by Autumn Dawn
Scy frowned. "Charge?"
"What is your going rate for services? I can pay you."
"Oh." His brow cleared. "Truthfully, I won't be doing much until the birth. Can you cook?" He gave her a boyish grin. "I admit to having an incessant sweet tooth."
Andrea grinned. "Just give me your favorite recipes. I think I can fulfill your every dessert fantasy. Leo can introduce me to any ingredients I might not be familiar with."
"Leo!" Scy stared at her, incredulous. "You might want to find someone who can actually cook." A low growl came from Leo's direction. "Sorry, gorgeous, but the world knows you can't do much more than char meat."
"I like it charred."
Andrea smiled. "If she wants to learn, I'll teach her what I know. I was trained as a chef. It's what I do."
Scy hesitated over the unfamiliar word 'chef'. "As you wish. If you are finished here I'll be happy to examine you now and get your herbs."
The examination entailed nothing more than a brief merging of symbionts and some questioning. Scy disappeared into a back room and returned with a wooden canister of herbs. "Take these in tea morning and evening." He handed her a folded list. "These are their names and properties, as well as your special diet."
Andrea kept her expression neutral as she unfolded the list. The script was completely alien. She'd have to ask Leo what was on it and make a new list. "Thank you."
"Ready to go?" Almost reluctantly, Leo unfolded herself and placed her hand in Scy's. "I thank you."
He did not let go right away. "Meals taste better with company. I enjoyed yours."
Eyes lowered, Leo tugged her hand away. "Um. We have to go." She tripped on her own feet as she inched away. "Er, thanks for cooking."
Once outside, Andrea permitted herself a wide smile.
With a grumpy scowl, Leo swung her leg over her bike. "He's like that with all the women."
"Desperate for dinner companions, huh? One of those geeks who can't get a date?" She mounted up.
Leo tossed her an irritable look over her shoulder.
They rode the bike past a few more houses--maybe six—until they reached the outskirts of town. There, a little apart from its neighbors, stood a tree house. Leo parked amongst the tall weeds at its base and dismounted. "There's no paradise like a well-tended home," she muttered as she removed both her gear and the small pack Andrea had brought.
Andrea followed her up the wide, flattened mushrooms that spiraled up the wide trunk. "This is amazing! I've never been in a tree house before."
Leo stopped so abruptly that Andrea plowed into her and would have tumbled down the steps had Leo not grabbed her. "Careful who you say such things to. You'll brand yourself a curiosity if you don't." She started back up.
With a loud sigh, Andrea followed. "That's going to be rough. How do I know what will make me stand out?"
In the act of unlocking the door, Leo shrugged one shoulder. "Don't speak to anybody." With a groaned protest, the door swung open and burped up a draft of musty air.
Horrified at the thought of having no one but Leo to talk to for months, Andrea opened her mouth to argue, but shut it again at her first sight of Leo's house. She blinked. The lemon and white, bronze and crisp blue, ultra feminine interior was nothing like what she'd expected.
Every piece of furniture was edged with ruffles and decorated with bows. Beribboned baskets and urns full of dried flower arrangements filled every corner and surface to bursting. The combination living/dining area had been small enough to start with. With the addition of the "greenery", it was dangerously claustrophobic.
One brow raised at Andrea's slack jaw, Leo explained dryly, "My sister by marriage likes to please her husband. He thinks I should be more "womanly", thus she visits me often with gifts to ‘stir the woman in me.’ She dropped her dusty pack in the middle of a pretty woven rug with a loud thud. Dust flew from it, coating the floor.
Andrea winced in sympathy.
"Quite." Leo entered the kitchen and poked around in the cupboards. "I have pots and kitchen implements I don't even know the use of. I vow if she brings me another dress she, ‘just couldn't resist but is too pregnant to wear,’ I will bury her in it."
Withdrawing a carved box similar to those Andrea had seen at Scy's, she lit an oil-filled globe under a tripod and placed a clear kettle on top. "It's a wonder I have a mind of my own left after their constant hammering. By now they should know that this metal doesn't forge easily."
