a long time, intimately.

“Carnal.” Rosie tried to mimic Dandy’s off-handedness.

“What do you need?” Dandy asked him point blank.

“Why so hostile, sister? Just stopping by to say hello and welcome Kellareal’s guest.”

“Kellareal’s guest is off limits to you.”

Dandy got his attention for the first time. “Why does everybody keep saying that? It’s not as if I eat young maidens.”

“It’s exactly as if you eat young maidens,” Dandy countered.

He laughed at that. “There’s nothing scary about me, Dandy. I’ve never forced anything on a female and I never would.”

“Yeah,” she said. “You just go around being you.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Dandy just shook her head and turned her back to him.

“Well,” he said, as he cleaned the claws he’d extended on his right hand. Rosie watched with fascination, thinking the abnormality was oddly sexy. “Just thought it would be good to get to know the person who’s sleeping in my bed.” His chin remained dipped while his eyes found hers.

Rosie just blinked, not sure how to respond to that, and not wanting to become a corn shuck, metaphorically or any other way. But even with her limited experience, she could see that Dandelion was right. Rosie was unable to tear her gaze away, thinking that Carnal’s seductive looks and ways were trouble with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “D” and that stands for drool.

With effort she turned away and began stacking glasses for easy access to accommodate the lunch crowd. She didn’t turn around again, but after a few minutes heard Carnal say.

“Okay. Gotta go. Later, Dandy. Later, Rosie.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Rosie saw Dandy toss off an annoyed and dismissive wave. Rosie said, “Bye,“ but didn’t turn around.

Both of them felt the temperature drop when the door opened.

“You know,” said Rosie, “you need a vestibule.”

“A what?”

“Um, it’s like an entry inside a building, a space between an inner and outer door. In a climate like this one, it can act as a buffer against weather.”

Dandy stopped what she was doing and cocked her head to the side. Rosie was getting used to the fact that Exiled did that when they were confused, curious, or interested in something.

“Not sure I understand.”

“Okay. You need to build, er, have built, an enclosed porch on the other side of that door.” She pointed at the door. “When someone comes in, they open the outer door and close it before they open the door that leads into the Commons. It won’t keep all the cold out, but it would make a big difference.”

Dandy considered that for a couple of seconds. “We need to tell Scar. He could get that done.”

Rosie nodded, just as the first of the lunch diners began to file in, bringing the cloudy day chill with them. Dandy looked over and smiled like they shared a secret and nodded in return.

Rosie didn’t see Carnal again for two days. She supposed he was living in the house, occupying a bedroom on the same floor, but she never saw him coming or going. She also didn’t see him at the Commons or hunkered around any of the fires that burned around the settlement at night. She supposed that if he’d really been interested in her, she was worth more of a pursuit than a single short, casual flirt.

As Dandy’s confidence in Rosie’s ability to handle the bar alone had grown, she’d begun to duck out to the weaving barn after lunch. On one such day, one of the kids Rosie recognized as being a friend of Charming’s came rushing in looking wild-eyed.

“Give me a bottle of the whiskey. Charm’s hurt.”

Rosie stood on tiptoes and reached high for a full bottle. “Charming’s hurt?”

“Yeah. Broke his leg. We think.”

She handed over the bottle and rounded the bar, jogging toward the door. She pulled it open and ran smack into a wall of flesh named Carnal.

He grinned. “Hold on, human. What’s the hurry?”

“Charm’s been hurt,” the kid said on his way past without stopping.

Carnal jerked his gaze back to Rosie as his brows came down. His look was so fierce and scary, she could imagine that Carnal’s enemies would turn and run if they looked into the face of his anger.

“Hurt?” He didn’t wait for confirmation, but turned and ran after Charming’s friend with a speed that was dizzying.

By the time Rosie reached the training field, Carnal was kneeling on the ground next to Charming. Serene had also made it there ahead of her. Rosie felt eyes on her as she made her way to where Charming lay on the ground trying not to show the pain he was in.

She hesitated, remembering the promise she’d made Kellareal about not using her abilities, remembering how her father felt about clean lines between right and wrong, promises being on the side of right, breaking them being on the side of wrong. She weighed that against her feelings about the kindness and acceptance Charming had shown her, a stranger wearing the appearance of Exiled’s creators and oppressors.

Serene’s friend, the midwife, had cut Charming’s pant leg away. When she touched it, to examine the break, Charming jerked, his face in such agony, Rosie couldn’t stand it. Telling herself that no one, including Kellareal, would ever know, she closed her eyes and saw the leg mended, stronger than before. For good measure she held an image of a big smile on Charming’s face for an extra second.

When she opened her eyes, she’d walked closer without realizing it and was standing only a few feet away.

“Hold on.” Charming pushed the midwife’s hands away. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. It must have just been a spasm.”

Rosie felt more than saw Carnal’s eyes on her. She wanted to ignore him, but he was a powerful presence. When she looked his direction, he’d turned his attention back to Charming.

“That’s impossible,” said the midwife, but it was hard to argue with Charming when he was getting to his feet laughing. Everybody watching knew that even whiskey couldn’t make that much of a difference.

Carnal looked around before his eyes settled on one of the trainers. “Track, what happened?”

Rosie noticed that Carnal’s voice was rougher than the one he used when he spoke to her.

“He did a flip over Tag, showing off. He came down too close to where Fray and Dominion were sparring with rods and caught a backswing.” Track shrugged. “Happens. You know that better than most.”

Carnal scanned the onlookers and spied Fray looking close to devastated. He walked over to where Fray stood and said, “Come with me.” Fray didn’t look happy, but did as he was told. Carnal walked up a berm in silence until he judged that they were out of earshot. “Did you mean to hurt Charming?”

Fray blanched. “No! Charm’s my friend.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” Fray stared.

When he said nothing, Carnal followed his statement with, “Right?”

“I, uh…”

“Stop that stammering. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. Right?”

Fray looked into Carnal’s eyes for a full minute before saying, “Right,” almost too quietly to be heard.

“Then don’t worry about it. Training field injuries are part of our lives. Sometimes we get. Sometimes we give.” Fray nodded slowly. “Alright then. Get back to work. I’m going to take my brother for a brew.”

Fray smiled at that and nodded again.

Carnal walked straight to Charming. Putting his big hand on his youngest sibling’s shoulder, he spoke to Track. “I’m taking my brother home to change his pants and getting him a drink. He’ll be back tomorrow.”

Track’s eyes flicked from Carnal to Charming. He didn’t look like he was completely down with that suggestion, but shrugged, letting it go.

When Rosie got back to the bar, Dandy was waiting.

“You left the bar unattended.”

“Charming was hurt.”

“Yeah. I heard. But you left the bar unattended.”

“Charming was hurt.”

“You get cuckoo disease or something?”

“I wanted to go see for myself.”

“Why?”

Rosie gaped. “Because I live in the same house with him. Because when I first came here, he was the only person who treated me like a person for a long time. Because I was worried about him. That enough?”

Dandy sighed. “It is,” she said quietly. “But you can’t leave the bar unattended.”

Rosie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d do the same thing if it was you.”

Dandy tried not to smile, but lost the battle. “So you going to make a list of people who’d be worthy of post abandonment?”

Rosie smiled in return. “Maybe.”

Dandy shook her head, but turned away still smiling. “So how is he?”

“Okay. Turned out to be just a spasm or something.”

“A cramp? How does a kid with brothers like Carnal and Crave fall down and cry hurt over a cramp?” Rosie pulled up short, realizing she hadn’t thought about the fact that, in a warrior society, a miraculous recovery might make Charming look like a pussy. “Well, never mind. I’m back now. So you might as well go ahead and take off.”

“Okay. Thanks. No harm done, right? I mean nobody stole anything.”

“Stole?” Dandy looked like she was having trouble processing that question. “You mean when somebody takes something that doesn’t belong to them?”

Rosie blinked. “Yes. That’s the definition of stealing.”

“Well, no. How can somebody steal something that already belongs to them?”

“Yeah. In that case, why are you so worried about leaving the bar unattended?”

“Because if nobody’s here, people will just come around and help themselves, breaking stuff and messing things up.”

“Oh.”

“So try not to do it again.”

“Only in emergencies.”

“Uh huh. Get out of here before I ask what constitutes an emergency. I have a feeling I don’t want to hear the answer to that.”

“Gone.”

“I still see you.”

“No you don’t,” Rosie said as she threw her apron in the bin and grabbed her shawl from its hook.

Carnal and Charming were steps away from the Commons as Rosie was leaving, pulling her shawl over her shoulders.

“Hey,” said Charming. “Carnal’s having an ale with me.” He said it like it was an occasion.

She smiled. “That’s nice. Have fun.”

Carnal smiled that smile that made him look like he knew all her secrets. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“No thanks.” She kept walking, but said over her shoulder, “The room where I’m staying needs a lot more homey touches.” When Carnal’s smile fell, she turned her head so that he couldn’t see that she was laughing.

Carnal and Charming were seated at a table by the fire with two pewter mugs of ale. Charming cleared his throat and, after looking around, said, “Carnal. Blaze…”

“Don’t.” Carnal cut him off with a single word spoken quietly, but so full of emotion it spoke volumes. He looked down at the mug for a minute before saying, “So. What’s her story?”

Charming looked suspicious. “Rosie?”

“Yes. Rosie.”

“Told you she’s not for you.”

“Just curious, kid. It’s not unreasonable to ask why a human is staying in the Extant’s house. Is it?”

“No. I guess not.” Charming looked around like he was confirming that nobody else was there. “Kellareal asked Free if she could stay here for a while. She told me she was on a break from her real life because her man left her.”

Carnal’s expression didn’t change. “Left her? She was mated?”

“No. I think that was the plan, but she said he chose work over her.”

“Who is she to Kellareal?”

“Don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?” The second that question was out of Charming’s mouth he regretted it and it showed on his face.

Carnal laughed. “Maybe I will.”

“She’s nice, Carnal. Leave her alone.”

“I’m not going to cause her harm.” Carnal took a sip of ale without taking his eyes off his brother. “Now what’s this I hear about you showing off during training?”

Charming looked sheepish. “Who said I was showing off? It’s not showing off if you can do something better. I can jump higher. So what’s wrong with that? You’re strong and fast. I don’t see you trying to hide that.”

Carnal sat back and grinned. “I get you. Nothing wrong with being good at something, but no reason to needlessly worry our mother either.”

Charming gaped at that, not being able to believe what he was hearing. “You’re giving me a lecture on worrying Serene? What the fuck is the matter with you?”

Carnal’s brows came down. “You got something to say?”

“As a matter of fact I do. What do you think she’s been doing when you disappear for weeks and months at a time? You think she forgets all about you? And especially since Crave is…”

“Don’t.” Carnal whispered, but the message was clear. Crave was an open wound with Carnal and the biggest part of the reason why he stayed away from home.

Charming sat back and blew out a breath. “Okay, look, I shouldn’t have… I know the two of you were, are, close.” Understanding seemed to wash over Charming, changing his expression to that of an older, more settled male. “That’s why you went absentee from our family. Isn’t it?”

Carnal didn’t answer. He just looked away. “I’m not absent now.”

“No,” Charming said slowly. “You’re not. You coming to supper tonight?”

Carnal’s gaze slid from the fire to his little brother. Charming may have only been a few years younger, but Carnal felt like the difference, reflected in the youth and hope on Charming’s face, was as deep as an abyss.

He felt the ghost of a smile form around his lips, reading a little anticipatory excitement in his brother.

“Sure,” he said.

Rosie was almost to the porch of the Extant’s house when Serene caught up with her. Forming a crook with her elbow, she looped Rosie’s hand through the space, patted her arm and turned them around so that Rosie was walking away from her temporary home instead of toward it.

That had happened so fast Rosie had to take a second to recalibrate whether she was coming or going.

“Wait,” she said, looking back over her shoulder. “I was going to…”

“You’re invited to come to the weaving barn as my guest.”

“I am?”

Serene looked over at her. “I saw you at the training field earlier.” Rosie said nothing because there was nothing to add. It wasn’t a question and the statement was factual with no room for correction or argument. So she waited for Serene to continue. “Were you just happening by?”

“No. Not exactly.” Serene kept guiding them toward the large structure, with long strides that made Rosie hurry along. “Charming’s friend, Tag, came to the bar. He said Charming was hurt.”

“I see,” said Serene. “And you left your post because of that?”

“I, uh, don’t really think of the bar as a ‘post’ per se. I more think of it as a job?”

“Here we are. I want to show you around.”

Rosie wasn’t sure what she’d expected. Rafters full of cotton and sheep’s wool, she supposed. She stepped into a foyer that opened into a wide aisle running the length of the building. The space on either side was divided into rooms with both exterior and interior windows so that anyone traversing the aisle could look in.

In the first room on the left were ten or so young Exiled looking toward an adult woman. Though the accoutrements were somewhat different, there was little doubt that Rosie was looking at a classroom. Serene let Rosie set the pace. As they passed by slowly, beautiful young faces turned to look with open curiosity. Serene nodded a greeting to the woman, who was certainly some sort of teacher, and she nodded in return.

“It’s a school,” Rosie said.

“Well, we do have space for looms and quilting, but yes, we also house the nursery and school here.”

As they proceeded down the aisle, the occupants of the rooms grew younger.

“Oldest near the front, youngest at the back. For defense?” Rosie asked.

Serene smiled. “Those least likely to be able to defend themselves would, in the case of an attack, be least likely to need to.”

“So during the day, women do domestic and education chores while men…”

“Build or farm or care for livestock. Some train those who will serve our commitment to Kellareal and some are occupied in active service.”

The scene in the bar with Blaze flashed across Rosie’s mind and made her jaw tighten.

“Free told you what I said. About ending it.”

Serene cocked her head to the side. “How did you know that?”

“I overheard. It wasn’t intentional,” she hurried to add. “I was coming downstairs. When I realized you were having a private conversation, I went back up.”

Serene nodded. “He told me.”

“And what do you think?” Rosie pressed.

“I think Free is considering.”

“He’s thinking about it.”

Serene nodded. “Would you like to see the actual weaving rooms?” She reached for a handle to her right and swung the door open wide for Rosie to enter.

The room did, in fact, have natural materials that could be made into threads and placed on the looms for weaving. The room was about four times the size of one of the classrooms and everything in it was fascinating to Rosie. The women looked from Serene to Rosie and smiled, making her feel like less of an outsider.

The tour concluded with a dining hall, backed by a large kitchen.

“So this is where you have lunch.”

Serene looked around, clearly proud of the facility. “Yes. It’s more civilized than lunch at the Commons. The men are rowdy and they eat too much.”

Rosie laughed at that. It was true, but as an outsider, she never would have said it. “I’m glad you showed me this, Serene. It’s very impressive.”

“Well, I have an ulterior motive.”

Rosie slanted her eyes toward her hostess. “Oh?”

“What you said to Free… it was smart. I thought you might have something to offer. If you wanted to teach, that is.” Rosie stopped and stared, which made Serene look unsure of herself. “Not… all the time.”

Rosie looked around. She’d never gone to school. The closest thing she had to experience with school was her parents’ memories. Her mother was home schooled by seven monks who were part of a cult of humanists/scientists. Her father was for all purposes kicked out of public school, but found a home with Black Swan. She wasn’t sure either of those scenarios would translate to teaching Exiled young. “Teach what?”

“What interests you?”

Rosie was struck by the fact that she’d never been asked that question before. She’d barely had time to do anything except look for her father and explore a relationship with Glendennon Catch. She hadn’t really spent any time asking herself questions about who or what she wanted to be.

“Rosie?”

She came out of her reverie, seeing that Serene was waiting for a reasonable answer to a reasonable question.

“I guess I’m interested in a lot of things. Geography?”

“Geography?” Serene laughed. “Well, there’s our settlement, the human city, and the Rautt live across the wasteland. Next?”

She couldn’t explain to Serene that, to Rosie, geography meant navigating dimensions, worlds upon worlds, being able to move not just back and forth, but up and down through a reality far more complex than the Extant’s wife could imagine.

“What do you need?”

Serene shifted her weight back and studied Rosie. “Now there’s a question worthy of a teacher. How do you feel about twelve-year-olds?”

“I don’t know.”

Serene laughed. “No siblings?”

“No.”

“No friends with siblings?”

“No.”

“Cousins?” Rosie shook her head. “No experience with children. At all.”

“How about this? You have some time between lunch and dinner. When you feel like it, you can sit in on classes. Any one you want. I’ll tell the teachers you’ve been invited. You can sort of try them out and see if there’s an age group that feels like a fit.”

Rosie grinned. “A fit.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Maybe.”

“Think you can find your way back?”

“I know the way back.”

“Well, then. See you tonight. We’re having potato and squash venison.”

“What’s wrong with now?”

Serene laughed. “You sound like one of my boys.” Rosie caught the faintest flinch when Serene finished that sentence and supposed she was always grieving for Crave, not knowing whether he was dead or alive, but always in pain either way. It would be so easy for Rosie to find out at the least, bring him home safe at the worst. And she wondered what was the point of having unusual abilities if she wasn’t supposed to use them to do some good in the world. Serene’s voice brought her out of that fugue. “We were lucky Charming wasn’t really hurt.”

“Yes. That would have been a shame.”

Rosie made her way back to her temporary retreat and made her room even more girlie just to irritate Carnal in the unlikely event he might see it again while she was still there. If she’d been asked why she cared, she wouldn’t have known what to say.

Supper at the Extant’s house was an entirely different experience with the oldest son in residence. Whereas dinner conversation was usually quiet and subdued, Carnal kept everyone laughing with stories from Farsuitwail. Reading between the lines, Rosie pieced it together that human females were infatuated with Exiled’s hybrid males, a fact that was met with considerable consternation on the part of human males.

Rosie sat back and observed the dynamic. It was easy to see that Carnal was adored by his family. They soaked up his presence like sponges that were afraid they might not see water again for a long time. She found herself thinking that, when he left again, he’d leave them mourning for more. And there was no doubt in her mind that he would be leaving again.

She’d been pushing a piece of squash around her plate when she heard her name.

“Hmmm?” she said.

Carnal was wearing an amused look. “I said, how do you like it here?”

“I like it fine, Carnal.”

“How does it compare to, uh, where you’re from?”

“Oh,” she smiled, “there’s a world of difference.”

“Ha!” Charming barked out. “Funny. I told you she’s smart and funny.”

“Yeah, you did,” Carnal smiled at Rosie, while Free and Serene exchanged worried glances.

“I gave Rosie a tour of the Weavers’ Barn today.”

Free stopped eating. “You did?”

“Yes. After the scare at the training field.” Serene looked at Charming pointedly.

“That was not my fault,” he said, shaking his head.

Serene went on. “I’ve suggested that Rosie might want to teach, in her spare time.”

“Rosie has spare time?” Charming looked at Rosie like she’d been holding out on him.

“You know, like when I take walks with you at night sometimes?”

“Yeah?” he said.

“That’s spare time.”

“Oh, well. If that’s what you mean by spare time.”

“What do you mean by spare time?” Rosie put the question back to Charming.

“Time when there’s nothing going on that you want to do.”

Rosie laughed. “Oh. Okay. Well, that would be never.”

Carnal had been studying Rosie throughout her exchange with Charming. “Are you interested in teaching, Rosie?” Carnal asked quietly in a tone she hadn’t heard him use all evening. It was not his entertaining storyteller voice, or his I’m-taking-charge voice that she’d heard him use on the training field, or his seductive voice that he’d used sitting at the bar. It could have almost been described as tender.

“I haven’t decided. But maybe. I’m going to hang out when I can and see if anything fits.” Her eyes flicked toward the end of the table where his mother sat. “That’s Serene’s suggestion.”

Carnal looked at his mother briefly before retraining his focus on Rosie, only his tone had changed. “Logical. What do you think you’re qualified to teach?”

It sounded a little like a challenge.

“Might surprise you, Carnal.”

“Might. You know how to read?”

Rosie barked out a laugh. “Yes. I know how to read.”

“Write?”

“What is this?”

“Just trying to find out what you have to teach Exiled?”

“I know a lot of languages.”

Carnal grinned. “Only one language here. Do you know math?”

“I could teach calculus, but I definitely wouldn’t enjoy it.”

“What’s calculus?”

“It’s advanced math that has to do with establishing volume.” She looked at Free. “I could teach how not to be like the frog that complacently sits in a pot of heating water until it explodes, when it could have jumped out.”

Free kept his expression stoic, but his head jerked up slightly at that.

Carnal looked between Rosie and Free and said, “What?!?”

Rosie looked at Carnal. “Don’t tell me. You don’t know what a frog is.”

“Look,” Serene interrupted, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction. “We have a plan. Rosie’s going to visit the barn and decide what feels right, but I’m hoping she can teach something like, well, like innovation, different ways of thinking about things.”

Carnal looked at Rosie, but addressed his mother. “What makes you think she knows anything about innovation?”

“Carnal!” Serene’s tone had taken a marked change toward warning, “You’re being rude.”

“Not intending to be rude. Just trying to find out why you think Exiled young could benefit from human teachings.”

Rosie wasn’t sure why Carnal seemed suddenly hostile. Serene stood up and bared her fangs. “Who’s in charge of education, Carnal?”

“You are, Mom.”

That was the first time Rosie had heard one of the sons address a parent with a title of endearment, but she didn’t have to wonder why. Serene was scary when she got her fur up.

“That’s right. I’m in charge. Who teaches and what they teach is up to me. I don’t tell you…” She stopped dead still as if recognition of what she’d been about to say was as painful as an appendectomy without anesthesia.

“That’s right, Mom,” Carnal said quietly and calmly. “You give me respect. I crossed a line and I’m sorry. I do respect what you do and how you do it.”

If he wasn’t sincere, he fooled Rosie because she would swear that he meant what he was saying. Somewhere in her treasure trove of memories was one of her father saying he wouldn’t give two dimes for a man who didn’t know how to apologize when he needed to. He’d also said the same about a man who would treat his mother badly.

Serene relaxed visibly and sat back down. Free all but smirked at his son openly. Rosie took that to mean that he’d been on the receiving end of Serene’s displeasure himself.

“This venison is perfection,” Free said, with an upbeat tone that seemed out of place in light of the recent exchange.

Everybody looked at him for a minute, then burst out laughing. The tension was broken and, just like that, it was over.

CHAPTER SIX

“I’m off.” Dandy’s routine had become predictable. Every day at two-thirty she said goodbye and left Rosie in charge until Scar arrived at four-thirty. On her way out, she said, “They’re starting work on that thing you suggested tomorrow.”

Rosie had to think for a minute. “The vestibule?”

“Whatever. They said they’ll try to not interfere with lunch traffic, but ‘try’ is a word with broad interpretation.”

Rosie chuckled. “Yes. It is. It will be worth some hassle. You’re going to love it. You’ll see.”

Dandy waved over her shoulder without looking back.

Everything was done, which meant the next two hours would define boredom. Rosie tapped her fingers on the polished bar as her eyes wandered to the end, where the gray cat sat looking like it was fantasizing that she was a lion and Rosie was her prey.

Carnal entered the Commons quietly and watched as Rosie worked behind the bar. She was drying glasses one by one, holding them up to the light before putting them in the next place in line on the shelf. She was so lost in thought, she hadn’t realized that she wasn’t alone until he said, “What’re you thinking about?”

She jumped. And something about her surprise made him chuckle. It was a rusty sound and an even rustier feeling. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed. He eased onto one of the stools facing the bar.

She went on working, studiously ignoring him while he waited patiently, enjoying watching her as much as she liked being watched.

When he broke the silence again, it was to ask, “You ever been in love, Rosie?”

She paused mid swipe for just a fraction of a second before she continued wiping down the bar, but seemed to be considering the question.

“I think so.”

“What happened?”

She stopped and met his gaze across the polished wood.

“I thought he was the best thing that ever happened to a penis. But he chose work over me. Maybe it was a hard choice, but he made it look way too easy.” She shrugged. “I didn’t see myself taking second place behind a job.”

Carnal’s face took on a more serious expression. “What kind of job?”

“Well,” she paused again, “it’s kind of hard to explain. In my world there are monsters and there are people who try to protect innocents from those monsters.”

“He’s a monster killer.”

“Yes.”

“Is he good at it?”

“I don’t know. But my guess would be yes.”

“What would happen in your world if everybody who was good at killing the monsters stopped doing it because someone in their life wanted them to stay safe?”

Rosie’s mind froze while she examined that question from every angle possible. She didn’t want to confront the obvious answer so she skirted past it. “All I know is that I didn’t want to spend my life waiting and worrying that he wasn’t coming back.”

“So you made good on your promise and left.”

Rosie stopped polishing the bar and looked down at the cloth she was holding in her hand. “Yeah.” The cat jumped up to the end of the bar effortlessly, pranced between them waving her tail like a challenge, and sat herself down right in front of Carnal. When he reached out to pet her, the cat purred loudly while giving Rosie a look so full of malice that she understood why humans had once thought animals could be possessed by evil spirits. Rosie drew a cider and set it in front of Carnal.

“Well, his loss is my gain.”

“You’re going to get cat hair in your cider,” Rosie admonished.

Carnal smiled as he continued petting the cat. “I’ll be careful.”

Rosie shrugged. “It’s your digestive system. Don’t come crying to me when you have a hair ball stuck in your throat.”

He laughed at that. “Do you have a fantasy about me coming to you crying, Rosie?”

The cat squinted its eyes in an expression that resembled gloating. “Bitch,” said Rosie, as she turned away.

“What?”

Over her shoulder she said, “That cat. She hates me.”

He looked down at the cat like she couldn’t possibly be talking about the same animal. “Catty Kay?” Carnal grinned and the cat purred even louder, partially closing her repulsive yellow eyes. “She’s a sweetheart.”

“She’s a monster in a fur fucking coat.”

Carnal was about to laugh out loud, but when Rosie passed by them, the cat reached out and drew blood by slashing her bare arm with claws bared. Rosie hissed in a breath at the sting. When she waved her hand out of reflex, Catty Kay went flying through the air making a yeowling noise so ugly that Carnal wanted to cover his ears. The cat smashed against the far wall at the end of the bar then landed on her feet and began shaking her head like she had something stuck in an ear.

Carnal walked around the bar and went through the swinging doors to the kitchen. When he returned, Rosie was washing the cut with a clean rag.

“Here,” he said. “This will fix you right up.”

He held up a glass jar ointment. He took her hand and looked at the cut. “It’s not bad.” He began applying a small amount of the topical solution, whatever it was. “How did you do that?” he asked.

“What?”

He raised an eyebrow as if to say he didn’t have the patience for games. “How did you throw the cat against that wall?”

“How do you think? I picked it up and threw it.”

“That’s not what I saw.”

“Then that thing must have lulled you into a fugue state with that obnoxious sound it was making.”

Carnal looked confused. “You mean purring?”

“Yes. That.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, I can’t help that.”

Carnal shrugged. “Okay. What can you help with?”

“You want something else?”

“Yes. I have an itch.”

“I saw a backscratcher in the cistern shower.”

“Not that kind of itch.”

“Let me put it another way. I can’t help you with any kind of itch.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Why not? Your man isn’t around. And he’s not gonna be around. You said so yourself.”

She laughed. “That doesn’t make me automatically available.”

“Maybe not. But it does make you game. If you were mine, I’d never let you get away.”

She shook her head. “Moot point because I’m not ever going to be yours, Carnal.”

He smiled. “My mother is under the impression that I owe you an apology.”

“Hmmm.”

“I’m going to take that to mean you agree. So. Here I am saying sorry. I didn’t intend to make you feel unwanted.”

Rosie cocked her head to the side as Exiled so often did. When she realized she was unconsciously mimicking the gesture, she straightened.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to vet the people teaching your children.”

Carnal waited. When she said nothing more, he said, “But it’s not my place to do that. It’s Serene’s.”

“That’s between the two of you. I don’t have hard feelings about it.”

“Hard feelings. Yeah.” He looked around, took another drink, and said, “I don’t want you to have hard feelings.”

“Well I don’t.” He nodded. “So was there something else?”

“Yeah.” One side of his mouth lifted in a cocky smile. “I thought we might get together.”

Rosie’s brow furrowed. “Get together. You mean like on a date.”

“Not sure what that is, but I’m pretty sure you know what I mean.”

Rosie laughed in his face. “From what I hear you’ve got hordes of girls vying to date you. I don’t think ‘getting together’ with me is a great idea.”

Carnal grinned. “How old are you, Rosie?”

“Fourteen months. Why?”

He laughed. “No reason. I’d want to get together with you no matter how old you are. You don’t have to tell me your age.”

“Told you, Carnal. Go wade through the masses who are clawing for your attention.”

“Had my fill of chicklets. I want you.”

“Well, you can’t always get what you want.”

He gave her a look that transformed his face from ruggedly handsome to mesmerizing. “I’m pretty sure I can.” He grinned.

Rosie just shook her head and turned back to pretend working. After a period of silence she heard the door swoosh open and closed.

When she left the Commons at four-thirty, he was waiting outside and fell into step beside her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Walking you to the Extant’s house.”

“Carnal.” She chuffed. “It’s a three minute walk.”

“Not far enough for you to object then.”

“What’s your game?”

“You.”

“I don’t want to be your game.” He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off, saying, “And don’t tell me everybody wants to be your game.”

He smiled. “I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say I’m going to give you a chance to change your mind. An open-ended chance.”

“Very magnanimous of you.” Rosie stopped suddenly. “You know what? I’m not going back to your house. I’m going over to the Weavers’ Barn.” She reversed her direction. “So see you later if you’ll be at dinner.”

Carnal stayed with her. She looked up at him. He was easily eight inches taller and seemed to tower over her.

“I’d just as soon walk you to the barn.”

“Suit yourself, but it’s a waste of your time.”

“Time spent with you is not a waste, Rosie.”

She was thinking that reply, while sweet enough to make the heart flutter, was a little too smooth to be trusted.

“You can walk where you want, Carnal, but it won’t get you anywhere with me.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one thing, I’m not interested in being yesterday’s news.”

That literally stopped Carnal in his tracks. He stopped. Rosie kept walking. She looked back over her shoulder once, but didn’t break her stride until she was inside the Weavers’ Barn.

She began a slow walk down the aisle and back, trying to decide what class she would visit. In the end, she decided on a methodical approach. She would spend a day in every class beginning with the seven-year-olds. After making her way back down to the far end of the building, just before she reached the nursery and preschool, she entered the classroom quietly, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. The teacher, who was sitting in a tiny chair in a circle with her small class, looked up and smiled.

“Look,” she said to her charges, “we have a visitor. This is Rosie.”

“Hello,” Rosie said.

“We’re going to go around the circle and tell Rosie our names. You start, Daisy.”

“I’m Daisy,” said the little girl. “Are you human?”

“Yes,” Rosie answered. “And you’re mostly human.”

“I am?” The child looked astonished.

Rosie laughed. “That’s right.”

She wasn’t sure the teacher approved of her answer, but Rosie’s philosophy of teaching, newly formed within the previous second, was that the truth is what should be taught, regardless of the age of the student.

After introductions, the teacher said, “We’re identifying animals, their names, the sounds they make, whether or not they’re friendly to us, that kind of thing.”

Rosie nodded and took a seat far enough away from the circle to be forgotten by the kids, but not far enough away so that she couldn’t hear and observe the interaction. As it turned out, the school day ended at five. So she wasn’t there long, but she felt she had a feeling for what it would be like to teach seven-year-olds and she wasn’t sure it was a ‘fit’.

Carnal was at dinner at the Extant’s house that night and again the overall mood seemed elevated because of that. His simple presence energized the atmosphere.

“Rosie visited level two today,” said Serene.

“You did?” Charming asked.

Rosie nodded as she took a spoonful of mutton and cabbage. “I did.”

“What was it like?” Charming looked seriously interested.

“Well, they’re beautiful, of course.” Rosie noticed that her comment seemed to make all four members of the Extant’s family slightly uncomfortable. She wondered if they were prickly about the fact that they were the result of DNA tampering and selective breeding. “But they’re also bright, inquisitive, and eager to learn.”

It was evident that her latter comment made her dinner companions seem both pleased and proud.

“What made you pick level two?” Serene asked.

“I walked up and down and finally decided to be methodical. My plan is to visit every level, in order, one a day.”

Serene looked sincerely impressed. “A very sound and well-conceived approach. I’m so pleased that you’re looking into my offer.”

Carnal took a drink without taking his eyes away from Rosie. He said nothing. He simply stared with a mix of amusement and something hard to pinpoint, intrigue maybe.

When nothing more was said on the matter, Free turned to Charming. “Any more issues with cramping?”

Charming looked embarrassed. “No. It was a fluke.”

“That’s good.”

“That is good.” Carnal turned to Charming chuckling. “I wouldn’t want it to get around that my little brother has problems with cramps.”

“Grow up,” Charming said to Carnal, just before he lunged at his brother, taking the two of them to the floor wrestling in spite of being tangled up in Carnal’s chair.

Serene looked at Free with pleading in her eyes. With a sigh, he rose, stepped over to the scene that had Rosie looking on open-mouthed and separated his sons in a maneuver that was obviously practiced until tried and true.

He spoke with his authoritarian voice and, for the first time, Rosie could see how and why Free was leader of the Exiled.

“Sit down and behave or eat outside on the dirt with the dogs and chickens.”

Charming glanced at Rosie red-faced. Carnal looked at Rosie and smiled without the tiniest hint of remorse or embarrassment. She suspected it would take a lot to embarrass someone with Carnal’s exaggerated self-esteem.

Rosie left for work the next morning with her shawl pulled around her, but when she stepped outside, she was pleasantly surprised to find the weather had turned mild. She could see from the short distance that lumber and supplies were stacked outside the front of the Commons. Men were already working on erecting a buffer room.

“Who’s the architect?” she asked.

“You mean the planner?” She turned, hearing Carnal’s familiar, teasing voice.

“Yes. The planner then.”

“This is Rail.” Carnal pointed to one of the men. He had the more unusual jet black hair like Free and piercing yellow-green eyes. Rail nodded in greeting.

“Rail. How do you do? I was wondering if you’d be open to an improvement on my original suggestion.”

“Ah.” He looked at Carnal. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Well,” Rosie went on. “If you make a long rectangular porch, and put a door at either end, instead of one door in front of the interior door? I think it would hold the warmth better.”

Rail looked toward the building. “We could do that. We’d need to build another door since we’re talking about two instead of one, but that’s not a big problem.”

Rosie gave Rail a bewitching smile, which Carnal didn’t care for, before heading into the Commons.

Dandy had left the door open since it was such a beautiful day.

“Hey,” Rosie said.

“Good morning.” Dandy looked up. “No need to start the fire. It’s nice today. If it gets cooler, Scar can do it himself.”

“Works for me.”

Before Rosie went about her usual chores, she asked, “Is Carnal part of the carpentry crew? I thought he was a fighter.”

“Don’t be dense.”

“What does that mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s helping with the build out so he’ll be visible to you.”

Rosie had nothing to say to that because, based on what Carnal had said, it was likely true.

By mid-morning, Carnal had taken off his shirt. He managed to situate himself so that he was usually working right in front of the open door and, as likely planned, Rosie had a hard time keeping her eyes away from the rippling muscles on display in a spectacular demonstration of male exhibitionism. Whenever he caught her looking, he smiled like a cat sneaking cream.

The workers cleared a path for the lunch crowd, as promised, and came inside for some well-deserved hot meals. Carnal sat at the bar and watched Rosie work while he ate, never taking his eyes off her. He noticed that she called every one of the regulars by name and often exchanged some pleasantry, asking about a wife or child or a chicken that wasn’t laying. He also noticed that she seemed to be well-liked in return.

She may not have known it, but she was a pioneer in the sense that she was the first human to ever live and be accepted as one of them. So far as Carnal was concerned, that meant something. It took courage to show up in a society where she was not only the only outsider, of a different subspecies, but was also representative of a race that was distrusted, if not despised.

When the rush died down, Carnal said, “Guess I’d better get back to work.”

“It was nice of you to wear a shirt to lunch,” Rosie said off-handedly.

Carnal grinned. “So you noticed I didn’t have a shirt on earlier.”

Rosie looked him in the eye. “There’s no point in pretending you’re not fun to look at, Carnal. You already know that. But I’m not looking for a boy toy.”

