Keziah did not seem to notice. She curled herself down onto the couch, taking the platter at last and inspecting the half-chicken that was left. Her lip curled. “Boring American food. Americans do not know how to cook. Not even lemon!”
“Or chilies and queso,” Natividad agreed. “But it’s not bad, for boring American chicken. Listen, though, I think probably we should do the crosses and things soon, except if we’re not staying except for just one night, maybe it is not important anyway.” She glanced up at Keizah from under her lashes. “I guess Ezekiel’s on his way and we should wait? Or maybe we are going on tomorrow and he’ll catch us up?” Or maybe he had gone on ahead? That seemed likely as soon as she’d thought of it: Grayson had probably sent Ezekiel straight on to El Paso. That explained why he’d sent Keziah after them instead of Ezekiel. She relaxed a little, glad to have sorted that out.
Keziah, halfway through devouring the bland chicken, looked up, nostrils flaring. “We are not going on,” she said, her diction precise. “What is this nonsense of going on? We are going back. I am sure you understand this. I believe I am quite capable of escorting you both back to Dimilioc even without the incomparable Ezekiel to assist.”
“Right. And now, what if I say I’m not going back to Dimilioc?” demanded Justin, looking at Keziah with open challenge. “Then what?”
Keziah gave him a white, white smile. “You think you have the nerve to defy me, Pure boy?”
“Oh, I have the nerve.” Justin looked at Natividad. “Is she allowed to touch me?”
“No,” Natividad said unhappily. “But you’re not making it easier, challenging her like that, plus I’m pretty sure she doesn’t care. And I’m pretty sure Grayson won’t care, either, as long as she brings you back safe.” She looked at Keziah. “But it’s not right to chain people up and make them do things they don’t want to do. I don’t have to tell you that, do I?”
Keziah snarled, a low blood-curdling sound.
Justin rolled his eyes. “You really think you can drag people two thousand miles against their will, by yourself, and no one will notice? No one will call the cops? You sure you don’t want to think this through?”
Natividad said hastily, “Anyway, look, Keziah, even if Grayson’s ordered you to bring us back, he can’t really want to send Ezekiel against that vampire in El Paso all by himself. He’ll need help! You know that’s true. Of course we should go on.” If it was a vampire. She hoped it was just some leftover blood kin. That would be horrible enough, and they knew a few of the blood kin had outlived their masters. It was hard to believe Grayson would really send even Ezekiel against a master vampire all by himself. She said, thinking half aloud, “Or is Ezekiel just supposed to collect those Dimilioc black wolves and bring them back? That would make sense, I guess, but don’t you think Grayson would rather have the vampire dead, too? If there is a vampire. After all, we’re already nearly there.”
And she wasn’t the least bit disappointed that Grayson hadn’t let Ezekiel come after her—after them.
Then, at last, she realized that both Keziah and Justin were staring at her.
She sighed, and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. “Right. I guess I didn’t exactly mention El Paso?” She dropped her hands to her lap and looked at Keziah. “And I guess maybe Grayson didn’t explain about that to you, either, right?”
“There is a vampire in El Paso?” Keziah said, her tone blank, just as Justin got suddenly to his feet and demanded, “There’s a vampire in El Paso? You said all the vampires were gone! When were you going to mention this, exactly?”
“We weren’t going to El Paso!” Natividad reminded him. “We were going to Roswell, so you could go to your grandmamá. We weren’t going anywhere near El Paso!” She leaned back against the couch, lifting her hands in a little shrug. “I thought Grayson would send Ezekiel, and then we—he and I, not you, Justin—could go to El Paso and kill that vampire. And then come back to Roswell and see if maybe you wanted to go back to Dimilioc after all.” She looked at Keziah. “But I guess Grayson sent Ezekiel on to El Paso and that means he sent you after us, right? I hope he sent someone else with Ezekiel!”
“Why would I want to go back to Dimilioc?” Justin said, not waiting for Keziah to answer. His tone was angry, but Natividad saw how he didn’t quite look at Keziah.
