Page 60 of Carnal: The Beast Who Loved Me

“Do you know why I’m here?” she almost whispered.

“You don’t?” Rosie shook her head. “The Extant has a circle of confidantes. I’m not one of them. All I know is, we’re here to keep you safe.”

Rosie looked around. “Safe from humans?”

He bowed slightly from the waist to bring his face closer to hers. “Safe from anybody who means you harm.”

“Rosie! You’re with me,” Free called.

She moved toward Free, glancing back at Carnal once over her shoulder. She rushed to keep up with Free’s long strides. “What’s this about?”

“I told you I would be bringing you along when I came to have a talk about the future of Exiled and Farsuitwail.”

“Oh,” she said. “What do you want me to do?”

“Keep your mouth shut, eyes and ears open.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

Free came to an abrupt halt and looked down at her. “You’d better.”

Rosie was fairly certain that she didn’t like the gruff, bossy version of Free, but given what she’d learned about Exiled, it didn’t surprise her that he sounded like ‘he who must be obeyed’. The real surprise probably should have been that he was able to check those aspects of his personality at the door of his home and show up for dinner appearing to be relaxed and laid back.

Climbing the steps from the street to the giant portico of Farsuitwail’s City Hall, she asked Free, “How do handicapped people access this building?”

He looked at her as if to say that was a strange question, but didn’t answer.

Carnal and the four other members that made up his ‘crew’ followed close behind.

The mayor had apparently been alerted that Free and company had arrived because he stood in the middle of the octagonal foyer with his entourage. Rosie noted that there were no clues that would give away the fact that he was the most powerful person in the city. He wore the loose-fitting hemp and wool clothes that Rosie had seen on most of the other humans they’d passed on the way into the city.

He was around fifty and appeared to be on the fit side for men of his age. He was plain-looking, brown hair, brown eyes, not remarkable in any way that Rosie could tell.

Free walked directly to him. Rosie thought the mayor looked wary about an unplanned visit, but covered it with a smile as he held his hand out to welcome Free.

“Mr. Mayor,” said Free without returning the smile. “I’d like a few words if you can manage the time.”

“For you, of course.” The mayor turned and walked in the direction of a conference room near his office and held the door open. The room was light because of a wall of windows. A small fireplace at one end took some of the chill out of the room, but Rosie kept the fur jacket on. Carnal, Clash and Yellow entered the room with Free, but Easy and Joy remained outside.

When some of the mayor’s people attempted to file in behind him, Free said, ”No. Just you.”

There was an unmistakable hint of worry, if not fear, on the mayor’s face, but he nodded at the others to withdraw and watched while Joy closed the door. The mayor took a seat at the head of the table, nearest the fire, but everyone in the room knew it was a symbolic courtesy because, in that moment, Free was definitely in command.

“What can I do for you, Extant?” The mayor used Free’s formal title which, Rosie thought, was a good choice, and tried to keep his voice even, whether he was anxious or not.

Free took a seat midway down the length of the table and motioned for Rosie to sit opposite him. Carnal and the two of his crew who were inside the room remained standing.

Free gave a small wave toward Rosie. “The young woman accompanying us is my guest, Elora Rose Storm. Rosie, this is Mayor Comstock.”

The mayor turned his attention to Rosie and acknowledged her with a nod. “Delighted,” he said with a questioning look, since she was evidently not hybrid.

Carnal, who was standing behind his father, also gave her a questioning look since it was the first time he’d heard her addressed as anything other than ‘Rosie’. He could have kicked himself for not knowing she had a longer, more formal name and not a singular descriptive moniker like Exiled.

She was surprised by the introduction using her complete name, partly because she wasn’t aware that Free, or any of Exiled, knew it. If he’d heard it from Kellareal, she was impressed that he remembered.

“You know,” Free began, his attention on Comstock, “that we have certain attributes that could be said to beextrahuman.” The mayor nodded at Free before quickly scanning the faces of the others present, probably hoping for clues as to why they were there. “One of those is our ability to know when humans are lying.” The mayor blinked, but did not give any other indication that he was uncomfortable with that. “Can you guess why I’m prefacing my questions with that comment?”

The mayor slowly nodded. “You suspect that I might not answer truthfully. You’ve communicated something not previously known, but also issued a hint of a threat in doing so.”

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