Carnal laughed showing off his very white and dangerous looking fangs. “Boy toy?!? Is that a real thing where you’re from?”

“It is for some people. Not for me.”

Rosie turned to take a tray of glasses to the deep sinks for washing, but Carnal caught her wrist.

“I don’t want to be your boy toy, Rosie.”

“Good. Then we’re agreed.” She looked pointedly at his hand on her wrist, detaining her progress. “But I might want to be your man.”

“That’s a lovely proposal, Carnal, but I’m not in the market for a man.”

With that he released her. She took the glasses to the sink. When she turned around, he’d gone. He didn’t work on the Commons porch that afternoon, but when she left for the day, he was waiting to walk her to the Weavers’ Barn.

He’d changed clothes and smelled nice, like a man recently bathed.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Walking,” he said. “So, are you doing level three today?”

“You were really listening.” She didn’t want to be impressed by that.

“Of course. I’m interested in you.”

Rosie stopped walking and turned to face Carnal. “You need to stop being interested in me.”

He faced her, with hands in his pockets, and leaned down toward her which accentuated the height difference and also gave Rosie a little catch of breath.

“I can’t just stop being interested. I’m interested. And you need to know that I’ve never chased after a female before. Ever.”

“Am I supposed to be flattered by that?”

“You absolutely are supposed to be flattered by that.”

Judging by the look on his face, he wasn’t kidding. “Are you being serious?” He lifted and dropped his shoulders. “Look, I only have a few minutes before school’s out…”

“I only have a few more days before I’m back on watch.”

“Oh. You’re on vacation?”

“We don’t get vacation, Rosie, but we do get brief periods when we’re not on active patrol. When that happens we’re still on watch, at the ready, or we’re helping with things that need doing around here. Like building ‘vestibules’.”

She studied him for a few beats. “I have to go. See you at dinner.”

Carnal didn’t show up for dinner. He ate at the Commons with his crew and stayed late drinking. He’d as much as told Rosie he wanted to spend time with her while he could. She’d as much as said, “No thanks.”

Everything about her bothered him. It bothered him that she was human living in the Exiled settlement. It bothered him that she was living in his house. In his room! It bothered him that she was impervious to his charm to the point of mocking. It bothered him that he couldn’t stop thinking about her and that, since he’d come home, he hadn’t been laid. Not because there wasn’t opportunity. There was always opportunity. He hadn’t been laid because he was obsessed with the little human, her strange ways, her emerald-green eyes. And, all of a sudden, the most notable thing about other females was that they weren’t her.

He liked sitting in the Commons when she was working, watching her rush around serving his brethren with a smile. He liked watching even better when she slowed enough for her hips to roll and sway in a way that was decidedly different from Exiled females. He thought that perhaps he’d blown his chances when he’d challenged her about her qualifications for teaching. Truthfully, he wasn’t objecting to her qualifications, but rather her species. That was when he settled on a plan, to learn more about her, treat her like a real person and not just a body that would give him a few minutes pent-up release and the forgetfulness he craved. He winced at having used that verb, of all the things to be thinking.

There was some unmistakable something about the little human that drew him in and wouldn’t let go. He had no experience with being turned down, but thought that was a lousy excuse for giving up easily. He resolved to rededicate himself to the goal of convincing Rosie he was worth consideration.

As Rosie had observed before, the mood at dinner was definitely more subdued when Carnal wasn’t present. As much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she was disappointed that he wasn’t there.

“What did you think of level three, Rosie?” Serene asked.

Rosie smiled while chewing a bite of some unknown, but delicious root vegetable from the stew in her bowl. “Delightful. They were taking turns reading. I was wondering where you got the books.”

“Kellareal brought them.”

“Oh,” Rosie said, and continued eating.

“Rosie,” Serene flicked a glance at Free, “you can speak openly. Do you have something to say about the books?”

“Well, the books were written about humans by humans. I know there’s not that much difference between us, but I think the children might benefit from having pride in your own, um, species.”

Charming laughed. “Not that much difference?”

“Charming.” His mother had a warning tone. Again.

But he ignored her and continued. “We’re bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter. We live longer and almost never get sick. We’re better than humans by any measure you can name.”

Rosie just looked at him and shrugged. “Okay.”

Charming didn’t hide his displeasure with her response. “What! You think otherwise.”

“Not for me to say.” Rosie held his heated gaze. “And clearly you already have pride in your people with or without books written about hybrids.”

Clearly, Charming was not ready to put the topic to rest. “If you think humans are better at something, name it.”

“Rosie,” Serene interrupted, “my son is not speaking for us.” She turned a glare toward Charming. “You are not instigating a superiority competition.”

Charming’s anger visibly melted away from his face as he looked at Rosie. “Sorry.”

“My son is young,” said Free quietly and calmly. “I hope you will overlook that outburst.”

Rosie looked at Free. “I’m not offended. So far as I can tell, everything he said is true. You are bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter.”

Charming smirked. “I heard a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence.” He looked between his parents. “What? Didn’t you hear a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence?”

Free’s brows came down as he gave Charming a pointed look. “Unless you want to talk about something else, your contribution to dinner conversation is done.”

Charming huffed.

Serene gave him a reprimanding look, then said to Rosie, “I like your idea about the books. I don’t know if there are any books about hybrids, but we could ask Kellareal.”

“The ideal thing would be to write your own. There are other worlds with hybrids and, probably, some of them have books, but they wouldn’t be in your language and wouldn’t reflect your culture or history.”

Serene looked taken aback. “Write our own?”

“Sure. Why not?”

Serene looked uncertain. “Well…”

Rosie realized then that she hadn’t seen much evidence of creativity in the culture. There were some Exiled who played acoustic instruments in the Commons at times and there were the beautiful fabrics woven on the looms.

“Did you trade for the shawls or did you make them yourselves?”

“We knit them ourselves.”

“The patterns that you use, none of them are the same, and that’s a kind of art. Writing books is just a different art.”

Serene looked at Free, who shrugged.

“I’d like to see all the books Kellareal brought for use in school. If I could.”

Serene nodded. “I’ll assemble the books, one of each, and have them ready, probably day after tomorrow.”

“It would be even better if you could have someone bring them to the Commons. Afternoons are usually slow enough that I could spend time going through the books and still be at the bar in case I’m needed.” She chuckled. “Dandy calls it my ‘post’ and is very persnickety about someone being there at all times.”

“Persnickety,” Charming repeated.

Smiling like she was pleased with the way things were going, Serene said, “Excellent. I’ll have them delivered to you day after tomorrow. Around two?”

“Whenever it’s convenient. I’ve usually wrapped up the chores by two-thirty.”

“Two-thirty it is then.”

When dinner was over, Rosie put her foot on the first tread of the stairs to start toward her room, but Charming stopped her by putting his hand on hers where it rested on the baluster. “I was an ass at dinner.”

Rosie nodded. “Kind of.”

Charming gave her his signature smile. “Come over to the Commons and have an ale with me tonight. Magic is playing fiddle. It’ll be fun.” She hesitated, looking upward toward her room, where she’d stowed a book written in a language foreign to Exiled. “Come on.”

It wasn’t exactly pleading, but it was sincere.

“Okay.” She grinned.

The warmth had given way to another cold front just in time to put the new construction to the test. They’d finished at the end of the day and Rosie was looking forward to seeing if it helped. Charming opened the north porch door for her. “Look at this. Pretty nice, huh?”

“Yep,” was all she said.

It was warm in the bar and crowded. Lots of people had turned out to hear the music, which consisted of a fiddle, a drum, and an instrument that looked like a hammered dulcimer.

“Hey. There’s Tag,” Charming said. “Let’s go sit with them.”

“Okay.”

Charming led her to a table near the fire where his friends, Tag, Fray, and Gaunt were sitting. They grabbed a spare chair to make five and rearranged the seating so that Rosie could see the musicians, while Charming went to the bar for two mugs of ale.

When he returned and set the mug in front of Rosie, she chuckled, saying, “It’s strange to be here and be served.”

Charming leaned over and said, “You deserve it. And you don’t deserve the way I acted at dinner.”

“Forget it. I have.”

He smiled.

Rosie turned her attention to the music. It was fun, lively, and everyone in the room was having a good time. When the music stopped, the fiddle player whom Charming had called Magic, said, “Who wants to sing?”

Within seconds the crowd was chanting, “Charming! Charming! Charming!”

Charming smiled. He leaned toward Rosie. “Back in a minute.”

When the music began, Rosie immediately understood why Charming had been called up by popular demand. He was singing a song reminiscent of a medieval ballad in a voice that sounded like a gruff Irish tenor. Rod Stewart came to mind even though she knew he was Scotia fae and not Irish elf.

As Charming sang, Rosie’s eyes began to wander over the crowd that was quietly enraptured by the spell he was weaving. On the other side of the fire her eyes found and locked on Carnal, who was watching her with the intensity and single-minded focus of a jungle cat. The firelight made his eyes even more captivating than usual.

There were four others at his table, three males, one female. The female sat to Carnal’s right. She was tall like him, and lean. They made a good-looking couple. As Rosie watched, the girl draped her arm around Carnal’s neck and said something into his ear. He responded with a slight smile, but didn’t take his gaze away from Rosie. Not even to blink.

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.”

“Balance of power,” Free repeated.

“Uh huh.”

Free frowned. “You’re thinking about the time before Kellareal freed us. The humans could control us because…” He took a deep breath. “Because they knew how to.”

“You don’t need me to tell you that’s true. You already know it. I don’t know what the human children are learning, but if you’re protecting them while they’re learning about science and technology…” Free looked at Serene, who knew him well enough to recognize the alarm in his eyes even if no one else would see a change in his expression. “I’m not saying that the humans who live in Fars…”

“Farsuitwail.”

“Right. Farsuitwail. I’m not saying they would ever attempt to imprison you. Or worse. In my world different races live side by side without incident for long periods of time. Centuries. But eventually, some greedy maniac with a small penis will decide he needs the power to control other people and their stuff.”

“You’re saying we need to be wary of humans with small penises.”

Rosie tucked her chin and smiled. “No. That’s just a theory, a silly way of talking about a real problem. But you have at least three reasons for needing to find out what the humans know. As I understand it, the Rautt killed everybody who was working in advanced sciences or technology when they destroyed power sources. But they may have missed some people. For your sake, I hope they did.”

“Why do you say ‘for our sake’?”

“Because you’d have a chance of recreating longer range weaponry and then establishing a balance of power. Eventually you might even integrate your society with the humans.”

Free was appalled. “Live with humans?”

Rosie blinked before softly saying, “You’re living with me.”

He looked away and then at Serene, ashamed that he had forgotten that he was speaking to a human. But wasn’t that what Rosie was alluding to? That, under the right circumstances, differences might become so familiar as to be forgotten altogether?

“You need to learn what there is to know about the people and culture you’re protecting, Free. The Rautt were created, just like you. Maybe it was for benign purposes. I don’t know. But it’s a mess now.”

“And you think the way to deal with that mess is to exterminate them. That’s exactly what was going to happen to us when Kellareal brought us here.”

“Do you feel kinship with the Rautt?”

“No,” Free said quickly. “Not like you mean it. I might have, but then…” He didn’t need to say Crave’s name for Rosie to know what he was thinking. “Between our son, Blaze, and other incidents, they’ve made this personal in a way that can’t be undone.”

Rosie nodded slowly.

Free sat back, leaving his dinner unfinished, and sighed. “You’re right. We have to find out what goes on behind closed doors in Farsuitwail. We’ve been protecting them for a generation, standing between them and the Rautt, without knowing what the humans think of us.”

“What do you mean?” Serene put in.

“I mean it’s important to know how they see us. If we’re just trained dogs to them, then they wouldn’t think twice about taking our freedom from us. Again. But if they see us as people who want things, like they do, then maybe not.”

“That is a consideration,” said Rosie carefully. “But trust may be a bridge too far. Right now the most important thing is making sure that you know what the humans know.” She looked between them. “Charming said something to me about being smarter than humans. Is that true?”

Free looked at Serene. “Charming is a font of information.”

“I’ll speak to him,” Serene said.

“Yes,” Free turned back to Rosie, “we pieced things together listening to conversations between guards or researchers. Once they were satisfied with our enhanced physical abilities, they selectively bred us for intelligence.”

“So you’re capable of learning anything humans can learn.”

Free nodded. “I would think so. Yes.”

“Rosie,” Serene interjected, “we have a sort of working relationship with the humans. If we upset that relationship, we can’t know what the outcome might be.”

“Yes. It’s a risk, but is it riskier than not knowing what’s going on? I don’t mean to scare you, but let’s look at a hypothetical. What if the humans are just a little less afraid of you than the Rautt? What if they’ve been reconstructing their ability to build long range and rapid fire weaponry and, thinking it’s in their best interest, have a plan to wipe all hybrids out at the same time?”

Serene paled as she sat straighter. Her eyes shot to Free. “I think I’m beginning to understand,” she whispered.

“Humans are not as fast or strong as you. Maybe not as smart either. But humans are wily, fiercely protective of those who are like themselves, and they are capable of abominable behavior, including genocide.

“You made a promise to Kellareal and you’ve lived up to it. But your priority has to be protecting your own people. You can’t do that living up here in the hills, hoping that everything turns out for the best.”

Free sat back and stared at the food on the table in front of him. For a long time. At length, he said, “I believed I was the right person to lead us when we arrived in the Newland. We had to build everything from the ground up. Literally. We had to put processes in place to make things work. I don’t know if I’m the right person to lead us into what we might be facing.”

“It’s always better to know than to not know,” Rosie said quietly.

“She’s right about that, Free. And of course you’re the right person. No one has a truer sense about next steps than you. Maybe this is just the next step in a natural progression.”

“And hey, I’m not omniscient. Maybe the humans are not up to anything. At all.”

Free slanted his eyes toward her in disbelief. “But you think they are.”

“In my world, if you put people in a position of living under threat for twenty-five years, with the only protection being non-humans who lived apart and kept to themselves, I can guarantee you that someone would be coming up with a plan to alleviate that threat and restore humans to the top of the power chain. And they’d be careful to keep that plan secret until it was too late.”

“Remember how things were before?” Serene asked her mate. It was a question that didn’t need to be either qualified or answered. “The books we have don’t tell us how to build the technology that made us and enslaved us. I knew that, but thought it’s just as well to live in a world where such things are not possible. So I didn’t question it.” Serene glanced at Rosie. “Until now.”

Free took in a big breath and, when he was done, his expression said he was decided and resolved.

“We’re going hunting in Farsuitwail.” He pinned Rosie with a look she hadn’t seen before. “And you’re coming with me, since you know what to look for.”

Rosie’s lips parted, but for once, she didn’t know what to say. She was just a kid. Not an ambassador. Or a spy. But she was the one who’d opened the Pandora’s box and, according to her father’s sense of morality, which was always floating around in the mix that made up her own personality, she was obligated to see through to the end what she’d started. So she said, “Okay.”

At two o’clock the next afternoon, Dandy threw a damp towel over her shoulder and, with one hand resting on a cocked hip said, “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

Rosie raised an eyebrow. “Going for a ride on a motorcycle, not getting married. Or anything else you might be thinking.” Dandy barked out a laugh then shook her head. “Thanks for the cover.”

Dandy chuffed and waved a dismissal.

“Dandelion. You got something against Carnal?”

Dandy hesitated, which was a signal in itself because Dandy wasn’t a hesitator. “Got nothing against Carnal. Just not sure he’s right for you.”

“But you like him okay.”

“I like him okay. I mean, he’s Carnal.”

Rosie smiled. “And there you have it.”

“You know what I mean.”

“See that’s the thing. I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m not saying anything against my Promise’s brother. He’s just…” she waved her hands in the air, “Carnal.”

“Well, that explains it then.” Rosie put her apron away. “Thanks for worrying, Dandelion. I’m a big girl.”

As she was walking through the door, Dandy said, “Who’s worrying? Just don’t you forget that he’s a bigger boy.”

Rosie walked back to the Extant’s house to put on the clothes that were outside her door when she opened it that morning. Boots, dark brown soft bike leathers, and a fur-lined jacket. The pants were a little snug. She locked the door and conjured a mirror for a full length check out. It was uncanny how somebody had guessed her size down to the millimeter. Yeah, she thought as she turned to get the back view over her shoulder, she looked good in leather. She wasn’t fully finished admiring how the pants flattered the curve of her derriere when there was a knock on the door.

She got rid of the mirror then opened the door wearing the boots, pants, and a red long-sleeved Henley that made her coloring pop. She was dangling the fur-lined jacket from two fingers.

“You really think I’ll need this?”

Carnal looked her over slowly from the top down and back with a huge grin and sparkling eyes.

“Gets cool when the wind’s whipping past. So, yeah. You’re gonna need it, even though I’ll be blocking most of the breeze.” He leaned down into her space. “You look spectacular.”

Rosie knew she was blushing a little.

His bike was waiting just outside the front door. Rosie looked around.

“It’s just us.”

“Did you think I usually invite an audience along on a date?”

As he was busy buttoning her jacket all the way up, she said, “We agreed it’s not a date, Carnal. Just a ride. Nothing more.”

He threw his leg over the bike and smiled. “Nothing less.” Then he held his hand out to help her on. “Hold on to me. The roads aren’t even. So until we get out to the sand, you’re going to need to hold on tight and lean when I lean.”

“Okay. Got it.” She put her arms around his middle.

He took her hands and wound them tighter. “More like that.” He smiled and started the engine.

Though it made no sound at all, Rosie felt the vibration through the seat and was a little excited about the outing. Not to mention the fact that her proximity to Carnal was not just disconcerting, but all-consuming. Pressed so close to his back, she smelled the tanned leather and the saltwater steam, but under that there was a distinctive scent that was pure Carnal. Male. Musky. Wild. Exciting.

She turned her face into his back and breathed a deep, hopefully surreptitious, sniff, but Carnal’s hyper senses made him acutely aware. He turned his head just a fraction of an inch in response. He knew she’d sampled his aroma. He also knew instinctively that it was the first step in a primeval mating dance. Because of that, he was smiling when they rolled out of the settlement slowly, everyone within sight looking on with undisguised curiosity. Once they were beyond the big gate, Carnal sped up.

“Hold on,” he said.

When they lurched forward, Rosie grabbed hold in earnest as a laugh was forced out of her lungs. She was glad the surprise reaction was a laugh and not a girly squeal. Ten minutes later they’d wound their way down the hills to the valley, traversed the winding forest road that ran alongside a stream, and shot out into the wasteland where it felt like they were moving almost as fast as Rosie did when she was traveling the passes between dimensions.

It was a unique and multilayered experience, the combination of vibration, wind, and the desolate space of flat wasteland where it felt like no one existed besides Rosie and Carnal.

In the distance a small cluster of towers rose up from the dust and that was where they appeared to be heading. Within minutes Carnal was rolling to a stop at the base of one of the towers. Though the wind was cold and biting when they were traveling at high speed, the warmth of the sun had Rosie wanting out of her jacket as soon as they slowed.

“You first,” Carnal said. Rosie swung her leg over the rear wheel of the bike and climbed off. “So?” Carnal removed the goggles he’d worn to keep the sand out of his eyes.

Rosie couldn’t stop the grin that wanted to break out. “It was fun.”

“Yeah.” He smiled, looking like he clearly enjoyed her pleasure and was trying to remember his first ride.

She looked up at the tower above them. “So this is where the nuclear power plant used to be?”

He followed her line of sight. “Nuclear. Yeah. I guess,” he said as he opened one of the saddle bags. “I brought food.”

From one side he pulled out a blanket. From the other he pulled out a gunny sack and a jar of liquid that looked suspiciously like the hard cider Rosie pulled on tap.

She grinned. “A picnic? I’ve never been on a picnic. Too cool.”

Carnal looked around. “If you’re too cold, we can move out into the sun.”

“Uh, no, I don’t mean that kind of cool. Never mind. This is great. What’d you bring to eat?”

He looked at the sack like he’d forgotten. “Just bread, cheese. I think there are some apple slices or something like that.”

“You don’t know.”

He handed over the sack to free his hands so he could spread out the blanket. “Look and see. Joy put it together.”

“Joy put a picnic together for you and another woman? Is it laced with poison?”

He stopped and stared. “Joy… You know she’s… It’s not like that with her. She’s part of my crew, but she’s not somebody I’m interested in like what you’re thinking.”

“No?”

“No. Look. I like girls and, well, she does, too.”

“Ah. I thought maybe she was kidding about that because I saw you that night at the Commons and…” Realizing her mouth had gotten ahead of her brain, again, Rosie knelt down on the blanket, opened the sack, and peered inside. Sure enough, there was half a baguette, a hunk of yellow cheese, and some apple slices. She thought it was overkill to have cider and apple slices, but all in all it was a nice picnic.

“And what?” Carnal flopped down beside her and smiled with a twinkle in his eye. “Were you jealous?”

“What? No!”

“You were. I can tell.”

“You can’t tell that I was jealous, Carnal, because it’s not true.”

“Yes, I can tell. Your heart sped up when I mentioned Joy. It got even faster when you lied about being jealous.” Rosie stared at Carnal thinking she hadn’t known what she was getting into when she agreed to a ride. After all, who wants to date a walking lie detector? “Don’t fret,” he said, tearing off a bite of bread and stuffing it into his mouth. “I was worried that you didn’t like me.”

“And you should be worried about that because the verdict is still out.”

“Okay,” he chewed, still smiling. “Whatever you say.”

“I’ll tell you how you could earn points with me though.”

“Earn points? Where you’re from men have to earn points to be with women?”

“No. Not exactly. It’s just an expression that means you could do something to please me.”

“And if I please you then nothing more becomes something more?” He lay back on the blanket and studied Rosie with a twinkle.

“No promises except that you’d earn points.”

“Not sure I’m getting the part that’s supposed to motivate me, but I’ll play. What is this thing I could do to earn points?”

“Teach me to ride your motorcycle.”

That was the last thing that Carnal was prepared to hear. He stared for a few beats, then seeing she was serious, laughed so hard he had to hold his sides. Rosie waited patiently for the laughter to subside. When it did, he said, “Not in a thousand years,” shaking his head like she was the funniest thing ever.

A half hour later Rosie was sitting on the bike, adjustments in seat height having been made for her smaller frame. She’d listened to Carnal repeat instructions at least ten times and knew she was ready.

“I’m ready,” she said. He looked terrified. “Are you afraid for me or the bike?” He looked from her to the motorcycle like he was trying to decide how to answer. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter.”

When he started to repeat instructions for the eleventh time, she rolled her eyes and took off with a jerk. She barely held on because she hadn’t been expecting the initial burst of speed, even though he’d told her ten times, almost eleven, to ease into it and start slow. Heading straight for one of the towers, she promptly forgot everything she’d heard about how to stop. Just before she hit the wall, she uttered something like, “Eek,” and vanished just as the bike became a pile of junk on impact.

Carnal stood with his mouth open. His attention was equally divided between disbelief that his prized possession had just become a compacted hunk of used metal, concern for Rosie, and astonishment that he might have witnessed a supernatural event unlike anything in myth or science as he knew it. In a bewildering twist of what was possible, so far as he knew, Rosie appeared at his side, seeming none the worse for wear, holding onto the sleeve of his Henley like he would save her from his own impending tirade.

When he looked down at her in stunned silence, she blinked rapidly making the most of the unusually long eyelashes she’d inherited from her father. The last thing that should have crossed his mind was that she was cute, but there it was. He’d proved once and for all that lust not only trumps the best of toys, but miracles as well.

In the midst of trying to force his brain to make sense of the unlikely series of events, his eyes jerked toward a telltale column of rising dust.

“Coming,” he said.

“What?” Rosie asked.

“They’re coming.” He pointed to the dust churning upward on the horizon. She saw his expression shift from shock to panic.

“Rautt?” she said. “Rautt are coming?” While he was looking around, evidently casting about for a reasonable course of action, she decided that fixing a single wrecked machine would be too insignificant, in the grand scheme, to be noticed. “Come on. We’d better go.”

He looked at her like she was crazy. “How? We have no ride home. The. Bike. Is. Broke. They’ll be on us before we can get half a mile from here.”

“The motorcycle? I’m sure it’s fine. Stop playing around and let’s get out of here.”

“It’s not…” He looked in the direction of the bike and saw that it was parked with kick stand in place, without a scratch on it. If anything, it was shinier than it had been when they’d left. Giving Rosie a look, he grabbed her arm, dragging her toward the bike double-time. “If we didn’t have to sound a warning, I’d be interrogating you right now.”

“I’m not into kinky.”

He shook his head and growled, “Get on.”

They shot across the sand toward Farsuitwail, leaving the picnic behind. It took seven minutes to reach the first watch tower, which was still located some distance from the city, so far out that it wasn’t usually manned.

Carnal jumped off the bike, lunged toward the hinged door on the side, and pulled the handle. It had a spring mechanism set to strike flint stone under a fire that had been laid with strips of rubber to create a thick black smoke. Exiled joked that they weren’t sure whether the first warning was the sight of black smoke or the awful stench it made. One thing was sure. Both humans and Exiled would know Rautt were coming when a warning fire had been lit.

As soon as he was positive the fire had caught, Carnal sped them back to Newland. He’d get Rosie to safety and make his way to Farsuitwail with the rest of his people to defend the humans and their city.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The quiet village that had come to feel familiar and comfortable to Rosie was in a state that could only be called barely controlled chaos. Every soul was actively engaged in some manner of preparation or another.

Carnal dragged her off the bike and pushed her in the opposite direction. “Go to the Weavers’ Barn,” he said. “They can use your help taking care of the young.”

Rosie entered just as Serene was exiting in a hurry. She was dressed in leathers and looked more like a warrior than a school principal. “Oh, Rosie, good. Help take care of the little ones.”

With that she was gone. The classes were empty so Rosie continued moving toward the back. The students were all together in the lunchroom. Looking around, she saw that she was the oldest one there. It appeared that the older children were caring for those who were younger.

Looking at the oldest, the level tens, she asked, “What needs to be done?”

One of the girls said, “We’re going to need to feed them in a couple of hours.”

“What’s your name?”

“Razzle.”

“I’m Rosie.”

“I know.”

“Okay. I’ve never cooked for this many people before, but I’ll give it a try. Do you have a count?”

Razzle looked over the group and started counting. One of the level twos dashed across the room.

“Nobody moves until Razzle has finished counting!” One of the level ten boys raised his voice and the kids, looking at him like he was a god, instantly obeyed. He smiled at Rosie, “Hi. I’m Skirmish. Make extra for me. I’m still growing.”

“I’ll try.”

“A hundred and sixteen,” Razzle said, “Counting me. Oh, but not counting you. That would be a hundred and seventeen.”

“Alright. If you’ve got this,” Rosie indicated the small crowd that represented the entire future of Exiled, “I’ll head back to the kitchen and see what’s there.”

“We’ve got this,” Skirmish said. “We’ve done it lots of times.”

“Lots of times,” Rosie repeated, looking around and wondering what it must have been like, living their whole lives at-the-ready. “Are there no other adults who will be staying behind?”

“There are a few. They’ll help get the others away and come after.”

Rosie nodded before moving toward the back. The level two, three, and four children who had gotten used to her when she visited their classrooms called out to her as she passed, smiling, and proudly telling others that they knew the human.

The kitchen was well stocked with baking supplies and shelves of canned goods. That included hams.

When Razzle poked her head in, Rosie asked, “Any restrictions?”

“What do you mean?” Razzle asked.

“Well, is there anything here that I shouldn’t use or shouldn’t use much of?”

“No.” Razzle looked around. “Everything that’s here can be replaced. It’s part of the battle tax.”

“I don’t know about the battle tax.”

“The humans pay us to protect them.”

“Oh. I guess that’s fair.”

“Damn right,” Razzle confirmed.

“Okay. There’s everything I need to make a version of pigs in a blanket.”

“What is that?”

Rosie smiled. “Well, usually it’s a little sausage baked inside bread, but we’ll be using ham instead of sausage.” Rosie pointed to the giant cheese wheel on the wood island. “And adding some of that cheese.”

Razzle nodded. “Sounds good and eating with hands means less clean up.”

“I like how you think,” Rosie said.

“Do you need help?”

“Maybe. Check on me in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay.”

Rosie thought it unfair to expect people in their mid-teens to be responsible for the next generation, but they seemed to be rising to the challenge without complaint and Rosie admired that. At the same age, virtually, she’d been a pain.

Rosie set out necessary ingredients and realized what a job it would be to cook for so many people. When Razzle returned, Rosie asked her to pick out four helpers besides herself and come back quick.

She didn’t have any experience with baking, so, while the boys were getting the fires going in five wood stoves, she called up a memory from a great-grandmother detailing how to make biscuits from scratch and cook them in a wood stove oven. Fortunately the stoves were well constructed for temperature control, though not as exact as modern ovens.

She organized an assembly line and soon the assistant cooks were chatting happily while cutting out biscuits. Once the bread was in the oven, she set up a new assembly line for cutting out single portions of ham and cheese, which would go inside split biscuits when they were ready. When the first batch of biscuits came out of the oven, Skirmish grabbed one off the cookie sheet.

“Wait!” Rosie shouted as he repeatedly tossed it up into the air and caught it. “Until that cools off. It could burn you.”

He laughed and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. Speaking around cheek-filled biscuit, he said, “This is good!”

Without thinking, Rosie picked up an empty cookie sheet and smacked Skirmish across the back. She knew it wouldn’t hurt him, but hoped it made a statement.

“Serene put me in charge, while everybody’s gone. You have to do what I say!”

The kid laughed even harder, but said, “Yes, ma’am.” When he finished the biscuit, he said, “Are you gonna send Carnal after me?”

“What? Why would you think that?”

“’Cause, you know.”

“No. I don’t know. Why would you think that?”

Rosie looked at Razzle. “Because people are saying that Carnal is claiming you.”

“Claiming me for what?” Razzle’s eyes widened. She looked at the two other girls she’d picked as helpers and the three of them instantly turned into a giggle huddle. “Razzle?”

“Claiming.” She waved a hand. “It means making you his forever female.”

Rosie looked down at her flour-covered hands. “Oh. Well, your sources are questionable. ‘People’ have got that wrong.”

She looked up in time to see Razzle and her friends giving each other a look while the boys smirked. To Skirmish, Rosie said, “No. Carnal will not be ‘coming after you’.” She huffed. “That’s ridiculous.”

The wood stoves heated up the school kitchen so that Rosie was dabbing perspiration from her temples. “Let’s get these kids fed.”

Her version of pigs in a blanket was a hit and, as Razzle had said, the kids, building, and clothes stayed clean. The worst of the mess was in the kitchen as a result of cooking with flour. When everything was clean and put away, Rosie turned to Razzle. “What do we do now?”

“We find ways to occupy the kids. If their parents aren’t back by bedtime, we’ll bed down here.”

Rosie looked around. “How does that work?”

Razzle pointed at a wall of cabinets. “Bedding for lock down.”

“Huh. Okay, I’m going to take a minute to sit, then I’ll see if you need help out there.”

Razzle nodded. “Alright.” She turned to leave. “Supper worked. You did good.”

Grateful for the praise and encouragement, particularly since it came from a fifteen-year-old, Rosie smiled. “It worked because I had a great sous chef.”

Razzle cocked her head to the side. “I don’t know what that is.”

“Second in command in the kitchen.”

“Oh.” She grinned and opened the door to leave. Rosie heard her saying to her friends, “Hey. I’m the sous chef!”

A few adults came straggling in. Among them was one older male who was missing a leg, two females who were in the later stages of pregnancy, one younger male who had, apparently, been blinded, and an older female who was bent like her back had been broken and mended that way.

Rosie made another batch of ham and cheese biscuits for the new arrivals.

The children, younger and older, seemed to have adapted remarkably well to an event that would be considered terrifying in most societies. In any world. Rosie supposed that was what happened when it was the only way they’d ever known. She hoped things were being set in motion, in Free’s mind, to bring an end to that way of life.

She made herself a cup of bergamot tea, opened the small door on one of the stoves to expose the burning embers, then pulled up a chair and sat. She could hear noise through the solid wood door, but it was comparatively quiet in the kitchen. Closing her eyes as the first sip of tea hit her taste buds, she sat savoring the respite, mulling over everything that had happened since she woke that morning, and hoping the people she’d come to know would be returning safely.

She’d taken a thrilling ride to the wasteland, had a picnic with Carnal, attempted to ride a motorcycle by herself, and had corrected that disaster thereby exposing herself, exactly as she’d promised Kellareal she wouldn’t do. She’d watched Carnal set a signal fire, accepted a post as proxy caregiver for all of Exiled’s next generation, baked bread for the first time, and fed a warehouse full of hungry kids. Not a bad day’s work, she mused. Then her thoughts turned to what the kitchen helpers had said about Carnal and claiming.

Enjoying the feel of the warm cup in her hands, she asked herself if it could be true that Carnal was courting her and was not just after a ‘corn shuck’ stand. Imagining a possible future there in Newland with Carnal wasn’t hard, but the direction of those thoughts took her to Glen. She’d thought she loved Glen, but she concluded that, if Glen had returned her love, he wouldn’t have chosen Black Swan over her.

Those were the thoughts she was quietly turning over in her head when Razzle burst through the door.

“One of the little ones is hurt.”

Rosie set the cup down and rushed out into the large room, but Skirmish had the child in his arms and was bringing him into the kitchen.

“Set him down on the counter. There,” said Rosie pointing behind her.

The little boy appeared to be a level one or two. He’d fallen and split open a lip, that was bleeding profusely. Rosie grabbed one of the clean dish towels, wet it, and held the towel to the wound. The child watched her with big eyes, but didn’t speak and didn’t cry.

“What’s his name?”

“Rush,” Skirmish answered.

Rosie nodded. “Is there a first aid kit?”

Skirmish looked at Razzle, who said, “If there is, I think it would be in here.” She and Skirmish began opening and closing every cabinet, each taking a side of the big room.

“Rush.” Rosie spoke quietly and deliberately, taking care to keep the child calm, although that didn’t seem to be a problem for him. “We need to clean this up and make sure it’s just a little nick. Okay?” He nodded bravely. She pulled the towel away and saw that bleeding was slowing. She smiled to reassure him. “Hey. It’s getting better already.”

“Found it,” Skirmish called. He trotted over with a wicker basket and opened the lid.

Rosie leaned over to look inside. There were various sizes of cotton strips tied with ribbons and several glass jars. Rosie looked between the two level tens. “Either of you know what’s in these?”

“I don’t know the names, but this one,” he retrieved a jar that contained a gold-colored ointment, “is what Flora always uses when I get cuts like that.” He nodded toward Rush.

“Okay. Is there anything she uses to clean up first?”

“Uh, yeah.” He looked into the basket. “I think it’s this one.” He pulled out a jar of cloudy liquid. “She puts this on with a cotton thing first.

Rosie looked at Razzle. “We need to get you level tens trained in first aid if you’re going to be left in charge of these kids.”

Razzle nodded, but looked like she was taking that very seriously.

Rosie turned her attention back to Rush. After cleaning him up with water, she used the liquid Skirmish pointed out and dabbed it on Rush’s cut.

“Rush, you’ve been so brave, but if you feel like crying, you can.”

He shook his head back and forth to register that her suggestion was decidedly, “No.”

“It’s up to you. Just saying it would be okay with me.” She threw away the cotton and began applying some of the ointment. To Razzle, she said, “Do we have any extra clothes? I’d like to put him in a clean shirt.”

“Maybe. I’ll look in the level one room.”

Five minutes later, she returned with a shirt that would fit the little guy.

“There you go,” Rosie said. “In a week it’ll be like it never happened.”

Rush gave her a shy smile and scooted like he wanted to get down off the counter. Rosie lifted him with a grunt. He was apparently so dense that his weight was easily three times what it looked like it should be. She set him on his feet. “There you go.” The way he went tearing out of the room, she figured it wouldn’t be long before he’d be in need of additional medical treatment.

Rosie was about to suggest that they begin getting the kids to bed, when one of the level tens burst through the door.

“They’re back!” he announced. “False alarm. Everybody’s fine.”

Within minutes smiling parents were coming through the door collecting their babies and hugging them tight. Rosie found Razzle in the crowd and mouthed, “Good job.”

