by R. J. Blain
According to the train tickets my aunt found, Ferdinand had meant to take me to Rock Hill, North Carolina, the last train stop between Augusta and Charlotte. From there, he had notes regarding Fayetteville, Asheboro, Greensboro, and Hickory, all excellent mid-sized cities if a rebellion wanted to stage a rebellion and converge on Charlotte from all directions.
A few stubs of train tickets to Whiteville stupefied us all. Why there? Once upon a time, the train had gone all the way to Wilmington, but the city had long since fallen into the sea.
Anatoly and Randal, who had shifted back to human after I’d left the room shared by the sleeping pregnant women, flanked me and read over stacks of documents, too.
No matter how many times everyone else focused on Rock Hill, the mentions of Whiteville—and Sandy Creek, a coastal town overlooking the ruins of Wilmington and its fellow victims of the ocean—bothered me. It wouldn’t cost us much to go to Whiteville; a train left for the town every day, as it served as a coastal junction to help people get around the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Sandy Creek reminded me a lot of the Fort Lauderdale situation, although not even the Hope Diamond could restore those lost, but it could propel the drowned city out of the waves and restore the land. Would it? I had no idea. I didn’t want to know, either.
The reawakened Fort Lauderdale caused enough problems. I wasn’t sure what the rise of another lost city would do if anything.
But, if I could convince them to go to Whiteville, I could ask around at the station about the town and what, if anything, made it special. A little knowledge could go a long way, and locals often knew the important things. Preparing for a brawl, I straightened my shoulders and said, “We should go to Whiteville first. Nobody would expect anyone from Knoxville to go to Rock Hill from Whiteville. You can start some rumors about you traveling directly a day later, and we’d be on the wrong set of tracks incoming into the station to see who shows up.” I waved the copy of the train schedules for North Carolina in the air. “The Whiteville train arrives thirty minutes before the Knoxville train, and we’d have plenty of time to transfer to the Charlotte train, even considering Miracle needing to be moved around.”
I couldn’t wait to see my horse, who was waiting for me in a nearby stable. Tomorrow, I’d be reunited with her, and in a few days, I’d be able to see my black demons. The first thing I meant to do was ride Dipshit, have the stallion tenderize the hell out of me, and enjoy my tiger pampering me after my stallion taught me a few lessons about why it wasn’t wise to neglect stubborn stallions who enjoyed a good fight.
Everyone stared at me as though I’d grown a second head, and I heaved a sigh. “What? It’s a good idea. There’s just too many references to Whiteville to ignore it. I realize it’s not a good staging point for Charlotte, but obviously something is going on there, and maybe we should look into it.”
Anatoly smiled, captured my hand in his, and kissed my knuckles. “It’s not an unreasonable request. I’m just not sure what could be important there. All Whiteville has is a few carriage stations, a large train station, and a bunch of inns and stables for people riding through. It’s got a very small local population, and they’re all in the hospitality business. The town exists because of the various types of ground transportation that goes through there. It probably just makes a good place for them to converge before moving on. Nobody would think anything of large numbers of people passing through there. Large numbers of people pass through there all of the time.”
“Then it won’t hurt anything if we go look.”
“It won’t. We’re way ahead of the schedule for this,” my tiger conceded. “What all of this doesn’t tell us is how they plan to accomplish their goals beyond a few thousand people, the Hope Diamond, and their weapon—and I’m not sure what that weapon will do beyond make people sick.”
“Does the weapon have to do more than that?” I asked.
“No, it really doesn’t—not at the scale of what that thing might be capable of doing. Where they’d gotten the material to build this weapon is a mystery, too. Ferdinand didn’t have anything on it beyond the infrequent mention of transporting something of importance.”
“He had an accomplice. I heard his voice. A nasally, nasty sounding man who wore a dark cloak and kept his features obscured.”
“I bet I know who he is,” my aunt said, wrinkling her nose and snorting. “Before Richmond began going under, there was a Secret Service agent who matches that description. He used to be on my detail, but I fired him for having less-than-ideal ethics.”
