Page 99 of Tamiko and the Two Janitors
Her brother shrugged.
“Joey-boy,” Biddie murmured, wrapping her arms around hisneck and kissing his cheek.
He gently touched the little girl’s leafy crown. “We’ll befine. I’ll keep Biddie with me. Or walk her home if that’s what she wants.”
Tami hesitated, quite sure that her brother was holding outon her.
“He’s waiting for you.” Emotion flickered through his eyes,and he softly added, “Probably has been for a long while. You know?”
She did. And that thought hastened her steps.
Leaves crunched underfoot when she cut across the yard. Themoon lit her way, and she mightn’t have given it a second glance if not for thesound of wolves howling in an eerily beautiful chorus. Nightspangles in the oakglen, singing the moon into the sky. She paused to consider its rising. A fewdays from full, the waxing moon was ringed by bands of hazy color. What hergrandmother used to call a moondoggie night.
Letting herself through the door, she blinked and waited forher eyes to adjust. “I’m here,” she called softly.
“Here I am,” he answered. By the sound of it, he’d been waitingat the base of the ladder.
Still blind, she moved forward, hands outstretched. “Did yousee the moon?”
“Yes.” He caught her wrists and folded her in his arms.Feathers brushed close, and he asked, “Are you warm enough?”
Murmuring hasty reassurances, she asked, “Did you really flyhere?”
“No. I can’t actually fly. Too much body mass. But I canjump pretty high, and I’ve learned to use my wings to get the most out of anyairtime. I’m not exactlygraceful, but I can keep up with ….”
“With Kip?” she guessed.
Ash simply nodded and guided her to the ladder. “Up you go.”
She needed to corner Kip, get his side of the story. By thetime she reached the top, she had a plan. “We should have dinner togethertomorrow, just the three of us. Then Kip can tattle on himself, and we’ll bepast the awkward stage.”
“That’d be good.”
It was brighter in the loft, where bands of moonlight stolethrough shutters that Ash must have opened earlier. He took her hands and drewher along, backing directly into the slanting beams. Their light made itpossible to make out what could only be called a nest.
“Did you do this?”
“I’ll put it back if it’s a problem.”
Ash had pulled away several straw bales, leaving a hollow inthe stack, around which he’d formed a low wall. Inside he’d mounded loose strawand a couple of blankets. Tami thought they might have been the ones from theback of Kip’s jeep.
“Nobody is going to notice, let alone mind,” she promised.“We don’t come up here very often.”
He guided her into the niche and made her sit on theoutspread blanket. Using the other to cover her legs, he asked, “Can you seeall right?”
“Well enough.” Tami glanced between him, the moonbeams, andthe floor. “Your wings don’t even cast shadows.”
“Yeah. The sigilcraft is pretty complicated. Kip knows hisstuff.” Kneeling in front of her, Ash pulled something from an inner pocket ofhis denim jacket. “Is it all right if I skip the formal parts and just explain?Or would you feel slighted?”
Tami settled back. “Explain as we go, please. Then I’m freeto ask questions.”
“Okay, good. Because I’m not sure I can pull off all thegrand gestures Cyril demonstrated.” His grip tightened around the bundle in hishands. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not serious.”
She smiled and asked, “Where do we start?”
“Here.” Ash extended both hands. “With this.”
At first, Tami thought it was a gift in clumsy wrappings.But as her fingers explored the soft folds, she quickly revised her assessment.It was a pouch that fit easily into the palm of one hand. The material wassupple, like fine leather, and she could feel patterned stitches and beadwork.Braided cords created a drawstring closure. It was empty.