Razzle gave her a dazzling smile in return, just as a father claimed the toddler she was holding on her hip. Rosie spied Charming looking over the room trying to find her. She waved and he started making his way through the crowd.

“Dandy and Scar need you at the bar. It’s gonna be busy.” He grinned.

“Okay. Good to see you in one piece.”

He cocked his head. “You were worried about me, Rosie?”

“Of course. What do you think? Hold on a minute.” She made her way back to the kitchen and grabbed her shawl from the hook where she’d left it hanging. When she rejoined Charming, he opened the front door. “So tell me what happened. Somebody said false alarm. But I know that’s not right because I was there when the signal fire was lit.”

“You were?”

“Yes. Carnal had taken me for a ride and we saw the dust.”

“Oh.” Charming looked away. “Well, we sent scouts and everything was quiet. Whatever you saw, either it was something else or they changed their minds.” He leaned in. “Probably started this way, remembered the last time they fucked with us, shit their pants, and had to go home for clean up.”

Rosie laughed out loud. “Glad you were here to provide the color commentary.”

“I don’t know what that is, but if you’re glad, I’m glad.”

As soon as Charming opened the south porch door that led to the Commons, she knew he wasn’t kidding. The place was packed and the noise was almost deafening with celebratory mood. A dozen musicians had already set up and were accompanying laughter, singing, and dancing that reminded Rosie of Irish jigs. The fire from the pit burned bright and lit the room to match the mood.

Rosie began serving drinks. Some of the kitchen workers had been called in to help keep glasses and mugs washed and clean.

It didn’t take long for Rosie to realize that some of the females in the crowd were humans. There was little doubt that they hadn’t been taken by force. They were definitely there of their own volition, and, by the looks of it, having the best time of anyone present. She didn’t see any human males, but according to what Dandy had told her, that was to be expected.

She’d said that Exiled were producing more males than females, which meant that some of the Exiled would eventually mate with humans when they were ready. In the interim, the young males were not without options for sex partners.

Rumor had it that the human female population would fight each other for an opportunity to be with one of the young Exiled males. And why not? They were beautiful, forbidden bad boys with enough sexual prowess to be an endless source for female fantasies.

Rosie could see why that would not make the Exiled popular with human males, who probably saw them as a necessary evil. A temporary necessary evil, who would not be tolerated if they had a way to defend themselves from the Rautt, or get rid of them altogether, along with the Exiled. It occurred to her that, for all their advanced abilities, Exiled were rather innocent in not anticipating how treacherous people could be.

Carnal stood on the other side of the bar from Rosie with bright eyes and a curious look of anticipation. She’d watched him dance with a dozen different human girls, all of them clearly intent on more than a twirl. As he stood in front of Rosie, one of the girls slithered up next to him, pressing her body into his side. “Carnal, baby,” she purred. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

He looked down at the blonde rubbing herself against him.

Rosie felt an unpleasant surge of jealousy roil through her veins. Looking at the girl, she said, “Want something to drink, Catty Kay?”

Carnal laughed hearing her use the name of the cat she detested. Without looking away from Rosie, he took the girl by the shoulder, pushed her to arm’s length, and held her there. She scowled and turned her head toward Rosie with a glare that could kill.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m taken.” At that he reached across the bar. He grabbed Rosie’s hand, pulled her down to the end of the bar, then picked her up and put her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. As he headed for the door, there were hoots and hollers from the few who noticed. It wasn’t much of a spectacle in the midst of a full-blown Exiled party.

Rosie could have easily forced Carnal to put her down, but she would have to stop giggling first. There was something exhilarating about being claimed in such a primal, and public, way. She could halt the progress of whatever Carnal had in mind whenever it stopped being fun.

His long strides ate up the distance between the Commons and the Extant’s house. He opened the door with his right hand and was about to cross the threshold when he put that free right hand on Rosie’s behind, so close to her most sensitive bits that she threw herself straight up into a vertical position just in time to hit her shoulder blades on the cross frame.

“Ow. Fuck, Carnal.” He set her on her feet immediately and searched her face with a look of concern. “That was a bad time to try for third base.”

“Third base?” He looked confused.

“It means you need to keep your paws to yourself.”

“Paws?” His brows came together. “Is that a racial slur?”

“What? No! It’s got nothing to do with genetics. It means you’re being overbearing and grabby.”

He grinned. “Guilty. Were you harmed?”

She blinked. “Not, um, permanently.”

“Good.” He laughed and bent to pick her up again, but this time she took a step back.

“Hold on. What’s this about?”

Carnal gave her a look like she was stupid. “We’re going to finish the conversation we started in the wasteland.”

“Oh?” When he didn’t elaborate, she began to fidget under his unrelenting stare. “So you want to talk?” She took his lack of reply as agreement. “I can walk myself.”

He motioned toward the stairs in a ladies-first gesture. “My room. You know the way.” When she turned to climb the stairs, he pulled her back into his body and whispered in her ear. “I’m right behind you.” She wasn’t sure whether it was the heat of his breath on her ear or the feeling behind the statement, but the result was a full-on body shiver.

She grabbed the hand rail and began the climb up the stairs. She didn’t need to glance back to know that he was, indeed, behind her. She could feel the energy of his presence.

She opened the door, walked in, but when she turned to face him, realized he’d stopped at the threshold.

“You didn’t! It’s worse than before!”

“What?” She looked around, trying to see it through his eyes. The rusticity of log walls had been replaced with a relatively smooth orange peel texture. She had left the wood and iron furnishings as she found them, but covered the bed in white eyelet duvet and coverlets. The window had been covered with delicate white gauze. The overall effect was sensual, but definitely feminine, more so than the last time he got a look at it.

“I made some changes, but don’t worry. I can put it back the way it was before I go.”

Carnal’s head jerked at that. “You’re leaving?”

“Well, not right away. I just mean, you know, someday.”

He stared at Rosie for a full minute like he was trying to determine whether or not she was telling the truth. Then he turned and jumped on her bed, landing on his back.

Her eyes went wide at his audacity. “Get. Your. Big. Fat. Boots. Off my bed!”

Carnal just chuckled at her, eyes flashing, and locked his fingers behind his head. “The girlie bed doesn’t belong in my room. The purity is just begging to be compromised.”

She got the innuendo and snorted in a way that would make her Auntie Elora proud. “I’m not pure, Carnal.”

“No?” he asked with a twinkle in his yellow/green eyes. “Show me.”

She cocked her head. “You’re not afraid of me at all, are you?”

“Should I be?”

“Yes.”

He sat up quickly, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and looking deadly serious. “That’s exactly what I want to talk about. What happened to my bike?”

Rosie blinked. “Is there something wrong with it?”

Carnal dipped his chin lower. “You know there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You going to make me spell it out? You’re full of games, Rosie. All right. I’ll play. To a point. You were riding my bike straight into a concrete wall. Just before you hit, you disappeared, but the bike crashed and wrecked. You showed up next to me, clutching my arm. I’m not objecting to the clutching, mind you. But I am going to be needing to know about the rest of it.”

Rosie tried to keep her face blank. “That’s not the way I remember it.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“Am not.”

Carnal stared for a moment before giving her a slow feral smile. “You are. Your heartrate sped up and your eyes dilated.”

She decided that if lying didn’t work, perhaps subterfuge would. “Maybe I’m attracted to you. Did you ever think of that?”

Carnal laughed out loud. “Of course you’re attracted to me, angel.”

“I’m not an angel.”

“I think you are.”

“Then you’d be very wrong. I’m mostly demon. Do you know what that is?”

A deep, smooth-as-velvet voice came out of nowhere saying, “Of course he knows. Demons are universal.”

Toward the end of that sentence, Deliverance appeared at the foot of the bed. Faster than lightning, Carnal leapt off the bed and moved in front of Rosie.

“Hi, Grand,” she said from behind the wall of flesh that was shielding Deliverance from view. Carnal didn’t move and didn’t take his eyes off the new arrival. “Carnal, this is my grandfather, Deliverance. He’s a demon.”

Deliverance bowed with a flourish and a grin like there was nothing more enjoyable than hearing his name out loud. “At your service.”

Rosie stepped out from behind Carnal, who said, “Did he just appear out of thin air?”

“Yes,” she answered as Deliverance cocked an eyebrow.

Carnal’s eyes scanned down and back quickly. “He’s wearing a loin cloth.”

“Only because he’s making a stab at being civilized. But he’s a sex demon who’s exceptionally proud of his, um, package, and he likes to show off. If you don’t abandon the focus of your interest, his next trick will be to give you an eyeful you’ll never forget.” Deliverance smiled wickedly, punctuating that by grabbing his crotch. “What do you want? And how did you find me?”

“I threatened to tell the Council about your angel’s little pet project here,” he nodded toward Carnal to mean the Exiled species, “if he didn’t tell me where you were. Coincidentally, it happens you’re at the scene of the crime.”

“What crime?”

“Kellareal went against Council. They have a standing order of non-interference, unless they’re the ones doing the interfering, of course. He risked a lot to save these creatures and hide them here.”

Rosie looked at Carnal, who had suddenly become very interested in the conversation.

“Okay. That answers how you found me. Now what do you want?”

“Is that any way to talk to your grandfather?”

“I guess not. So, how have you been? And what do you want?”

“I want to know what you’re doing here.”

“Taking a break.”

“From what?”

“Life as I knew it.”

“Evasive. Why all the secrecy? Your mother worries.”

Rosie looked uncertain. “Oh. Well. Tell her I’m fine and that I’ll come see her soon.”

“And tell her where you are?”

“No. I want to be on my own for a while.”

“Not sure that’s the best choice. You can be ‘on your own’”, he did air quotes, “without being AWOL.”

“Maybe not.” She lifted her chin. “But it’s my choice.”

“Not sure you’re old enough to make your own choices. You’re a baby demon.”

Carnal looked at Rosie like he was seeing her for the first time. “You really are a demon?”

She looked at Carnal like she was trying to decide how much to tell. “Sort of. I’m half demon, a quarter witch, and a quarter human. Or something like that.”

Carnal nodded then smiled broadly. “You’re hybrid. Like me, except you’re…”

“Yes. Go on.”

“You’re made up of creatures that don’t exist. Myths.”

“Myths!” Deliverance nearly sputtered. “Very well. Since I don’t exist, would you mind staying out of the talk I’m trying to have with my granddaughter?”

“Look, Grand,” Rosie interjected. “Thanks for stopping by. Please don’t make trouble for Kell or these,” she looked at Carnal, “people.”

Kellareal appeared in his guise as Finrar, the elf. “Oh. He’s not going to get me into trouble. I’ve got too much on him.”

“Do you mind?” Deliverance said to Kellareal. “This is a family matter, which means you are not included.”

Kellareal, as Finrar, smirked at Deliverance, then turned to Rosie. “Did you know that he…?”

“We’re going,” Deliverance said quickly. “If you stay too long, I’ll be back to check on you.”

At that Carnal and Rosie were once again alone together in his former bedroom. Carnal didn’t move or take his eyes away from the spot where the angel and the demon had been. “Did you see the ears on that guy?”

Rosie suppressed a smile. “That guy was Kellareal. He likes to dress up. And, yeah. It’s one of his most attractive guises.”

He jerked his gaze in her direction and spoke gruffly. “You think that’s attractive?”

She laughed. “You’re taking this pretty well if your most pressing question is about whether or not I think the angel is cute when he’s dressed as an elf.”

Carnal’s brows were raised. “So you can vanish and appear anywhere? Any time?” She nodded. “And you can make a wrecked bike look new?”

Her lips twitched. “I’m not going to become your super-mechanic, Carnal. And I’m not going to stay if anybody else finds out. I’m just a girl who cleans up and serves drinks at a pub. Sometimes I watch the children and cook for them.”

“The Extant doesn’t know?”

“All your father knows is that he’s doing Kellareal a favor. He doesn’t know what I am. Only you know.”

Carnal stared at her for a few beats, then grinned. “That you’re a sex demon? What exactly does that mean?” He ran the back of his hand down her bare arm, making her shiver noticeably. “Is that why I’m having this reaction to you?”

She walked across the room and pulled the shutters closed, acting like the shiver was the result of cool night air. “If you mean that the way I think, I hear it doesn’t take much to interest you.”

“What have you heard?”

She turned to see him prowling toward her with a grace that reminded her of the way big cats move when they’re not in a hurry. He stopped just short of touching. She thought he seemed even bigger when he was standing so close and looking down at her with that intensity that she’d come to think of as purely Carnal.

“I heard you’d been screwing around in the city.”

He chuckled . “So, Rosie, who’s just a girl who cleans up and serves drinks, I like you.”

“I like you, too, Carnal. So I guess we’re done here?”

She started to step around him, but he pulled her back and held her in place, his hands on her waist. That was the first time she heard it, the low rumbling vibration.

“What is that?” She looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound. Her eyes snapped wide open as they jerked up to his face. “Are you…? Are you purring?”

He smiled slowly. “I can’t control it. I know you think it’s an obnoxious noise, but…”

“I didn’t say I think it’s obnoxious.”

“Yes. You did. About Catty Kay.”

“The cat is a monster. Everything she does is obnoxious.” Rosie moved closer, pulled in by the sound. “It’s different coming from you.”

His smile broadened. “I’m glad you don’t think I’m a monster. Does that mean you don’t hate it?”

“I don’t…”

Whatever Rosie was going to say was swallowed by his kiss. It started slowly, tentatively, but within seconds she was swept up in the moment and pressing her body into his. When he broke away to nuzzle her neck and collar bone, the purring grew so loud it reverberated through her entire body. Apparently either the witch or demon in her liked it. A lot.

She’d thrown her head back and was struggling to breathe when there was a loud knock on the door.

“Ignore it,” Carnal ordered.

What she ignored was Carnal’s order. She pushed away from him, strode toward the door, and opened it wide.

Looking from Rosie’s flushed face to Carnal’s irritated glare, Charming sized up the scene in a flash.

“Oh,” he said. “Sorry. They started the bonfire. I thought you’d like to come down. For an ale?”

“Thanks, Charming. I’ll be down in just a minute.”

He nodded, but it was clear that he was disappointed about finding her with Carnal. He stepped toward Rosie. Speaking softly he said, “Hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Figuring it out one day at a time. Like everybody else.”

Charming glanced at Carnal, not attempting to disguise his concern, then turned away.

Carnal had come up behind her. When he reached out to close the door, Rosie put her hand up and stopped its progress. “I’m going to the bonfire. Want to come?”

“Had something else in mind.”

“Maybe you can be flexible.”

“Maybe. We’re not done talking.”

Rosie looked up, her hand still holding the door open. “What else do you want to know?”

He reached up and traced her jawline with his thumb. “How long are you staying?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is there anything that could convince you to stay?”

Rosie searched his eyes. “I don’t know.”

“Okay.” He smiled. “Like that the answer isn’t no.”

She pulled a shawl from her dresser. “Okay.”

When she reached for the door, he closed it. “One more thing. The day Charming was hurt. I saw his leg broken. You fixed it, didn’t you?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

He laughed. “You think I can’t tell if you try to pad your feelings with words? I saw his leg. Before it was fixed.” She shrugged. “And that day with Catty Kay…” When his thoughtful expression took on a hopeful glimmer, she knew what was coming next. “So, my brother, Crave…”

She turned to face him because she wanted him to fully absorb the truth of her answer. “No, Carnal. I want to. So much it surprises even me, but something that big… I can’t.” He nodded and looked disappointed, but not disappointed in her. “I’m sorry.”

“No. Stop. I just had to ask.”

Feeling self-conscious, she looked toward the door. “I’m going to the bonfire.”

He pulled her back into him. “So am I. I’m right behind you,” he growled.

Sitting on the ground in front of the bonfire, leaning back into Carnal, his arms around her keeping her warm while she drank red ale, she thought that place might be as good as any place. Perhaps she could be persuaded to stay.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Carnal’s fascination with Rosie hadn’t been gradual. It had hit like a jolt of electricity in the midst of the single most horrific event of his life. It had haunted him throughout his period of self-loathing and mourning over what had happened to Blaze. Eventually the desire to find out if his reaction was a fluke pulled him home again.

He felt a similar tingling sensation the second time he saw her, when he’d found her sleepy and in his bed. Her eyes had sparked with an interest that had made it almost impossible not to grab and claim her on the spot. He’d known instantly that every female he’d ever seen up to that moment was inferior in every way. Since then, he’d tried a variety of approaches that should have caused her to want to get to know him more intimately. The most successful, by far, had been the picnic date, but that had ended with a battle summons.

He understood without being told that Rosie wasn’t ready to be claimed. He knew she wasn’t put off by him. She was receptive, and his intuition informed him that she was attainable. He just had to bide his time until he understood the way her mind worked and what she needed.

It was a relief to find out she was probably even less human than he was, but it also presented a puzzle. What kind of guy did demon girls go for? He hoped they liked strong young hybrids who were alpha of their crew, with influential parents, and an impressive track record pleasing females sexually. If not, he’d find out what she wanted, and try to be more like that. He could be flexible, he told himself.

So he’d walked her back to the house after the bonfire then disappeared into the night leaving her wondering what had just happened. His intuition had also told him that leaving her a little confused might get more of her thoughts directed his way. And that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The next morning, Free was waiting for Rosie in the kitchen.

“Eat,” he said. “Have coffee. You’re coming with me to Farsuitwail.”

It was short, but couldn’t be said to be sweet. In fact, it was gruff. So gruff that Rosie thought it best not to question the Extant. She hurriedly ate what Serene left for her standing, and drank half a mug of coffee while Free watched.

“Should I go tell Dandelion I won’t be in this morning?” she asked.

Free shook his head. “She knows. Serene left these for you, said to put them on under your skirt.” He handed her a pair of leathers like the ones she’d worn on her date with Carnal.

She took them without argument.

“I’ll be waiting outside,” Free said as he was walking out.

She dropped her boots to the floor, pulled the pants on under her skirt, and relaced the boots as fast as she could. Once she stepped outside, she understood why Serene had been thoughtful enough to provide leathers.

Carnal and his crew were waiting on their bikes, while Free mounted his own. “Carnal says you can ride with him.”

She looked questioningly at Carnal, hoping for an explanation. “We’re escorting the Extant and his guest to Farsuitwail.” He held out the fur and leather jacket she’d worn on their date. She took it and put it on gratefully, knowing the wind would go right through her shawl like she was wearing nothing.

The Rautt had not forced human tech workers to simply disable every power source. They’d forced the destruction of the technology foundation before they’d killed everyone who worked in a tech or power capacity. That destruction included all knowledge recorded digitally, on drives, or discs. Everything that required external power became history.

The surviving humans depended on fire for heat, light, and cooking. They depended on looms to weave clothing. They depended on wildcrafting for medicine. They depended on draft horses and oxen to plow the fields. Most huddled together in and around Farsuitwail, hoping for safety in numbers. Some lived on farms with the city as a quasi-barrier between them and the wasteland.

To a cultural observer, or a Rautt raiding party, the humans would appear to be living in preindustrial times, with the exception of transformers in tangled ruins and former nuclear facilities rising from the sands of the wasteland, standing in small clusters like sleeping sentries.

What the Rautt failed to do was destroy the bound books with paper pages. And since most of the people left alive could read, the human population was motivated to secretly begin reconstructing the lost knowledge.

They’d constructed hidden rooms with soundproofing, moved all the books to basements with access perfectly hidden unless you knew where to look. Adults who were interested in self-educating could spend time there, but could not remove books. After thirty years, a system of underground colleges had developed in Farsuitwail. They were so well-hidden that even Exiled didn’t know about them.

Children were openly taught reading, writing, and math, but all studies that hinted at science were esoteric. They’d developed means for identifying children with aptitude for science or mechanics. Those children were given a solid foundation in mathematics so that, when they reached puberty, they would be moved into an accelerated program of study, the goal being twofold. To reharness the lightning for ease of living. And to build a self-defense system to protect them from their enemies.

Rosie had guessed right. Though the Exiled had done a fair job of protecting humans from the Rautt for twenty-five years, some of the Farsuitwailian authority figures saw them more as a problem to be solved than as benign protectors. A variation on the cure being as bad as the disease. Because there was significant dissent on whether or not to trust the Exiled, they were as ignorant of human industry, and plans, as were the Rautt.

The first hint that a human-generated storm might be brewing was presented by the unlikeliest source, a visiting girl, human by all appearances, presently working as a bar maid.

The ride down the foothills was fast, but it had been so long since the roads had been repaired that it was impossible to miss all the holes and cracks. After a couple of uncomfortable bounces, Rosie surreptitiously improved the suspension on Carnal’s bike. That left her free to enjoy the ride, the smell of Carnal, and the feel of holding onto his rock-hard torso. Even with those distractions, her mind was preoccupied with questions about why she’d been brought along.

They slowed when they entered the outskirts of the city. The streets were wide because they had once accommodated motor vehicles, but were in poor repair like the rest of the territory Rosie had seen. People on the streets stopped and stared even though Rosie was sure they must be accustomed to seeing Exiled in and around Farsuitwail.

Free and his escort stopped outside a stone building with an impressive number of steps, columns, and guardian statues of some sort of beast Rosie wasn’t familiar with, which meant they were mythical.

“What’s here?” Rosie asked Carnal so that only he could hear.

“The mayor and his fools,” said Easy.

She’d forgotten that hybrids had really good ears. She looked over at Easy, then back at Carnal, who was completely non-committal.

“Do you know why I’m here?” she almost whispered.

“You don’t?” Rosie shook her head. “The Extant has a circle of confidantes. I’m not one of them. All I know is, we’re here to keep you safe.”

Rosie looked around. “Safe from humans?”

He bowed slightly from the waist to bring his face closer to hers. “Safe from anybody who means you harm.”

“Rosie! You’re with me,” Free called.

She moved toward Free, glancing back at Carnal once over her shoulder. She rushed to keep up with Free’s long strides. “What’s this about?”

“I told you I would be bringing you along when I came to have a talk about the future of Exiled and Farsuitwail.”

“Oh,” she said. “What do you want me to do?”

“Keep your mouth shut, eyes and ears open.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

Free came to an abrupt halt and looked down at her. “You’d better.”

Rosie was fairly certain that she didn’t like the gruff, bossy version of Free, but given what she’d learned about Exiled, it didn’t surprise her that he sounded like ‘he who must be obeyed’. The real surprise probably should have been that he was able to check those aspects of his personality at the door of his home and show up for dinner appearing to be relaxed and laid back.

Climbing the steps from the street to the giant portico of Farsuitwail’s City Hall, she asked Free, “How do handicapped people access this building?”

He looked at her as if to say that was a strange question, but didn’t answer.

Carnal and the four other members that made up his ‘crew’ followed close behind.

The mayor had apparently been alerted that Free and company had arrived because he stood in the middle of the octagonal foyer with his entourage. Rosie noted that there were no clues that would give away the fact that he was the most powerful person in the city. He wore the loose-fitting hemp and wool clothes that Rosie had seen on most of the other humans they’d passed on the way into the city.

He was around fifty and appeared to be on the fit side for men of his age. He was plain-looking, brown hair, brown eyes, not remarkable in any way that Rosie could tell.

Free walked directly to him. Rosie thought the mayor looked wary about an unplanned visit, but covered it with a smile as he held his hand out to welcome Free.

“Mr. Mayor,” said Free without returning the smile. “I’d like a few words if you can manage the time.”

“For you, of course.” The mayor turned and walked in the direction of a conference room near his office and held the door open. The room was light because of a wall of windows. A small fireplace at one end took some of the chill out of the room, but Rosie kept the fur jacket on. Carnal, Clash and Yellow entered the room with Free, but Easy and Joy remained outside.

When some of the mayor’s people attempted to file in behind him, Free said, ”No. Just you.”

There was an unmistakable hint of worry, if not fear, on the mayor’s face, but he nodded at the others to withdraw and watched while Joy closed the door. The mayor took a seat at the head of the table, nearest the fire, but everyone in the room knew it was a symbolic courtesy because, in that moment, Free was definitely in command.

“What can I do for you, Extant?” The mayor used Free’s formal title which, Rosie thought, was a good choice, and tried to keep his voice even, whether he was anxious or not.

Free took a seat midway down the length of the table and motioned for Rosie to sit opposite him. Carnal and the two of his crew who were inside the room remained standing.

Free gave a small wave toward Rosie. “The young woman accompanying us is my guest, Elora Rose Storm. Rosie, this is Mayor Comstock.”

The mayor turned his attention to Rosie and acknowledged her with a nod. “Delighted,” he said with a questioning look, since she was evidently not hybrid.

Carnal, who was standing behind his father, also gave her a questioning look since it was the first time he’d heard her addressed as anything other than ‘Rosie’. He could have kicked himself for not knowing she had a longer, more formal name and not a singular descriptive moniker like Exiled.

She was surprised by the introduction using her complete name, partly because she wasn’t aware that Free, or any of Exiled, knew it. If he’d heard it from Kellareal, she was impressed that he remembered.

“You know,” Free began, his attention on Comstock, “that we have certain attributes that could be said to be extrahuman.” The mayor nodded at Free before quickly scanning the faces of the others present, probably hoping for clues as to why they were there. “One of those is our ability to know when humans are lying.” The mayor blinked, but did not give any other indication that he was uncomfortable with that. “Can you guess why I’m prefacing my questions with that comment?”

The mayor slowly nodded. “You suspect that I might not answer truthfully. You’ve communicated something not previously known, but also issued a hint of a threat in doing so.”

Free accepted that and forged ahead. “I’m in need of information.” He paused, looking more intense than usual. “And it’s critical that it be truthful information. I want to make clear from the beginning that the result of this exploration will not hurt you or the humans you represent.”

When the mayor nodded, Free continued. “Do you have some system in place for educating your young?”

The mayor seemed surprised by the question, but answered without hesitating. “Yes.”

Free looked at Carnal, who gave a tiny nod. Rosie surmised that they might be establishing a baseline for the mayor’s bio-patterns by asking a question to which they already knew the answer.

“At what age do you begin teaching your young?”

“Formally, at around five, although some parents teach their children basic things, like how to recognize numbers and write their names, before that.”

“When they are five, or thereabouts, children are taught in small groups?”

“Yes. We’re open about that. Some of our buildings are purposed for education. Children are taught in groups of similar age and ability that usually don’t exceed twenty students.”

“What are they taught?”

“Reading, writing, numbers. The usual.”

“What else besides reading, writing, and numbers?”

“Some are taught cooking. Some are taught carpentry. Some are taught animal husbandry or land management. Basic skills for practical living.”

Free studied the mayor for a minute, then glanced back at Carnal. While he was doing so, Rosie had reached for a pad and pencil lying on the table and scribbled four questions. She tore the top page from the pad and pushed it across the table at Free. He gave her a warning look, but she responded with a guileless shrug. She hadn’t broken faith with Free’s guideline and he knew it. The paper said:

History?

Literature?

Physics?

Chemistry?

Free read the note and looked at Rosie across the table with his chin still tucked. He folded the paper and slid it into a vest pocket, then turning back to Mayor Comstock, said, “What about history, literature, physics, and chemistry?”

Even Rosie, whose abilities were magnificent, but didn’t include lie detection, could see that the mayor was uncomfortable with the direction of Free’s inquiry.

“I’m an administrator,” the mayor said carefully, “not an educator.”

Free’s head bowed slightly. “As am I. Still, I have a general idea what our young are being taught. That’s part of being an ‘administrator’.”

The mayor cleared his throat. “May I ask…?”

“No.” Free cut him off. “I don’t want to be disrespectful. I appreciate that we’ve enjoyed an amicable working relationship and we want to keep it that way. If you want to keep it that way also, you’ll be forthcoming with answering my questions both immediately and thoroughly, to the best of your ability. Later, if more detail is required, we may ask to speak with the person who oversees education in particular.”

That caused the mayor to pale visibly. “Has something happened to cause you concern, Extant?”

“In a sense. I’ve been reminded that humans can be both egocentric and treacherous.”

“I assure you that we…”

“Please, mayor, for all our sakes, simply answer my questions honestly and let me draw my own conclusions. Again, are you aware that humans in Farsuitwail are studying history?”

“They are studying some history. Yes.”

“Literature?”

“Yes.”

“Physics?”

The mayor took in a deep breath. “Extant, how do you intend to use…?”

Free came up out of his chair with a roar that reaffirmed the feline DNA that had been woven into his genetic makeup, and gave the mayor an up close, no doubt frightening, display of fangs. “ANSWER THE QUESTION!”

Rosie jumped a little at the speed and intensity with which Free’s demeanor became threatening, but her reaction was mild compared to the way the mayor paled when the full force of that intensity was directed at him.

“You’re asking me to betray my people,” Comstock whispered.

Free cocked his head. “The result of a refusal to answer my questions will be that your people will be left without protection from the Rautt. The next time there’s a raid, we’ll simply throw another log on the fire and watch from the hill. The choice is yours, but let me tell you what’s going to happen if you choose wrong. Not only will we leave you unprotected, but we’ll also invade your city with a building by building search until we’ve learned what we need to know. Decide now.”

“You’d leave us to the Rautt?”

Free didn’t reply, but sat down, fanned his hands out on the table in front of him and stared at Comstock. Waiting.

Reading the truth in Free’s eyes, that he was not bluffing, the mayor’s throat worked with a gulp before he answered, “Physics. Yes.”

Free glanced at Carnal, whose nod to his father was so small it could easily have been missed. Rosie supposed it was a signal of confirmation, sort of a double check system between the two of them. Rosie hadn’t really realized how much the two of them were alike before, since Carnal definitely favored his mother’s looks. But seeing father and son together at the same time, it was obvious Carnal took after his father in temperament, intensity, and sheer presence. She wondered if he was predisposed to adore his future mate as Free did Serene, but shook that errant thought away. The conversation at hand was too important for daydreaming about beautiful hybrids with sinfully luscious lips.

“Chemistry?”

Again the mayor whispered, “Yes.”

“I see,” said Free. “And are some subjects of study being conducted in secret?”

“Yes.” The mayor was beginning to look ill and, even though it was still cool in the room, a sheen of sweat appeared on his face.

“To what purpose?”

“What purpose?” Comstock repeated.

“Are you repeating the question to stall for time so that you can decide how to best phrase your answer?”

Comstock began shaking his head. “No. Well, yes. Perhaps. This is a very delicate, uh, discussion.”

Free brought the full weight of his considerable authority to bear on the mayor. “And why’s that?”

Rosie caught the flick of Carnal’s glance to her and back again.

“Because there is some secrecy involved.”

“Again. Why’s that?”

Comstock’s eyes scanned the room, landed briefly on Rosie, and returned to Free. “If certain things were discovered, the Rautt would surely bring down the wrath of gods on us. Again.”

“Ah,” Free said. “You think that, if the Rautt were sufficiently motivated, that we could not protect you.”

“No offense is intended.” The mayor rushed to offer as a preemptive apology.

“No offense is taken.” Free‘s manner had returned to calm and almost casual. “You’re entitled to your feelings.” Comstock was visibly relieved until Free continued. “You don’t trust us. What you need to get from this little talk is this. We’re entitled to know what you’re up to because we don’t trust you either. When I was the same age that my son is right now,” he waved in Carnal’s direction, “I was held captive by humans, used for experiments thought too painful or risky for themselves.”

Comstock was beginning to slump in his chair. “I know,” he said.

“Are your people afraid of us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because, as you said earlier, you have extrahuman abilities.”

Free nodded. “Your people feel vulnerable.”

“Yes,” the mayor confirmed as if he was afraid to verify that suspicion.

Free tapped his fingers on the table for a few seconds as if he was trying to make up his mind about something.

“Can that be rectified?”

The mayor blinked, but looked intrigued. “How do you mean?”

“I don’t want my people to fear yours. I don’t want yours to fear mine. What would have to happen to rectify that and build an alliance between us?”

The mayor looked at Rosie, then Carnal, then Clash, before bringing his attention back to Free. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Feelings are somewhat… deep seated.”

“My advisor has suggested that separation fuels fear and mistrust. Is she right about that?”

The mayor pursed his lips. “Possibly.” He glanced at Carnal. “For one thing, your hybrid males would have to stop exploiting the young women of Farsuitwail.”

Free grinned. “Exploiting? Is that what the young women of Farsuitwail say after they’ve begged for cock from my single males?” The mayor looked uncertain, opened his mouth as if to respond, but decided to keep his thoughts on the matter to himself. “Let’s set that aside for a moment. Getting back to secret studies. What are you teaching, exactly, and where?”

“Our goal is twofold. To eventually recreate the technology that the Rautt destroyed. Eliminating the terror under which we’ve been living is the biggest part of that, but it’s not all for military purposes. Uh, self-defense. Some of it is about restoring quality of living. Many of our people don’t even remember how it was before.”

“Before the hybrids you created broke free and turned things around, you mean?”

The mayor’s jaw set when he realized he’d talked himself into a trap of condemnation. “Yes. That is what I mean.”

“And the first phase of your plan, the part about eliminating terror, was that to be directed strictly toward Rautt? Or toward us as well?”

Comstock’s face went stark. He looked deathly afraid. Rosie couldn’t find it in herself to feel sorry for him after witnessing some of what the Exiled had been through in the process of protecting the good people of Farsuitwail. She hated that she’d guessed correctly about what the humans were up to.

“You have to understand,” the mayor began, “too many of us draw little or no distinction between your people and Rautt. They believe that hybrids, all hybrids, are a threat to humans. Given the fact that we barely survived genocide…”

“Your response to ‘barely surviving genocide’ might have been more noble.” Turning toward Rosie, Free said, “Seems you were right. We’re lucky that someone with knowledge of humans is sympathetic to Exiled. I was ill-prepared for this, but have learned a valuable lesson. You may speak.”

Rosie looked at the mayor and said, “We need to know everything about your plan. Have you reconstructed weaponry capable of wiping out the Rautt?”

The mayor hesitated, then said, “Yes. We’re in the final stages.”

“So you’ve cultivated a new crop of scientists and technicians?”

“Yes.”

Rosie looked at Free. “Might we ask the mayor to step out into the hall for a few minutes. While we confer?”

Free’s brow crinkled slightly, but he turned to Comstock. “Mr. Mayor, if you please.” Clash moved toward the door. “Make sure he stays close by and make sure he speaks to no one.” Clash nodded as he ushered the man out and closed the door.

“You have suggestions?” Free asked.

“I do. First thing on the agenda. We need those among you who have aptitude for such things to spend time here learning everything they know. That’s the best way to keep Exiled safe. Second, you need to move here.”

“What?”

“As long as you’re separated by distance, you’re going to be ‘other’ and ‘other’ usually means enemy to humans. Move here so that your daily activities coincide with humans, so that they can’t leave their homes without seeing you do the same. When they go to the market, they find Exiled shopping in the market. When they go to the park, they find Exiled in the park. Intermingle with them. Your children and human children should be educated together.” Free’s brow wrinkled at that. “Third, I highly recommend intermarrying.”

His head jerked upward as anger fired in his eyes. “Force us to marry?”

“No. Of course not. I don’t think force will be necessary. Exiled are having four boys for every girl from what I’ve seen. That means you have a lot of single males.” She couldn’t resist a glance at Carnal when she said that and saw that she held his focused and unwavering attention. “Some of them would rather be spending their nights in the comfort of a home shared with a wife and children than at the Commons.”

Free looked at Carnal. “If our males were interested in mating with human females, why haven’t they?”

Rosie couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. “Do you think the cultural climate in Newland would have been accepting of that idea? The prejudice doesn’t go just one way.”

Free cocked his head, appearing to consider that. “You’re saying that mating with humans would be the natural outcome of making it acceptable.”

“Yes.”

“What about what the mayor said about human males resenting the attentions, and obvious preference, that their women give us?”

Rosie sighed. “So the math isn’t going to render a perfect one on one match up. Nothing’s ideal. But when the day comes that a sufficient number of humans have grandchildren who are half hybrid, they will die to protect them.”

Free nodded. “A powerful argument.”

“Thank you.”

“Also a very hard sell.” Again, Free looked at Carnal. “There are Exiled, like myself, who remember. Our hearts are hardened toward humans and I’m not sure anything can change that. Living among them, so close to them. It would be difficult.”

“What about me?”