Natividad hesitated. She didn’t want to say, Because you would get tired of being afraid all the time. You would get tired of being afraid for your grandmamá and your friends and everyone. That was the kind of thing that Justin really needed to find out for himself. Before Natividad could think of something else to say, though, Keziah cut in sharply, “There are black dogs of Dimilioc bloodlines in El Paso? Is that what you said?”
Natividad flinched. Of course Keziah wouldn’t like the idea of more Dimilioc black wolves. She would be afraid they would scorn her and her sister because they didn’t have the right bloodline. She said quickly, “Only just a few, from the western sept, you know, the Colorado sept? I guess during the war Dimilioc sent people to hold the city and stop the vampires taking it back. But the vampires killed a lot of Dimilioc’s black dogs and Grayson thought they were all gone, only they weren’t, but they thought Dimilioc was gone, too. Only then they saw Ezekiel on television, you know. So they called to ask for help, only Grayson, he said we couldn’t help them right now. Because of this trouble in Boston, you know? But I . . . I didn’t think we could wait. I figured if I came here, he would send Ezekiel after me. He didn’t tell you about this, seriously?” Because that really didn’t seem to make sense, when Natividad thought about it.
Keziah didn’t answer, but Justin said suddenly to her, “Grayson didn’t send you at all, did he? You’re AWOL. Aren’t you?”
There was a small pause. Though Keziah didn’t look away, a slow flush crept up along her fine cheekbones. Then she tossed the chicken onto a plate and leaned back along the arm of the couch, coolly disdainful. But it was too late. Natividad and Justin had both seen the high color rise up her face. Natividad found herself exchanging a glance with Justin. He didn’t look as surprised as she felt.
Behind the surprise, Natividad discovered, she was upset. And angry, though she tried to argue against that anger. But Grayson hadn’t sent anyone after her? Really? Natividad felt . . . not betrayed, exactly, she decided firmly. Because that wasn’t fair. He must have had a good reason not to. She just didn’t know what it was.
“Well?” Keziah said defiantly. “You think I should ask Grayson for leave to come and go? You make very free with what you do—”
“I’m not a black dog—” began Natividad.
“No, of course not, you are Pure—”
“Shut up!” Justin said, with considerable force.
Natividad closed her mouth and stared at him. She was aware that Keziah was also staring at Justin, looking desconcertado. Nonplused. Natividad had to suppress an untimely urge to laugh. She was horrified and scared and mad and it was just stupid to also have to fight to keep from laughing. She was pretty sure laughing right at this moment would be a bad idea.
Justin gave Natividad a long look. “You’ve taught me a lot. I appreciate that. But, let me get this straight: you used me as an excuse to leave Vermont and come down here, so that you could leave me somewhere safe and then go get yourself killed in El Paso trying to rescue a bunch of werewolves from a vampire? Without telling me?” Then he gave Keziah an equally long look. “And you ran away from Dimilioc and came after us, because you think I left because of you. So you thought you’d find me and bring me back, no matter what I wanted.” He glared at them both. “Neither of you think it’s the least bit important to explain anything to me so I can make my own decisions! I think I have that straight, at least!”
“Well, but,” said Natividad, and looked at Keziah for help.
“You are not safe to be alone!” Keziah snapped. “And you did run away because of me! If you are killed and it is my fault, Grayson Lanning will kill me. Or cast me out,
and then what would happen to Amira, if I am not there to protect her?”
“Oh, now, Grayson wouldn’t—” Natividad began.
Keziah curled her lip. “What do you know about it, Pure girl? You are not merely Pure, you have the blood of your father in your veins, proper Dimilioc blood! Everyone values you. Black dog girls are not valuable—”
“Grayson’s wife was a black dog!” Natividad said, out of patience because Keziah ought to know better. “You think she wasn’t valued?”
“She was Dimilioc!”
Natividad threw up her hands. “So are you!”
“Enough!” shouted Justin.
Natividad, startled, stopped. So did Keziah, though she gave him a narrow, dangerous look. Justin shook his head, made a noise like “Aargh,” and jammed both hands through his hair. Then he dropped onto one of the overstuffed chairs, rubbed his face, looked up, and said in a quiet, civil tone, “Natividad, what exactly is it that you want to do now?”