“How would he know Ferdinand?” I asked.
“Through me,” Gentry admitted. “I’ve taken him to Richmond to see Steph, so they would have been able to talk—right along with the assholes.”
I grimaced at the mention of the uncles I’d assassinated at the behest of the government. My shoulder still ached, especially as I hadn’t been able to use it much during my captivity. I’d need to go through a lot of therapy to restore my strength, but until all of Ferdinand’s conspirators died and the weapon was destroyed, I couldn’t afford to whine about the discomfort. “That means the chain could end there? That this cloaked figure could be the other head of the rebellion?”
“Things are rarely that simple, Jesse,” my aunt replied. “I wish that were so, but we have no way of knowing yet. We’ll have to question some of the survivors.”
Gentry growled. “You assume there will be survivors. They tried to kill you.”
“They tried to kill you, too,” my aunt retorted.
“They almost succeeded with you. They didn’t almost succeed with me.”
If I let them fight, they’d never stop. “Todd, please give me your gun.”
The grizzlies kept snarling at each other and failed to notice my request. The stallion rolled his eyes but handed me the weapon. I checked it, loaded a single bullet, and considered my targets. I raised the weapon, cocked it, and cleared my throat. “If you two don’t behave, I will fire.”
My aunt’s gaze landed on me, and she raised a brow. “You’ll wake everyone in the house if you fire that thing in here, little girl.”
Well, at least she didn’t act like it wouldn’t fire. “If you two don’t stop arguing, I will fire. I will waste a fortune of Todd’s bullets, which will upset him. You will go to Whiteville, and you will go to Whiteville without whining about it. We will have dinner at a nice inn, and the ladies will enjoy a scenic train ride. They will be safer if we approach from an unexpected direction, and you will have your Secret Service agents make official plans for us to go to Rock Hill on that train on that day, and you will have the train officials behave as though we are on that train while we’re headed to Whiteville on an entirely different train. You will do this without complaint. Also, I’m keeping your gun until we’re back in Charlotte, Todd.”
Todd handed me his box of ammunition. “I only brought a hundred bullets with me, so try to make them last.”
I accepted his gift with my free hand and set them beside me. “So, what’ll it be, Aunt Stephanie?”
“Well, at least you didn’t go calling me Madam President. That’s when I know you’re really pissed at me.” My aunt scowled before flipping her middle finger at me. “Fine. We’ll do it that way. I’d be a pretty terrible aunt if I got angry at you for doing exactly what I wanted you to start doing. I would have preferred if you hadn’t decided to use a gun to prove your point, and I’m disgusted my agents don’t even care you’re armed and dangerous.”
I regarded my aunt’s agents with a raised brow.
As one, the men smiled and shrugged.
“I think they’re on my side, Aunt Stephanie.”
“They probably are. You’re being the sensible one in this room. Very well. We’ll go to Whiteville in the morning, assuming it’s safe for the ladies to travel. I’ll even make sure all of those damned chickens and goats come with us, too. I bet Todd is eager to build homes for his new pets. Aren’t you, Todd?”
“My manor wi
ll become a barn, but I’m all right with this. I can’t take away their baby chicks, Steph. The wolves are smitten with them. They’re even smitten with those awful goats. Jesse, you need to stop picking demonic animals. Those three goats are terrible animals that hate everyone.”
I didn’t believe the stallion, as I’d witnessed the three demonic goats loving all over Lauren and nuzzling her for attention. “They aren’t terrible animals.” Satisfied my aunt intended to cooperate, I uncocked the weapon and removed the bullet from the chamber, returning it to the ammunition box.
“The one bit me.”
Right. Goats had four hooves, and Todd had something to prove to any rival male, even livestock. “Well, what did you do to deserve it?”
“Why do you always think I’ve done something to deserve it?”
“I know you, that’s why.” I stacked the remaining papers I hadn’t read through in a box, which I placed near the door. “Come along, Ana. There has to be a couch or something we can nap on. I’m tired, damn it.”
