Page 71 of Skinwalker's Bane
He was a fat man, on a ship where there were very few overweight people, thanks to modern science’s ability to control metabolism, inflammation and insulin…which had done more to extend the span of human life than any other medical discoveries in the six hundred years since.
To be overweight in an age when no one needed to be meant Ruskin hugely overate all the wrong foods. What did it take to get that fat, despite adjustments to metabolism and insulin responses? He had to have been abusing his body for years and years to get to the point where science could no longer prevent weight gain.
Devin had seen the man about the ship before. Corin Ruska tended to stand out because of his size and the way he moved. Devin remembered seeing him walk through the Aventine from the tankball arena to the train platform. His legs had seemed to bend out sideways from the knee. It had been fascinating and mildly repellent to watch.
It was more surprising to learn the man was a skinwalker and a boss with his own crew. Getting into his suit would have to be a challenge just to begin. He had to be very, very good at his job to make the extra trouble worth it.
Plus he shared an apartment with Adam. Devin couldn’t imagine anyone getting to share an apartment with Adam if they were not good people. So she would not judge this man. Not yet, anyway.
Peter and Haydn both walked over to where Corin was sitting on the stool, holding his head up in one hand and what she presumed was coffee in the other.
Haydn sat on one of the other stools, facing him. Peter took up a stance behind Haydn, his arms crossed.
“Tell me about Bellish,” Haydn said.
Devin blinked.
“Straight to it,” Adam murmured.
Devin swiped at the screen, turning their sound pickup off, so anything they said was not sent through to the Beehive.
“He went straight to the core question,” she said. “I thought he might try to lead up to it, at least.”
“That’s Noa’s specialty, softening people up,” Adam growled, a furrow between his brows.
It was something else she would have to ask him about, later. She returned her attention to the screen.
Corin was looking uncomfortable. “What’s Bellish?” he finally asked, holding his cup with a tight grip.
“You know what it is. The stuff you tried to push on Adam the night of Lincoln’s memorial gathering.”
Corin swallowed, his jowls moving. “I was only trying to help. He was upset. It’s wrong to help a friend?”
“If the stuff you’re using to help him actually hurts him, then yes, it’s wrong,” Haydn said quietly.
“But, it’s good stuff! It works! It helps me all the time!”
“Even when you’re outside?” Haydn said.
Corin realized what he had said. He seemed to sink onto the stool.
“Shit,” Adam breathed. “He’s been using it while he’s working. The stupid, stupid fool.”
“It’s not his fault, remember?” Devin told him. “If he’s used enough of it, then he’dhaveto use it while working outside, just to stay straight.”
Haydn put his hand on the counter, the fingers flat, which made him look as though he was being reasonable and measured. “Tell us who gives you the Bellish, Corin. Tell us, then we’ll sort out a way to get you off it. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To never have to take it again, to not have the headaches. To be able to think clearly again?”
Corin stared at Haydn. “You mean it?” he asked very quietly.
“I mean it. Tell us where you get the Bellish. Then we’ll sort it out. You’re a good skinwalker, Corin. We’d hate to lose you.”
Corin didn’t move. Instead, his eyes filled with tears. They overflowed and dripped down his cheeks. “I’ve been soscared,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I can’t go a day without a dose anymore. And it’ssoexpensive…I spend all my money on it and it’s barely enough. But if I don’t take a dose, I can’t move because it hurts so much. I didn’t know what I could do about it, except buy more and more of it. I figured, if anyone ever found out, that would be it. My life over. And I’d still be stuck using it, anyway.”
Haydn nodded. “We need a name, Corin. Then we can help.”
“That’s how he’s psyching him out,” Adam said. “And he calls Noa sneaky,” he added, admiration in his voice.
Corin put his hands to his face, hiding it. “I didn’t know what to do,” he said, his voice muffled. “I didn’t know how to fix it.”