As annoyed as Leo sounded, Andrea though it must be nice to have someone around who cared enough about her to interfere in her life. Now that she'd spent more time with her own grandmother, those feelings had grown.
She must have changed more than she'd realized. Heaven knew she never used to feel that way.
The gliding loveseat looked like as good a place as any to deposit her stuff, so Andrea set it down and took one of the two stools at the tiny kitchen bar. "So tell me about yourself. I gather you prefer solitude in the swamp over life in the, er, big city?"
The teapot began to squeal. Leo removed it, got Andrea's herbs from the loveseat where she'd set them, and prepared two kinds of tea. "The swamp doesn't try to change me. I hear no demands from the snakes for me to, ‘mature, settle myself and produce children’.” She flicked an angry look at Andrea. "As if the man for me were just under my nose, patiently waiting for me to come to him." She slammed the kettle down. "They are so deluded."
Lower lip caught between her teeth, Andrea pondered that. Once she felt exactly the same way, but now.... Well, it had been said that happy couples made the worst matchmakers. "What about Scy?"
"Scy?" Leo spoke as if drawing a total blank.
Annoyed on his behalf, for she liked the healer, Andrea retorted, "Yes, him. He's cute."
Leo's lip curled. "He's a healer. If he weren't also a fine hunter and something skillful at woodwork...." She shook her head. "I will not marry a nearly useless healer."
Baffled at her attitude, Andrea frowned. "Doctors are very respected where I come from, and well paid."
A queer look crossed Leo's face, then it cleared. "I forget you have no symbionts. Such men as Scy are all but unneeded here. Why he wastes himself on useless knowledge--” She gave her head a sudden, sharp shake. "Now I sound like my brother." She handed Andrea her tea. "Ignore me. If Scy is bold enough to flaunt his profession under the noses of our elders it's no concern of mine. It's truth I've done it enough myself."
Andrea lifted her teacup to her mouth. It wasn't bad. Eucalyptus and a touch of ... cinnamon? "So what's the big rush for you to settle down? Is you family trying to say you're getting too old?" She could relate.
Leo snorted. "I'm barely twenty-six. Just because my brother wed the first girl he could find of breeding age, it's no reason for me to panic and snatch up a mate."
"I forget. Mathin said your people live as long as 300, right? I guess you wouldn't be worried about that. Where I come from lots of people marry and have children by eighteen or twenty." When Leo stared at her, she added, somewhat defensively, "Our average lifespan is 75. Gotta mature and pass on the genes quick if we want to see grandkids."
Disconcerted, Leo sipped her drink. "I would not like your world."
"It's not so bad, but...." She looked around, thought wistfully of Mathin. What was he doing now? "This one has its charms."
"Tell me that after you've met my family."
After that dire warning, Andrea was expecting to meet a clan of dragons. As it turned out, Jackson was far more personable than she had expected.
Medium tall, with a hint of gray in his dark cropped hair, he accepted Leo's introduction and promptly invited Andrea to join his family in their tree house for the evening meal. Leo's face he searched closely. "What part of the swamp did you say you found her in? I can send men to search for this missing husband of hers. Surely he is worried."
"I've already looked." Leo shrugged. "The men will do no better than I. No doubt he's sought shelter until the rains blow over.
"
Jackson frowned. "And left his pregnant wife alone in the swamps? Think, Leo."
"Thank you for your offer," Andrea interjected before an argument could start. "It's very kind."
"We do all we can to help our own." Jackson's wife, Shelarah, gently detached a young lad from her pink striped skirts and handed him to his father. She patted Andrea on the shoulder. "You're holding up so well, dear. I would be frantic with worry."
It must have been the hormones of pregnancy, for Andrea felt her eyes tear up. She didn't usually get emotional in front of strangers. "Not really. I miss him."
"But where is Luna?" Leo helped Jackson's young daughter set the table. "Tell me you didn't set her off again and she's decided to skip the meal."
He glowered at as he strapped his son into a booster seat. "Our sister needs no help from me to fly into a rage these days."
"She's at that age." Shelarah set the baked fish platter on the table. "I remember how difficult it was for me."