“Well,” said Natividad, and hesitated. Then she said in a rush, “Even if Ezekiel’s not—even if Grayson didn’t send Ezekiel to El Paso, we can’t come all this way and then not go on and at least find those black dogs. Not you, Justin, if you don’t want to, but honestly, I never meant to let you just go off to your grandmamá and leave you there to stay, you don’t know nearly enough—”
“I’ve heard all that before,” snapped Justin. “What do you think we should do?”
Natividad shrugged. “I think we should call those black dogs from here, find out what’s going on in El Paso right now. Then either we can go in and get them to help us kill this vampire, or if it sounds too dangerous, at least we can get them all out, take them back to Dimilioc with us—”
“We can call them?” said Justin
“I got their number off caller ID, of course, when they called Dimilioc,” Natividad said impatiently. “What? Like you really think I’d want to go in blind?”
“Who would wish to guess what you might do?” said Keziah.
Natividad ignored her. “We can’t just go back to Dimilioc without even talking to them! I mean, we thought all the Hammonds were gone, the bloodline lost, and now here are two Hammonds after all. And another Lanning, even! It will kill Grayson to lose them.” She turned to Keziah. “Honestly, you don’t need to worry. You’ll terrify them all -- and one of them’s even a girl, did I tell you? Her name’s Carissa, Carissa Hammond—”
Keziah tilted her head to one side, regarding Natividad with a contemptuous expression. “Can you truly imagine I would care?”
“Keziah,” Justin said, before Natividad could say anything unwise. “What do you want us all to do?”
The black dog girl paused. Then she shrugged. “It is important for me to return you to the safety of Dimilioc. I will do so. It is foolish to trespass on the territory of a vampire when we are not properly prepared. We should not approach El Paso, if there is a vampire there. I do not care about those black dogs, these Lanning and Hammond cousins. If there is a vampire and they do not have the strength to face it, then they should have the sense to run. I do not care if Natividad calls them and tells them to run.” She glanced at Natividad and lifted her shoulders in a slight, elegant shrug. “I do not even mind waiting for them. One day. Twelve hours, at least. If they do not come in that time, forget them. Or if the vampire follows them, let it have them. The Master believed they were dead before. He can accept that they are dead again. Let Dimilioc bring in new blood and forget the names it used to own.”
“Oh, now, that’s just wrong!” protested Natividad.
Keziah’s nostrils flared. “You think you are so clever, you always think you know just what to do, better than even the Dimilioc Master!”
This hit a little too close to the bone. Natividad stopped, not knowing how to answer, except by saying, But I’m right, which didn’t seem likely to make Keziah any happier.
“Enough!” said Justin, holding up both hands. “I guess we all know what the next step is, right? We call those black dogs in El Paso. Then we figure out what to do from there, right? We don’t need to argue until we know what we’re arguing about. Right? Natividad, you have a phone?
Natividad had a phone. She had turned it off because she hadn’t wanted to argue with Grayson or Ezekiel or anyone, and because she wasn’t sure whether maybe Grayson, or maybe Miguel, might be able to track her through her phone if she turned it on. She thought she sort of remembered something on a television show where someone had tracked someone else through a phone. Maybe that wasn’t really possible, but she didn’t know, so she had left hers off. She turned it on now.
Grayson had let Miguel buy phones for himself and for her. Miguel’s was a smartphone and could do everything. Hers was pink, and not very expensive, and could do nothing but make calls and take pictures. But it got an adequate signal even in Dimilioc. Here in Rattlesnake Springs, it got an excellent signal, perhaps because the land was so flat to the south and west and El Paso was not so very far away.
She dialed. The phone rang. And rang. Four times, five. Natividad looked at Justin, raising her eyebrows: maybe Christopher had put his phone down somewhere, maybe he had lost it? Maybe his phone had run out of its charge and it only sounded like it was ringing? Natividad tried to remember if you heard ringing when you called someone and their phone was dead. Maybe you got a busy signal? She began to shrug, and then there was the tone that meant someone had hit talk. “Oh,” said Natividad, half surprised because she had begun to believe no one would answer. “Christopher?”