“You’re tired because you’re undernourished. Go eat something before you have some quiet time with Nate,” my aunt ordered.
My tiger linked his arm with mine and pulled me in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ll take care of her, Steph. I’ll try to return your niece to you in a better mood.”
“Not rested?” my aunt asked with amusement in her tone.
“If only,” my tiger whined. “Alas, she needs rest, and I will just have to wait for her to be at her best.”
As I had no intention of waiting forever, and it would probably take that long for me to get back to my best, I planned to wait long enough for a room somewhere warm, safe, and private. Those three criteria would test my luck and patience, but I figured I could handle somewhere private at the minimum.
First, I would finish what I had set out to do, and then I’d worry about enjoying the rest of my life with my tiger.
My tiger fed me so much I fell asleep the instant I sat on a soft surface, and I somehow made it to the train station without being aware of going. The hustle and bustle of the station filtered through my daze, and an odd pressure behind my knees and against my gut offered a clue or two. Someone had gotten the bright idea to toss me over a shoulder and carry me, something that drew a great deal of unwanted attention.
Damn. One good meal had reduced me to a comatose mess. Judging from the suit, my tiger had taken responsibility for me despite there being several better candidates for the work, including both of my uncles. My position made biting Anatoly near to impossible, and I growled my dislike of my situation.
Todd peeked around my tiger and grinned at me. “Look who decided to join us. Feel better?”
“Why did you allow this travesty? Where’s my horse? You could have just tossed me on my horse.”
Todd pointed, and I spotted my patchy-coated Miracle with my aunt, who held her reins while talking to her husband. She’d dressed in casual clothes and wore a hat. The lecherous rabbit did a good impression of Secret Service in his black suit. Todd, too, wore a suit. “Why are the men all dressed up while my aunt looks like she just came from a farm?”
“She likes confusing people.”
That she did. “Is there a reason nobody woke me?”
“Well, Nate did try to wake you, but he’s now the proud owner of a baker’s dozen of fresh bites, you clawed him up, and his other suit will never be the same. Henry patched him up, but you went for him like you meant it, and you even shifted your hand to a paw to better maul him. After you finished mauling him, you cuddled against him and went back to sleep. We tried a steak, cut into swallowable pieces and seared for your enjoyment. You devoured it, snarled, and went back to sleep. After that, we decided to just move you without waking you. There’s been enough bloodshed this morning.”
I didn’t remember that. “Did I do that, Ana?”
“You sure did,” my tiger replied, and he laughed. “I’ve got a beautiful set of claw scars over my chest. I made Henry use your cream on them.”
Wow. “You need to have Henry examine your head. You used my cream for that? If you wanted me to use my cream, I could have tattooed something nice on you. Like my mark. Again. On your chest.” I liked the idea a great deal, as I wanted the world to know he belonged to me, especially if he took his shirt off.
“We have discovered tigers can purr in the appropriate situations. After you clawed me, you purred over your handiwork.”
“I purred?”
“It was this rather lovely growly purr. You were so happy you’d marked your territory. I couldn’t just let it heal, so I got a hold of your cream and made use of it. I’ll get you some more,” he promised.
Obviously, I’d lost my mind after a good meal. “I’m a terrible person.”
“You’re a perfect tigress. You were just claiming your territory. It’s Todd’s fault. He was trying to help me escape your clutches. You didn’t handle it well.”
“You shouldn’t have tried to escape me, Ana. This is obviously your fault. I can walk now.”
“Why bother? We have like twenty feet to go until we board. Then you can sit next to me and resume using me as your throne.”
I had a throne? “When did I get a throne? Shouldn’t my aunt get a throne? At most, I’d be like a rejected princess or something.”
“You’re not a reject.”
“But I’m not really a princess. My mother doesn’t rule over anything.”
“Your mother rules over anyone and anything she decides is hers,” my aunt complained. “I’m concerned you’re picking up bad habits from her.”