"She walks around with a black cloud on her face."
"Well, she does have to live with you." Leo took a helping of salad. "The girl is what--seventeen? She knows she's welcome to stay with me when I'm here, and she's old enough to keep my house when I'm not." She met Jackson's glower calmly. "You know you can't keep her wrapped up forever."
"It's who'll notice when she exits the cocoon that concerns him," Shelarah murmured. She sent Andrea a small smile and shook her head a little, as if amused by an old argument. "Don't mind them, they can't agree on anything, especially their younger sister."
Leo grinned. "I admit that pack of young warriors she runs with would give a mother pause." She shook her head at Jackson, and her tone gentled. "They're just friends, Jack. You worry too much. Armetris would never let anyone touch her."
All motion at the table ceased. "She doesn't run with them anymore." Jackson's mouth tightened. "I don't know what happened, but there's plainly been a rift. She's angry with the lot of them."
"Those boys are her only friends. Have you looked into it?"
His look said she'd asked a stupid question. "No one is talking."
Leo blew out a breath, then caught Andrea staring at her with frank curiosity. "Luna is something like me. She's always bonded best with males--our father was our greatest friend--and this must be a blow." She sent Jackson a concerned look. "I'll speak with her."
Although brother and sister were quick to spar with each other, Andrea noted that each held fierce family loyalty. She only hoped her children would one day feel the same. Saddened, she touched her belly protectively. Oh, Mathin....
* * * *
Jackson waited until Andrea was deep in conversation with his wife about pregnancy and child-rearing before he took Leo aside. "What," he asked sternly, "do you have to tell me?"
She canted her head, wary. "About?"
His eyes narrowed. "Give over, sis. You no more found her wandering in the swamps than plan to marry and save me worry. Besides, I saw that small smile when Shelarah asked if she'd feared meeting up with a Haunt so near the border. I can tell she's human enough, but there's more here than you say. Do I have to contact the Haunt and ask questions, or will you talk?"
Certain he would follow through with his threat, she sighed. "You remember Mathin?"
His gaze sharpened. "The Haunt who chased you around Jayems' citadel and halfway into the swamp? I remember."
She rolled her eyes and leaned against the deck rail. "It was a passing fancy for him."
"She's his?" He shook his head, irked. "What did you think--that I would force her to leave or see her harmed after I learned of her condition? You know how I feel about my own wife and children." He looked out over the village, his eyes troubled. "Besides, she's not the only woman to come back carrying a questionable child."
Unwilling to get sidetracked, Leo shifted to face him squarely. "You never liked Mathin or the Haunt."
"At least he's occupied with a wife. For that matter, I don't hate the Haunt. They are different, and best left alone." His tone held mild warning.
An old argument itched to burst forth. Leo resisted the urge. "Are you saying you will let him visit her?"
Jackson rapped the rail with his knuckles. "Not in the village, but...." He eyed her shrewdly. "I can arrange something if you will agree to socialize regularly while you are here."
After a long, tense moment of silence, Leo granted him a curt nod. "Fine. But don't think I'll put up with any matchmaking. And Jackson--keep your wife from bringing me any more gifts."
* * * *
Mathin was very concerned--and surprised--to see a Symbiont Rider show up at his door not long after with a message from Jackson.
While the rider waited uneasily for a reply, eyeing the Haunt who eyed him, Raziel read over Mathin's shoulder. "Amiable of him," he said warily.
Familiar with that tone, Mathin sent him a look. He knew Raziel was dying to comment. "A monthly visit might be feasible, even with the troubles here." And very tempting.
The moment he'd returned, Raziel had informed him of reports that Tomlin had gone over to his grasping cousin; if he hadn't been his from the start.
Bad omen, indeed.
The citadel was bracing for war, and his people weren't happy about it. Many blamed Mathin for being gone so long. If he weren't careful, he might have trouble within his own ranks. The matter required finesse and delicacy, and his presence. He might manage the one, but the second was a sacrifice bound to strike him to the heart. He looked at the messenger. "Come inside. It will take time to write a reply."
The Ronin was clearly unhappy at his directive, but after one wary look at the Haunt, followed on his bike.
