Black Dog (18 page)

“We'll be leaving early,” Ezekiel said. “Be ready to go an hour before dawn.” His voice, light and mocking, made it clear that he knew perfectly well that Alejandro wanted to protest Grayson's order but did not dare argue with the Master.

Natividad gave her brother a quick look. Of course this was a test of his obedience, and maybe of Ezekiel's, and probably of the black dog girls as well. She didn't like that at all. She trusted Grayson – well, mostly – but not Keziah. And what if Vonhausel brought his shadow pack back against Dimilioc while Alejandro was gone to Chicago with Ezekiel? What then?

She could see the same questions had occurred to Alejandro. He wouldn't like to go anywhere and leave her or Miguel behind in Dimilioc – he didn't even want to let her go anywhere alone with Ezekiel and Keziah right now, whatever Grayson said. At least she could help with that. She said quickly, “You can come with me, you can help me, ‘Jandro, alright?”

“With the
Beschwichtigend
?”
Ezekiel said, amused.

Natividad tried to look astonished, as though every Pure woman needed her black dog brother to help her work magic. “Of course!”

 
Ezekiel lifted his eyebrows, but merely stood aside, looking expectantly at Keziah. The girl rose with graceful poise. Amira stood up reluctantly, keeping her sister between herself and the Dimilioc executioner. Ezekiel appeared not to notice. Natividad wondered if he was actually trying to be kind to the little girl, or if he just didn't care about her at all.

Ezekiel led the way into the hallway and lifted a hand, directing them all toward the stairs. “You'll find the brown suite comfortable,” he said easily, speaking to Keziah. “Or if you don't, simply tell Grayson so. I'm sure we have rooms that would please you.” He added without a pause and in exactly the same pleasant tone, “If you touch Natividad while I'm gone, I'll make you into an example for the ages.”

Alejandro's jaw tightened – he was offended, Natividad knew, because he thought it was his place to make threats like that on her behalf. But he said nothing.
She
wasn't a bit offended. She was relieved and even flattered, because if Ezekiel would defend her even after looking at
Keziah
, well, wow.

Amira flinched, but Keziah just smiled and tossed her hair back over her shoulders, the crystals in her earrings ringing against one another like tiny bells. She looked very beautiful and elaborately sexy. “Will you?”

Ezekiel turned and strode up the stairs. As he walked, he shifted to his black dog form and instantly back to human, then the black dog, then human again – shifting completely with each step, a sharp blinking strobe of alternating forms, impossibly smooth and fast. The steps creaked every time he shifted to the massive black dog shape. His claws scored the wood, smoke and ash swirled with his movements; then the next step would be a light human tread. He turned at the first landing and leaned negligently on the banister, a slim human youth. But his shadow pooled at his feet, so dense even Natividad could see it clearly. He said softly, straight to Keziah, “Do you think Thos Korte made me his executioner as a
joke
?
You can challenge me, if you like. I wouldn't mind at all.”

Keziah smiled and said, her tone amused, “Well, perhaps not today.” But she also looked aside.

“As long as you're sure,” said Ezekiel. “The brown suite?” He turned and walked up the stairs, not at all concerned to have the black dog girls at his back.

The brown suite consisted of five interconnecting rooms, all in taupe and gold, brown and warm ivory. The largest room, with a beautiful fireplace, soft chairs and lovely wrought iron lamps, had plenty of space to do the
Aplacando
. Alejandro helped Natividad roll the thick rugs out of the way, then, at her gesture, opened a window to let in unfiltered daylight and air – the air was
freezing
, but that was alright. She gestured for the girls to stand several feet apart in the middle of the bare floor and drew a separate pentagram around each with a handful of sunlight and the whispered words her mother had taught her. Amira cowered when her sister gave her a little push away, but Keziah gave her a stern look and said something in Arabic or whatever language it was they spoke, and the little girl obediently crouched down inside her own pentagram. Natividad wished she could say something to reassure Amira, but of course there was nothing she could say that would help. She hurried a little so Amira would feel better as soon as possible.

But working the
Aplacando
itself actually felt kind of… strange. Natividad hadn't actually
done
it before – of course she knew how, of course Mamá had shown her, the
Aplacando
was the most important magic of all and every Pure girl learned it early. But actually
working
it felt strange. Almost, Natividad thought, like lifting a stone that was actually made out of paper, or stepping off a step that wasn't there. She
might
be doing it wrong… but she didn't
think
she could have made a mistake doing it now, when it really mattered.

She did the
Aplacando
for Amira first – maybe it just felt strange because the little girl was so young or because Amira didn't resist. But then it was exactly the same for Keziah, and Natividad just didn't believe
Keziah
should be especially easy to work magic on. Stepping back, she frowned at Keziah. “I think… I think maybe that wasn't the first time anybody ever did the Calming for you. Was it?”

Keziah smiled, though without much humor. She shrugged. “All the Pure know how to do the
Beschwichtigend
,
so why not? Anything to make Dimilioc happy. We found a Pure woman as soon as we could, as soon as we came to this country.” Her voice was smooth and mocking, but she also put out a hand to gather her little sister close to her side.

Amira bowed her head and rubbed a thumb along the scar on her face, glancing covertly at Natividad through her lashes. Natividad smiled at her, and though the little girl didn't exactly smile back, she almost seemed to want to.

Alejandro said unexpectedly to Keziah, “No one will touch your sister, you know. You think you don't like the Pure, but Natividad would be very upset if anyone harmed your sister – so no one will harm her. That is what the Pure do for black dogs. If you become part of Dimilioc, you will learn that.”