“But I haven’t met her.”
“Magic. I’m certain of it. She boobytrapped me with magic, and it has infected you, turning you into a copy of your mother. I suspect your oddities are your father’s contribution. I’m going to have a talk with your mother about this. This is all her fault. Only my sister would give birth to a Siberian. Gentry, where is she, damn it?”
“Probably hunting for her mate, because she’s a grizzly, and she has decided who her mate is. He is likely sensible, as he’s a traditional member of the Blade Clan, so he wisely evades her.”
“Wisely?” My aunt growled. “Wisely, my ass. Jenny’s off doing whatever it is Jenny wants to do. And next time she shows up, I’ll teach her a thing or two about letting her offspring run amok.”
“I don’t run amok on purpose,” I protested.
“On purpose. You still end up running amok.”
I sighed. “Put me down, Ana.”
“We’re going twenty whole feet. You’re fine where you’re at.”
“I’m really not. Your shoulder is digging into my gut. I can walk.”
“It’s only for twenty more feet.”
When Anatoly decided to become stubborn about something, he refused to listen to reason. I could go with his flow, or I could maul him. Either option benefited me, as him carrying me ensured he wasn’t going anywhere. Mauling him would establish my place as the superior tiger of the relationship. I growled, concentrated, and forced my hand to become a paw with sharp claws perfect for adding a new set of scars to his back.
Todd grabbed my wrists, putting an end to my plan. “Hey!”
“You can’t maul your mate in public. You’d make us miss the train.”
“He started it.”
“I’m sure he did. You still can’t maul him right now. It was your idea to make us go to Whiteville, so you’re going to have to deal with him carrying you around. You’ve mauled him enough for one morning.”
“It doesn’t count if I don’t remember it.”
“It counts.”
I growled and contemplated mauling the stallion, but Todd won in the brute strength department. “I’m awake. I can walk.”
“I’m sure you believe you can walk,” my friend replied, and he kept my hands captive until we boarded the train and located our seats. Anatoly dumped me onto my seat and Todd kept my hands captive until my tiger took over restraining
me.
“Thank you, Todd. She’s quite feisty this morning. I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but I like it.”
“Predatory instincts kicking in after a good meal and rest. She’ll probably give you trouble for a few more days until she’s confident of her next meal happening at regular intervals. That was a lecture I’ve heard a few too many times.”
Cleo joined us, caught sight of Anatoly keeping my hands captive, and laughed. “More like we’ll have to lock Nate up. She’s itching for a meal of tiger, and her delicate sensibilities have been sorely offended. She has claims to stake, and this morning was just a warmup for the rest of her plans, I’m sure.”
As I couldn’t deny the accusation without turning myself into a liar, I shrugged. “It’s been a rough few weeks, and I need to make it clear that he’s my tiger.”
“We know, Jesse. The wolves also have realized he is unavailable for their entertainment. Anyway, they have Todd for entertainment. They don’t need your Siberian.” Cleo shook his head and took the seat behind me, and Todd joined him. “Henry is with the ladies in a different car. So far, so good. Everyone’s doing better than yesterday, although Todd’s budget feeding them is going to break his bank.”
“Hardly,” the stallion replied, making himself comfortable in his seat. “That damned goat is more of a threat to my wallet than the women. They want their chickens and goats to have the best home. Buying steaks is far cheaper than it’ll be building homes for those animals. If they don’t get a good home, it’ll be another mass meltdown. I’m already expecting another mass meltdown because the mares are all at home preparing for the new arrivals. The mares attacked my wallet for yarn so they could start on baby blankets, they might cut down half a forest getting new cribs built in time for the new arrivals, and it’s a damned good thing some of my layabout colts decided to move out, as I needed those rooms for the new ladies. I’m going to have to add an extension at this rate.”
Anatoly laughed, leaned over to kiss my cheek, and released my wrists. “Make Steph house some of the colts until they’re ready to get on with their lives.”