Carnal gave her a questioning look. With her eyes, Rosie reminded him not to reveal that she was less human than the hybrids. He blinked a couple of times, but his eyes said that what was between them was private.

“What about you?” Free asked.

“I’m living in your house, eating at your table. You even left me in charge of your children when you marshalled for the alarm. Now you’re asking for my counsel and, hopefully, trusting me enough to take advice about how best to protect Exiled now and in the future. That should prove to you that living together, not just peacefully, but with the same goals in mind, is possible.”

Free sat back and regarded her carefully. “Maybe. Does that cap your list of suggestions?”

“For now.”

Free motioned toward the door and said to Yellow, “Bring him back in.”

When the mayor was once again sitting at the head of the table, Free said, “You need to expect and prepare for some changes. The first order of business will be an inspection of your training and weapons facilities. I will conduct this inspection personally. After I’ve had a chance to review, you and I will be having further discussions about the relationship between hybrids and humans going forward.”

“I see. And when will you…?”

“Right now.”

“Right now,” the mayor repeated, looking stunned.

“In the past I’ve blindly trusted that you valued us for the service we’ve given you, that you were grateful for the lives lost and injuries sustained on your behalf, that our children who’ve been orphaned while their parents were killed protecting you meant something to you. My false presumptions have been stripped away and now I see things more clearly. Therefore, you will not be given the opportunity to conspire against us and hide plans for our ultimate destruction.

“Carnal, you stay.” Free looked over his shoulder. “Have Clash and Yellow return to Newland and bring enough people to hold the occupants of this building here while we take a tour with Mayor Comstock. I also require Serene, Cage, Thorn, Sky, and Breaker to accompany us on our discovery expedition.”

Carnal nodded toward Clash and Yellow. Rosie noted that Free was careful not to give direct orders to Carnal’s crew, but sent his wishes down the chain of command via Carnal. Rosie saw that Free’s care with being respectful was part of what had made him a good leader.

“Well,” Free turned toward the mayor. “What do you have to eat while we wait?”

Since the Exiled were accustomed to drills that prepared them to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, it was less than an hour before the five additions to Free’s entourage filed into the room. While Exiled were rounding up everyone in City Hall and securing the exits, Free motioned to Rosie to rise and follow him to the other end of the room.

“These are the people who could help me convince Exiled to go along with your plan. If convincing can be done, that is.” Rosie looked back at the group. She knew Serene was there because of her role in education and also because it didn’t take brilliance to figure out that she’d been both mate and advisor to Free. Rosie had seen as much while living in their household. As to the four others, they were peers of Free’s whom she knew from the Commons. When Carnal had talked about his father’s confidantes, she surmised that these were the people he’d meant.

Clash entered, crossed the room to Carnal and said something to him. Carnal acknowledged it and walked toward them. He stopped a few feet away, but Free motioned for him to come closer and speak.

“The building and its occupants are secure, Extant.”

The new arrivals were barely able to contain their curiosity as to why they’d been brought to Farsuitwail and, moreover, why a coup appeared to be underway without their foreknowledge.

Free spoke to them. “In summary, our guest’s,” he looked toward Rosie in clarification, “suppositions that the humans might have plans against the hybrids that occupy this world, including us, have been proven to be true.” Free’s inner circle exchanged looks as scowls and frowns formed on their faces. “They’ve been secretly seeking to recreate the technology that powered their industry and lifestyles before destruction by the Rautt. Their ultimate goal is to eliminate everyone in this world who is not human.”

Ten pairs of eyes turned to look at the mayor, who was appearing to grow queasy again.

“I’ve brought you here because our first step is to construct an overview of their plan, the education process, the facilities, what they’re doing, where, why, and how. What I require from you today is to help me with information gathering. At the end of the day, we will take what we’ve learned back to Newland and meet to confer on how best to proceed.”

Lines had formed between Serene’s brow that Rosie had never seen before. Free’s inner circle apparently shared his initial disbelief that the very people they’d sacrificed so much to protect were conspiring to exterminate them like pests. That disbelief was quickly replaced by anger that threatened to strip them of control, a trait they prized above all others.

Free looked at Comstock. “Is everything we need to see within walking distance of this building?”

“The library, education outlets, and labs are within a couple of miles. The foundry and munitions plant are at a distance and will require transportation.”

“Let’s begin with what can be seen on foot,” Free said.

As they filed out of the conference room, Rosie saw that Exiled had herded all the City Hall staff and the visitors who were unfortunate enough to be in the building at the time of the takeover, into the foyer. They were sitting together on the floor in the center looking distressed and uncertain. She waited for a couple of others to pass so that she could get Free’s attention. He leaned over so that she could speak quietly.

“Those people don’t know what’s going on. They’re scared and their imaginations are trying to fill in the blanks. It’s not a good way to begin the possibility of a future alliance.”

Free nodded at Rosie before calling out to Carnal. “Keep the mayor here. We’re going to have a word with these people.”

While Carnal had heard his father’s directive perfectly, the mayor had heard nothing. Carnal’s large hand enclosed the man’s bicep, pulled him out of line, and told him to go stand by Free.

Free looked over the group of about sixty individuals.

One of the men spoke up, clearly wanting to distance himself from whatever was going on. “I’m only here for a permit.”

Free ignored him and spoke to the group. “Your mayor is taking us for a tour of your schools. Because our visit is top secret, we can’t afford to allow word of this to get out before we’re ready to make a joint announcement.” Free looked at Comstock, who nodded a confirmation on cue. “If you simply wait out this inconvenience, no harm will come of this. You’ll be detained for a short while and then will go about your business. If you need to use facilities, one of us will accompany you.”

If Free’s entourage had asked all the questions that came to mind and waited for answers, the tour would have taken days, not hours. The mayor had resigned himself to cooperation long before they’d left City Hall. He took them first to some of the underground facilities where students with exceptional interest had been mentored and undertaken advanced studies. Naturally, personnel were surprised to look up and see a sizable group of hybrids entering a facility that was planned and designed to be kept secret from hybrids.

The mayor assured them that it was in the best interest of everyone concerned to be open and forthcoming with Free and his people. Once the initial shock wore off, Free found that most of the humans had pride in their accomplishments and were pleased to share. Free asked every single teacher, one by one, if they would have a problem with teaching Exiled. There were a few who replied honestly that it would be a rather abrupt shift of gears and that it might take time to get used to the idea. Others seemed open to sharing their knowledge across a broader, more diverse range of students. The only thing they were interested in was whether or not prospective students wanted to learn.

The mayor showed them the library where all the science and technology books that had been spared were gathered for safekeeping and hidden so that they’d be unlikely to be found by the Rautt. They were then shown the underground facilities of another building where the labs were housed.

“We spread the facilities out according to purpose, thinking that if one thing was discovered, others might remain hidden,” Comstock said.

There were inherent problems with underground facilities in a society without electricity, namely it was cold and dark, which meant working by oil lamps. That in itself, was dangerous in the labs where they were working with various forms of explosives.

After the head chemist got over the surprise of having hybrids tour his facilities, he seemed almost eager for the opportunity to show off their progress and accomplishments.

“First, we had to figure out how to make black powder. We had the recipe. You use sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. That’s saltpeter.” He shrugged. “It works without the sulfur, but it’s hard to detonate.”

Free looked at Serene, at Carnal, at Rosie, then shook his head. The chemist walked on and they followed. “After that we tried to find a way to make red brass without electricity. That’s gunmetal. That was a success, but one of my people came up with a modified version using mostly copper with about ten percent tin and traces of lead and zinc. Eventually that led us to steel and we decided the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

“The Rautt destroyed our power sources, but left all the scrap metal just lying around waiting to be repurposed. Steel is plentiful and there’s no need for smelting with iron and coal. All we had to do was construct an oxygen furnace for a foundry and disguise it as a trash dump.” He smiled. “It’s on the southern outskirts. We burn rubber because the smell is so awful we knew it would be a deterrent to Rautt investigation.”

He ended that sentence with a humorless laugh.

“We make the parts of firearms and assemble guns by hand in another facility, also on the outskirts, but far enough away from the foundry to deter suspicion.”

“I want to see this place,” Free said to the mayor.

Comstock hesitated. “Like I said, it’s too far to walk.”

“You will ride with Joy and point out where to go.”

They walked back to City Hall, mounted the bikes, and turned toward the sea of farmland beyond Farsuitwail to the south. The city stood like a crumbling citadel on the edge of plowed fields, orchards, vineyards, and lands used for grazing livestock. The land to the north of Farsuitwail was a vast wasteland with the Rautt stronghold beyond that. No one had ever gotten close enough to see where the Rautt lived, but there were stories, rumors about grisly spectacles of public torture of those who had been unfortunate enough to be captured alive.

Since their arrival, the Exiled had lived in their settlement in the foothills west of Farsuitwail, which gave them a lookout vantage point over both the city and wasteland. Between the superiority of hybrid distance vision and the fact that it was impossible to cross the wasteland without raising a cloud of dust that was as good as an alarm system, sneak attacks by Rautt were impossible. Exiled didn’t always survive battles unscathed, but at least they had enough warning to prepare.

Fifteen minutes after speeding away from City Hall, they were dismounting the bikes in front of an innocuous-looking building that gave the appearance of being a small stucco-covered house with a flat roof.

The house sat on a block by itself in a neighborhood that had been in development at the time of the Disruption, which was what the humans called the destruction of their way of life. The windows were boarded up. The front yard was covered with weeds many years old, some making tangled vines that climbed up the sides of the house. The front door was off its hinge and slightly ajar, creating a final touch for the perfect picture of abandonment. And worthlessness.

Joy gently urged the mayor forward with a fist in the small of his back.

If Rautt had come looking, they would have noticed that the floor inside was relatively clean, but underground access was so expertly disguised by the perfect matching of wood flooring, that even the mayor had to search and fumble to find the spring. While Carnal stood at the opening, Easy lifted the door, revealing steps. With a glance at Carnal he began to descend, leading the way down. As the exploratory party followed, Joy and Clash stayed behind. Without needing to be told, they posted themselves as lookouts at the front of the house.

The space below ground was enormous, a big open room that served as both factory and warehouse. Weapons were being assembled on long tables in the middle of the room then stored on shelving that lined the walls. The mass of weapons and ammunition spoke volumes about how long the humans had been planning and working toward what they viewed as their liberation from hybrids. There were about a hundred people working. At least they had been working before they stopped to stare with open-mouthed curiosity. On rising that day, none of them had thought their day would include a visit by high-ranking Exiled.

As was true of the other secret facilities, much of the heat and warmth was being provided by oil lamps, but unlike the other facilities, the munitions plant had dozens of shafts of sunlight dotting the vast expanse, like little spotlights. They had installed six-inch pipes that ran upward to the surface, and disguised them above ground with weeds. The pipes were covered with filter grids to keep out both debris and varmints. When it rained they collected the water in buckets.

“How do people come and go without being seen?” Rosie asked the mayor.

“The people who work here also live here and don’t leave often.” He waved toward a hallway. “We bring supplies the usual way, horse-drawn wagon, but there’s no one left out here to witness activity. Everybody moved into the city after the Disruption. Except for the farmers, but the closest is too far to take note of comings and goings.”

Comstock directed the facility supervisor to tell the Exiled everything about the operation. The man was clearly reticent. Rosie watched a series of emotions pass over his face before he settled on compliance. As they walked down the aisles of assembly lines, it was clear to Rosie that the Exiled were stunned, imagining the impending demise of their race along with the Rautt.

The supervisor became more and more animated as the tour progressed. It was clear that he was proud of the work they had done with firearms, but not nearly as proud as he was of the pipe cannons.

He held one lovingly in his hands as he explained, “They can deliver an explosion of blasting powder up to a mile away.”

Rosie watched the look of shock pass over the faces of the Exiled as each comprehended that their entire settlement could have been wiped out during the night as they slept.

On arrival back at City Hall, Free said, “Mr. Mayor, we’ve got a lot of talking to do and some decisions to make. While we are considering all that we’ve learned today, we need some assurance that your plans for annihilation of our species won’t be sped up.”

“I assure you…” Comstock began, but Free held up his hand.

“Given what we’ve learned today, I’m going to need more than assurances. We’re going to gather up the people we’ve met today, the students, workers, everyone at the facilities, and bring them here to be detained while we sort this out.”

Rosie put her hand on Free’s arm. “May I ask him a question before I go?” When Free indicated his assent, she turned to the mayor. “What was your go date?”

All the Exiled within hearing distance went still. Clearly the question piqued the interest of every hybrid present. As they waited for his answer with rapt attention, Comstock’s mouth pressed into a straight line as he glared at Rosie. She guessed he’d been hoping to get off without ever having to reveal that information.

“Well?” The fact that Free was quickly losing patience was reflected in his body language and tone.

Without taking his eyes away from Rosie, Comstock said, “Six weeks.”

Free’s jaw clenched visibly before he turned to Carnal and said, “Take your mother, the elders, and Rosie to Newland and come back with enough peacekeepers to round up key personnel and manage the hostages.” To Comstock, he said, “Who should we see about providing food, drink, and bedding?”

“I, ah, have an aide who could manage that, but not if she’s being held here.”

“Two of our people will accompany her on that errand.” He looked at Carnal. “The people you bring back will need to bring enough food and drink for sustenance. No Exiled will be accepting anything from humans.” Carnal gave the mayor a look of pure malice before nodding at his father.

To the elders, Free said, “Convene at my house and wait for me. Serene will feed you and make you comfortable until I arrive. We have a lot to talk about.” He looked at Rosie. “You, too.”

Two hours later Free walked into his house, having been satisfied that the situation was contained in Farsuitwail for the time being.

Serene handed him a bowl of stew and an individual loaf of warm bread. “Here.” Her look said that, whatever was going on with humans, her priority was her mate.

He smiled at that, pulled her into his body, then nuzzled her neck and ear until she laughed softly and leaned into him.

Free sat down at the head of the kitchen table, with three people seated on each side. All six were looking at him with expectations he wasn’t sure he could deliver. He pulled a bite of bread away from the loaf and put it in his mouth.

“We’ve got a lot to talk over.”

Thorn spoke up. “We do, but not in front of this human.” He looked at Rosie with a distaste that hadn’t been present before the afternoon’s revelations. “Why is she here?”

Free calmly blew on a hot spoonful of stew before putting it in his mouth. He smiled at Serene. “How did you manage to be in Farsuitwail most of the day and still manage this?”

Serene looked embarrassed by the public praise. “I left it simmering on the stove, told Charming to watch out for it in case I was gone too long.”

Free smiled. “Marvelous.”

“Thank you,” she said.

Through that exchange it wasn’t lost on anyone present that Thorn didn’t appreciate being ignored for a cheerful domestic dialog that seemed to belie the gravity of their situation.

When he was finished appreciating his mate’s cooking, Free looked at Thorn, but continued to eat. “If it wasn’t for Rosie, we would be happily going about in complete ignorance of the dangers, like lambs to the slaughter. Did you alert us to the potential of what we discovered today, Thorn?”

Thorn glanced at Rosie, squirmed in his chair a little, and said, “No,” in his exceedingly gruff voice.

“I would think that, instead of trying to make Rosie feel like an outsider, or an enemy, we should be thanking providence that Kellareal asked us to give her a place to stay for a while.”

Breaker looked at Thorn. “That’s true, brother. Hybrids are not all like Rautt. Humans are not all the same either.”

“Maybe not, but we found out today that the humans we’ve spent a quarter century protecting planned to massacre us. Wipe us out of existence without another thought,” Thorn replied.

“That’s what we’re here to talk about,” Free said. “Rosie has the building blocks of a plan that may change our futures for the better, but the key word is change and I understand it’s never easy. I’m going to propose some things that may go against the grain, but I’m going to count on you to support me and help persuade our people anyway.” Free looked at Thorn. “I’m going to need your pledge that you’ll keep an open mind?”

Thorn stared at Free for a few beats. Thorn had been kept in a cage across from Free when they were young captives. That sort of history made for a strong bond, the kind that was capable of overcoming almost any obstacle. “I will,” said Thorn.

Free’s gaze made a circle around the table. “Good. Let’s begin.” He looked at Rosie. “Elora Rose Storm, you were right. Humans are wily. They smile at us in the marketplace and share their bodies with our unmated males. All the while, at least some of them have been plotting our destruction.”

He looked away for a moment and sighed. “If the school was discovered, the Rautt would destroy books and possibly murder teachers and students. If the lab was discovered, equipment, facility, people… It would all be destroyed. Same with the foundry. But the weapons cache would very likely never be found unless one of the humans led them to it. It’s brilliant. It makes me feel inept that I didn’t anticipate something of the sort.

“We were, apparently, only six weeks away from the likelihood of being wiped out. Gone as if we’d never existed. Our memories. Our children. Our history. All gone. If we don’t make some changes, the humans will go on looking for ways to get rid of us until they do it.”

Serene continued to look quietly alarmed. Breaker nodded his head in agreement. “What’s your plan, Free?”

“It’s fourfold and each part depends on the others. We need to form an alliance with the humans and fight with them to rid this world of Rautt. We need to abandon Newland, move to the city, and encourage our young to intermarry. Last, we need to make sure that we know everything they know. That means educating our young in the same place, in the same way. Not separate. Together.”

Thorn could hardly contain himself. “Live with humans? You cannot mean that, Free!”

“I do mean it, Thorn. Humans fear us partly because we are superior in many ways, but that’s not the only reason. They fear us because they don’t know us.” He glanced at Rosie in acknowledgement. “It’s been pointed out to me that familiarity is the first step toward trust. We will help remove the idea of hybrids as threat by living with them and helping them rebuild a world with the magic of technology, making sure that it’s used for us and not against us, ever again. We will integrate into their world so thoroughly and deeply as to render ourselves impervious to being the targets of conspiracy in the future.

“You’re dreaming, Free.” Breaker’s voice was calm, but firm. “Humans will always see us as animals.”

“They will unless a change is forced upon them. If they were smart enough to make us, they’re smart enough to figure out that we’re not animals just because we’re different. This could be good for us. Think about it. If there were no Rautt to fight, we could… Well, see? We’ve never had the luxury of dreaming about what we might do if we didn’t have a debt to pay for our freedom. But as Rosie pointed out to me, simply being outside a cage is not the same thing as being free.”

He paused for a minute and looked at each person at the table, letting that sink in.

“If we do nothing, what then?” He looked into Serene’s eyes where she sat at the other end of the table. “Serene and I know better than many the cost of status quo.” Serene gave a tiny flinch at the reminder of Crave, and the tiny drawing of skin around her eyes betrayed the pain of a mother who didn’t know the fate of her child.

“All of us here, with the exception of Rosie, have children. What do we want? For them to go on living at the ready to answer an alarm at a moment’s notice, putting themselves and their children and the children of those children in the way of death or capture by Rautt? The way I see it, that’s the choice. We can hold onto hard feelings about humans, or we can try to forge a new world for Exiled by becoming allies, neighbors, even friends and in-laws with them.”

The elders shifted in their chairs uncomfortably as they mulled over the proposal as it was laid out by Free and looked at each other as if they could glean what others were thinking by doing so.

Sky was the one to break the silence. “I want my children to have options. My grandchildren, too.”

Thorn gaped at her. “Options! You think we’re going to restore their power and your daughter will dance the ballet?” he scoffed.

“If you don’t think that’s a possibility, Thorn, then maybe your thinking is too narrow to sit in this circle.” Sky’s retort was biting, but on point.

“Let’s weigh the pros and cons.” Cage spoke for the first time. His voice was deep and rumbly like most adult Exiled males, but it was also melodic and had a soothing effect.

Breaker looked at Free. “I think that’s a good idea. We need to consider how to proceed carefully.”

Serene simply nodded, while Thorn looked aghast that living with humans was under discussion.

Free nodded at Serene in return. “Let’s get started,” he said. “Rosie,” she sat up straighter hearing her name, “you will participate. If we forget something, let us know. If we’re wrong about something, let us know. Breaker is right. We can’t weigh the risk without an analysis.”

Rosie nodded. Thorn’s glare pulled her attention. She blinked at him, wondering how much he’d have to have been hurt by humans to maintain that level of hatred for so long, even against those who were strangers and innocent of his grievance, not to mention trying to help.

“I’d like to begin the discussion by saying that the one thing that’s off the table is doing nothing. Doing nothing is a death sentence for Exiled. Right now we have a fairly large group of humans being kept where we can watch them while we decide what to do next, but the clock is ticking.”

“And whose fault is that?” Thorn said. “I don’t remember getting a say in that, Free.”

“Are you listening?” Rosie said to Thorn. “If Free didn’t take steps to interrupt the course of things as planned, in a matter of weeks you would have been wiped from memory. It would be as if you’d never existed. Free is trying to find a way around that!”

Serene reached out and gave Rosie’s hand a little squeeze. She was apparently impressed that their houseguest was acting protective of Free and willing to challenge Thorn’s unreasonable response.

For the next few hours the group debated every aspect and angle of what might happen if they did exactly as Free suggested and what might happen if they modified parts of the plan. In the end they agreed on one thing, that doing nothing simply wasn’t an option.

Serene’s head angled ever so slightly toward the front door. A couple of minutes later, Charming stood in the kitchen doorway. When his eyes cast over the group assembled around the table, he didn’t try to mask his surprise that Rosie was present. He was still staring at her, when his father said, “What are people saying?”

Charming drug his gaze away from Rosie. “That something happened in the city. That we’re in some kind of danger from the humans. That we’re holding the mayor and a bunch of officials in their headquarters while you talk it out.”

Free nodded. For hearsay it was both concise and fairly accurate.

“Go to bed. By tomorrow we’ll be ready to share our thoughts.”

Charming looked at Rosie one more time before backing away and turning to go. She wiggled her head back and forth slightly hoping he’d take that to mean, “Tell you later.” No one in the kitchen thought he wouldn’t hear the rest of the discussion, but no one believed he’d repeat what he heard either.

They were in the final stages of mapping out the logistics of how such a monumental upheaval might be accomplished, should they decide to proceed with Free’s plan or a modified version.

Sky turned to Rosie. “What do you see as the biggest problem?”

Rosie met Sky’s eyes. “Sexual math.” She looked around the table. “There are more single males than females. The men, um, human males, who want to be married and find there are no available women, will not be receptive to easy relations between hybrids and humans. Resentment could fester and be a source of discontent among humans.”

Cage pursed his lips, then smiled. “We’re good at sharing.”

Rosie’s eyes widened before she shut down her look of shock. “Sharing?” she almost squeaked.

“We could encourage our young men to form households of three, two of ours with one human female. Would that solve the equation?”

“They would do that?” Rosie asked, trying not to sound provincial.

When she looked at Free, he gave a slight shrug as if to say, “Sure. Why not?”

“The chicklets would be lining up to audition,” Breaker said. Everyone at the table chuckled except for Thorn and Rosie.

“I’m not sure the humans would accept that solution,” Rosie said.

“I’ll bet they’d like that better than a shortage of available brides,” offered Sky.

Rosie pursed her lips, considering. “Maybe,” she said slowly. “Hard to predict how they’ll react. I don’t really know anything about their culture.”

“Is the concept completely alien to humans?” Serene asked.

“Well, no,” Rosie replied. “It’s been done in places and at times that presented similar math problems.”

“Well, then,” Breaker offered. “That’s settled.”

Rosie thought it was far from settled, but she felt like it was her place to find holes in plan or logic, not argue societal mores. She tried picturing herself with two husbands in a variety of situations and just couldn’t make the images or the logistics work out successfully.

“Next problem,” Free said.

Rosie pulled herself out of her imaginary wanderings when she realized Free was speaking to her. Everyone was watching her with varying degrees of expectation.

“If possible, you need to integrate the inner city without displacing anyone from their homes,” she said.

Free gave a single nod of his handsome head. “That is a concern and we’ll keep it in mind when it’s time to rough out an actual plan. Right now, I think we’ve pared down the scope of decision to a series of cascading votes, each depending on the one before. The first vote is this, will we move into Farsuitwail, begin an education and integration process, and become part of a plan to rid this world of a threat from Rautt? Everyone votes except Rosie, who is here in an advisory capacity.” He looked at each individual before proceeding. “I say yes.”

“Yes,” said Serene.

“Yes,” said Sky.

“Yes,” said Cage.

“Yes,” said Breaker.

“No,” said Thorn. “And I have another concern for you to consider before rushing into something as insane as voluntarily living among humans.”

“Go ahead.” Free gave him permission to speak his mind.

“What do you plan to do about our people who don’t want to go?”

“I’ve actually been thinking about that throughout this discussion,” Free answered.

“So have I,” Cage added.

“Before I offer my opinion, does anyone else want to make a suggestion?”

“I do,” Thorn said. “Anybody who doesn’t want to go should be allowed to stay here.”

Free surprised Thorn by saying, “I agree, but I will make it clear that those who stay will be considered cowards who chose the easiest option while planning to fully participate in the benefits that will come from forming an alliance with the humans.”

Thorn snorted. “What benefits?” he said with belligerence.

“Where have you been for the past five hours?” Sky said, her annoyance showing. “The benefit of peace. For the first time in our lives, we will be able to turn our attention to something wholly productive, not having to worry that an alarm may sound at any hour of the day or night leading us into a battle that may claim a spouse.” She gave Serene a pained look. “Or a child.”

Returning her attention to Thorn. “What’s that worth, Thorn? I say it’s a treasure beyond anything we’ve imagined so far. I say it’s worth the discomfort of making changes in the way we live and the way we think.”

Thorn’s posture made it clear that his viewpoint was set in stone and would not be altered by any argument, no matter how persuasive. His response was to cross his big arms over his chest and tighten his expression of defiance.

“Thorn,” Free said softly, “the rest of the discussion and votes depend on consensus. Since you disagree with our projected plans, you’re free to excuse yourself.”

Thorn’s expression faltered. He hadn’t anticipated being dismissed from Free’s inner circle. He stood so quickly it made Rosie jump a little.

“Yeah, old friend. I’ll go with one last nod toward reason and self-preservation. One thing I haven’t heard in all this talk is what happens when it doesn’t work out? What happens when the humans betray you? That’s inevitable. In your hearts you know it, I know it.” He waved toward Rosie. “Even this human knows it. They can’t help it. It’s who they are.”

“I agree that we need to make a genuine effort with the humans while remaining judiciously cautious. Maybe we will need a reminder from time to time that trust needs to be earned slowly, not given quickly. Maybe they will need reminders that they need to work harder at earning our trust than the other way around. Agree not to stand in the way of progress, Thorn. Stay and help us with this grand experiment, even though your vote was no and you think it’s a fool’s folly.”

Thorn swayed on his feet slightly, looking around the table. At length he nodded. “I will not speak for this thing that I fear will end in bedlam, but I will stand with you and not speak against it.”

When he sat down, everyone at the table breathed in relief knowing they were stronger together even when they disagreed. Cage, who was sitting next to him, grinned and slapped him on the shoulder in a silent display of approval and camaraderie.

Rosie did her best to stifle a yawn, but Free noticed.

“It’s late” he said. “I think we’ve done the hardest part. Let’s reconvene here in five hours. We’ll have breakfast and decide how to proceed.”

Rosie held up her hand. Free acknowledged her, looking amused.

“We need to release the people being held at City Hall as soon as possible. The longer they’re held, the harder it will be to get them on our side.”

Free glanced around the table. “Excellent point. We need to be prepared to make announcements to our people by mid-morning, then go directly to Farsuitwail and announce our plans to Comstock and the others being detained. They’ll carry word to the rest of the humans in their own way, but we need to be prepared to place active duty fighters in each of the facilities at the same time to be sure that nothing is hidden or destroyed.” Free looked pointedly at Thorn. “From now on, we know everything humans know and everything they do.”

“That’s the most sensible thing you’ve said all night,” Thorn said.

Rosie drug herself up the stairs, scuffing each one with the drag of her boots. Charming was sitting on the top tread waiting for her.

“What…?”

She held a finger to her lips and pulled him inside her room. “Your dad included me in an ‘advisory capacity’. I don’t get a vote. It’s sort of a takes-one-to-know-one thing. He thinks I can anticipate potential human treachery. And, sadly, he might be right. At least to a point.”

Charming looked at her like he pitied her. “You’re not a bad human, Rosie.”

“No. Of course not.” She smiled. “I’m charming.” He laughed quietly. “The thing is, for humans, bad and good is as much a choice as anything. We all have it in us to go either way. Free’s friends keep talking about trust. I’m not sure humans can ever trust each other. Not really. Not completely. And I’m the first one to say it would be a mistake for Exiled to ever forget that.”

“Then you’re against this plan.”

“No. I’m for the plan.”

Charming cocked his head to the side. His smooth young brow furrowed but didn’t wrinkle. “I don’t get it.”

“An uneasy alliance is better than an uneasy distance. There’s a famous saying in my world. It’s a quote from a philosopher who specialized in political warfare. ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’.”

Charming looked away with a slight scowl. “I understand what you’re saying.” He looked at Rosie. “And I wish I didn’t.”

“The death of idealism is hard.”

She gave Charming a kiss on the cheek.

He grinned. “It just got easier.”

Rosie’s responding chuckle quickly died as she grew thoughtful. “Your dad… I see why he’s the Extant. He’s brilliant and good with people.”

Charming smiled proudly. “He is. That’s why no one has questioned his leadership or challenged for it in all these years.” He grew serious. “People say Carnal will be next.”

“They do?”

“Yeah. You might say he’s, ah, admired.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“He’s still a prick.”

Rosie laughed at him again and pushed him toward the door. “I’m falling-down tired. Mere human here. Get out and let me get a few hours’ sleep.”

CHAPTER NINE

At ten o’clock the next morning, the elders had gathered everyone who was not on duty elsewhere into the bar for a community meeting. It was packed. When all the seating had been claimed, people stood lining the walls. Scar, Dandy, and Traces, a girl who usually worked the night shift with Scar, were all on hand behind the bar anticipating the need for drink when the meeting ended.

The six elders stood on the other side of the bar facing the crowd. Free turned to face Rosie and leapt to the top of the bar from a flat-footed-standstill, with the grace and ease of a panther. When he turned to face the gathering, all quieted.

Rosie’s eyes drifted over the Exiled until they reached Carnal who was standing near the door, leaning a shoulder against the wall, and staring straight at her. She surmised that he’d been relieved from duty in Farsuitwail in time so that he could be present for the impending announcement. No doubt he also needed some rest.

“Thank you for coming,” Free began. “In the past twenty-four hours, we’ve faced some hard truths and come to some hard decisions. You’ve heard that we’re temporarily holding high-ranking humans captive in their governing headquarters. I can see by your faces that you’re concerned because this could be considered an act of war.

“So let me first say that the decision to hold those people was a reaction to learning that humans have been secretly reconstructing the means to restore technology.” When a murmur went through the crowd, Free held up his hand. “That’s not the problem. Their primary goal was to use the technology to wipe out the Rautt. Frankly, that’s understandable. Since I’m unable to find anything redeemable about the Rautt, I can’t disagree with that intention. The quandary for us is that they see us as a threat and part of their problem.

“They were planning to launch an attack in just six weeks’ time that would have likely obliterated both Rautt and Exiled.” The hybrids went stone still into a stunned silence that made Rosie wonder if anyone else was breathing. “From what we saw yesterday, it’s entirely possible that they could do it.

“I wish I could say that I deserve the credit for anticipating such an event, but I do not. This possibility was brought to my attention by our guest, Elora Rose Storm, whom you know as Rosie. It was because of her that an investigation was initiated.”

Rosie felt herself blushing when all eyes turned to look at her.

“Once we discovered that there was a plot and saw the facilities with our own eyes, we rounded up all the officials and workers. They’re being held so that nothing can be hidden from us while we’re making decisions as to how to proceed.”

Free swept his hand along the bar to indicate the elders standing below him, facing the crowd. “We have some ideas about how to confront this situation, but they are going to mean making some changes that will be uncomfortable for us.

“Our proposition is this. The humans fear us not just because we’re different, but because they don’t know us. That will never change so long as we live separately in a closed community, high on a hill above the city. To change the humans’ perception of us, we must live with them.”

That was met with a rumble, which quickly turned into a roar of protest. Free gave them a few minutes to vent then held up his hand.

“I know the idea goes against our instincts, especially for those of us who weren’t born here, but hear me out. I have seen our path to survival and it’s not here. It’s in Farsuitwail. Our children need to be educated alongside human children so that they know everything human children know. We need to work in the labs with human scientists so that we see what they’re doing and understand it. The same is true for every area of their society. Our eyes and ears must be everywhere. We will be their neighbors, teachers, students, co-workers, and, perhaps someday, friends.”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!” Charming shouted.

Rosie smiled as everyone turned to look at Charming, including his father. After Free recovered from hearing something so profound come from his good-natured youngest son, he went on to say, “We’ll also be their in-laws.”

“In-laws!” Someone shouted from the back.

“Yes. We’ll encourage some of our single males to form households with human females.”

Rosie watched Charming and his friends exchange looks. In her mind she chanted to herself to not look in Carnal’s direction, but she could feel the pull of his stare and couldn’t help herself. When she finally looked his way, he gave her a licentious knowing grin and, again, she blushed.

“Are you saying we’re going to abandon this place, Free?”

Free looked in the direction of the questioner. “I am.” He nodded. “It will be hard to leave. We built this place from nothing. In a sense, we were all born here because we were born into freedom here. I love Newland. I love my home. I love this room.” He waved his hand to indicate the room. “But I love my mate and my sons more. I love my people and our future more.

“We need to ally ourselves with the humans to overcome the Rautt and neutralize them for good. For the first time, they will fight with us. They will face the same risk. When the Rautt are no longer an issue, there will be peace. We will turn our attention to rebuilding life with humans.

”They will not look at us like curiosities when we pass, because we will be familiar. Our children will go to school with their children. We will work wherever they work, as teachers, judges, police, scientists, builders, and farmers. They will include us in their rituals and celebrations. We will share grandchildren. Some of us will live close enough to them to share walls.

“The coming time will not be easy, but it will be easier than living from alarm to alarm, wondering if the next battle will claim someone from your crew or your household.” Free looked around the room. “Rosie pointed out to me that life like this is not real freedom. She is right. It’s possible to be outside a cage and still be held prisoner by a promise.”

Free’s mention made Rosie feel self-conscious all over again. Scar reached out and gave an affectionate push to her upper arm that caused her to stumble sideways. She would have fallen except for the strong arms that caught her. She wouldn’t have thought it possible for even hybrids to move that quickly, but Carnal pulled her to her feet.

“Keep your hands to yourself, Scar,” he growled just loud enough to be heard by Rosie’s boss, but not loud enough to disrupt the proceedings at hand.

Scar laughed at Carnal, albeit silently. Like Carnal, he didn’t want to be the one to interrupt the Extant mid-speech. Carnal pulled Rosie close and whispered in her ear, “You’re one of a kind, little demon." She shuddered at the intimacy of his warm breath in her ear and she felt him smile at that reaction. When she pulled away, he let her go and moved to the end of the bar with a final parting glare at Scar, who, for some odd reason found Carnal’s challenge highly amusing.

“We’re going to release the humans being held before they manufacture a new reason to object to us, but we’re going to need to assign all active duty Exiled shifts watching the humans in their various facilities. The rest of us will work out the details of our migration and make preparations for the move. We don’t have all the details in place, but we’ll be working on it nonstop. If you have questions, ask one of the elders. If you’re active duty, report to Carnal for assignment, here at two o’clock.”

Free turned to Carnal at the end of the bar. Rosie looked up to Free’s face ten feet above her. “It’s crucial that no one leaves a post without their replacement present. We want to release the humans from City Hall at three. At that time we need people in place, but you and your crew are with me.”

Carnal jerked his chin in acknowledgement, but said, “We’re going to need some passive duty and,” his eyes flicked to Charming, “some trainees to make it work.”

“Okay,” said Free. “It’s temporary. Pair a trainee with an active. Don’t assign them together.” Turning back to the room, he said, “For the time being we’re going to need some passive duty people and trainees. Report to Carnal here at two to see if you’ve been assigned.” Free looked over the room until he found the face he was looking for. “Red, meet me outside. We have things to talk about.”

When Free stepped off the bar and landed on his feet as if he hadn’t jumped at all, the crowd began milling about talking to each other and the elders. The noise rose to a din as Exiled discussed whether or not they thought the proposition would be a good thing or bad thing.

