Page 28 of Smokescreen (Knight & Daywalker)
“Well,” I said as we got back out into the cool night air, “that was fun.”
Davin scoffed. “What an utter gobshite.”
“I have no idea what that means, but I’m sure you’re right. Carmen next, or Mei?”
He stopped in the middle of the driveway and turned to stare at me a moment. “Did you not see how he reacted to me? I killed one of their own. That matters to them, and they’re not going to help you if I’m there.”
“They’re not going to help me if you’re not there, either,” I pointed out. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m human by any measurable standard, so they all know they could kill me with their pinky fingers. But you put him off his guard well enough that he showed us who he really is instead of pretending civility. Frankly, having you there was helpful. Also, Mei and Carmen don’t think vampire lives are sacred and inviolable above all else, so I doubt you’ll get as much shit from them.”
He considered that for a moment, continuing to stand there in the drive, then shrugged and headed for the Camaro. Mom’s goddamn Camaro, and neither of them better think I was going to forget that anytime soon. I wasn’t that bad a driver. I’d driventhat ugly ass SUV she’d given me for over a decade without a single accident.
Then, much to her horror, I’d traded it in and gotten the bike.
“What did you mean, human by any measurable standard?” Davin asked as we got into the car, giving me a look like it was a weird thing to say.
I gave him my best bitchface. “Seriously? I talk to the cat in my pocket. You know a lot of humans who do that?”
He glanced down at where Twist was curled up in my jacket, considering in silence for a while. “Yes, but I don’t usually believe it when they say the cat answers back.”
That was interesting. “But you believe me?”
“You’re not telling me the cat is answering back. You don’t care if I believe. You’re just answering the cat. Why would you lie about that?” He shrugged and faced forward, pulling out his keys and turning the car on. “You do it differently than other people. You’re not interpreting the cat for me, as a show. You’re just talking to her. Now, tell me where the closest one lives.”
“That’d be Carmen. She lives up here in one of the mansions. Mei has a penthouse in the middle of town.” I gave him directions as we pulled out of Gerald’s drive, and he followed them without question, which was nice. I hadn’t had a lot of people in my life do as I said without being assholes about it.
“So you think talking to cats makes you not human?” he finally asked, back to the previous conversation, some minutes later. “There are lots of human mages. Maybe you’re just a mage.”
“They talk to their familiars, and from what I’ve seen, they don’t even do it the same way I do. It’s more instinctive and less actual words. Plus theyonlytalk to their familiars. Not all familiars, and definitely not all animals.”
He took his eyes off the road for just long enough to lift an eyebrow at me. “All animals? That is different.”
“I’ve known a few who weren’t interested in chatting with me, but all of them usually stop long enough to tell me to fuck off. Well, if they’re smart enough to talk. Can’t talk to fish since I can’t speak underwater. Don’t really talk to bugs, not sure if they can. Or maybe it’s just not a skill I have.” I pointed to a turn, and he turned into it, down another long driveway to a mansion bigger than anyone could possibly need.
He frowned, and turned to look at me. “That’s three now, and none of them have any security system.”
I winced, but nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. You’re the one who said they’re Luddites. And that’s not quite it, but what they are is old. They think new technology is too hard to bother with, and since it changes often, and they never do, it’s hard to keep up with. I talked to Doc last night—he’s another local, but I think you’ll like him—and he’s only got this gate buzzer thing that must be from, like, the seventies. The speaker’s awful and staticky.”
Carmen Aguilar was standing in the doorway to her house by the time we got out of the car, framed by light behind her, striking a dramatic pose with an arm above her head, braced in the door, looking like a movie star.
I wondered if she and mother would be offended to hear how much they had in common, what with their mutual love of melodrama and posing for effect.
On the other hand, I thought that like Mother and Charles, they were mostly enemies in name only, rather than truly wanting to kill each other.
“Admittedly,” I said to Davin as we got out of the car, “most of them can hear a car from a mile away, so it’s not like guests catch them off guard.”
He shook his head. “It’s not just about that. If Charles had a security system, we’d have video footage of every personwho stepped into his house last night, and this would be over already.”
Which was an excellent point.
Carmen was clearly aware of the situation, because when we got to the door, she was affecting a tragic facade. “Are you looking into what happened to poor dear Charles, then?” Somehow, even though I’d never in my life seen a vampire cry, Carmen looked like she was on the verge of it, her eyes luminous and even seeming wet as she shook her head. “Pobrecito. I told him he was making a mistake, turning on your mother.” She practically leapt out of the doorway and wrapped herself around my right arm, staring up at me with her tragic act in full force. “She knows I would never act against her, doesn’t she?”
All I could do for a moment was stare at her, because what?
Davin laughed, shaking his head. “You are good, Ms. Aguilar. Very impressive. Were you in the movies?”
She gave him a little pout, but almost instantly, it turned into a sly smile. “Only in España, and a very long time ago. Aren’t you a sweet one for noticing?” She turned back to me, her eyes sharper now, and the attitude felt less like a put-on. “I am serious, though. You’ll tell your mother, I have nothing to do with what Charles was planning?”
“I’m going to be honest, ma’am, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you think Charles was trying to move against my mother?”