"Tell Matilda to craft a letter to her granddaughter. She'll want to hear something cheerful from home," he told Raziel at his side.
He tried not to think about what he must write.
* * * *
"Bad news?"
Andrea could feel her bottom lip protruding. "Trouble at home. Mathin might not be able to come." The intimate details of his letter she kept to herself. He sounded as lonely as she felt.
Leo set aside the rifle she'd been cleaning and stretched. "What you need is to keep busy." She grinned. "Perhaps a little mischief?"
Interested in spite of herself, Andrea leaned back on the couch and tilted her head. "What kind?"
A sparkle in her eye, Leo sat down on the small table before her and leaned forward. "At the same time Jasmine had been kidnapped, some of our women were also stolen. As far as we can tell, all three were Sylphs. One old woman was recovered alive; she was murdered soon after we brought her back. The other two died." Her mouth thinned. "We never found the killer, but we think it was the same person as sold them to Mathin's sister, Yesande, to experiment on. She coveted their Sylph powers. Here's the riddle: our men can't detect a Sylph. Yet how did they know which women to take? It had to be insider help."
Thoughtful, Andrea considered. She'd never been called on to solve a mystery before, but the idea of bringing a murderer to justice appealed. "Do you have any records of the investigation?"
Leo surprised her by pulling a box out from underneath the table she sat on. One by one she pulled out three thick folders. "Copies of all the files, fished from under my brother's nose." She smiled grimly. "I hate to see anyone get away with murder."
Impressed, Andrea flipped through the stack. Someone had been very thorough, judging by the volume of materials. Still.... "You do realize I can't read this, don't you?"
"I'll read it to you while you take notes." Leo handed her a tablet and a stylus. "Ready?"
It took days to finish, and when they were through Andrea had an impressive stack of notes, plus tables of what, where and who. Her head was also swimming. "I've got it!"
"What?" Leo's head snapped up.
"It's Mrs. White in the ballroom with a brick!"
"What?"
Andrea laughed and sipped her tea. "Just a joke."
Rolling her ey
es, Leo tapped her own notes. "I've always suspected the Silversmith. He knew all of them."
"So did half the village."
Annoyed, Leo tossed her notes aside and flopped down on the couch, one arm over her eyes. "So what do you think?"
Not to be rushed, Andrea chewed the end of her pen and thought a while. After all, the women had been dead for some time. Justice could wait another few minutes. "I think we're going about this the wrong way." When Leo took her arm from her eyes to frown at her, she explained, "Neither of us is an investigator. I say, to catch a Sylph-napper, use a Sylph."
Leo eyed her uneasily. "You're pregnant. Besides, Yesande is dead and no else is interested."
"One." Andrea held up a finger. "Jasmine told me what you did, how you became a Sylph for a while. You could just use your symbiont to suck some pheromone out of me and graft it onto you for a while."
"That's not exactly what I did," she protested.
"Whatever." Andrea waved her objections away. "It worked. Two: So far as we know, only Haunt can detect the Sylph. So we ask Scy if there is any other way he can think of, then see if he has any records from his predecessor that might indicate human/Haunt crosses in your midst."
Leo sat up. "That's not possible!"
Andrea gestured to her own stomach. "Is. Scy did say it was rare for your women to have hard labors, seemed to think it a strong indicator of rape, maybe by Haunt. Cases of pre-labor sickness could give a strong clue."
A little green, Leo nodded. "You're right. I never thought of it."
Content to have contributed a fresh angle on the case, Andrea nodded. She was getting sleepy. "Bet nobody else wanted to, either. Oh, yes, and three: We can spread a rumor about someone paying for Sylphs again, to raise interest. I bet we could get Jasmine to help set up a sting--an arrest," she corrected her slang. "I'd rather not tell Mathin what we're up to. He's got enough on his mind as it is." Plus, he'd be really, really mad if he thought she was putting herself in danger. Sweet as that was, it would really hamper the one thing that kept her mind off her powerful need for him and her fears. She needed this. Besides, there was no reason for him to be concerned. What harm could possibly come to her?