Carnal walked back over to Rosie. “I’m working today.”

“I heard that,” she replied.

“But I can assign myself some time off tomorrow. Afternoon?”

“That’s nice,” Rosie said as she turned to drawing cider for people standing at the bar.

He stepped between the cider tap and bar, which didn’t leave much room. When Rosie attempted to go around him, he blocked her way. She looked up at him.

“No more games,” he said. “I want you for my own.”

She stood there holding two mugs of cider, searching his face, and realized she wanted that, too, in spite of the fact that they’d spent little time together and she didn’t know him all that well. Carnal drew her like a magnet, body, heart, and soul. When he was in proximity of her senses, she couldn’t think about anything else.

She heard herself saying, “I won’t be shared,” and wondered what was wrong with her tongue. She’d meant to say, “You wish.”

His brows drew down over his eyes. “Shared? What the fuck, Rosie?”

“Ask your dad,” she said as she stepped around him and served cider. When she turned back, he was gone.

The lunch crowd was twice as big as usual and the kitchen was unprepared for the numbers wanting to eat and linger. Would-be diners faced a standing-room-only wait for a second round of food to cook and didn’t seem discouraged by that. If anything, they seemed okay with having an excuse to congregate longer and talk about the momentous announcement. For the Commons staff, it meant they were occupying the space and drinking, even if it was water. That, in turn, meant extra work for the bar staff, but it also presented opportunity to hear reactions to Free’s landmark speech.

The diners had mostly cleared out by one-thirty, but Rosie, Dandy, and Traces had just begun to get things righted from lunch when Carnal returned. He’d brought handwritten ledger sheets with him, which he began nailing to the wall at the end of the bar. When he was done, he pulled a stool next to the postings and, with a wink at Rosie, sat down to stare at her while he waited for people to come by and get their assignments.

All in all, Rosie found it astonishing that he’d been able to sort out who would be on duty where, paired with whom, and come up with a working schedule in such a short time frame. It seemed that Carnal had more going on than rugged beauty and sexual magnetism. When two o’clock came, Exiled began filing in to get their assignments. When he wasn’t watching her, she was watching him. As she cleared, swept, wiped and mopped, she was taking note that he talked easily with people who filed past, one by one, pointing to a line here or there on the schedule.

As her thoughts drifted to the monotonous rhythm of the broom, she found herself wondering why she’d stayed at Newland, why she hadn’t left and gone home. She’d originally planned to stay away for a few days, maybe a week, long enough to make a point, albeit one that she would have to admit was childish.

The truth was that she’d come to feel at home in Newland. Partly because the job made her feel useful. It gave her purpose, which was something she’d never had. Her mother had it. Her father had it. Glen had it. But she hadn’t understood what it meant to be part of what made things work.

Every day she served the community by making their public space clean and warm. Delivering food and drink brought out the nurturing side of her, a side she might not have known existed if it wasn’t for the particular experience Kellareal had chosen for her. It wasn’t a job that required anything supernatural. It didn’t even require a lot of experience, brains, or ingenuity. It was just a job that made her feel needed.

As she swept and reflected, she concluded that her place at the Commons was a big part of her reason for settling in. It had taken root in her identity.

The other part was the people. Once Dandy had shed her reserve, she’d turned out to be a friend, the first friend Rosie had ever made. She’d also come to feel comfortable in the Extant’s household. Charming treated her like a sibling. Then there was Carnal, of course. That thought caused a sense memory to assault her mind, the feeling of being behind him on his bike, pressed to his back, legs around his hips. In her mind she pictured the bike slowing to a stop, Carnal pulling her around to face him so that her legs flanked his hips from the front.

She shook herself out of her fantasy and looked up when she heard Dandy call, “Hey, Roses. They need help in the kitchen.”

Rosie nodded, set the broom aside, and wiped her hands on her apron even though there was nothing on them. It had just become a habit. She smiled at the nickname. She didn’t remember when or why Dandelion had started calling her ‘Roses’, but she didn’t mind. After all, how could she object to a nickname like that?

She heard Carnal’s voice. He was talking to Dandy. “You call her Roses?” He smiled. “That’s perfect. She’s beautiful and she smells good, but she has hidden thorns.”

“Yeah. Look who’s talking.” Rosie regretted it the minute she said it. It seemed her mouth had its own agenda when she was around Carnal.

Deciding that she didn’t want to see his reaction, she turned away and forced her thoughts back to the huge undertaking at hand. Namely moving Exiled to Farsuitwail and integrating them without them reaching the conclusion that it was humans who should be exterminated.

Walking toward the kitchen she was thinking that, all in all she didn’t see how Free’s pronouncement could have gone better. She added highly adaptable and flexible to the list of hybrid traits because the Exiled seemed to take the whole idea of exodus in stride.

She suspected that all hybrids weren’t created equal. The Rautt may have been the unfortunate result of indiscriminate experimental practices, just as there are strains of inappropriate hostility and even mental instability in certain dog breeds. Rosie was thinking that, if that was the case, perhaps what happened to the humans of Farsuitwail was poetic justice, a deserved consequence. But Kellareal had interfered with that consequence when he’d brought the Exiled to defend them. Something about that didn’t make sense and she was going to question him the next time she saw him.

Another pair of hands helped the kitchen staff get caught up in record time, which meant she could get back to the floors that had been left half done.

She’d just resumed sweeping when a pair of scuffed brown boots stepped into the path of her broom. When she looked up into Carnal’s face, he cocked his head slightly to the side and leaned toward her.

“So you think I’m beautiful.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He smiled wickedly. “It’s what you said.”

She wiggled her head. “I say stuff I don’t mean all the time.”

“I know,” he said. “But I can tell the difference. Remember?”

Being reminded of the fact that Carnal was a walking lie detector brought a flush to her skin. That caused a low and sexy chuckle to rumble up from his chest.

He reached out and took one of her curls, sampling it like the feel of her hair between his fingers was something extraordinary. “Tomorrow afternoon,” his raspy voice was almost a whisper, “I’m coming for you.”

When he turned and walked away, Rosie shouted after him.

“Coming for me?” she said. “What does that mean? We’re going to have a shootout in the street?”

He stopped for a second, looked back over his shoulder, and laughed, shaking his head, before disappearing through the Commons door, presumably to escort Free to Farsuitwail.

When Free arrived at City Hall, flanked by Carnal and crew, along with their master builder, Red, the detainees looked remarkably well cared-for. A couple of them were even chatting with Exiled guards.

Free made eye contact with Comstock and motioned for him to follow to the conference room. Free held the door open for Carnal, but the rest of the crew waited outside.

“Mr. Mayor,” Free said.

“Extant,” the man replied without emotion.

“We’ve made some decisions. We’re abandoning the settlement, moving our people and things to Farsuitwail.” The mayor’s lips parted as his eyes widened slightly. Apparently that hadn’t been among the possibilities he’d anticipated. Rosie made a note to add, ‘Be unpredictable,’ to her list of political warfare sayings.

“We’re going to release your people to go about their business,” Free was saying, “but we will maintain watch at each of the facilities you’ve shown us. Before I go further with our plans, I must ask if there are any other secrets or secret installations that would interest us.”

Comstock shook his head. “No.”

Free looked to Carnal who confirmed the truth of that.

“Very well. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to work with me to find housing, or build housing when necessary, to accommodate our people. You’re going to assist with integrating Exiled into every aspect of your society, starting with education. Our children are going to go to school with your children.”

“I don’t think that’s…”

Free cut him off. “It no longer matters what you think. You lost the privilege of working with me when you constructed elaborate plans to murder us. At this point in time, you work for me. If you’re able to establish trust, what you think may be taken into account, but I suspect we are at least a generation away from that.

“Our first order of business is for you to assign instructors who can catch our people up on everything you’re doing. In the schools, the labs, the foundry, and the munitions plant. I assume someone is in charge of planning the attack on the Rautt?”

The mayor pressed his lips together in a tight line and nodded.

“I’m going to need to know all the people involved with that. We will work with them, but we have the final say about the details of where, when, and how.” Comstock took in a breath and looked away. “Write down their names.”

Carnal pushed a pen and paper his way. When the mayor had finished writing down names, Free said, “Read them out loud.” Holding the paper up, the mayor read the names. “Is that everyone?”

“Yes.”

Free looked at Carnal who gave a tiny nod. “Let’s go inform your people. How you decide to get the word out to the general public is up to you, but I suggest you strongly encourage friendliness and cooperation. I remind you that it wasn’t Exiled who planned you harm. On the contrary, we’ve spent twenty-five years sacrificing our loved ones to save your ungrateful selves. Did you know that my son, Crave, Carnal’s younger brother, was taken by the Rautt? We don’t know if he’s dead or alive and are halfway afraid that he’s alive. Can you imagine how it feels to look in his mother’s eyes and know that she’s thinking about that every minute she breathes?”

Comstock blanched at that and looked like he might actually be thinking about it. “No.”

“That’s just the story of one of our families. There are many, many more. And the thanks we get is learning that you’ve been conspiring to kill us.”

At that the mayor found the decency to flush and look ashamed. “You have to understand, Extant. My people have good reason to be afraid of hybrids. You’re stronger, faster…”

“You’re stronger, faster, smarter than your children. So should your children be plotting your extermination?”

“No.”

The answer seemed appropriately contrite, but Free had already learned the hard lesson that humans can be deceptive in deadly ways.

“Exactly. My guest, Elora Rose Storm, tells me that humans can’t stand the idea of not being the best at everything, top of the phylogenetic scale. It’s ironic that such creatures set out to deliberately create a superior species. Don’t you think?” Free waved his hand as if to say he didn’t expect an answer to that.

“It’s simple. If you accept us as part of your community, your people will live and perhaps profit from the infusion of new ideas and perspectives.” Free glanced at Carnal. “Not to mention blood. If you don’t, you may bring about your own demise.” The mayor looked at him sharply. “No. It’s not a threat. It’s a vision of one possible future that depends entirely on the choices you and your people make day to day, hour to hour. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Comstock replied, looking humbled, a little sick, and not wanting to look Free in the eye.

“Here’s the first choice of many I may offer. Do you want to go out there and tell your people to get ready for our migration and integration or should I?”

To his credit, the mayor squared his shoulders, raised his chin, and said, “I will.”

“Very well. Once again, be certain you emphasize friendliness and cooperation.”

Comstock bowed his head once.

CHAPTER TEN

Rosie was stretched out on the bed with a book she’d picked up on one of her nocturnal errands to gather such things as girlie boudoir deco and soft socks. The knock at the door was distinctive and made her smile. Charming.

“Come in.”

Charming opened the door, took one running stride, and leaped, twisting his body midair so that he landed on the bed facing her.

“That was amazing.”

He grinned. “Thanks, but you’re not exactly a hard audience. It’s easy to wow you.”

Rosie smiled ruefully. “Is it now?”

Charming laughed. “Yeah. Don’t you know that?”

“Hmmm. Maybe.”

“What are you reading?”

“It’s an old book about witchcraft.”

“Witchcraft?” He looked excited. “You’re learning that shit? What are you gonna do?” He grinned. “I know. You could have the broom sweep the bar for you. And then the mop…”

Rosie giggled when “Fantasia” came to mind and she pictured Mickey Mouse in a wizard’s conical hat. “Calm down. Humans can’t really do witchcraft.” At least that was the party line that witches steadfastly maintained to keep humans from mucking about where they shouldn’t, making messes somebody else invariably had to clean up. “I’m just reading for fun.”

Charming looked at the book with suspicion. “Doesn’t look like fun from here. Where’d you get it?”

“Brought it with me. What do you want?”

“I want to know what you think?”

“About what?”

He chuffed. “About the whole let’s-move-in-with-humans thing.”

“I think it’s a good idea.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“Why?”

“Keep your friends close and your…”

“Enemies closer. Got it. Is that all?”

“No. I think both humans and hybrids will benefit from a merger of culture.”

“Why?”

“Because fresh perspectives spark fresh ideas. Multicultural societies thrive with life and color, emerging art forms, innovation of all kinds. It can be exciting.”

He raised up, resting his head on his hand. “You talk like you’ve seen that firsthand?” She nodded. “Free seems to think you’re some kind of divine messenger.”

She watched the mocking smile tease at his mouth, then said, “Stop it.”

Charming turned his head toward the door. “He’s home.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Charming laughed at her. “Come on. Let’s go find out how it went.”

She slammed the book closed and pushed up to follow him downstairs.

As they entered the kitchen, Serene reached up with the corner of her apron to dab at her temples. She’d been carving up the roasted haunch of some beast or other. She was smiling as Free stood pressed behind her, hands on her hips, whispering in her ear.

“Ew,” said Charming. “It’s the kitchen!”

At that Free grinned into Serene’s ear.

Rosie watched the exchange wistfully, thinking she wouldn’t mind having exactly that. A man like Free utterly devoted to her after thirty years. An unbidden image put her in a kitchen with Carnal smiling into her ear as their children complained about parents making out before dinner. It was a vision that was shockingly pleasing, especially since the last thing she’d ever imagined for herself was domesticity.

Free reached around Serene, grabbed a carrot, stuffed it in his mouth, and stepped back, smiling at Charming.

“We’re dying to know what happened,” Charming said.

“You don’t look like you’re dying.”

“Ha. Ha. Tell us.”

Free took his chair at the head of the table. “It went as well as expected.” Serene set a platter of meat and veggies in the center of the table and took her chair at the other end, looking just as curious and eager as Charming. “Carnal did a good job with the watcher schedule. Everybody’s been briefed. No human is to take anything away from any of the facilities and no hybrid is to leave a post without a replacement. All key buildings are covered.”

“I’m on duty tomorrow,” said Charming. “Been paired with Jagged.”

“Where?” asked Free.

“The lab. It’s in the city near the…”

“I know. I was there,” said Free.

“Oh yeah. Well, anyway. I’m supposed to watch and learn. And, like you said, make sure the humans don’t leave the premises with anything.” He put a chunk of meat in his mouth. “And I’m supposed to make nice with them.”

“Did Carnal tell you that?” Serene asked.

“I guess you could say he told me that. It was more like his highness ordered me.” Free and Serene both turned to look at Rosie when she giggled at that. “But what I really want to know about is the mating decree.”

“What mating decree?” Serene looked at Free.

“That’s what they’re calling it,” Charming said as he tore off a fistful of fresh baked bread. “Tag and I are talking about teaming up if we find a human girl we both like well enough. The only thing is I like small and perky,” he formed cups with his hands at chest height,” while Tag likes…”

As Charming was enlarging the space indicated by his hands, Serene blinked twice, then looked at Free with a darkening expression.

Seeing that, Free cut off the rest of that sentence. “Um, well, son, you make it sound like a much more casual proposition than what we were thinking.” He looked at Serene to judge her reaction to the direction his response was taking. When she nodded, he continued. “You have some maturing to do before you’re ready to, ah, team up.”

“Oh yeah. Well, sure. Gotta shop around.” He grinned.

Serene stared. “Right now, you’re concentrating on your education. Not ‘shopping around’.”

Charming grew instantly serious. “Of course,” he nodded. “My education.”

Rosie looked down at her lap and snorted. Everyone heard it, but ignored it.

Free steered the conversation back to something more salient. “Stood next to Comstock while he told his people about the changes. Then Red and I started looking around for ideas about how to house Exiled close together in the middle of the city without uprooting humans who already live there.

“A lot of the taller buildings have upper floors that are unoccupied. They would never have been built if it wasn’t for elevators, but of course those are inoperable. Humans don’t like to climb multiple flights of stairs so the upper parts sit empty. Since that’s not a problem for us, it would work, but it would also be easy to trap us on upper levels. So we decided against that.

“Same thing for sublevels. Too easy to be trapped. We decided that our people need to be in ground level housing and, of course, that’s hardest to come by because that’s what everybody wants. There are a few buildings that are in such a serious state of disrepair that they’re not being used. Those are possibilities. If necessary we can also build temporary housing in the big park in front of City Hall.”

Serene cocked her head. “Why temporary?”

“Because, when we get everything up and running again, the elevators will work. Humans will move to upper levels and there will be more ground level space.”

She nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Have you come up with a timeframe?” Rosie asked.

Free glanced at her and back at his plate. “Tomorrow I’m taking Cage and Breaker with me to meet with the military brain trust and see what we think of their plan. Meanwhile, Red is taking his people to further assess what can be done about housing and how long that might take. We’ll have a better idea in a couple of days.”

Rosie looked across the table at Charming. There was no mistaking the fact that he was excited by the prospect of moving to the city and, in a way, that excitement was hopeful. It was certainly better than dread.

Rosie went to sleep reading by the light of an oil lamp. When she woke in the early morning, the oil lamp was off, her book had been left open to its place on a bedside table, and she was tucked under covers. It was cold in the early dawn. She rose to get to the bathroom before the household woke. When she opened the door and stepped into the hall, she noticed something was amiss.

Carnal’s door was never closed unless he spent the night, which was an occurrence so unusual as to be considered an event. But he was, apparently, in residence. She snorted softly at her use of the phrase. Apparently Charming’s description of Carnal as ‘his highness’ had resonated with her.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Carnal stood on the other side of the door looking sleepy in the most attractive way. Before she could form another thought, he pressed her back against the wall and passed his lips lightly over hers before urging her mouth open into a sensuous kiss that left no room for anything in her mind but the taste and feel of Carnal. Her awareness bounced back and forth between the hardness of the body bearing down on her, the implied danger of a touch of fang, and the ecstatic pleasure of his tongue tangling with her own.

At the very moment when she’d become pliable as a jellyfish with nothing more than a hazy notion of who and where she was, he let her go abruptly, stepped inside the bathroom, and shut the door. Left standing alone in the hall, wondering what just happened, she wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered, angry, used, or embarrassed, but after a few seconds she’d discarded ‘flattered’ as one of the options.

When she arrived downstairs for breakfast twenty minutes later, Carnal was licking frosting from a roll with an amused twinkle that only intensified when she glared at him.

“Morning, Rosie,” he said with annoying cheer.

Rosie’s responding harrumph caused Serene to turn around and look at her.

“Good morning, Serene,” she said sheepishly before giving Carnal another glare behind Serene’s back.

He wasn’t sure whether she was glaring at him about the ambush kiss or about leaving her barely able to stand on her own. Either way he was satisfied that he’d shaken her up, disturbed her complacency, and guaranteed that she’d be thinking about him all day. He wanted her to be experiencing the same pleasure/pain of not being able to get her off his mind.

After the freaky comment about not being shared, Carnal had done exactly as Rosie suggested. He’d gone straight to his father.

Free had sat back in his chair and chosen words carefully. “I’m afraid that idea is ripe for misinterpretation. I asked Rosie to point out possible pitfalls, problems that might be avoided if they’re anticipated. Most of the time we can put countermeasures in place if we know what’s coming.

“She said there’s a sexual math problem. Too many males, not enough females, and that the human females will choose hybrid over human.”

Carnal smiled. “For obvious reasons.”

“And,” Free said pointedly, “that will leave unmated human males with a powerful resentment toward hybrids that could turn into another conspiracy.”

Carnal’s smile failed as he narrowed his eyes. “And you suggested that problem could be solved by…”

Free sighed and looked away. “I said that two Exiled males might form a household with one human female, thereby solving the math problem.”

Carnal cocked his head at his father. “You didn’t say that.”

“I did. Cage and Breaker liked the idea. Charming seemed to take to it as well.” After a few beats Carnal started laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you blunder. When you do it, you really do it. I can’t wait to hear your plan for extracting yourself from this one.”

“We were brainstorming. It wasn’t intended to be a well-considered or serious solution ready for proposal.”

Carnal was nodding and smiling. “Serious. Solution. Wow.”

“You think it’s easy? Wait till it’s your turn.”

“My turn to what?”

“To lead.”

Carnal’s eyebrows tried to touch his hairline. “Lead?!?” He started shaking his head. “Noooooooo. Not in a hundred years.”

Free had been leaning back in his chair. The front two legs hit the floor with a thump when he leaned forward, levity aside. “You may not have a choice, son. Fate gives you what Fate gives you.”

“Yeah? Well, the only thing I want Fate to give me is…” Carnal realized he’d said too much and looked away.

“What?” Free asked with more than a mild curiosity. “What is it you want from Fate?”

When Carnal looked at his father, Free’s face softened. He could count on one hand the times in Carnal’s life when he’d appeared vulnerable. The longing on his son’s face was unmistakable.

“Rosie,” Carnal almost whispered.

Free’s expression went slack. “Carnal. She’s not staying. She’s just passing through. Kellareal said she’d only be here a short while. And she’s not…”

“Not what? Not one of us? I thought you wanted us to mate humans. Mix it up. Isn’t that what you said in the Commons?”

“Yes, but…”

“But what? It’s good enough for the others, but not me?”

“Well…”

“She’s special. More special than you can even imagine. And she affects me in ways I don’t even understand.”

Free thought about the fact that Exiled would be facing extinction if not for Rosie. “It’s undeniably true that she’s special, uncommon in many ways and we owe her a lot. I mean, she’s human, and I’ve made her an advisor on par with the elders.” He looked at Carnal. “But she’s not staying.”

“She might.”

Free cocked his head to the side. “Has she indicated that she’s interested in you?”

It was Carnal’s turn to take a deep breath. “I’m not sure. Maybe. Sometimes I think yes, then… I don’t know. Ask me tonight.”

“What’s happening tonight?”

“Not tonight. This afternoon.”

Free tapped his fingers on the table and seemed lost in thought. “Your mother likes her. And it would be a good example to set. If my oldest son took a human to mate.”

Carnal grinned. “Way to put a political twist on love, Dad.”

“What can I say? I’m a political animal.”

“Please. It’s too sober in the day for animal jokes.”

Free pinned Carnal with a pointed look. “Like it or not, so are you. A political beast, that is.”

Carnal knew that look. He also knew that Free was usually right about things. Following in those footsteps wasn’t something he saw himself doing, but if Free thought it was inevitable, Carnal knew he needed to stop being dismissive about the possibility.

“So what’s happening this afternoon?” Free asked.

“None of your business,” Carnal said casually.

Free laughed. “All your life, you’ve always found a way to get what you wanted, even if you knew it’d mean punishment. Elora Rose Storm…” Free shook his head, “strikes me as being someone who is an immovable force when she doesn’t want to do something.”

One side of Carnal’s mouth raised into a lopsided smile. “I’m sure you’re right about that. She’s not like anybody else. So wish me luck.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Carnal was waiting on a stool at the end of the bar when Rosie threw her apron in the bin and grabbed her shawl.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she moved toward the door.

“Told you I’d be here.”

“And here you are.” She smiled. “Bye.”

He stepped around her but didn’t stop her path toward the house. He simply walked backward. “You owe me.”

That brought her up short. Tilting her head back she looked up at him. “What do you mean I owe you?”

“Our date was cut short. The picnic? You owe me half a date.”

Carnal was encouraged when he saw the corners of her mouth twitch. “You gonna let me drive your bike?”

“Definitely not.”

“Well then, why should I give you half a date?”

Without warning he pulled her into his body and resumed the kissing he’d so expertly delivered in the hallway during the early morning light. Somewhere between the time her body started to hum and drawing him closer with her hands around his neck, she forgot every reason why she might object to anything Carnal had in mind.

When he pulled away from the kiss, his hands continued to grip firmly enough to keep her snug against him.

“Second date?” he asked.

“Okay,” she croaked.

He turned her around and began walking with his arm slung over her shoulder. Another time she might have objected to that show of possession, but her body was still tingling. Carnal seemed to have a gift for establishing intimacy anywhere, anytime, at the drop of a hat.

“Let’s take a walk. There’s a spot up above the training grounds. It’s quiet, private, pretty.” When she looked up at him, he bent and rubbed his nose against hers in a way that was not common for humans, but definitely sexy.

“What are we going to do there?” She hoped she didn’t sound as breathless, and eager, as she felt.

“I’m going to get to know everything there is to know about you, my little sex demon.”

“I’m not a sex demon, Carnal. I’m just part sex demon.”

“Okay.” He smiled. “If you say so. I just know that I’ve never felt this way about a female before. I figure something supernatural must be at work.”

Rosie didn’t know whether to be more thrilled about the proclamation that she was special to him or about the fact that his feelings were unusual enough for him to suspect that she’d bewitched him. She was thinking that she needed to tell Charming to keep the witchcraft book a secret when Carnal said, “So tell the truth. You’re part witch, right? Did you put a spell on me?”

He stopped, turned to face her, and looked down at her. She knew the drill at that point. He was fishing for lies.

She met his eyes. “No, Carnal. I have not used magic on you or altered the natural course of things in any way. Other than fixing your motorbike.”

“Motorcycle,” he corrected. “Would you like me to be under your spell?”

She laughed and pulled away. “I don’t have to answer that.”

He caught up with her quickly and fell into step beside her. “Free thinks you’ll be leaving soon.”

“Does he?”

“Is he right?”

“Honestly, Carnal, I guess I don’t know from one day to the next. Every day I wake up and think, ‘I’ll stay one more day’.”

“Why?” She gave him a confused look. “Not that I’m not glad you’re here, but from a purely clinical and objective standpoint, why have you stayed?”

“I’m not sure my answers would make sense.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“I like working at the Commons. I like living in your parents’ house. I like the way Charming treats me like a sister. I like Dandelion. I like that your father listens to my ideas and gives me respect.”

Carnal pulled her to a stop again and lifted her chin so that she had to look at him. “I didn’t hear anything in there about me.”

“I didn’t either.”

“Tell me. Am I part of the reason why you’ve stayed?”

Rosie hesitated because she knew any response that could be construed as affirmative would be a commitment of sorts, because Carnal was putting on the full court press, whether he knew what that was or not. Still, if she said no it would be a lie and he’d know it.

“Maybe.”

He gave her a look of mock annoyance, but let it pass. Taking her hand he said nothing more as they climbed up a craggy hill to a grass promontory that overlooked the training grounds. They could watch the activities without anyone on the field below even knowing they were there.

Carnal sat down on the grass and motioned to the spot beside him.

“What? No picnic blanket?” she asked.

“The grass is clean and dry. The ground is soft. Sometimes nature offers the best stuff. Sit.”

“Bossy.” She sat down leaving a reasonable personal space distance between them.

“I want to know everything.”

“What do you mean? And where did that come from?”

“I want to know everything about you that I don’t already know and we’re not leaving here until I do.”

“That could be a long time.”

“Not if you’re just fourteen months old.”

She laughed. “Well, you’ve got me there.” Regarding him quizzically, she said, “Am I under investigation?”

“What?” It was his turn to look confused.

“Do you think I’m a spy? For humans. A human spy.”

After giving her a look that indicated doubt about her sanity, he answered in a tone that left no doubt he found the question incredulous.

“No, Rosie. I do not think you are a spy for humans or a human spy. I don’t even think you’re human.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Well, you have a point there.”

“So let me get this straight. You can’t tell if I’m lying, can you?”

She hedged. “Not, um, conclusively, as you seem to be able to do.”

He grinned slowly. “So there’s something I can do better than you, little demon.”

“Oh! There are plenty of things you can do better,” she blurted.

“Really?” He scooted closer. “Like what?”

“You know.”

“No. I don’t know.”

“You can ride a motorcycle.” She emphasized the last two syllables to mock his previous insistence that his ride was not a motorbike.

“Yes.” He moved closer, eyes staring at her lips. “What else?”

“You give every indication of being excellent at scheduling.”

He chuckled and looked away for an instant. “Okay. What else?”

“Your crew acts like you’re a walking god.”

“They do not.”

“They do. You should see the way they look at you and look to you for direction.”

He got serious for a minute. “I don’t want them to think I’m extraordinary. I’m not. I’m just a guy.”

“Carnal.” Rosie laughed. “You’re not ‘just a guy’. You are extraordinary.”

He looked over her face, eyes darkening. “I don’t care what they think of me, Rosie. I care what you think of me.”

“Why?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“What was the subject?”

“What else I can do better.”

“You’re a better kisser.”

“You’re so wrong about that,” he said as he leaned in for a kiss.

Rosie met his lips and savored the sweetness of the kiss as it was deepening. When he started to purr, she pulled back.

“And there’s that!” she said.

He lay back with a soft laugh. “Tell me about your family. Then tell me what it is you want for yourself.”

“The first part is easy. I don’t know that I have the answer to the second part. What do you want for yourself?”

“Changing the subject again, but I’ll answer. It depends on you,” he said carefully, studiously searching her response for signs that she was open to hearing more.

“Me! Why would it depend on me?”

“Before you came, I was doing exactly what I wanted, for now, for the future. Fucking, drinking, fighting. I saw you when…” He looked away and Rosie knew he was reliving the horrible afternoon when she’d first seen him. “I saw you and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I don’t have an explanation for that. It was, well, weird. I mean, I didn’t know anything about you, but you’d still grabbed onto me like…” he paused, searching for the right words, “there were invisible grappling hooks. I knew you were special. I didn’t know how special, of course. I just knew there was nobody else like you. For me.” He looked at her. “If it sounds dumb, it’s because I don’t know how to explain it right.”

“It doesn’t sound dumb,” she said softly.

He looked at her with a mixture of embarrassment and hope. “No?”

“No.”

“So then tell me.”

“About…”

“Your family. Start at the beginning.”

She smiled. “Okay, you asked for it.”

Rosie began with the fact that she had inherited her parents’ memories up to the time of conception, which meant that, intellectually at least, she had a lot of combined experience. She talked about her “aunt”, who was an interdimensional pilgrim, about her father, who was a decorated knight of The Order of the Black Swan, about her mother, who was half demon, half witch, and about her unique upbringing around figures who were legendary in their esoteric world.

The occasional shouts or laughter from the field below had gradually quieted as the trainees and instructors drifted away. The moon had already risen in the fading light by the time she’d finished and there were no young athletes left on the field below.

“I guess I don’t understand why you’d give all that up to stay here,” he said. “But I hope you will.”

Rosie looked down at her hands that had become pale gray in the dusk. “I can’t make any promises right now, Carnal. All I can tell you is that I’m not leaving today. Or tomorrow, so far as I know.”

“You could promise that you’ll keep an open mind and give me a chance to persuade you to stay. With me.”

“A deal?” She smiled. “I love a good negotiation. So how about this? You get a chance to persuade me to stay, but with a handicap.”

His eyes narrowed. “What kind of handicap?”

“No kissing.”

“Fucking?” He looked as hopeful as a child at Yuletide.

She laughed. “No hands or,” she waved at his crotch, “other body parts. You have to convince me without touching.”

“That’s a very hard bargain, little demon.”

“You’d better stop calling me that or you’re going to slip and say it in front of somebody else.”

“Wouldn’t matter. Nobody would guess it was true in a thousand years.”

“Hmmm. Well, if you want me to stay, you need to get used to ‘hard bargains’. Demons are all about the deal.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Noted. Just one more question before we go. What could you do with your, um, abilities? I mean, I know you can fix wrecks. What else?”

“Just ask what you want to know.”

“Could you make somebody disappear?”

“Yes.” Rosie started to feel wary about the direction of the questions.

“Could you make a group of people disappear?”

“Like the Rautt?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve made promises to Kellareal. The bike thing was a broken promise. As it turned out, it didn’t hurt anybody, but these things… they can easily take unforeseen turns and render unfortunate consequences. I can’t be responsible for that. I have to be hands off and leave Fate to Fate.”

“And Charming’s leg?”

Rosie looked away. “I wasn’t supposed to do that and it worries me that somehow it might have changed something important. It was an impulse, the kind I have to learn how to control.”

Carnal picked up a blade of grass and stared at it as he said, “Could you bring my brother back?”

Rosie didn’t answer verbally, but she put a hand on his knee hoping to communicate that she would if she could.

Carnal nodded. “I get it. It’d be hard to be you. To know you could do stuff like that and not do it. I think I feel better knowing you feel that way though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And it’s also comforting. In a way.”

“It is.”

He nodded. “I don’t want to live in fear of making you mad and being turned into a toadstool.” She laughed. “Give me tomorrow afternoon.”

She slanted a look sideways. “Okay.”

He got to his feet grinning and reached out to help her up.

When she took his hand, she said, “Oops. You touched. Deal’s off.”

Even in the failing light Rosie could see that Carnal’s face had fallen. “You joke.”

“Yes,” she said softly. “I joke. I can’t get down this hill without leaning on you. Only cats can see in the dark.”

He swooped her up into his arms and ran down the hill so fast that she alternated between shrieking and giggling. She buried her nose in his neck and breathed in, loving the scent of leather, musk, and Carnal. Feeling the way her body reacted to him, she was thinking that making touch off limits was arguably the stupidest condition she’d ever put on a deal.

He carried her all the way to the porch of the Extant’s house ignoring the double takes, stares, whoops, and hollers they got along the way. By the time he set her down in front of the door, she was very much into the idea of being persuaded. A little delicious anticipation never hurt anyone.

“I’ve decided I’m amending the terms of our deal. No touching without permission.”

A slow and cocky smile began to lift his beautiful mouth. “Permission to touch, ma’am?”

Rosie blushed. She hadn’t realized how titillating potential requests to touch could be. She nodded, but didn’t wait for him to make a move. She took two fistfuls of rough-woven Henley shirt and pulled him down so she could have another sample of Carnal’s kissing mastery along with more of his smell, his taste, his warmth, and the spikes of desire that made her body tingle stem to stern.

At dinner Carnal sat directly across from Rosie and never looked away. The twinkle in his gaze was so compelling she could barely remember that she was supposed to be eating. She was beginning to wonder just which of them had been bewitched.

“Serene,” Free said, “I’d like you to go into the city with Carnal tomorrow. Red has some options for housing. I told him it’s up to you.”

“Yes,” she said. “I’d like that. When can you go, Carnal?”

“Has to be in the morning.” Looking back at Rosie, he said, “My afternoon is taken.”

Serene looked at Rosie and back at Carnal. “I see.” She looked concerned by what she saw pass between them, but said nothing about it. “Morning is fine.”

“I talked to some humans today,” Charming said, sounding mildly excited about it.

Free looked at his youngest. “And?”

“They were alright. Not that different.” He shrugged. “Slower, I guess.”

“Yes. They’re slower and more fragile. We have to be careful around them,” cautioned Free.

“I’d hate to think what would happen if one of them was injured by one of us,” Serene said.

“We just have to make sure that Exiled understand the stakes of contact,” Free offered and Serene nodded that she agreed.

“Of course Carnal knows all there is to know about humans.” Charming laughed. “Human females, I mean.”

Carnal kicked his brother under the table and gave him a warning glare.

“Ow. What’s that about? Like there’s somebody here who doesn’t already know that you’ve…”

“Enough!” Free interrupted Charming’s train of thought. Carnal wasn’t usually pleased about paternal intervention in sibling disputes, but flaunting his history in front of Rosie was an exception to the rule.

“Whatever,” Charming grumbled under his breath.

Carnal looked at Free. “I think it’s time for me to set up my own household.”

Serene couldn’t have looked more shocked if he’d said he was giving up war and going into show business. “You’re settling down? With a female?”

He glanced at Rosie before smiling at his mother. “Hope to.”

Serene looked at Rosie, then Free, who smiled reassuringly. Rosie wondered if Carnal was suggesting what she thought he might be suggesting. She really hadn’t planned for an innocent flirtation to blaze into a wildfire, but she could pinpoint the moment when she’d made a decision to see where things would go with Carnal. It was when she’d blurted out to Carnal that she wouldn’t share.

Apparently, her heart could override her brain when there was a conflict about what would and would not be said.

CHAPTER TWELVE

As Rosie was finishing up the next afternoon, Dandy said, “You’ve been extra chirpy today.”

“Chirpy?” She laughed. “Really?”

“Uh-huh. And extra fast getting through your checklist.”

“My. You’re observant.”

“Yes. I am. Does it have anything to do with the spectacle that I hear occurred yesterday?”

“What spectacle?”

“Carnal carrying you down the main way like a bride? That spectacle.”

Rosie threw her apron in the bin, smoothed back her hair, and smiled at Dandelion. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said as she practically danced away.

“Be careful, Roses.”

“Not a child, Dandy,” she said as she went through the door, wondering if that was the truth or not.