“Yes!” said the young, half-familiar voice. Christopher Toland sounded tense. He’d sounded tense the other time, too, but there was now a tightness to his voice that she didn’t remember from the earlier call. He said again, “Yes? You’re there? I mean, here? Are you in Carlsbad? You’re not in El Paso, right? It’s bad, there, it’s really bad, it’s definitely a master vampire, you don’t want to go there, you’re Pure, right? Which is good, that’s good. Is Ezekiel there?”
“No,” Natividad said quickly. “I mean, not yet!” She wondered whether she should try to explain things. But Christopher was plainly scared enough already. She wondered if she should say Cousin and tell him her name. Had Miguel actually told him he had new cousins at Dimilioc? Had Grayson? She couldn’t remember. She said, “This is Natividad, Natividad Toland, Edward Toland’s daughter? I hope you and, and everybody are still safe! No one’s been hurt, have they? We’re here—I mean, not in Carlsbad, but in Rattlesnake Springs. So we’re close. We think maybe it would be best if you all came here, too, and then we can talk and make plans, okay?” She paused, but the quick, nervous voice on the other end didn’t answer. “Christopher?” she said.
On the other end of the connection, there was a long, slow exhalation, like air sighing out of a deep cavern. There was nothing about that sound that had ever been human.
Natividad dropped the phone. It turned end over end, seeming to fall very slowly. She watched it fall, standing frozen and blank, as unable to move as though she had suddenly turned to stone.
Keziah caught the phone. “Who are you?” she snapped into it, a savage black dog snarl underlying every word.
The thing whispered in answer, “What are you?” It paused and then asked again, “What are you?” Then it said, which was even worse, “I know what you are.” Its voice was desiccated, ancient, utterly inhuman. It sounded like wind sighing across sand. It sounded like a scorpion that had learned human speech. It sounded like a long-dead corpse, brought back to a grotesque semblance of life and given voice.
Keziah crushed the phone in her hand. Little black bits and shards of bright pink plastic cascaded to the rug. Keziah looked straight at Natividad and said, her voice hardly human, “You told him where we are.”
Natividad blinked. Her eyes felt gritty. She felt strange, like all her thoughts had slammed to a halt and also like everything in her head was running madly in circles, both at once. She had spoken to a vampire. It had spoken to he
r. She knew its What are you had been directed at her, not at Keziah. It had said I know what you are. It had spoken to her. That was almost like it had touched her. Madre de dios, she could still feel it looking at her as though all the distance between them was nothing—
Keziah strode forward, grabbed her by the shoulder, and slapped her. It was, for a black dog, a very gentle blow. But it rocked Natividad; she staggered and would have fallen except that Keziah did not let her go. And Justin had jumped forward and held her, too; she understood that after a moment. The shock of the blow had brought tears to her eyes, but it also seemed to shake loose her frozen thoughts. Natividad blinked and put her hands to her face. She whispered, “I did. I told it.”
“Who?” Justin asked urgently. “Who? That wasn’t your cousin, I get that, was it one of those ghoul-things, what do you call them, blood kin?”
“He will come here,” said Keziah, her eyes never leaving Natividad’s face. “He is coming now. We must run.” But she said it as though she already knew it was impossible.
“Not fast enough,” Natividad whispered. “We can’t run fast enough. It’s only twenty miles from here to Carlsbad. Less. I told it—Maria, madre de dios—we can’t run. It will have our scent. It will follow. It will catch us on the road. Dawn is too far away. Madre de dios.” She shook her head, trying to think.
“Was that the vampire?” Justin demanded. “Are you telling me that twenty miles isn’t enough of a head start?”
“It is not,” Keziah said flatly. “They can fly.”
“Don’t tell me they can turn into bats. Because I won’t believe you.”
“They don’t have to,” Natividad said numbly. “They just fly, that’s all.” She rubbed her face with her fingertips, hard, blinking. “Anyway, it will have made blood kin. Some of them will be out this far. Vampires like to spread their creatures out a long way . . .”
“Now wait,” protested Justin. “Blood kin are those monsters that look like ghouls and eat people. How exactly are they going to be lurking secretly in a little place like this? No miasma, remember?”
Pure Magic (Black Dog Book 3) Page 22