Page 21 of Deadly Deception
Ignoring the kitten, Aurelia finally answered, “Peaches thought keeping a pet would be good for me.” Aurelia huffed. “I do not understand why it had to bethatcreature. Cats are woefully short lived and fragile. I would have preferred a scuttlebutt.”
“A what?” Franklin asked. “What the hell’s a scuttlebutt?”
I wouldn’t have known what it was either if I hadn’t met Wendall’s pet scuttlebutt, Trinket. “They’re of Fairy. I met onelast year. Her name’s Trinket and from what I understand, she was a gift from Hellfire Rayburn to Wendall.”
“Who?” Franklin asked, still obviously confused.
“Wendall Galen. Long story short, he was human, then a zombie, although an odd one, and now he’s a human/fairy hybrid. He’s also bonded to the fairy queen’s muscle, Hellfire Rayburn. As for what a scuttlebutt is…” I gave in involuntary shudder as I remembered Trinket’s maw of double rowed, shark-like teeth. I’d seen what she could do with those teeth, along with what her prehensile tail could pull off. Trinket might be small, but she could be vicious when the occasion called for it.
Swallowing hard, I said, “Let’s just say that if you run into a scuttlebutt, I’d recommend keeping your hands and arms inside the car at all times.” And Aurelia wanted one? My head swam and my stomach felt queasy with the thought. As if Aurelia wasn’t already dangerous enough.
I stared at the kitten, which was eating manically, and said, “I think a cat is a good choice.” I wasn’t so certain it would wind up being as fortunate for the cat. The poor thing acted like it was starved. “When was the last time you fed it?”
Aurelia waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Time is meaningless to me.”
Yeah, maybe to her, but I didn’t think the kitten felt the same.
“I, uh… I think maybe you need to start paying more attention to time.” I nodded in the direction of the cat. “For the kitten’s sake. It needs to eat and drink on a regular basis.” It would also need to eliminate too. I didn’t smell anything foul coming from the backpack, which was fortuitous.
Aurelia stared at the kitten, her head slightly cocked to the side. “Peaches recommended some type of timing device. Something that would alert me when the creature needs tending.”
Franklin and I shared a disbelieving glance, his eyes reflecting my own concern. “Did Peaches say why he thought the kitten was a good idea?”
“Peaches believes it will help anchor me to the here and now. He also believes it will instill a sense of empathy within me.” Aurelia huffed.
“I assume you told Peaches what you thought of that idea.”
“Of course. It is beyond ridiculous,” Aurelia stated. And yet, here she was, carrying around said kitten in a backpack. She could have easily said no, walked away, or blinked out and left the kitten behind. Instead, it was with her.
Wait a minute. It was with her.
“I thought you couldn’t transport anyone else. That’s what you told me when I was McCallister’s prisoner.” Frustrated anger beat against my skull. It was beyond stupid, getting angry with Aurelia, and yet I couldn’t stop the emotion. Franklin’s cautious “Erasmus” should have tempered me. It didn’t.
Aurelia seemed immune to my ire and simply answered, “Peaches was displeased when I related the story to him. My master spoke with Warlock Vander Kines and together with that witch”—as always, Aurelia said the word,witch, with as much derision as she could muster—“they removed that particular restriction. I can now transport other living creatures. Thus, the kitten.”
“Oh.” Just like that, all my anger faded, taking most of my energy burst with it.
“Does it have a name?” Franklin asked. When Aurelia gave him a questioning look, he inclined his head toward the kitten and asked again, “The cat—does it have a name?”
Aurelia appeared truly perplexed. “Does it require a name?”
I smacked my palm on my forehead. “Most name their pets.” Actually, everyone named them, even if they called themCatorDog.
Aurelia didn’t answer, she simply stared at the kitten as it consumed the last of the crust. I doubted pizza crust was all that nutritious, but at least it was better than nothing, which I was guessing the poor thing was currently subsisting on.
“Where did they find it?”
I didn’t realize I’d asked that question out loud until Aurelia answered, “It was chasing the sprites. I believe it was trying to catch one to eat. This upset Peaches.”
It had probably upset the sprites also. “So he gave it to you to care for.”
“Apparently,” Aurelia answered flatly before turning her back on the kitten, done with the conversation. “You have found another necromancer then,” Aurelia said. “And this one is not like you?”
I swallowed hard, wondering about Aurelia’s intentions. As far as any of us knew, I was the only necromancer alive that could pull Aurelia’s human soul from her object of attachment, put it back into her body, and in the process, undo all the magical manipulation her witch creator had done. We knew from experience with the djinn, Janus, that it would make her mortal and thus able to be killed. It was a heavy burden, knowing I was the only known instrument of destruction where djinn were concerned. So far, Aurelia had allowed me to live. The best I could figure was that I fascinated her. I wasn’t sure what her response would be if there were another necromancer like myself. Would she be as magnanimous with him, or would she eliminate the threat?
With a firm shake of my head, I answered, “He’s not like me. He’s…” I looked to Franklin for verbal aid.
“He’s not fully sane,” Franklin offered. “Actually, I’m not sure that’s correct. He might be very sane if we could get the spirits away from him.”