Carnal didn’t disappoint her. He was waiting, just as she’d expected. As he ambled over, she said, “What’s the plan?”

He grinned. “It’s a surprise.”

“A good surprise?”

“Would I be likely to persuade you to stay if I sprung bad surprises on you?”

“Good point. Okay. I’m in.”

“On.”

“On?”

“You’re on the back of my bike. You’ll need the riding clothes I gave you. How long will it take you to change?”

“Um. Ten minutes. Give or take.”

While she was changing, he’d pulled the bike to the front of the house and sat waiting while it quietly vibrated underneath him. She climbed on and put her arms around his waist. He took her hands and changed their position so that she was holding on tighter.

“No touching without permission. Deal violation,” she said.

“When we’re on my bike, there’s no deal and there’s no negotiating. I rule absolutely.”

She didn’t have to see his face to know that he was wearing an arrogant grin. She smiled, resting her cheek against his back, and left that proclamation without rebuttal as the machine lunged forward toward Farsuitwail.

They didn’t enter the city proper, but swung to the south when they reached the outskirts. On mainly dirt roads they sped past flat fields newly planted and flat fields ready to be harvested. The day was cool, but not unpleasant. Both Carnal and Rosie were completely content in the moment, enjoying the ride and scenery, wanting nothing more than to be in each other’s company.

In time the flat land began to roll. Low growing crops became vineyards and orchards. Intermixed were green fields where livestock grazed. The patchwork was exquisite enough to be an oil painting.

Carnal pulled to the side of the dirt road and stopped.

“Where are we?” Rosie asked.

“Cider break.”

“Good choice,” she said, looking around. “It’s beautiful here.”

“Yeah. Come on.”

He took a skin of cider out of one of the bike’s saddlebags and helped her over the fence.

“Watch where you step.”

“What? Why? Oh,” she said, sidestepping a pile of large poop balls. “What made that?”

“Sheep.”

“Noooooo. Sheep are not big enough for that.”

“You know you’re strange, right?” He chuckled. “This way.”

On the other side of a small rise a flock of pretty, but monster-sized, black-faced sheep with white fluffy wool were grazing in an idyllic meadow of winter rye and tiny yellow and purple flowers.

“Sheep,” he said.

“Those aren’t sheep. I mean they look like sheep, but they’re as big as cattle.”

“How big are they supposed to be?”

“Like this.” She held her hand to a height of mid-thigh.

“That’s crazy.” He shook his head. “If they were that size, you couldn’t ride them.”

“Ride them!”

“Absolutely.” He smiled. “They’re friendly. You pick one out for yourself. Then I’ll pick one out and we’ll race.”

“Race,” she said drily.

Rosie wasn’t entirely opposed to riding on the backs of animals. Her Auntie Elora and Uncle Ram had taken her on horse outings lots of times. But sheep was another story altogether.

“What about saddles? And bridles?”

Carnal made a face. “You can be kind of prissy. You know that?” She sniffed. He sidled up close. “Don’t worry. I like prissy on you. So, which one is yours?”

She cocked a hip and put her hand on it. “You think I’m going to chase a sheep and fling myself onto its back?”

“Of course not.” He chuckled. “Show me which one you want. I’ll introduce you and help you up.”

She looked at the sheep, who were watching them warily while they continued chewing like it was a job.

“You know all these sheep personally.”

“Hmmm.” He shrugged. “Close enough. Know one, know ‘em all.”

Her curiosity was getting the better of her. So, wanting to know where the plan was headed, she pointed to the smallest sheep, which was almost exactly at eye-level with her.

“Done.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the sheep. It made no move to shy away, but stood steadfastly. Chewing. “Sheep. This is Rosie. Rosie, this is a small ewe.”

“You call that an introduction?” He lifted her onto the back of the sheep without warning. “Hey. You touched without permission.”

“Oops.” He grinned unashamedly before turning to pick out the tallest ewe.

“That’s not fair,” Rosie said. “She has longer legs and is bound to be faster.”

“You could have picked this one, if you wanted. In fact, you still can. Want to trade?”

She thought about it. “No. I think I like being closer to the ground.”

“Okay,” he said. “Get two firm handfuls of wool like this.” He grabbed onto the wool just above the animal’s shoulders. “The first one to get to that tree,” he pointed to a large oak about fifty yards up a small rise, “wins.”

“How do I make this thing move?” she asked.

“Oh, now that’s the tricky part. Just experiment until you find something that works.”

“What!?!”

While Rosie was questioning whether or not the entire thing was a prank, she saw that he was coaxing his sheep verbally while also kicking it gently in the sides. So she did the same. After getting no response, she finally decided to send a thought directly into the sheep’s brain.

Though it might have been cheating, it worked. Her sheep took off toward the tree at a fast trot that almost unseated her and then almost jarred her teeth out of her skull. She looked over her shoulder, thinking she would tell Carnal a thing or two about persuasion, but the sight of his sheep following her sheep at a fast clip clop, him bouncing like a ragdoll, was so funny she started laughing. Plus there was also the thrill of possible bragging rights.

She was already anticipating the pleasure of gloating when Carnal’s sheep drew up alongside her. Rosie nudged ‘Sheep’ to go faster, but they were falling behind, which meant ‘Sheep’ had reached maximum performance. She did the only thing she could do under the circumstances. She reached over and shoved Carnal off his sheep, then enjoyed her victory lap around the tree while he turned the air blue with the colorful language he’d learned in the Farsuitwailian marketplace.

Rosie slid down off her sheep and walked away, effectively turning it loose to return to pasturing with its buddies. “Oh, don’t be a bad sport. You lost fair and square.”

Carnal gaped. “I did not lose fair and square. You’re a cheater!”

“Sore loser.”

“Admit it. You cheated.” When he started toward her, she laughed and backed away.

“Don’t run from me, Rosie. I’m warning you.”

“Oh.” She laughed. “You’re warning me?”

“I mean it. Don’t run.” As she continued backing away, his expression changed. He lowered his chin and was doing a good job of looking mock serious, even intense.

“Why not?” she taunted, feinting right like she was going to run.

“There’s something inside me that will want to chase you down. It’s a powerful instinct that’s hard to control. Don’t tempt me unless you want the consequence.”

“Ooh,” she teased. “The consequence.” She took off running downhill back to their starting point, where the sheep were grazing.

She heard Carnal say, “Fuck!”, and growl behind her, which made her laugh. When she turned around he was unbelievably close. His speed was jaw-dropping, and she didn’t miss the look of focus on his face.

Of course she could have vanished into the fog of the passes, but then what he’d said about cheating would be true. So she settled for giving herself a leap ten yards ahead. Unbelievably, Carnal matched that leap, caught her from behind and pulled her down, twisting his body at the last second so that she would land on top of him instead of the ground.

After hitting the grass, he rolled over so that he was on top. Rosie thought about protesting that he was touching without permission, but the glorious feel of his body pressing hers into the soft grass rendered her mute. He covered her mouth with his and treated her to one of his signature heavenly kisses laced with a passion and intensity that hadn’t been there before. Her body responded by arching into him and demanding more.

Carnal tore his mouth away with a soft growl as he looked up. “Someone’s coming.” He rolled away and came to his feet in a move so quick and graceful she was reminded all over again that he wasn’t human and wasn’t something to trifle with.

“Hey! Get out of here. You’re scaring my sheep!” A man was walking toward them, sounding and looking angry.

Rosie looked at the sheep standing calmly. Chewing. Looking anything but scared.

“Okay. We’re going,” said Carnal.

The man shook his head. “Animals.”

Since Rosie heard it, she knew Carnal did, too. She saw him stiffen and clench his jaw. It made her so mad she was ready to show the idiot what animal really meant. She started toward the farmer, arms swinging, at a brisk pace.

“Hey, yourself! Did you call us animals?”

He took a good look at her, then looked over her head at Carnal. “Not you,” he said.

“You want to see your sheep really scared? Picture this pretty little pasture being overrun by Rautt on the hunt for lamb chops.” The man drew back. “That man you just insulted, and his friends and family, have been the only thing standing between you and that consequence for a generation. Is that the thanks you have to offer him?”

The man’s expression hardened. “You’re on private property. Trespassing.”

“That’s really what you have to say?” Rosie was incredulous.

“No. I got more to say. A decent girl wouldn’t be cavorting with the likes of that.” He indicated Carnal with his chin.

She cocked her head as she’d seen Exiled do so many times. “You know what? These sheep shouldn’t be cavorting with the likes of you.”

When he turned away in disgust, he saw that the sheep were gone. He gasped. “What did you do with my sheep?”

“I gave them to someone more deserving.”

She walked toward where Carnal’s bike was parked on the other side of the fence. When she got there, he said, “Rosie. Where are the sheep?”

She’d used her natural witchery to transport them to a new location of her choosing. “On the training field.”

Carnal jerked his head toward the west. “Our training field at Newland?”

“Yes. What other training field would I mean?”

“Rosie, how are we gonna explain that?”

“We can say the sheep couldn’t stand living near that guy, so they walked there on their own.”

“Uh-huh. And when the farmer complains about missing sheep, now on Exiled land, what do you think that’s going to look like?”

She shifted her weight to one leg. “Like you stole them,” she said sullenly.

“Exactly.”

“Okay,” she said, looking at her nails. “I put them back.” She was just as glad to have undone the deed because it was an event bordering on momentous enough to draw the wrong kind of attention. Namely, Kellareal’s.

Carnal looked behind him. Sure enough the sheep were happily grazing once again, looking none the worse for wear and like such things occurred every day. He lifted Rosie over the fence like she weighed nothing then vaulted over.

When she straddled the bike behind him, he twisted around to say over his shoulder, “It was very sexy, you defending me to that human.”

“It was very sexy being run down,” she said as she encircled him with her arms.

He barked out a laugh then grew quiet as he thought about what she’d said. “Does that mean you’re staying, little demon?”

“We’ll see.”

“You’re a tease.”

“I’m a tease? You’re the one who keeps getting me worked up and then walking off.” And once again she’d said too much, even after having given herself a stern lecture about the fact that the impulsive blurting needed to stop. Something about Carnal made her forget all about the prudence of holding herself at a distance until she knew he could be trusted with her feelings. The fact that he seemed genuinely interested in learning all about her was a distraction that only exacerbated that behavior.

When he simply chuckled, she wondered if the hit-and-run gropings were intended to ramp up her interest. They certainly seemed to have amplified her sexual response to him. She could practically feel an increase in the frequency of her vibration when she knew Carnal was close by.

“What’s next?” she asked. “Oh, let me guess. It has to involve riding something. Whales? Are we riding whales next?”

“Taking you to dinner in Farsuitwail.”

“There are restaurants in Farsuitwail?”

“Maybe not what you’re used to. But yes. There are people who don’t want to cook.”

“Okay. What are we having?”

As he started the bike, he said, “They roll whitefish into this flat bread kind of thing and put green stuff in it. Sounds awful, but it’s good.”

“Does Serene know we’re not going to be there for supper?”

“Of course. I’m not rude or disrespectful to my mother, Rosie.”

He sounded offended. Rosie decided it was time she turned the tables and got to know Carnal better.

As they rode through the city center, Rosie noticed Exiled here and there. She’d come to recognize their characteristics well enough that she could spot them from a distance. Red, the master builder she’d met when the Commons porch was added on, was standing at the edge of the park talking to a few other hybrids.

Carnal slowed and parked near the open air produce market. She swung her leg over the machine like she was dismounting a horse and stood waiting to be shown the way, since there was nothing around that looked remotely like a restaurant.

He put his hand at the small of her back and said, “Over here,” pointing to the center aisle of the market. The market was winding down for the day. Vendors were closing up, setting fruit and vegetables out for pickup that would not be farm fresh the next day, and covering their spaces. Rosie saw that they were headed toward a rear archway that opened into a courtyard.

Tables and chairs that looked like they hadn’t been repaired or refinished since the Disruption were strategically placed and there were some very pleasant smells coming from an unseen kitchen nearby.

An older woman wearing a saffron-colored tunic, ambled out. “You eating?”

“Yes,” Carnal said. “There are two of us.”

The woman’s eyes swept over Rosie. “I see that. You eating outside?”

Carnal looked at Rosie. “Outside okay?”

She shrugged. “Sure. It’s nice enough.” She looked around thinking that either there were no other customers or all the other diners had opted for inside. It was on the cool side, but she was dressed for it.

“Pick a table,” said the woman. “I don’t suppose you want wine.”

When Carnal looked at Rosie, she smiled and nodded. “White. Chardonnay if you have it.”

“White?” The hostess, who had the air of a surly proprietor, practically guffawed. “Have you been asleep for a quarter century? Got red. You want it or not?”

Rosie looked up at Carnal. “What are you having?”

“Ale. Just like you serve a hundred times a day.”

“I’ll have the same, please,” Rosie told the woman.

“No wine. Just like I thought,” she grumbled.

As they sat down at a corner table, Rosie said, “I gotta tell you, if the food’s not better than the hospitality, you’re on the wrong end of persuasive.”

“Keep your shirt on. The fish things are worth it.”

“Is she acting like that because you’re hybrid, or because I’m here with you, or because she’s just an asshole?”

“One or three.”

“One or three what?”

“She either acts like that because I’m hybrid or because she’s an asshole. I don’t know which, but I’ve been here without you and it’s always the same. So it’s not because I’m here with a human.”

“Ah.” A teenage boy set down two mugs of ale with a big smile. She thanked him and, when he was gone, said, “So we know bad manners is not policy.” Carnal nodded, but didn’t smile. “Look. What I said about Serene, I wasn’t making a dig at your character. Where I’m from people forget things like that. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It just means they’re preoccupied.”

“Okay,” he said. “I guess I want you to think highly of me. Maybe I want that too much.” He looked away like saying that out loud was embarrassing.

“I do think highly of you, Carnal. That brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk about.”

He leaned back in his chair and took a swig of ale. “What’s that?”

“You.”

Rosie was not prepared for the wave of pure satisfaction that transformed Carnal’s expression from disengaged to delighted.

“You want to talk about me?”

She had to laugh at the look of pleasure on his face. “Yes. It’s your turn. Tell me everything, starting with why those four girls over there are peering around the doorway trying to get your attention.”

Carnal’s gaze followed the direction Rosie had indicated with a bob of her head.

“Don’t pay any attention to that. Humans act that way.” He took a drink of ale without looking at her.

“Some do. Undoubtedly. But not all.”

His eyes raised to meet hers. “Sorry. I… I’m so comfortable with you, I guess I forgot you’re part human. I didn’t mean to… you know.”

“Yes. Just like I didn’t mean to offend you when I asked if you’d told Serene we’d be out tonight.” She shook her head. “Regardless, I’m probably less human than you. Looks can be deceiving.”

Carnal studied her closely for a few beats. “Like I told you before, I’m not interested in the chicklets. At least not anymore. You’re what I want.”

“Change of subject. What’s your earliest memory?”

He looked away and swallowed. “Serene and I were in a space with a bunch of other females and their young. A… cage. A big one. A guard liked to make big noises and startle everyone. I remember she would pull me tighter into her body, when it would happen. To comfort me, I guess. To protect me, if she had to.”

Rosie was prepared that Carnal would cite something like that. Instinctively she knew he didn’t want sympathy from her. So she said, “How old were you?”

“Two, I think. I was three when Kellareal came for us. I didn’t have to live through abominations like my father and some of the others, but I do remember that there was one human who enjoyed tormenting the weakest of us. I have a lot of respect for the elders who endured much worse and are now going to try to set aside those feelings in the interest of peace.” He looked at her pointedly. “At your suggestion.”

“It is remarkable. I agree that taking the high road is admirable.”

“Taking the high road? I don’t know what that means.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “I think it’s an expression that originated in Scotland where there are steep mountains and deep valleys. Taking the high road was more difficult, just as doing the right thing is usually harder.”

“Serene was right. You’re a teacher.” Carnal smiled. “Anyway, we lived in tents while Newland was being built. My mother was already pregnant with Crave when we came here and he was born right after we moved into the Extant’s house. I was sure he was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened in the world. I ran all over telling everybody that I had a brother.”

Rosie’s eyes filled with empathetic tears when she saw that Carnal’s eyes were bright with moisture.

He shook his head. “That’s not what you want to hear about.”

“It is.” She was quick to offer reassurance. “I want to know everything about you. You’re fascinating, but you’re a mystery. If you want me to stay, I need to know what I’m staying for.”

“I’m fascinating?” His cocky smile always tugged at the corners of her own mouth.

“I have a feeling that’s not a surprise. You already know you are.”

Right on cue a young female voice said, “Carnal?” Rosie looked up to see one of the Farsuitwailian girls approaching the table. “Haven’t seen you for a while.”

“I’ve been busy.” He looked at Rosie. “And I’m going to be busy from now on. Forever.” He glanced at the girl. “Pass the word along. Okay?”

The girl looked at Rosie. “Because of her? She doesn’t look that special.”

Carnal turned around and faced the intruder. “Are you blind? It doesn’t get any more special than this.”

The hostess came out from the back. “Are you bothering my customers, chicklet? Go on now. Shoo. Shoo.” She began swinging a rag at the girl. “And don’t come back here unless you got money to pay for food.”

Rosie looked at Carnal. “I take back what I said about that woman. I think I like her a lot.”

Carnal laughed.

True to his word, the fish things were splendid. Rosie laughed through stories about Carnal and Crave getting into trouble all over Newland and, later, playing tricks on Charming. She saw the admiration he had for both his parents when he talked about them and what they’d accomplished.

When dusk grew heavy, the boy who kept the ale coming brought oil lamps. It would have been too cold to sit out, but a thick red ale warmed bodies with a glow that felt both invincible and immortal. For a time. Rosie wasn’t affected by alcohol, but enjoyed observing Carnal become more and more relaxed as the evening wore on.

“Can I ask you a question?” she said.

“You’ve been asking me questions for hours.”

“I know, but this one’s different. Do you not like Dandy?”

“Why would you think that?”

“You always say as little as possible and act like you want to get away as soon as possible.”

Carnal sat back and sighed. “She’s my brother’s Promise. Being around her reminds me that he’s… not here and that…”

“Makes you sad.” She finished the sentence for him. “That makes sense. I just wondered. We need to get a check,” Rosie said.

“What’s a check?” Carnal slurred.

“It’s the bill. So we can pay for dinner? Please tell me you have money.”

“Money? Noooooo. We don’t need money. Dinner is complimentary for Exiled. All part of the service.”

“A perk?” When he opened his mouth, she said, “Never mind.” She assumed that meant it was a gratuity in acknowledgement of the service Exiled provided in terms of defense of the city.

Rosie pushed her chair back and stood up. “Alrighty then.”

“Where you goin’?”

“We’re going home, big fella. I’m not sure how yet. ‘Cause you’ve had too much ale to drive a motorcycle and it’s too far to walk.”

“First of all,” he waved,” I’m not drunk. Second of all… what was the question?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Come on.”

She held onto Carnal’s waist as they made their way back to the street. The market was deserted, the stalls closed for the night, and the avenue was just as quiet so far as Rosie could tell. She waited for Carnal to get on the bike in front of her, but while he was fumbling for the ignition, she got on and whisked them for a short ride through the passes. When Carnal looked up, they were sitting in front of the Extant’s house.

“See? I told you I’d get us here safe and sound,” he said.

“Yep. And here we are. Let’s get you inside. That ale must be really different from what we serve at the Commons because I’ve never seen one of you drunk before.”

Carnal almost fell down when he missed the first step at the porch.

“Shhhh. You’re going to wake everybody in the house.”

He laughed. “Stop acting like I’m drunk.”

“You are drunk.” He leaned toward her, his intent unmistakable. “No kisses when inebriated.”

“I’m not ineeeee…,” he seemed to stop and think for a few seconds before deciding to finish the sentence with, “…bated.”

“Uh-huh.”

She opened the door as quietly as possible, but Carnal sounded like a bull turned loose in a tea room. She noticed the kitchen light was on. She wouldn’t have expected it at that time of night. They’d talked for hours at the restaurant and it was late.

Heading toward the kitchen, she hoped Carnal would manage the stairs and get himself to bed.

She knew instantly when she reached the kitchen threshold that something awful had happened. Free, Serene, and Charming sat at the kitchen table. In front of them two objects sat on the table, an open box and a handwritten note. Serene looked like she’d been crying for a long time.

“What’s happened?” Rosie asked.

Free swallowed. “Someone put this in the side compartment of one of the builder’s bikes today, when he was in Farsuitwail meeting with Red.”

“What is it?” came a deep, raspy and demanding growl from behind her.

Rosie couldn’t believe the sweet, funny, tipsy Carnal she had helped inside a few minutes before was the same person who sounded so awake and angry. It was difficult to understand what he’d said, like his vocal cords had thickened. But apparently instantaneous sobriety was a side effect of seeing his family in crisis.

When no one answered immediately, he stepped around Rosie and looked in the box. It contained a blood-soaked rag. He picked it up, held it to his nose, sniffed, and dropped it like it was on fire before snatching up the note that lay on the table.

Rosie stood statue still and watched helplessly as a range of emotions played over Carnal’s face. He looked from Free to Serene, then at Charming before he crumpled the note in his fist, dropped it on the table, and turned away without a word. Rosie followed as he walked toward the front door.

“Carnal, stop! Where are you going? What’s happened?” He kept walking without acknowledging her. “You’re just going to leave? Stop and talk to me!”

He didn’t. He never broke stride. He left the front door standing open, got on his motorcycle, and rode away into the darkness.

Rosie stood motionless for a minute or two, staring out at the night, hoping he’d change his mind and come back. At some point, when she decided that was wishful thinking, she closed the door and turned back toward the kitchen.

“Will somebody tell me what’s wrong?” she asked, standing at the threshold, half afraid to step over.

“Someone sent us proof that Crave is alive,” Free said.

Rosie jerked her attention from Free to Serene when she heard Serene begin quietly weeping again. She looked at the rag in the box. “How do you know?”

“We know what our son smells like.”

“Oh,” she said. “What was on the note?”

Charming looked at her. “It says that if we ever think of attacking the Rautt, he’ll be nailed to their gates so that he’ll be the first casualty. He’s their insurance policy.”

The horror of that image made Rosie feel like she had to sit down. She remembered hearing that a person would be better off dead than captured by Rautt and she knew that’s what Crave’s mother had to be thinking at that moment. Rosie knew that Serene was imagining what he’d been forced to endure for the past year since he’d been taken and was trying not to think the worst.

It took a few minutes for Rosie’s brain to begin sorting through the information, but when the synapses resumed firing, she said, “Someone in Farsuitwail is delivering messages from the Rautt?”

All Free could do was nod.

“We’ve got to find out who,” Rosie said, “then we’ve got to rescue Crave.”

“Rescue,” Free said drily. “Don’t you imagine that if there was a way to do that, we would have set it in motion long before your arrival here?”

Rosie’s mouth set into a firm line of resolution. “There’s always a way, Free. My father taught me that. We just haven’t thought of it yet. But when we find out who planted this message, we can start piecing together clues as to how to get him back.”

“How do you think we’re going to find out who planted the message?”

“If you have to line up every single human in Farsuitwail and have them make a statement to Carnal, one at a time, then so be it. You ask every person questions until you find out who’s in contact with Rautt and helping them with something so heinous. Are you in contact with Rautt? Did you plant a message intended for Exiled? Do you know someone who is in contact with Rautt? Do you have any information about a message being secretly delivered? Do you have any information about anyone hiding to avoid being questioned?

“It just has to be done in an organized way so that everybody over the age of seven gives a statement.”

Free turned to Charming. “You need to go tell Dandelion that her Promise is alive.”

Charming nodded, got up, and left the table without a word or a glance toward Rosie.

When he was gone, Free said to Rosie, “I know you want to be helpful. You have been helpful with other matters and I’ll take your suggestions into consideration. Right now I need to console my mate.”

Rosie could see that Free was barely holding it together. His hand had been shaking when he’d raised it to gesture. She nodded to no one in particular and quietly withdrew, wishing she could do something more for the people who had taken her in and treated her like family. But most of all, she’d been crushed by the look of utter devastation on Carnal’s face. She knew she’d never forget it as long as she lived. Crave’s capture had broken Carnal’s heart and she could do nothing to change that.

She climbed the stairs, closed the door to the room that had been Carnal’s, and stopped, hearing thunder in the distance. She hoped Carnal wouldn’t be caught in a storm on his bike. She supposed that worrying about him meant she cared about him. She also supposed that, if she was going to give him a chance with her, she needed to make it clear that running off into the night was unacceptable, no matter how provocative the reason.

After changing into a floor length linen shift, loomed by the Exiled at the Weavers’ Barn, she lay down on top of her covers using her multicolored shawl like a lightweight winter throw. The house was quiet and, she thought, filled with a sadness that was palpable. She didn’t turn the bedside lamp off. The dim light was a small comfort.

A flash of lightning drew her attention toward the window. She started counting. One. Two. Three. Before she got to four there was a deafening crack of thunder. Sheets of rain began pelting the window and, once again, she hoped Carnal was safe and dry somewhere. So long as it was not in the arms of another woman. Even if that was his choice, she wouldn’t interfere with his path by hunting him down.

She was staring at the window, watching the light show made by the storm, when a soft knock turned her head toward the door. “Yes?”

Charming opened the door a few inches and pantomimed asking to enter. She nodded and scooted over so he could sit on the bed.

She could see that his hair was damp and surmised that he’d gotten caught in the rain then changed to dry clothes.

“How did she take it?” Rosie asked.

“She tried really hard not to cry, but she was doubled over like she was in so much pain.” He shook his head and looked away. “I hated being the messenger.”

Rosie sat up and scooted back against the white French provincial headboard she’d substituted for Carnal’s roughhewn bed. “Should I go to her? Do you think it might help if I was with her?”

Charming looked a little surprised. “You close with Dandy?”

“Yeah. At least I think so. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“Hey. What about me?”

With a slight rolling of eyes, Rosie said, “The best female friend. How are your parents?”

“You know, the only difference between today and any other day is that today they’re letting their feelings show more. They’ve been grieving for him every hour of every day since he was taken.” He sighed deeply. “But I didn’t come to talk about Dandy or my parents. I came to talk about Carnal.”

“What about him?” When he hesitated, she prompted, “Charming.”

“I know I warned you off him, but I didn’t know you were… He’s different with you. Really different. I guess I just wanted to say something about the way he left tonight. Carnal and Crave were closer together in age. They were tight as leggings. Always together and, when they were, a legion wouldn’t take the two of them on.

“Carnal had a really hard time when Crave was taken. He wasn’t anywhere near where it happened. Crave was fighting in a different part of the city with his own crew. The way the Rautt raid, they try to create distractions so that those who aren’t fighting can grab stuff. They’d rather steal from humans than learn to make what they need. Or trade for it.

“For the first year, anytime Crave’s name came up, Carnal would just say, ‘I should have been there,’ and then walk out. That wasn’t right. Not at all. But he took it on himself like it was his fault that Crave… Well, he was in bad shape and we were all worried about him for a long time.

“Anyway, it’s way hard when your family has to hope that somebody is dead for fear of what’s happening to them if they’re alive. Getting that box, well, we don’t know how to feel. Should we be happy that he’s alive? Or horrified that he’s been living as a Rautt captive all this time? I think this just opened up a big gaping hole in Carnal’s middle. He probably doesn’t have any idea where to begin sorting out his feelings. You know what I mean?”

Rosie nodded, impressed with Charming’s insights, and grateful that he thought to share with her. “You’re a wise man wearing a kid’s body for a disguise.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Hey. This is no kid’s body.” He pointed at himself with two index fingers. “If you weren’t Carnal’s, I’d show you the wisdom of that.” He grinned.

She cocked her head to the side, an unconscious mannerism she’d picked up from the Exiled. “You think I’m Carnal’s?”

Charming laughed quietly. “Everybody thinks you’re Carnal’s, Rosie. Don’t be thinking anybody else will be sniffing you up. You’re his. Oddly enough, and this is the part I wasn’t expecting, I think he’s yours, too. The way he looks at you…” Charming didn’t finish, but let the partial sentence hang in the air. “Okay. I’m heading up. Can you believe this rain?” Rosie looked toward the window. “We get little showers often enough to grow things, but we don’t get torrents like this. Even the wasteland is getting wet and that’s never happened in my whole life! See you tomorrow.”

“Yep.”

He closed the door quietly.

Sometime between worrying about Carnal and listening to the rain pelt the window, she dozed off and had unsettling dreams. In her sleep she saw Carnal standing in the driving rain, soaked to the marrow, just looking up at the sky like he was defying weather to touch him. Then he was standing by her bed, calling her name.

“Rosie.” She turned her head away from the window and toward the door just as a lightning flash outlined Carnal’s form. He was wearing soft weave pants and nothing else. “Permission to touch.”

She looked at the man standing beside her bed for a few heartbeats while she shook away sleep and disturbing dreams, considering the pain evident in Carnal’s voice, all that Charming had said, and her own feelings. His posture made him look lost and, even though she couldn’t make out his features in the darkness, she knew to her bones that he was vulnerable and in anguish. That’s when she realized that Charming was right. Carnal was hers. She wasn’t sure how or when it had happened, but she didn’t care.

She moved over and opened her arms. When Carnal climbed on the bed to lie beside her, she felt his damp hair and wondered if he actually had been standing in the rain, like the vision she’d seen in her dream. When he rested his head on her breast, a feeling of completeness settled over her bringing both peace and purpose. She hadn’t known there was a vacuum waiting to be filled until she felt her heart respond to the simple, but immeasurable pleasure of being needed.

As he settled his head, and slid his heavy arm over her waist, she said, “Are you okay?”

He turned his face toward her neck. “No,” he said, but after a couple of seconds he decided to amend that. “I don’t know. It feels better with you.”

He felt her nod in response. Carnal appreciated that about Rosie. She didn’t feel like she had to fill the air with meaningless words when there was nothing to say.

They lay together in peaceful contentment, listening to the rain, experiencing the warmth and comfort of each other at rest. Carnal felt Rosie’s heartbeat where his right cheek was pressed over her heart. When his left hand skimmed down her body, he felt as well as heard her heartrate speed up. And that was more erotic to him than previous experience.

He rolled the both of them over so that she was on top, her face poised inches away from his.

“Are you mine, Carnal?”

His voice was deeper than usual, gruff and raspy, but he answered without hesitation. “I’m yours, little demon. And I always will be.”

She lowered her lips to his, already knowing the heavenly taste and feel of his mouth, eager to repeat the delicious experience of his kiss. He opened his mouth to her and matched her passion, pressure for pressure, touch for touch, until she rolled them over again, longing to feel the weight of his body stretched along the length of her.

He tugged upward on the shift, urging her to raise her hips so that he could pull it over her head. She explored his beautiful body with her hands while he tore the pants away and threw them to the floor, off to the side of the bed. When he returned to the arms held open for him, their desire was accelerated by the exquisite feel of skin on skin. She moaned. He growled without opening his mouth. It startled her temporarily until she realized it wasn’t hostile or aggressive. It was simply Carnal far more aroused than she’d seen him before.

She pulled her legs up his body, resting her calves on his hips. At the same time she reached between them, took his cock in hand, and began to stroke. Carnal closed his eyes for a moment as he growled softly and rocked into her hand. He ran his tongue slowly over her nipples, fangs skimming lightly over her breasts, not hard enough to prick or sting, just hard enough to send a jolt of desire to her core.

She didn’t know if Carnal was making love to her more to distract him from his grief over Crave or because of desire for her. What was important was that Rosie knew instinctively that she was what he needed most in the world at that moment. She also knew that he was sharing far more than just his body.

He brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her deeply while his hand moved to caress her sex. When she moaned, he broke the kiss, gave a soft snarl, and nipped at her neck.

“Wet,” he said. “Wet for me. You want me, little demon.”

Nodding emphatically, she said, “Right now.”

His head came up. She couldn’t make out his expression in the dark, but could tell that his eyes were shining. He, on the other hand, seemed to be studying her face, searching for something. What, she didn’t know.

He adjusted his hips and let her guide his cockhead to her entrance. She released her hold on him at the exact same moment he entered her, crying out at the sensation of intrusion and the pleasure of being filled deep and wide. She hoped the sounds of the storm would mask the noise she was making. She didn’t want to seem disrespectful of the household, especially not on a night such as this.

Carnal’s thrusts eventually became a slow and steady rhythm, guided by Rosie’s responses. He seemed to be hyper attuned to every move, sound, and breath. Rosie was aroused by the physicality of the lovemaking almost to the point of pain, but also by the primal noises Carnal made. When he stiffened, signaling release, he lifted himself above her and found her clit with the softest part of his thumb. Within seconds he’d coaxed a climax from her body so that she finished right after, reveling in both the orgasm and the warmth of his semen spilling inside her womb.

She wasn’t worried about pregnancy because she could control whether she conceived or not. Likewise, disease wasn’t an issue. She hadn’t mentioned it to Carnal, but during her time at Newland, she’d learned that Exiled could always tell if they were sick. At that point she knew enough about Carnal to trust that he wouldn’t take risks with her.

He collapsed on top of her, but moved most of his body to the side so that she wasn’t taking his full weight. He buried his face in her neck and began nuzzling. And purring. Against her skin, she felt his lips pull into a smile.

“Rosie,” he rumbled. “Mine.”

Her body shook with laughter at the textbook caveman statement. “You’re purring,” she said.

He rolled to her side, but left his arm over her waist. He gave her a light squeeze. “Mine.”

“You sound like a caveman, Carnal.”

“I’m not a man, Rosie. I’m a beast.” He nuzzled her ear, which managed to tickle and arouse her at the same time. “A beast who loves you.”

Rosie turned away and scooted back so that they were spooning. She grew drowsy with the sound and sensation of Carnal’s deep purr at her back, coupled with the sound of the rain lashing the windowpane. She wished she could freeze the moment in time because she was sure she would never feel so perfectly content again. “Yours,” she whispered as she clutched the muscled arm around her middle a little tighter. And she knew she’d never leave him so long as he needed her.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Sometime during the night, Carnal jerked awake so suddenly and violently that it shook Rosie instantly awake. She felt the unpleasant tingles from a spike of adrenaline, courtesy of the fraction of her genetic makeup that was human. “What’s wrong?” she asked, but he didn’t answer.

Carnal sprang from the bed and began pulling his pants on. Rosie sat up and looked around, trying to identify something that had caused the disturbance.

“Dad!” he screamed into the dark room.

“Carnal. What’s wrong?” she repeated. She fumbled for the oil lamp, but wasn’t good at lighting it in the dark. With building frustration, she said, “Damn thing!”

She could tell that Carnal stopped momentarily to look at her.

“We have to go now!” He sounded like he was part way to hysteria.

“Go where?”

He didn’t answer, but tore out of the room.

Rosie finally got the lamp to light, blew out the match, pulled her shift over her head, and went after Carnal.

By the time he’d opened the door of the room where he’d slept with Rosie and taken two steps toward the stairs, Free was there with Serene right behind. Charming had come down from the attic room and was standing on the bottom tread. Rosie stood at the threshold holding the lamp, taking in the scene of the strange nocturnal family meeting.

“We have to go now!” Carnal said to Free.

With a textbook inflection of déjà vu, Free’s brow crunched together as he said, “Go where?” It was clearly more than casual curiosity. Free looked seriously concerned about the wellbeing of his oldest son.

“To get Crave. We have to get everybody up and go now!”

Free’s shoulders slumped . “Carnal…”He started.

Carnal snarled. “Listen!”

Rosie watched the expression on Free’s face change from concerned to alert as understanding washed over him. Rosie had no idea what coded message had just passed between father and son. She looked at both Charming and Serene, but they looked every bit as clueless as she felt. Charming’s gaze flicked to Rosie’s questioning look and he shrugged to confirm that he had no idea either.

Free continued to stare at Carnal as they seemed to be conducting a wordless conversation with eyes alone. Abruptly Free ended the semi-mystical connection and turned to Serene.

“The rain,” he said, eyes darting around like he was processing a deluge of thoughts. Carnal nodded. “It’s raining over the wasteland.”

Serene cocked her head, still not grasping the implication any more than Rosie did.

“It’s impossible,” Free said. “If it was just us, then maybe. But we’re counting on the humans and their weapons. We don’t have a plan.” Free started shaking his head. “It can’t work.”

Carnal snarled loudly. “It will work. It has to.”

“I can’t stand it another minute. What are you talking about?” Rosie had taken two steps closer and held up the lamp.

Free and Carnal both turned toward her, but Carnal answered. “It’s raining on the wasteland. That hasn’t happened in decades. What it means for us is that we can surprise the Rautt. Wet sand means we won’t raise any dust.”

“By the time they know we’re coming, they won’t have time to prepare,” Charming offered.

“Exactly.” Carnal looked at his younger brother. “We get Crave out and then have the humans launch their missiles. We’ll raze the place to the ground.”

Serene’s eyes were wide and her hands had come up to cover her mouth.

“We haven’t prepared our people to fight with humans. More importantly, we haven’t prepared humans to fight with us,” Free said.

“No objection you can raise will equal the advantage we could gain from surprise.” Carnal stepped in to his father as if to emphasize his point. “And you know it.” A clap of thunder punctuated Carnal’s impassioned argument right on cue.

There was a tense silence while Free’s thoughts raced around in his head. When he looked at Serene, she nodded, her eyes bright with tears at the prospect of freeing Crave.

“Let’s do it, Dad,” Carnal said quietly.

Free looked at Charming. “Go wake the elders. Tell them I said to get every able-bodied fighter ready to go to Farsuitwail. We leave in an hour.”

Charming whirled around for the steps but Carnal pulled him to a stop. “Go to Dandy first. Tell her to look for Easy at the gate. She can ride with him. My crew will look after her.”

Charming looked confused. “She’s not a fighter.”

Carnal’s expression softened. “She deserves to be first to know. There’s no point in debating whether or not she should go. I don’t think anything could keep her from going.” He looked at Rosie. “You’ll understand when you find your mate.”

When Carnal released Charming, he took the steps to the attic room four at a time and was gone in a flash.

Free had cringed and looked at Carnal apologetically. “Glad you thought of that. I would have felt bad later to know she’d heard at the same time, in the same way as everybody else. My thoughts must be scattered. I’m counting on you to keep me straight.” He reached out and squeezed Carnal’s shoulder.

Next Free turned his attention to Rosie and said, “Get dressed. You’re going to help us get the humans ready.” He looked at Carnal. “Make your crew responsible for getting everybody in rotation to the gate and ready to go in an hour. Trainees, too.”

“Trainees?” Carnal scowled.

“We’ll put them on patrol north of the city. It’ll be their job to make sure that, if there are any Rautt sympathizers, they don’t get a message out. After you get your crew ready, go to the city. Find out where the mayor lives. Get him up and let him know that we’re taking the fight to the Rautt today. Get him to come up with a plan for waking the humans who know how to use the weapons and getting them ready to go by early morning. With luck, the rain will continue and make the morning dark longer. Chances are, since the Rautt have never been attacked, they don’t even have guards posted.”

“Somebody in Farsuitwail is in contact with them.”

“But it’s apparently somebody who doesn’t know about the humans’ plan to attack or the Rautt would have already come to destroy the facilities and kill a new generation of educated humans.”

Carnal nodded, looking like he’d gained a valuable insight. “All the humans don’t know. They don’t even trust each other.”

“By the time you have a plan in place with the mayor, we’ll have the trainees watching the north of the city. Take the mayor to City Hall and wait for us there. We’ll meet at the park.”

“I’ll take Rosie with me. She can help manage the humans.”

Rosie looked at Serene. “Who’s going to watch the kids at the Weavers’ Barn?”

Serene was clearly touched at Rosie’s concern. “Don’t worry about that. We’ll be leaving more people behind this time because it’s a bigger risk. Mothers of the really young, the disabled, there will be people to take care of them.”

“Okay, then.” Rosie hurried to get ready. As Carnal passed his own room on the way to Crave’s room, where he’d been staying intermittently, he ducked in, and grabbed Rosie as she was hurriedly pulling on her riding clothes. He kissed her like his life depended on it, then said, “You’re riding with me, little demon. I’ll be back for you in fifteen minutes.”

“But…”

“Mine. Rosie.”

“Yeah. We established that last night, but…”

“Fifteen minutes.”

He let her go and moved so fast he practically vanished, taking his warmth with him.

“Bossy,” she yelled after him.

Carnal never said anything he didn’t mean. To him fifteen minutes meant exactly that, not a second more or less. Rosie barely had time to wash the sleep out of her eyes and brush her teeth before Carnal had returned to pull her downstairs.

“Mom!” he yelled on the way down. “She needs something to keep the rain off. She’s fragile.”

“I’m not fragile,” Rosie protested, but he ignored her. She supposed she needed to keep up pretenses and pretend that she was. After all, her cover was that she was human.

They stopped at the closed door to Free’s and Serene’s bedroom. Abruptly the door opened. “I have this. It hasn’t been worn since it was rewaxed.” Serene shoved a duster at Rosie. It was split in the back for riding. It was big on her, of course, but would do a fine job of keeping her covered. It also had a hood with a rope string she could tie under her chin.

“Yeah,” Carnal said. “It’ll do.”

“What about the rest of you?” Rosie asked. “It’s cold out there. And with the rain…”

“Don’t worry about us, lit…” He stopped himself just short of calling her demon, as she’d warned him he would. “We’re hardy.” He touched her nose in a playful way, which was so out of keeping with the monumental event at hand.

Pulling on the coat at the front door, she said, “You seem in a good mood.”

Carnal grinned as he took it on himself to personally tie the hood under her chin. “I am in a good mood. We’re going to get my brother back.”

When he opened the door, Rosie could see that, even in the dark, through the pouring rain, unbelievable as it was, the settlement was already bustling with people preparing to muster for the pre-battle journey to Farsuitwail.

The motorcycle shed wasn’t far. Rosie had never been there. Seeing it for the first time, she realized that, like the Weavers’ Barn, it was misnamed. A hundred and forty-three motorcycles looked like a sea of bikes when they were all together in one place. Carnal walked right to his, while Rosie noted that he was parked in a prestigious spot near the entrance. His crew member, Yellow, was there, waiting next to Carnal’s bike, already astride his own. There were three dozen Exiled in the shed fueling bikes with hoses running from huge wooden drums.

“Am I ready?” Carnal asked one of them.

“Good to go, Carnal.”

“Will we be ready at the top of the hour?”

Rosie recognized the other hybrid from the bar, but he’d never been chatty and she didn’t know his name.

Carnal turned to look down at Rosie. “You get on first so I can make sure you’re protected.”

Without argument, Rosie swung her leg over the rear of the bike and pulled the sides of the coat over her legs. When Carnal was satisfied that she was settled, he mounted in front of her with a warning glance toward Yellow, who, though silent, was making a show of smirking about the way Carnal was fussing over Rosie. He started the bike and led the way out of the shed and into the night.

Rosie knew the bikes had headlights, but Carnal and Yellow didn’t switch them on. They rode side by side even though the rain must have felt punishing, and she marveled at their ability to see in the dark and navigate the rough spots in the road that hadn’t been repaired in decades.

Farsuitwail was dark except for a couple of lamp lights that stood out like beacons against the surrounding blackness. Carnal stopped in front of City Hall.

“Take her inside to wait,” he said to Yellow. “I’ll get the mayor.”

Without being told, Rosie swung off the bike and started up the steps to City Hall.

Yellow didn’t dismount, but ascended the steps on his bike and parked under the portico, which gave temporary shelter because it faced north and the rain was driving from the south. He was waiting for Rosie when she reached the top.

Without a word he strode purposefully toward the big wooden door. It was locked. Yellow looked at Rosie before shoving his shoulder into the door where it latched. The thick solid wood door flew open and she was amazed all over again by the incredible brute strength of the hybrids. She looked at Yellow, who smiled in return and motioned for her to enter.

He withdrew a box of matches he’d kept dry inside a lined breast pocket and lit one. Looking around, he found an oil lamp sconce on a nearby wall. Two matches later the lamp was lit and Rosie could make out shapes well enough to keep from tripping over things. Her shiver was a reminder that she did have a small fraction of human DNA always creating comfort issues. She gave her body a mental instruction to be warm and the chill receded instantly.

The large foyer was getting brighter as Yellow went around lighting lamps.

“You want help with that?” she asked.

“Not unless you can find another box of matches somewhere.”

Closing her eyes, she asked the question, and instantly knew where to find matches. She walked to a corner table, opened the left drawer and said, “Oh, look. Matches.”

Yellow stopped and eyed her curiously, but said nothing. She began to light the lamps on the other side of the room. When that was done, she said, “So what now? You want to play cards?”

He didn’t seem charmed by her effort at interjecting humor into a grim situation. His reply couldn’t possibly have been delivered with less feeling. “I know what that is. I don’t have cards. I don’t play cards.”

Rosie pressed her lips together and looked around the room. “Well, there you have it, sports fans.”

Concluding that Yellow wasn’t the talkative sort, she sat down on a padded leather chair that faced the door and leaned on one arm rest, prepared to wait in silence for Carnal and the mayor.

Carnal went to the nearest house that had a light burning. He figured he’d get better information faster if he found someone awake. After he began pounding on the door, he saw a shape move by the window.

“I’m coming in one way or another,” he shouted. “Open the door now.” A man opened the door a crack. “Where does the mayor live?”

When he realized the nocturnal visit had nothing to do with him, the man opened the door wider. “Two blocks down that way,” he pointed to Carnal’s right, “and one block east.”

“I’ll show you.”

Carnal looked around the man, searching for the owner of the young voice who had volunteered to be his guide. A human boy, perhaps fourteen, stood behind the man who was probably his father, looking sleepy, but up for an adventure.

“Thank you,” Carnal said. “I need to know now. Right now.”

“Let’s go,” the boy said.

The boy’s father grabbed him. “It’s raining. And cold.”

Carnal looked at the man. “I’m Carnal, the Extant’s son. We will consider this a personal favor.”

The man loosened his hold on the boy, who said, “I’m Max.” To his father, he said, “I’ll get my raincoat.”

Max was gone no longer than a minute and was half into the coat before he arrived at the door.

“Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle, Max?”

The boy’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “No,” he whispered, like he was on the verge of receiving keys to the kingdom of his dreams.

Carnal couldn’t help but smile. “Get on behind me. Hold onto me. Lean when I lean. Show me where to turn and where to stop.”

Max nodded. He kept his right hand on Carnal’s shoulder and motioned with his left. In less than three minutes Carnal was barging into Comstock’s house.

“It’s an emergency. Get dressed now. You’re accompanying me to City Hall. You have five minutes.”

“What…?”

“I’m here as the Extant’s proxy with the full weight of his authority. Do it!”

Comstock rushed toward the back of his house as his wife peered around a doorway with wide eyes.

Carnal looked down at Max. “You okay, human?”

Max grinned. “Yeah. The ride here was…”

“Cold and wet.”

“No. Well, yeah. But it was… the best. You know what I mean?”

Carnal was thinking that if the human got that much of a thrill from a three block ride at a pace Carnal could match jogging, there was no telling what he would think about a flat out sprint across the wasteland.

The woman staring with one eye from the doorway was starting to bother Carnal. “I’m not going to hurt your husband. We just need him to help with organization. That’s all.” She blinked, but didn’t move otherwise. “Tell him he has two minutes. No more. Or I’ll drag him out of here in as-is condition.”

She disappeared from view. Within a minute Comstock emerged looking like he’d slept in his clothes and pulling on a ratty raincoat that, like the boy’s, looked like it had seen much better days.

Carnal turned to Max. “You want to go home or you want to hang around and help?”

“Help,” he said simply, eyes alive with excitement.

“Can you jog over to City Hall?” Max nodded. “Meet up there?” The boy nodded and took off.

“Get on,” Carnal said to the mayor.

Comstock looked at the bike like it would devour him. “I’d rather…”

“Get on!” When Carnal roared, the mayor completely forgot about his fear of the motorcycle, quickly deciding that it was less of an evil than the Extant’s burly son.

Rosie stood when they burst through the door.

Carnal acknowledged her first simply by looking at her and blinking, but he spoke to Yellow. “Light that fire in the conference room.” To the mayor, he said, “After you.”

Comstock followed Yellow down the hall. Carnal gave Rosie a quick kiss when she was near enough to grab, then said, “Rosie, this is Max. He’s going to help us wake the humans.”

“Hi, Max.” She smiled.

He returned her smile, but looked suddenly shy.

Observing that reaction, Carnal said, “Yeah. Don’t feel bad, kid. She makes me speechless, too.” Max blushed at that. “Can you be trusted?”

Carnal watched Max closely for changes in his heart rate, his breathing, and dilation of his pupils.

“Trusted how?”

“To not betray us to the Rautt?”

Max scowled. “Why would I do that?”

“Yes or no.”

“Yes. You can trust me.”

“Then come with us.” Carnal put his arm around Rosie and walked her to the conference room. He let her go as soon as they entered, saying, “Mr. Mayor. We have a situation.

“In about twenty minutes my brethren will be arriving here. We’re crossing the wasteland tonight, attacking the Rautt in the early morning. Your weapons and your people who are trained to use those weapons are going to help us.”

“That’s insane!” Comstock was too shocked to hold back and be politic.

“May. Be. But we’re doing it and your people are going to help.”

“With no plan? How are we going to…?”

“How many people were preparing for the attack planned six weeks from now?” The mayor pursed his lips. “Do I need to remind you that I can tell if you lie?”

Max jerked his head to look at Carnal and blinked a couple of times. He then looked at Rosie for confirmation. When she nodded, Max’s gaze returned to Carnal with a whole new layer of respect bordering on hero worship.

Rosie knew how to recognize that special something that Carnal had. Her father had it. It was an indescribable quality that can’t be learned or acquired, an inherent alpha trait that causes even the baddest of bad asses to make a subconscious agreement to follow.

“Two hundred, give or take.”

Carnal stared at the mayor for a few seconds. “You believed you could murder all of us with two hundred humans? You must have a lot of faith in your weapons.”

Max was clearly stunned by the news that Farsuitwailians were planning to massacre the Exiled. His young face scowled and he shrank back from the mayor as if he found being near him suddenly distasteful.

Comstock swallowed hard. “We do.”

“All right,” said Carnal. “We can take one hundred thirty-six. We need your military leaders here first to help us decide who will go and who will not. People who can make decisions quickly. Do any of those people live nearby?”

Comstock raised his chin. “Yes. Three come to mind. Thon Borgen. Clave Sychon. Rhod Forshep.”

Carnal looked at Max. “Do any of those names sound familiar to you?”

Max nodded. “Mr. Forshep. Ms. Sychon.”

“You know where they live?” The kid nodded again. Carnal looked at Yellow. “Let Max show you where to find these people. Get them out of bed and bring them back here. Don’t allow them to dawdle. They don’t need to be at their best. They just need to be here. Now.”

Yellow started for the front door, assuming the kid named Max was trotting along behind. Max didn’t get any warm fuzzy feelings emanating from Yellow, but he was excited about a second opportunity to ride on the back of a bike.

For an undetermined number of repetitions, he was congratulating himself on being in the right place at the right time. He was delirious about the fact that Carnal had come knocking at his house when there were so many others he might have chosen. Max had no idea why he’d been so lucky, but he owed his good fortune to his father’s middle-of-the-night heartburn. The discomfort had caused the man to rise and light a lamp in the front room. It was as simple as that.

By the time Yellow reached the front door of City Hall, Carnal’s crew was arriving with Dandy on the back of Easy’s bike.

Yellow looked at Clash and Joy. “You two come with me.”

In twenty minutes, Clash, Joy, and Yellow returned with Max and two of the architects of the plan to annihilate hybrids. The mayor had identified the address of the third and given directions so that Carnal and Easy could fetch him.

By the time they were all assembled in the conference room, Free and the rest of Exiled were arriving.

Rosie made her way over to Dandy and whispered, “How are you doing?”

Dandy looked at her with eyes too bright. “Hopeful?”

Rosie nodded and squeezed her hand.

“Report,” said Free as he entered the room like a force of nature.

“We have three of the military leaders. Two will cooperate.” Carnal pointed to Clave Sychon and Rhod Forshep.”This one is out. Put him under guard,” he told Joy.

Thon Borgen bared his teeth at Carnal, intending to look menacing, but the sight of short flat blocky teeth being displayed as a threat struck Carnal as so funny he laughed out loud.

Carnal turned to Free. “They have two hundred people who know how to use the weapons, but we can only carry a hundred and thirty-six. The six fuel rigs will haul as much weaponry and ammunition as we can carry, and Crave’s Promise gets a place on the back of one of the bikes. Almost all of those two hundred are at the munitions plant.”

Free looked at Sychon and Forshep. “Do you understand what we’re doing?”

“Yes. You’re attacking the Rautt,” said Sychon.

“We’re attacking the Rautt,” Free corrected. “We need your people out of bed, in their clothes, ready to move an hour ago. We’re going to carry them across the wasteland on our bikes. We’re going to go in and extract a prisoner. When we have him safely away, we expect your people to rain the fire of gods down on the miscreants until no one and nothing is left. Are you prepared to lead your people?”

Sychon looked at Forshep, then back at Free. “Yes,” she said. “We are.”

Carnal stepped forward. “Swear your allegiance to us as allies.” He searched the woman for signs of deception, but found none.

“We are your allies in this.”

“Can you speak for him?” Free nodded toward Forshep. “Is he mute?”

“I’m not mute,” said Forshep, sounding a little offended. “I’ve been hauled out of bed in the middle of the night to lead an unplanned battle with people we’ve not previously considered friends. Women are more flexible.”

Free nodded at the wisdom of that. “Are you prepared to make a shift in your perspective?”

“Why now? At whatever fuck in the morning? Why couldn’t we sit down at a reasonable hour and discuss this in a civilized way?”

“The rain.” Free waited to see if the human would put it together, but there was nothing in his expression but blankness. Free cocked his head. “When the Rautt attack your city, we’re always here to defend it before they arrive. Do you know how we know when to come?”

Forshep’s expression remained blank and he was actually beginning to look impatient. Free was astonished that the humans, even the military leaders, knew so little about how they’d been protected.

“We know because traveling the wasteland raises high plumes of dust that can be seen for ten miles from here, farther from the hill where we live.”

Finally, Forshep seemed to put it together.

“It’s raining to the north. Wet sand won’t float on the air,” Sychon said. “They won’t know we’re coming until we’re there.” She sounded genuinely impressed.

“The last time the wasteland was wet was nearly twenty years ago,” Free added. “This opportunity is worth losing a little sleep for.” Free nodded toward Carnal. “My oldest son, Carnal, gets the credit.”

Forshep flicked a glance at Carnal. While he took in a quick deep breath, he seemed to make a decision to man up. “Yes. I’ll fight with you.”

“Good,” Free said. “It’s good that we’re able to resolve this amicably and quickly. Forgive me for feeling I need to add a caveat, but since you were planning to murder all of us, I’d be remiss by not saying that anyone who turns on us in the heat of battle will find their body in one place and their head in another. Clear?”

“Fair enough,” said Forshep.

“While your people are waking up, getting dressed, and preparing their weaponry, you will discuss strategy with us.” Free motioned to the elders standing behind him. “Assuming that the two of you are going, that leaves one hundred thirty-four people. Can we find that many qualified people at the munitions facility?”

Sychon answered, “Yes.”

“Good,” Free said. “You can be deciding who makes the cut on the way.” He pointed to Sychon. “You ride with Serene.” He pointed to Forshep. “You ride with Cage.”

Cage grinned at Forshep, showing off his fangs. “That’s me.”

Forshep pulled back instinctively, but to his credit, didn’t run.

“Mr. Mayor,” Free said to Comstock. “Someone in your city has been colluding with Rautt.”

“That’s impossible,” he said.

“Not only is it possible, but we have proof. We can’t stop word of our preparations from getting out, but the wasteland north of the city is being patrolled by young warriors. Anyone who tries to get a message to the Rautt will be executed on sight. I’m making you aware of this so that, in the eventuality of a death, you’re a witness to our accusation of treachery. After all, no one would be leaving Farsuitwail to travel across the wasteland for any other reason. Right?”

The mayor nodded reluctantly and begrudgingly. “Yes. That’s true. But we have a time-honored, traditional structure in place for handling wrongdoings, a system of laws. People who commit crimes are tried in a court of law where guilt and punishment are decided fairly.”

Free barked out a laugh. “Were you planning on putting all of us on trial before you murdered us in our sleep? In six weeks’ time?” The mayor looked away. “That’s what I thought.” He leaned toward the mayor, not caring that Comstock blanched as Free towered over him in a threatening manner. “Executed. On. The. Spot. Do you understand?” Comstock nodded, trying to shrink away, but Free stopped him. “You’re riding with Thorn. He’s not a fan of humans.” Thorn held up his hand for identification purposes and laughed darkly. “Your presence will be required for reassuring your people until we’re ready to leave. Then you can stay behind.” Free thought about that for a second. “Unless you want to go.”

“Me? Uh, no,” the mayor stammered. No one seemed surprised.

Carnal pulled Max over. “Go home, kid. You did good. If you ever need anything from us, just ask for Carnal and tell them I owe you a favor.”

“I’m sorry about…” Max looked at the mayor like he was ashamed of what others had been planning. ”And, um, good luck.”

Carnal and his crew led the way to the munitions facility in the predawn darkness. Rosie clung to his back, arms wrapped tight around his middle, as the gravity of the situation began to settle over her soul like a pall.

They stopped in front of the little shack that hid the humans’ great secret that carried the potential for both carnage and peace. The trailers were given priority parking near the entrance, with Carnal’s elite crew and the elders parking nearby.

Clash located the spring that opened the floor to the stairway down. Someone lit a lamp so the humans, including Rosie, could see well enough to navigate descent to the rooms below ground. Yellow was one of the first to reach the bottom and went to work lighting the lamp sconces on the walls, as he had at City Hall. Rosie wondered if he had a proclivity toward pyromania or just liked staying busy.

There were hallways branching off from the main room in several directions. Forshep, Sychon, Cage, Breaker, Thorn, Clash, and Easy began banging on doors, yelling, “Report for battle.”

Doors were opening all over. People were stepping out into the hall in whatever they wore to bed, to get an explanation. Seeing Comstock, Forshep and Sychon seemed to calm everybody.

“Get dressed for rain and cold and do it on the double. We’re taking it to the Rautt.”

Sleepy people had looked at each other like they couldn’t believe what was happening, but they scrambled to comply and assembled in the big room, dressed and ready to go within minutes.

“Everybody trained on guns, over there,” Sychon shouted and pointed to a corner. “Artillery, over there.” She pointed to the opposite corner then conferred with Forshep as people were moving into place.

“What are you discussing?” Free said. He’d learned his lesson about human capacity for secrecy and subterfuge.

Sychon looked up. “We think we should take everybody trained on artillery because that’s what will do the most damage, but somebody is going to have to figure out how much we can carry.”

The Exiled had six vehicles that had been modified so that they could take fuel with them. They were motorcycles with two wheels in front and one in back, designed to pull two-wheeled trailers. Without a fuel load, there were forty-six cubic feet of space in each trailer.

In sync Free and Carnal looked at the walls of shelves holding pipe cannons.

“Fill up five of the trailers with the pipe cannons and the bombs they propel, then decide how many people you need to manage that most efficiently. We’ll pair them up with Exiled. Strap a gun to every human’s back whether they’re gunnery or artillery and fill the sixth trailer with ammunition.

“Get an instructor over here to demonstrate how to fire the guns and launch the pipe bombs.”

“You mean right now?” Forshep practically gaped.

Free dropped his chin. “I mean right now. We’re probably smarter than you think. Just do it.”

Forshep shook his head. “Reynells. Come show them how to load and fire a rifle. Blathekin. Same with a cannon.”

After a two minute demonstration, the Exiled nodded like they understood.

“Questions?” asked Blathekin.

Carnal said, “Yeah. Is it necessary to use a pipe cannon to launch one of these?” He held up one of the round balls in his big hand.

“Well, yes. How else could you do it?”

“We could throw them.”

Blathekin started to laugh dismissively, but his smile faded when he realized it was a serious question. “How far do you think you could throw one of these?”

Carnal tossed the ball up, testing for weight, then turned it over in his hand. “A hundred and fifty yards. About.”

Blathekin’s mood turned serious as he looked at Carnal with what appeared to be a newfound respect. “Yes. That would do it.”

“Okay, people, you heard that,” Forshep said. “It means we need more balls and less cannons. Let’s get those trailers loaded fast. Get a move on. We’re burning darkness.”

Rosie grabbed Carnal and pulled him aside. “Carnal.”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“Rosie. This is no time for joking around.”

“I’m not joking! I don’t want you to go.”

“Where’s this coming from?”

“You could be hurt. Or worse. Look around. There are plenty of people, humans and hybrids. They don’t need you.”

“They don’t need me?” He looked angry. “Yes. They do need me. But even if they didn’t, you think I could live with myself if I stayed behind? We’re going to get my brother. What kind of example would I be setting if I put this in motion and then said, ‘Hey. Good luck. Let me know how it turns out’.”

“Yes. You could live with yourself. And with me!”

His face softened when he realized she was scared of losing him. “Rosie. Love is the most important thing in the world, but it doesn’t stand alone. It has to be supported by people who are worth loving. If I didn’t go try to get my brother away from those monsters, I wouldn’t be worth loving. At this moment, you’re the most important thing in the world to me, but I can’t hide from this. Not even for you.”

And in that moment, as she searched Carnal’s face and saw the truth of his heart reflected in his eyes, she understood what Glen had once tried to tell her. A person can love and put themselves at risk at the same time, especially when the cause is a noble one.

Carnal saw understanding flicker across her face and was grateful. He kissed her with emotion born of both gratitude and reality, knowing there was a chance it would be the last time. And then he let her go. “Help us get ready.”

“I’m going.”

“You are not going.”

“If you’re going, I’m going.”

“Rosie, you cannot go. I can’t do my job and worry about you at the same time.”

“You know there’s nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself. Remember?”

“Intellectually I know that, but emotionally I don’t. You’re not going.”

She knew there was no point in arguing so she pretended to acquiesce. If he thought he could keep her away, then he really didn’t understand her at all.

By the time they had sorted out which humans would go, the seventy or so who would be left behind actually looked disappointed rather than relieved.

Sychon, Free, and Forshep had agreed on a plan that might, admittedly, have holes, but was the best they could come up with on such short notice. The three stood on a table in the center of the room, side by side, to address the troops.

Forshep spoke first. “The first wave of attack will be handheld weapon only. We will give Exiled back up in their attempt to extract their captive. If we’re able to lay down fire cover for them, without endangering them, we will do so. If not, we will wait for their signal that they have the prisoner and are clear. In that event, and only in that event, will we utilize the pipe cannons or advance with automatic riflery.”

Forshep looked at Free, who took over. “It’s eight miles back through the city to the beginning of the wasteland and another twenty miles to the Rautt settlement. Those of you who have been out already know it’s cold and raining. Hopefully, the Rautt will be nestled peacefully in their beds.” Some people laughed. “Our goal is to be on them before they know an attack is possible. Sunrise is imminent, but we have the advantage of cloud cover. If we leave now, it will still be early morning when we arrive.”

Sychon was last to speak. “If you have a Rautt in your sights, remember that they have done monstrous things to humans and to Exiled. No adult prisoners. Pull the trigger and move on to the next one,” she said. Rosie thought it sounded rather bloodthirsty, but she knew someone had to say it and it probably carried more weight coming from a woman.

“Let’s move out,” Forshep said.

Carnal pulled Rosie into a last impassioned kiss. “Wait for me.” He grinned. “I’m coming back with my brother.”

She nodded and let him pull away.

Rosie climbed the stairs and watched the newly formed allied army load the vehicles from the window. Dawn was breaking. There were streaks in the sky, but it was still raining hard. The headlights provided enough light for the Farsuitwailians to see, but it was far from bright. Armed humans were paired with hybrids for transportation purposes until everybody had a ride.

She kept Carnal in sight as long as she could, but he was one of the first to leave. He and his crew flanked Free at the front of the horde. There were no battle standards, no fanfare, no feathers of silk colors, just a lot of people determined to live without being terrorized.

The mood was entirely different below ground, the opposite of high energy. Those who had not been selected were somber and gradually began to disperse, heading back to their quarters. Rosie doubted any of them would go back to sleep. Some stayed and brewed coffee, quietly chatting about how long it would be before they’d know the outcome. She noticed Comstock sitting off to the side. Somebody brought him a cup of coffee and included him in their conversation.

By her estimation, it would take them twenty minutes to reach the wasteland and another twenty minutes to cross it. She sat with fingers and legs twitching for half an hour then asked for directions to a restroom. Once inside, she simply vanished and emerged from the passes seconds later to stand on a plain just below the foothill that was supposed to be the site of the Rautt fortress.

To her left was the settlement. Its appearance was nothing like the descriptions she’d heard. It was reputed to be formidable, surrounded by a high wall, with a massive gate from which they could hang prisoners to discourage their enemy from attempting entry. Rosie’s conclusion was that the stories were either planted or made up. Rauttown, as the humans called it, turned out to be little more than a hastily thrown together encampment, completely indefensible. It was a stark contrast to the careful planning and meticulous building of Newland, the Exiled’s home.

She surmised that they never expected to be attacked, much less without warning. They relied on their reputation as monsters and the expanse of desert between themselves and Farsuitwail for protection.

All was perfectly quiet. Just as the Exiled had hoped it would be.

When she could make out the legion approaching from the south, she blended clothes and body into the surroundings like a chameleon, making herself virtually invisible. She wasn’t sure how she knew to do that, but was grateful to know it was a tool available for use at will.

The allied force of warriors was close. No more than a quarter mile away. And still there was no sign of movement in the Rautt settlement. They were quiet, perhaps lost to a hibernating slumber accompanied by the sound of rain. The plan had worked. They were going to be surprised. And not in a good way.

Rosie was practically shaking. She didn’t know if the shakes were being caused by the nerve-wracking anticipation of what was to come, outright fear of what might happen, or if it was a physical manifestation of her struggle with Kellareal’s directive to not use her abilities. No matter what.

She’d made a promise to Lally, which was what she’d called the angel as a child, and knew from her inherited memories that it was important to keep promises. She understood morality as an abstract grouping of principles that seemed to have no practical use other than to keep people from killing each other off while they pursued self-interest.

The vehicles stopped fifty yards from the settlement, feeling confident that the Rautt had no weapon that could travel that distance. She watched as the humans dismounted the bikes, apparently planning to stay behind while the Exiled looked for Crave. Leaving humans, guns, and only a handful of hybrids behind, the Exiled charged forward on their silent running motorcycles with one thing in mind; find and extract Crave, without raising an alarm if possible. Every one of them knew that was unlikely, but not one of them cared. Each was equally committed to the mission. Rescue Crave or die trying.

Rosie’s respect and admiration swelled so that it felt like her heart was actually enlarging, pressing on her ribcage for more space.

Her eyes felt misty as she watched the people she served daily rush headlong into a conflict that might mean their deaths. Still wearing a cloak of invisibility in the sense that her cloak changed to match the background she passed with each tiny movement, she walked up the incline toward Rauttown and, as she went, noticed that the rain was slowing. By the time she’d made it to the first building on the perimeter, it had almost stopped.

She kept going. Her field of vision was alive with Exiled running from place to place. Many of them were wearing blood evidence that they’d killed Rautt before they were even able to raise an alarm. Finally, a shout escaped from a Rautt before he was silenced, piercing through the stillness of the early morning and alerting his brethren to danger. They emerged from their various shelters almost instantaneously, but it was too late. Their numbers had been seriously depleted by Exiled stealth as they crept silently from one habitat to the next, killing occupants quickly and efficiently before their bedmates knew that their lethal counterparts had invaded their home.

Rautt were ready with weapons designed to fight hand to hand according to their lifestyle of choice. They fought with a focused menace that reminded Rosie of dogs bred and trained for arena fights to the death. Their wild-eyed expressions bore little resemblance to the calm and deliberate Exiled.

Seeing that contrast in vivid comparison, Rosie wondered how the humans of Farsuitwail could have ever believed that all hybrids were the same. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that the humans were still waiting in a cluster. They had promised they would not engage until the Exiled signaled that they had Crave and were out of harm’s way. Rosie realized how smart it was to leave a few Exiled behind to watch the humans. It would have been easy to begin launching explosives and take out all the hybrids, Rautt and Exiled, at once as had been the original plan.

Rosie hoped the humans had changed their minds, but she wouldn’t bet on it. Humans, as a lot, were inherently untrustworthy and she hoped the Exiled would never forget that, even if they eventually shared grandchildren.

The fight continued for half an hour. The Exiled had been told to take no adult prisoners and apparently drew a line at killing children. Some of the young were being rounded up and held in a group. They looked terrified, as was appropriate under the circumstances, not to mention feral and filthy. Rosie saw that, when Riot, a hybrid she knew from the Commons, tried to guide one of them into the group, the child launched himself with a baby roar, biting and slashing with his little claws.

The grounds of Rauttown looked every bit the massacre it was. There was still no word of Crave, but Rosie had kept an eye on Carnal, Serene, Free, and Dandy, to the extent possible.

“We have him!”

Rosie thought the shout came from Breaker, but sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between the voices of adult male hybrids. They all sounded gruff and rumbling to her.

When Breaker entered the clearing pulling a bound Crave with him, blood was smeared on the right side of his face, on his hands and arms, and down the front of his clothes. But he appeared to be fine, which meant it was somebody else’s blood.

Her eyes searched for and found Carnal standing in front of a stack of loose hay, no doubt stolen from Farsuitwail on a raid, near a livestock pen where frightened, monster-sized sheep bleated incessantly and tried to jump over each other. His head jerked in the direction of the news that his brother was found alive and she saw hope spring into his eyes just as a long knife was plunged through his heart from behind. A Rautt fighter had hid in the stack of hay and waited for just such an opportunity.

When Rosie saw the end of the blade protruding from Carnal’s chest, her camouflage dropped. She rushed forward to stand in front of Carnal. His eyes had glazed over with shock and confusion, whether that was from seeing Rosie appear out of nowhere or from the fatal wound was impossible to say. Either way he had only enough time to say, “Rosie.” He searched her eyes one last time and said, “Mine,” just as he fell to the ground.

Rosie’s agonized scream shook the ground beneath them and reverberated to the heavens. Everyone stopped what they were doing, even those engaged in mortal combat.

When the sound tapered off, she drew in a big breath. “NO!” she said, reflexively sweeping her hand toward the ongoing fighting and, as she did, every sign that Rautt had ever existed simply ceased to be. There were no buildings, no tents, or pens, or any sign of Rautt. Not even footprints remained as a reminder that they had lived.

The Exiled looked around, not quite able to sort through what they were seeing.

Rosie fell on Carnal’s body and turned him so that she could press her lips to his for one more kiss as the warmth left his body for good. Her tears fell on his face and ran to the ground in rivulets. “Yours,” she whispered against his mouth.

She felt, more than heard, people approaching behind. From her crouch over Carnal’s body, she looked over her shoulder to see Free and Serene running toward her. Rosie could see that they knew because both their faces were drawn into grimaced masks of grief. She’d heard that no one mourns like parents who outlive a child, but she found it impossible to believe there could be a pain more acute than the one that had just cleaved her in two.

Unable to deal with her own feelings and witness the tragedy that had become of Carnal’s family, she vanished.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Storm had just lit the oven-height gas fireplace in his kitchen at the vineyard villa. He was waiting for the coffee pod machine to finish gurgling, and thinking how much he was enjoying his two-week leave from Jefferson Unit. He’d slept late and was looking forward to leisurely reading the news on his tablet while Litha slept even later.

He wore a favorite pair of old faded jeans, some soft and slouchy topsiders, and a plaid flannel robe with a microfleece lining, just as old, just as comfortable. He untied the robe, rewrapped it over his bare chest, and tied it a little tighter around his waist.

He was staring at the dribbling coffee as if that would make it brew faster when he heard the sound of a sniffle behind him. Knowing that he and Litha were alone in the house, he whirled around, not knowing what to expect.

There stood Rosie, face red, eyes swollen with tears still coursing down her cheeks. She wore strange clothing that made her look like an extra from a “Mad Max” movie.

Storm’s lips parted in surprise. He was just about to form a question when she whimpered, “Daddy,” and walked forward into arms that opened to encircle her.

“Rosie,” he ground out. “What’s happened?”

Her only answer was sobbing into his chest.

Storm knew enough about women to know that they are better interrogated after they’ve had their cry. So he simply held her patiently, while his mind ran through imaginary scenarios of what might have happened to cause her to be bereft. Judging by the length and depth of the sadness she was expressing, he knew it was something more than Sephora being out of her favorite nail polish. That might seem random, but he had once comforted his Rosie through being stricken over the fact that Puma Pink had been discontinued. He’d tried hard to imagine how such a thing could bring a person, even an immature person, to tears, but fell short. That was when he’d learned that he didn’t have to fix everything; sometimes he just had to give a hug and a listen.

So he leaned back into the granite kitchen counter behind him and waited. But he never got a chance to ask the questions that were forming in his mind because a figure materialized behind Rosie. In his kitchen. Uninvited.

Over the years Storm had become somewhat desensitized to people forming from thin air, but some residual feeling that it was just wrong would always remain.

“Rosie!” Kellareal said it like an accusation. “What have you done?”

Storm actually wanted to know the answer to that, himself. The fact that the angel looked appalled wasn’t lost on him, but his instincts as a father overrode everything else. He quickly moved Rosie so that he stood in front of her, knowing that he could only form a barrier so long as the angel allowed it.

“What do you want and what makes you think you can just barge into my kitchen whenever you want?”

“This doesn’t concern you,” Kellareal said to Storm dismissively.

“Really? Does it not concern me either?” Litha stood at the door with tousled hair wearing a flannel plaid robe similar to Storm’s, but smaller and floor length.

“Not really, witch.” Kellareal’s attention barely flickered away from Rosie.

His dismissive attitude incensed Litha. “Witch, is it? This is my home! This is my child! If you have business with her, you have business with us.” She moved to stand next to Storm, took in a deep breath, looked at the ceiling and shouted, “Dad!”

Kellareal did a double take and gaped at her. “You think summoning that ridiculous sex demon is equivalent to calling in reinforcements? This is not his concern. You know he only makes fucked up situations more fucked up.”

“Strange language for an asexual entity,” said Deliverance as he appeared next to Kellareal. “What’s up?”

“This is between Elora Rose and me,” said Kellareal. “We had an agreement. She violated the terms. Restitution has to be made.”

Storm, Litha, and Deliverance all looked at Rosie to answer the charge.

“Is that true?” Litha asked quietly. Rosie’s tears had slowed. She sighed, glanced at the angel, and nodded, looking so grief-stricken that Litha’s maternal empathy joined her defensive instincts. She pulled a tissue from her robe pocket, wiped Rosie’s cheeks then gave her a reassuring hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure this out.”

She looked at Storm. “Can I have some of that coffee?”

Storm looked at the machine. “Yeah,” he said tossing both the pod and the coffee he’d been brewing for himself. “Everybody sit down.” He motioned to the wrought iron stools with padded leather seats that were pulled up to the kitchen island. “Who else wants coffee?”

“I’ll take a Kona,” said Deliverance. Storm reached for a pod. “No. Not that cheap stuff. I’ll take the hundred percent Kona you keep in the cabinet.” After giving Deliverance a brief glare, Storm opened the cabinet above the coffee station and retrieved a gold foil hundred percent Kona pod. “Don’t be so stingy. I’ll bring you more next time I find myself craving grass skirts.”

Storm started the brew then looked at Rosie, who had seated herself near the fire.

“Hot chocolate,” she said, looking miserable and clutching the tissue her mother had given her.

When Storm nodded at Kellareal, the angel rolled his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Earl Grey.”

Eight minutes later all five had a steaming cup of comfort in front of them. Three were waiting for an explanation.

“Rosie,” Kellareal began, “has been doing a self-imposed time out in a dimension that is host to a special project of mine.”

Deliverance nodded. “I know. I was there. So what’s the problem?”

Though delivered with Deliverance’s special brand of belligerence, Storm and Litha were both secretly glad that he’d given voice to exactly what they were thinking.

Kellareal said, “The problem is that your daughter,” he looked at Storm and Litha, “or granddaughter as the case may be,” he looked at Deliverance, “just wiped out an entire subspecies of hybrids including every trace that they ever existed.” His crescendo flared during delivery of that sentence so that he was practically yelling at the end. “She left three hundred humans and hybrids, assembled on a desert plain to fight a war she started, wondering what the heck they were doing there. Since all memory of the people she obliterated was gone as well.” He fumed.

Storm and Litha both looked at Rosie.

“You can do that?” Litha asked, sounding more than amazed.

Rosie shrugged.

Kellareal was nodding. “Yeah, Mommy. She can do that and a whole lot more. That’s why I’ve been watching her so closely ever since she was born, trying to keep universal bigwigs from getting wind that she exists!” His temper was growing the longer he talked.

“Okay. Okay,” Storm said in his best calming tone. “Let’s all settle down.” He looked at Kellareal. “Take a whiff and a sip of that tea and pull yourself together.”

Lines had formed between Litha’s brow and she looked worried. “That’s why you’ve been around so much?”

Kellareal softened just a touch. “It’s not that I don’t like you, Litha. I do. But yeah. Your kid is the big fish fry.”

Litha looked at her daughter. “Why’d you do this, Rosie?”

“I fell in love.” Rosie sniffed. “With one of the hybrids.” She glared at Kellareal. “He left them enslaved to an open ended bad deal. He gave them freedom in exchange for protecting humans that weren’t worth protecting.”

“That’s not for you to say,” said the angel.

“Well, it wasn’t for you to say that the Exiled should have to spend eternity fighting and dying to protect people who despised them, just so they wouldn’t be kept in cages like breeding animals.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Kellareal protested.

“It was exactly like that!” Rosie shouted. “At the very least their indentured servitude should have had an expiration date.”

She and Kellareal glared at each other.

“You fell in love and…” Litha quietly prompted, trying to get Rosie back on track and emotions under control.

“They killed him.” New tears started running down Rosie’s face. “So I killed them.” As she wiped her face with the tissue her mother gave her, she raised her chin, looked at the angel with defiance and said, “All of them.”

Kellareal barked out a laugh. “You really don’t seem to get the enormous consequences of what you’ve just done.”

Storm was trying to think his way around the mind-blowing idea that his baby had god-like power. “Why don’t you tell us?” he asked calmly. “About the enormous consequences.”

“Arbitrarily changing the natural progression of things,” he looked pointedly at Rosie, “in this magnitude, creates ripple effects all over the Earth dominion. Cross-dimension. An event like this in one dimension could change the history and future of the entire planet. Remember the overlap I told you about?” He shook his head. “I should have killed you as soon as I knew what you were.”

Deliverance flew off his barstool as he lunged at the angel and the two of them fell to the kitchen floor in a tangle of elemental limbs and wrought iron legs. Storm sat quietly, but looked at Litha with a sigh and a WTF expression as they exchanged a wordless dialogue.

“Rosie,” Litha said. “I don’t suppose you have the ability to break that up, do you?”

Rosie turned her swollen face to her mother. “Stop!” she commanded. The angel and the demon froze in place in a viral-worthy freeze frame.

Storm and Litha took a moment to consider the implications of having a daughter, a somewhat immature daughter with questionable control, who could bring about such a physics-defying event. One that affected creatures as powerful as angels and demons.

“Gods almighty,” Storm said, staring at the two on the floor.

Litha looked at Rosie. “Normally I wouldn’t condone this,” she gestured toward Kellareal and Deliverance, “but your father and I would like to know what has happened without interference. So let’s leave them like that while we talk. Just the three of us.”

Rosie nodded. Litha got up, fetched an entire box of lotion-laced tissues from a cupboard, and set it down in front of her daughter. “Tell us.”

“I gave Glen an ‘if this, then that’.”

“We remember,” Storm said.

“He didn’t comply and I thought that meant he didn’t love me. At least not as much as I wanted to be loved. So I decided to disappear for a while, partly to teach him a lesson, partly to protect my pride. I asked Kellareal for a place to stay. He said there were some people, hybrids, who owed him a favor.

“So that’s what happened. I stayed in their house and became fond of them. I worked in the bar slash café and sort of learned to like it.” Storm glanced at Litha with a raised eyebrow at that revelation. “I didn’t forget about you. Sometimes I thought about coming home, but I liked it there. I felt useful. I liked the people. And after a while I started to have feelings for one of them.” She looked up. “Strong feelings.”

Litha nodded slightly, silently urging her to continue. “Like I said, these people, they called themselves Exiled, had made a deal with Kellareal. He’d learned that they were going to be killed. All of them. He told them that he would free them and give them a new home if they would protect the humans in another world from their own version of hybrids who’d escaped and caused a lot of havoc.

“That was twenty-five years ago. This whole time the Exiled have been sacrificing their loved ones for a cause that wasn’t even their own to save people who wanted them dead. So, yeah, I wouldn’t say I started a war, exactly, but I did tell their leader they should merge their society with the humans and end the cycle of responding to raids. I said they should take the fight to the terrorists and end it.”

Big tears began to roll down her face again. “I’d give anything if I’d kept my mouth shut and minded my own business.”

Litha and Storm exchanged a look. “The person you loved. Did he die in the battle?” Litha’s voice was full of compassion and she hoped Rosie knew that if she was hurt, her parents were hurt, too.

Rosie tried to speak, but could only nod as a flood of new tears coursed down her face.

“Kellareal says I’m not supposed to change things, but he changed things when he moved the Exiled to another world. Didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Litha said. “I’m not going to pretend that I understand that reasoning. It seems mind-bendingly complicated, but I can say this. If Kellareal is concerned about your special gifts drawing the wrong kind of attention then I’m worried about that, too. With great power comes great responsibility. Seems like you’ve gotten more than your share of both, which means that you’re going to have to learn to be just as super-careful as you are supernatural. Do you understand?”

Rosie stared at her mother for a few seconds. “I do understand that.”

“Your dad and I are very sorry you lost someone you loved. Either one of us would always choose to take your pain for you if we could. Since we can’t, we’ll just promise to always love you and be here. For you.”

“No matter what?” Rosie asked.

“Of course. No matter what,” Litha answered. Looking at Storm, she said, “How are we going to fix this?”

Storm looked at the two frozen in combat on the floor beside the kitchen island. “I never could have imagined myself saying this, but let’s find out if the angel fella has a suggestion.” He lowered his chin and asked Rosie. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she answered, and just like that Kellareal and Deliverance were sitting on their stools at the island with full, steaming cups in front of them.

“Listen,” she said, and both elementals gave her their rapt attention. She directed her question to Kellareal. “First, what’s the difference between moving the Exiled to a different world and just wiping out a nuisance that was about to be wiped out anyway?”

“First,” began Kellareal, “there’s a big difference between moving something from one place to another and wiping it out. It’s the difference between relocating wolves to a wildlife refuge and wiping their entire species from existence as if they had never lived, including all photos, art, historical and literary references, and domesticated dogs. No Jack London. No Little Red Riding Hood. Everything gone.

“Second, the Rautt were not about to be wiped out. If you’d been paying attention, you would have noticed that the Exiled spared everyone who was prepubescent. One or more of those young, given an entirely different nurturance, might have made a contribution of monumental proportions.

“Third, since you wiped the Rautt from existence and, therefore, from everyone’s memories except yours and mine, the Exiled have no idea why they are where they are or what they’re supposed to do. In the blink of an eye you wiped out decades of their own history. Is any of this getting through?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What about the motorcycles?” He glowered at her. “Yes. Okay? I get it. It’s different.” She sounded miserable but belligerent at the same time. After a minute of processing, in a quieter voice, she said, “Can I change it?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Kellareal sneered, having given up all pretense of being polite. “How do you think?”

Rosie took in a deep breath. “Go back in time.”

He continued to look at her as if he was speaking to her telepathically, but said nothing out loud.

Looking between the two of them, Litha asked, “Can you do that?”

Kellareal flicked a glance at Litha. “Yes. And no.”

“Stop with the riddles, angel! Spit it out!” Litha said.

He looked at Rosie. “You can, and should, undo what you did, but you can’t change Carnal’s fate.” She looked away. “And you need to do it fast, before somebody notices. Somebody we really don’t want to take notice.” When she didn’t respond, he said, “Rosie!”

“Yes! I understand!” she replied with just as much emotion.

“It’s not just you. If they find out that I’ve known about you… Well, it wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

“All right.” She looked at her lap. “I want a minute with my parents.”

Kellareal stood to leave. “I’ll be watching.”

“Fuck off,” Rosie replied.

And then he was gone.

“That’s my girl,” Deliverance said as he walked around the island. He gave Rosie a shoulder squeeze, wishing he had some magic to make the pain go away, but he knew all too well that even elementals have to endure a passage of mourning and time before scabs begin to form over the wounds of loss. He brushed a kiss on top of her head and then he was gone as well.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come for visits and… let you know what was going on with me.”

Storm said, “We love you. We worry about you. And we’d really appreciate it if you didn’t make a stranger of yourself.”

She nodded. “I’ll try to do better, but it could take some time to get over this. It hurts more than… more than anything, I guess. I didn’t imagine this in my future. But I guess nobody ever imagines something like this in their future.”

She accepted hugs from first Litha, then Storm.

“Do you know how to do this?” Litha asked.

“I haven’t done it before, or seen it done, but yeah. I think I do know.”

“You’re amazing,” Litha said. “Everybody makes mistakes, but not many people really try to fix them. I’m proud of you.”

“Love you, Mom.” Rosie made a valiant try for a smile, but couldn’t quite manage it.

“Please don’t just disappear,” Litha pled, but Rosie was gone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Rosie stepped from the rose-streaked gray swirls of the passes onto the hill above the training field where she and Carnal had sat on the grassy promontory and talked the afternoon away. There was no one on the field. She imagined that the Exiled were still in a state of confusion as to what they were supposed to be doing.

Sitting cross-legged she concentrated on a visual for causing time to recede to a former state. The first image that popped into her mind was of making a sandwich at home in the villa kitchen by folding a single piece of bread over lunchmeat and cheese. She imagined time folding back on itself like that piece of bread.

All she needed was a crystal clear memory of the moment to which she’d return. She saw a flash of Carnal’s face when he’d been run through, but quickly pushed that aside. Kellareal had said she couldn’t change that, but he didn’t say she couldn’t have a little more time with Carnal. So she settled on a recollection that was as vivid in every detail and locked in on it until she felt something that could only be described as an inaudible ‘click’.

She opened her eyes when she heard Dandy saying, “You’ve been extra chirpy today.”

Rosie blinked, remembering the moment. “Chirpy? Really?”

“Uh-huh. And extra fast with your checklist. Does it have anything to do with the spectacle that I hear occurred yesterday?”

“What spectacle?”

“Carnal carrying you down the main way like a bride? That spectacle.”

Rosie threw her apron in the bin, smoothed back her hair, and surprised Dandy by rushing over to give her a big hug.

“What was that for?”

“For being my bestie.”

“What’s a bestie?”

Rosie grew serious. “A really good friend.” She looked toward the door. “Gotta go.”

“Be careful, Roses.”

“Not a child, Dandy.”

She felt her mouth form those words without her brain being engaged, but when it came out that time, the second time, she felt positive that it was true. She wasn’t a child anymore. But there was valuable information in the exchange. She would need to concentrate and make her words and actions deliberate or else everything would proceed on auto and proceed as it had before.

That wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to live the day like it was her last as well as Carnal’s because, in many ways, it felt like it was. She was going to savor every second that Carnal still breathed.

He was waiting, as she knew he would be.

“What’s the plan?”

He grinned. “It’s a surprise.”

“I love surprises!” she said breathlessly as she threw him off guard by rushing in for her own version of a drive-by kiss.

When she pulled away, he said, “What was that for?”

“You look irresistibly kissable.”

He smiled like he couldn’t believe his good luck. “Does that mean you’re staying?”

“It means maybe. You have another day to convince me,” she said, feigning nonchalance.

“More than enough time. We’re taking the bike so you’ll need the riding clothes I gave you. How long will it take you to change?”

“Five minutes.”

She jogged to the house and up the stairs, not wanting to waste time. With a little magickal help, she was ready in three minutes. She hurried back downstairs, jumped off the porch, and swung onto the back of the motorcycle, glad to be close enough to Carnal to touch him again.

She wound her arms around his middle and held tight.

“You trying to squeeze the life out of me?” He chuckled.

Rosie’s breath caught at his choice of jest. “Is this too tight?”

He shook his head. “I’m just kidding. When it comes to you there’s no such thing as too close.”

On the way to the monster sheep pasture, Rosie leaned her cheek against Carnal’s back. She didn’t want sadness to be the overriding memory of their day together. She wanted it to be full of enough joy to last a lifetime, but she couldn’t keep thoughts of impending destiny away. Try as she might, she couldn’t keep a few tears from escaping.

He slowed and stopped. “We’re here.”

“Where?” she asked as she got off the bike, even though she knew exactly what was about to happen.

“Hey,” he said as he turned to look at her. “You been crying?”

“No.” She shook her head adamantly. “The wind got in my eyes.”

He looked unnerved by that. “I thought I was taking the wind for both of us.”

She put all her feelings for him into her responding smile. “No matter. What are we doing here?”

“Cider break.”

“It’s a nice spot. Cider sounds good.”

He looked pleased that she was enthusiastic about his date plan. He took the skin of cider out of one of the bike’s saddlebags and helped her over the fence.

“Watch where you step.”

She looked down, knowing there were piles of poop balls and knowing what made them. “What made these?”

“Sheep.”

“Nuh uh. Not this big.”

“This way. I’ll show you.”

When they topped the rise and saw the sheep, she said, “Monster sheep. They’re big enough to ride!”

He laughed. “Funny you should say that because that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

“What?” She feigned ignorance.

“You pick one out for yourself. Then I’ll pick one and we’ll race.”

“What do I get if I win?”

He cocked his head. Clearly he hadn’t considered stakes. He stepped in to her, smiling, and came within inches of her face. Looking at her mouth, he said, “More kisses.” When she smiled like she liked that idea, he raised his eyes. “And no demon cheating.”

She laughed. “You think I might use my ability to get more kisses from you?”

He cocked his head. “How do I know that you haven’t already put me under a spell?”

Rosie’s smile faded as she looked at Carnal’s mouth longingly. “What kind of spell?”

He reached out and pulled her into his body. “The kind that makes you the center of my universe.” She buried her face in his neck and struggled to hold down the wracking sob that wanted to break free. “Hey. What’s this?” He pulled back, looking like he was struggling to come to terms with her sudden change of attitude towards him.

She forced a bright smile. “Okay. I’ll win fair and square. No demon cheating. What about a saddle and bridle?”

Carnal laughed. “You can be kind of prissy. You know that?”

“I’m picky about what I put between my legs.”

Carnal’s face fell as he considered the innuendo. “I’m… glad,” he countered. “So, which one is yours?”

Looking over the flock, she pointed to the biggest, the one Carnal had chosen the first time she’d lived that event. “That one.”

“Seriously? That’s the one I was going to pick!”

“Well then, you shouldn’t have offered me first choice.”

“My mistake.” He smiled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward her choice of ride. “Sheep. This is Rosie.”

“You call that an introduction?” He lifted her onto the back of the sheep effortlessly.

Carnal chose the ewe who was runner up in the size contest.

“Okay,” he said. “Get two firm handfuls of wool like this.” He demonstrated the grip. Pointing to the oak sitting majestically up on the hill above, he said, “The first one to get to that tree wins.”

Rosie narrowed her eyes. “How many times have you done this? If you’ve been practicing, that’s a distinct advantage.”

“Life is so unfair,” he deadpanned.

“Did we talk about what happens if you win?”

“Yes, we did. Kisses.”

“Noooooo. That’s what you said I get if I win.”

“That’s the prize. Whoever wins. Go!” Carnal began goosing his sheep in the sides with his heels while telling it that there was magical grass at the top of the hill.

“Wait a minute. How do I make this thing go?”

He just laughed and kept going.

The first time she’d run the race with Carnal, he hadn’t stipulated no ‘demon cheating’. She nudged her sheep in the sides and, to her surprise, it took off after Carnal. She couldn’t have been more surprised when her sheep seemed to become interested in the competition. It broke out of its bone-jarring trot and began running toward the tree. She was almost left behind, but managed to hold on.

When the sheep reached the tree, they were neck and neck.

Rosie slid down off her sheep, then said, “Shoo. Go back to your friends. There’s no such thing as magical grass.” Actually there was, but she saw no benefit in broaching that subject. To Carnal, she said, “Guess it was a tie.”

Carnal looked disappointed. “I didn’t consider that possibility.” He brightened. “No.” He shook his head. “That was no tie. You were the clear winner.”

He slid off his sheep and started toward her to collect his prize.

She laughed and backed away. “Nope. I’m sure it was a tie.”

Carnal’s face changed. “Don’t run from me, Rosie. I’m warning you.” He suddenly looked more like a predator than an easygoing date as his body melted into a crouch, but since she knew him and knew what was coming next, that was more exciting than frightening.

She cocked her head and smiled mischievously. “You’re warning me?”

“I mean it, Rosie. Don’t run. Not unless you’re prepared for the consequences.”

She couldn’t wait for the consequences. She spun a one-eighty and began sprinting down the hill, not being able to stop the laughter that was bubbling up from the delight of being chased by Carnal.

She heard him growl, “Fuck!”, and it made her laugh harder. She looked over her shoulder to see that, even though she’d given herself more of a head start, he had almost overtaken her. As before she ‘demon cheated’ and gave herself a ten yard leap. And, like before, she learned it wasn’t enough to leave Carnal behind.

In one smooth and fluid maneuver, he took the weight of the fall on himself and rolled so that he ended up on top without taking a chance on hurting her. She wasn’t about the waste the time teasing him about a no-touching rule.

She wiggled against the soft grass to align her body with his in the most delicious way and met the intensity of his kiss with more passion than she knew she had in her. He tore his mouth away with a ferocious sound, born of frustration. It was part snarl, part growl.

“Someone’s coming.”

She knew before he moved that he was going to roll away and be on his feet so fast that it would look magical.

“Hey!” the farmer said. “Get out of here. You’re scaring my sheep!”

She wished the sheep onto the training field at Newland before saying, “What sheep?”

“What…?” The man turned to wave at the sheep, but stopped his hand mid-air when he saw there were none.

Carnal started to chuckle quietly. He leaned down so that she could feel his breath on her ear. “What did you do, little demon?”

Without sense enough to know when to be prudent, the man yelled, “What did you do with my sheep?”

“I gave them to someone more deserving,” Rosie said matter-of-factly.

She grabbed Carnal’s sleeve and pulled him toward the bike. On the other side of the fence, he said, “Rosie. That was funny, but where are the sheep?”

“On the training field.”

Carnal jerked his head toward her. “Our training field? At Newland?”

“The very same. Don’t worry.” She pulled him down as she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the tip of his nose. “I already put them back.”

“It’s a good thing for you that farmer interrupted us.”

“Why?”

“Because I was about to devour you, little demon.”

“Hmmm,” she said. “That sounds almost as sexy as being run down by you.”

He barked out a laugh, then grew quiet. Over his shoulder, he said, “Rosie. Are you staying?”

“What do I have to stay for, Carnal?” she said to his back.

There was a slight pause before he said, “Me.”

“All of you?”

“The whole damn package.”

She grinned. “We’ll see.”

“You’re a tease.”

“Been taking lessons from you.”

“Me?”

“Don’t play dumb. You’re the one who gets me worked up and then walks off.” He chuckled and shook his head slightly. “You taking me to dinner?”

He turned his head slightly. “Yeah. In Farsuitwail.”

“Great. What are we having?”

As he started the bike, he said, “They roll fish into this flat bread kind of thing and put green stuff in it. Sounds awful, but it’s good.”

“I’m in.”

The woman in the saffron-colored tunic, ambled over. “You eating?”

Carnal opened his mouth, but Rosie spoke first. “Yeah. That’s why we’re here.”

The woman’s eyes swept over Rosie, assessing the attitude. “Outside?”

Carnal looked at Rosie. “Outside okay?”

“Sure. It’s not too cold for outside.”

“Pick a table,” said the woman. “I don’t suppose you want wine.”

When Carnal looked at Rosie, she smiled. “No. Red ale is fine with me.”

“You?” she asked Carnal.

“Same. Red ale,” he said.

“Yeah. No wine. Just like I thought.”

As they sat down at a corner table, Rosie said, “So. Let’s talk about you.”

Rosie reveled in the look of pure delight on Carnal’s face.

“You want to talk about me?”

She smiled in appreciation of his beauty and the eagerness he projected to talk about himself. “I want to know everything about you. You’re fascinating, but you’re a mystery.”

“I’m fascinating?”

His cocky smile always tugged at the corners of her own mouth.

“You already know you are.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you think I’m… wonderful.”

Rosie laughed. “I do think you’re wonderful.”

“Carnal?” Rosie looked up to see the Farsuitwailian girl approaching the table. “Haven’t seen you for a while.”

“I’ve been busy.” He looked at Rosie. “And I’m going to be busy from now on. Forever.” He glanced at the girl. “Pass the word along. Okay?”

The girl looked at Rosie. “Because of her? She doesn’t look that special.”

Carnal turned to face the intruder. “Are you blind? It doesn’t get any more special than this.” He said the last part looking back at Rosie.

After the hostess shooed the girl away, Rosie said, “Okay. Most important things first.”

“What’s most important?”

“Why me?”

“I’m not sure I know that myself. You just… fit. When I’m around you, I want you wrapped around me. When I’m not around you, all I can think about is having you wrapped around me.”

“Sounds like lust.”

“There’s definitely that. But it’s more. And I think you know that. Something between us is special. You feel it, too, don’t you?”

Rosie smiled and said, “Maybe,” with an inflection that meant definitely yes and not maybe.

She steered the conversation in the direction of positive things and moved to end the evening before Carnal drank one too many mugs of ale.

Standing on the Extant’s front porch, Rosie felt like she’d rather take a beating than walk into that house and watch Carnal be hurt by what was waiting inside, but there was no way around it. She knew she could make minor changes in the way things had played out, to insure that Carnal’s last day was as good as possible, but she also knew she couldn’t alter anything of consequence.

Steeling herself, she opened the front door, and headed straight for the kitchen knowing what she’d find there. She stepped into the room and said, “What’s happened?”

Free swallowed. “Someone left this message in a saddlebag today in Farsuitwail.”

“What is it?”

Rosie wasn’t surprised by the raspy growl that came from behind her because she was expecting it. She relived the horror of the discovery, but this time, she made sure she was at the front door before he was. She blocked it with her body.

“Carnal…” she began.

“Get out of the way, Rosie.”

“No, Carnal. Don’t go. Please. I’m begging you. Come upstairs with me to your room. Let me hold you in my arms and tell you stories until your mind sorts things out. Don’t leave.” He looked confused and conflicted. He took in a quick breath, like he’d just remembered to breathe. “Stay. Don’t leave me.”

Carnal looked down at her two hands holding onto his arm.

“I love you,” she whispered. He looked at her with eyes that were clearing. “Stay with me.”

At length he gave a slight nod and followed Rosie upstairs. He sat on the side of the bed and watched with mild attention while she lit the lamp. His interest grew as she stripped and took her time changing into the floor-length shift she usually slept in.

Carnal gave a soft growl when the shift floated down, covering her naked body. They both looked at the window when lightning gave the room a flash of silver brightness. Carnal didn’t flinch at the crack of thunder. With hooded eyes, he stood, pulled the shift up over her head, and tossed it so that it draped over the dresser.

Rosie stood transfixed as Carnal began removing his own clothes slowly. With the exception of those who had been scarred or mutilated, all the Exiled were beautiful. Rosie knew she was looking through the eyes of love, but even if she wasn’t, Carnal was gorgeous enough to leave any woman dumbstruck.

When he was naked, he stood in front of her and rumbled with his rough voice. She wasn’t sure if her nipples had pebbled because of the coolness in the room or the sight of Carnal unclothed.

“Rosie.”

He sounded uncertain. So she walked in to him, snaking her arms up and around his neck, pressing his arousal into her stomach. He picked her up like she was the most precious thing imaginable and walked toward the bed.

When he lay down beside her, she said, “Are you mine, Carnal?”

His voice was deeper than usual, gruff and raspy, but he answered without hesitation. “I’m yours, little demon. And I always will be.”

She reveled in every touch, reaching out with her senses to linger in every sensation and burn it into her memory. She did all possible to make it last, whispering, “Slower. Slower.”

As he moved over her, she fought back tears that stung her eyes and made her throat burn. When Carnal reached up to push her hair back from her face, he felt the wetness on her face and stopped as if he’d been frozen.

“Are you crying?”

“No. Well, I was, but it’s not what you think.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“Just the opposite. You make me feel so good I can’t contain all the emotion. It’s a demon thing,” she lied. “Please. Don’t stop. I love everything you’re doing, just the way you’re doing it.”

When his strokes grew faster and harder, she tightened her muscles around him repeatedly, which made him rumble with masculine satisfaction. He reached between them and massaged her nub, pressing and releasing with the soft part of his thumb until they climaxed together. For a millisecond she considered allowing the warm semen to join with an egg and blossom into conception, but she shoved that impulse away, thinking it wouldn’t be fair that Carnal’s child would never have the chance to know him.

When he collapsed on top of her, she felt loved and almost worshipped. He buried his face in her neck and began nuzzling while also purring. Against her skin, she felt his lips pull into a smile.

“Rosie. Mine,” he rumbled.

“I love it when you do that.”

He rolled to her side, but left his arm over her waist. Giving her a light squeeze, he repeated, “Mine.”

“You sound like a caveman, Carnal.”

“I’m not a man, Rosie. I’m a beast.” He brushed his nose against her ear, which managed to tickle and arouse her at the same time. “A beast who loves you.”

She could hear that Carnal’s purrs were becoming rhythmic as he grew drowsy.

She shook him. “Oh no you don’t.”

“What?” He opened one eye.

“You’re not going to sleep yet.”

“I’m not?”

She smiled and scooted down the bed. She nudged Carnal to lie on his back, then began caressing his loins and upper thighs with her lips. His claws protracted and he dug them into the mattress. She could see there were going to be chicken feathers everywhere, but she didn’t care.

“What are you…?”

He didn’t finish that sentence before she licked his impressive length from base to head, never taking her eyes off his. He jerked and snarled quietly. When she swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, he parted his lips like he was mesmerized.

“Carnal,” she said softly. “Has anyone ever done this for you before?”

He shook his head no as his purring resumed, louder than before. She could feel the vibrations in her fingers where she held his cock.

Knowing that she was the first gave her a jolt of pleasure that she hadn’t expected. By the time she took him into her mouth, his erection was massive and he was visibly straining for control. His pupils were dilated, eyes hooded as he watched with fascination. She stroked and licked and hummed her own satisfaction with the sight and sound of his enjoyment.

Suddenly he pulled away and moved so fast she couldn’t process what was happening until she found herself on hands and knees with Carnal leaning over her back.

He grabbed a fistful of curly hair and pulled her head back so that he could breathe into her ear when he said, “Mine.”

He entered her from behind in one thrust, causing her to gasp both in surprise and delirious delight. She cried out his name as he plunged forward roughly, creating the most delicious friction she’d ever experienced.

After a second mind-numbing orgasm, Rosie put out the lamp and lay facing Carnal. He was petting her by rubbing his hand up and down the side of her body, looking like he couldn’t stay awake a minute longer. With eyes half closed, he said, “Can I go to sleep now?”

“Sleep.” She cupped the side of his face with her hand.

He turned his face into her hand and kissed her fingers. “Mine,” he said as he drifted off.

“Yours,” she whispered in reply.

She watched Carnal sleep, looking forward to every flash of lightning that would make his face visible for a second or two. Knowing what she’d be facing with the coming day, she steadfastly refused to waste a second of their last, and only, night together sleeping. She nestled closer into his body. He threw an arm over her and pulled her in without ever waking up. That, as much as anything, was her proof beyond any doubt that she’d been loved.

She allowed the rest of her time to play out as it had originally with no interference. She stayed as close to Carnal as she could, trying to at least keep him in sight. She tried to soak in impressions and burn them into memories that would have to last for however much life she had left.

Whenever she thought about what was coming, she had to fight back the impulse to double over in pain. By the time the newly formed army was ready to leave, she wasn’t sure whether another day with Carnal had been a blessing or a curse.

When he kissed her goodbye at the munitions plant, she held onto him like a vice grip, not being able to get her fingers to release their hold on his vest. He had to pry them away, saying, “Don’t worry, Rosie. It’ll be over soon. Then we’ll have our whole lives ahead of us.”

She knew he could see tears forming, but she made herself smile through it.

He grinned. “See you soon.”

She stood in the rain on the desert plain looking south for the first sign of the allied contingent. When they appeared on the horizon, she knew the countdown had begun, that it wouldn’t be long until Carnal’s spirit would leave the corporeal realm. Unmoving, she watched as the Exiled left the humans waiting and advanced toward the Rautt.

Under camouflage, with no one the wiser, she watched Carnal perform his deadly errands with dispassion, not caring that he slaughtered dozens of Rautt in their beds, wishing only that he’d killed the one that would lie in wait in the haystack instead of the other way around.

With each passing moment, the image of Carnal’s impending death grew stronger and more vivid in her mind until that was all she could see.

That was when it came to her like a gift from the gods. What Carnal had wanted more than anything in life was to see his brother freed. She couldn’t save him from death, but she could give him that.

With demon speed she ran through the settlement searching, praying to all the ancestors who were available to hear, to help her find Crave before it was too late. As if in answer she felt drawn to a squat building. It was dark inside. So she wished the walls away. Crave was being held in a pit. He was filthy and bloody. Worse, he looked crazed.

She moved him to the surface magically. “Your brother is not going to see you like this,” she told him as she instantly rendered him freshly bathed and in clean clothes. “When you see him, try to not look so crazy.”

Seconds before the knife pushed through the stand of hay, Rosie put Crave directly in front of Carnal, so that the last thing he would see was his younger brother, alive and free.

“Crave.” The emotion in Carnal’s voice broke Rosie’s heart all over again. He reached out to touch Crave just as the long knife pierced through his heart. Crave looked down at the tip protruding from Carnal’s chest and saw the blood begin to seep around the wound.

Rosie’s hand flew to her mouth and shook against her face as she lived the worst moment of her life for a second time and, by the gods, it was even worse because of the second day of memories she’d collected.

The light left Carnal’s eyes before he crumpled at Crave’s feet. Rosie didn’t wait to see that. Or to see Serene’s reaction when she realized that her valiant oldest son, so full of life, depth, and potential, had been traded for another.

She simply turned and walked blindly into the swirling mist of the passes, wondering why her soul didn’t take flight, leave her body, and chase after Carnal.

For five years, Glendennon Catch had knocked around the globe as a floater, filling in wherever a team of vampire hunters was down a member. He’d buried six good knights and watched the life take its toll on countless others. He’d drunk his share of whiskey and bedded so many women he would hate to hear the count, but he’d never gotten over his first love. And, if he had a chance for a do-over, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t have chosen Rosie over The Order.

Elora Rose Storm had spent five years on a cross-dimensional crusade of mercy, trying to make whatever world she found herself in a better place, especially wherever she found human/animal hybrids being mistreated. She’d seen horrors, righted wrongs where she could, and matured into a powerful witch/demon with altruistic leanings.

After all that time and all the pain they’d endured, unbeknownst to each other, both were headed home. To Jefferson Unit.

SUGGESTED READING ORDER:

1. My Familiar Stranger (Black Swan 1)
2. The Witch's Dream (Black Swan 2)
3. A Summoner's Tale (Black Swan 3)
4. Moonlight (Black Swan 4)
5. Gathering Storm (Black Swan 5)
6. A Tale of Two Kingdoms (Black Swan 6)
7. Solomon's Sieve (Black Swan 7)
8. Shield Wolf: Liulf (New Scotia Pack 1)
9. Wolf Lover: Konochur (New Scotia Pack 2)
10. Prince of Demons (Black Swan Novel)
11. Vampire Hunter (Black Swan Novel)
12. Carnal (Exiled 1)
13. Journey Man (Black Swan 8)

Victoria Danann

NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

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