Keziah opened her mouth, but shut it again without making the cutting response she probably thought of first. Her uncertainty made her seem suddenly younger and less… sophisticated, or something. She looked at Natividad as though it had occurred to her for the first time that she might be a real person even though she was not a black dog.

“And you won't harm Natividad,” Alejandro added. “Because everyone else would be very upset if you did.” His gaze met Keziah's, and neither of them looked away. After a moment, Keziah said, still not breaking that stare, “Yes, that part was clear enough.”

“Well, then, how nice we have everything settled,” Ezekiel said briskly. “I'm sure Grayson will be ecstatic. And even more so if we are all still alive in the morning, so please keep that in mind if you choose to fight. Also, please, not indoors. Grayson is liable to be quite annoyed if the furniture gets broken.” He glanced at Natividad and tipped his head toward the door, an invitation she accepted with alacrity, though not without a quick backward glance at her brother, who, surprising her, showed no inclination to follow.

“They
are
going to fight,” she said uneasily, as soon as the door closed behind herself and Ezekiel. “I should–”

“I suspect not today or tonight,” Ezekiel interrupted her smoothly. “No, Natividad, trust me for this. After your
Beschwichtigend
?
She
may posture, and so may your brother, but neither will actually want to fight for some time. I only warned them because the furniture can suffer merely from posturing and Grayson really would be annoyed.”

Ezekiel sounded uncharacteristically relaxed himself. Natividad gave him a sharp look, but didn't say the first thing that came to her tongue, which was, “
You don't want to fight now, either, do you?”
She wondered if a really big clue to why Ezekiel was so determined to have her had just hit her between the eyes.

“Now, where shall I escort you? Plenty of time left for packing the paltry few tools of my trade…” Natividad didn't even want to know what those might be, “and with Benedict haranguing the airport into a convenient flight time on my behalf, I'm entirely at leisure. Shall I show you the rest of the house? Alas, the gardens are not very scenic at the moment…”

“The kitchen?” Natividad suggested diffidently. “Do you think Zachariah would be offended if I made bread or something? Cinnamon rolls? If you have cinnamon?” She added, at Ezekiel's raised eyebrow, “I would like to. I would like to… to do something with my hands.”

Ezekiel nodded soberly. “I think I can safely promise you that no one will be offended if you make cinnamon rolls.”

He helped her find mixing bowls, and then the flour and sugar – the canisters were hidden in a cabinet. The cinnamon was in the spice rack, but the
levadura
was in the freezer, which Natividad would never have guessed. It took her some time to remember the English word – yeast – but then she was pleasantly surprised to find that Ezekiel knew where it was kept. Waving away the offer of measuring cups and spoons, she began to scoop things together in the largest bowl. She asked, tentatively, not looking at him, “So, how long ago
did
Thos Korte make you his executioner?”

“Ah!” said Ezekiel. “Your ulterior motive appears! An interrogation over the eggs and butter! Nearly seven years ago. I was almost fourteen.”

“Fourteen!” Natividad looked at him quickly. Ezekiel was leaning against the refrigerator, looking relaxed and amused and not at all offended. He was watching her steadily. Though his tone was light, there was no mockery in his eyes. She was sure he was telling the truth. It was hard to believe. “You were younger than I am!” she protested.

“There wasn't a black wolf in Dimilioc who could take me, one on one.” Ezekiel's voice was cool, completely matter-of-fact. “I knew that. I enjoyed it. I believe it amused Thos to have a child for his executioner, but I certainly didn't object. I liked having the older black wolves look aside from me.”

Black dogs did like people to be afraid of them. Natividad stirred the dough together into a shaggy mass and scraped it out onto the floured counter. She didn't say anything.

“I expect Thos also liked the idea of training a black wolf pup to be exactly the executioner he wished. He'd been Dimilioc's executioner himself, once. He had strong ideas about the role, which he naturally passed on to me.”

“Oh,” said Natividad. She kneaded the bread dough, forcefully.

“He also undoubtedly wanted to instill the habit of obedience in a pup he thought might otherwise eventually be a rival. I imagine he also thought it desirable to separate me from other potential rivals. The Dimilioc executioner is everyone's worst nightmare, and certainly no one's friend.” Ezekiel paused and then added, “I didn't understand any of this at the time, of course.”

“Oh,” said Natividad again.

“It didn't work out very well for him in the end,” Ezekiel said, his tone bland. “Working out your frustrations, are you?”

Natividad blinked down at the bread dough, which had become nicely silky and elastic. “It's very therapeutic,” she said austerely. “You should try it sometime. Much better than killing people.”

Ezekiel grinned, that flashing grin that was so unlike the smile he wore when he was threatening people. “Speak for yourself.” Then the grin disappeared. He pushed himself away from the refrigerator, took a step toward her. Natividad stared at him, taken by surprise. He seemed suddenly both taller and older. He said, the mockery gone from his voice, “I won't hurt you. You know that. I won't hurt your brother, either, if I can help it. I won't kill him. Even if he pushes me. Which I think he will, eventually.”

“He thinks he has to… to protect me,” Natividad explained, feeling awkward and suddenly breathless. She wanted to take a step back, but she couldn't because that would be retreating and you never retreated from black dogs. If you did, they might chase you. Of course, she sort of had the idea Ezekiel would chase her no matter what she did. She held her hands up, powdery with flour, to warn him back.

“Someone needs to protect you. Little kitten, little Pure girl, surrounded by all the big bad Dimilioc wolves.” Ezekiel reached out with slow deliberation to touch her cheek, ignoring the floury palm she put on his chest to keep him at a distance. His chest was hard with muscle under Natividad's hand. She swallowed.

He said softly, his tone deliberately, mockingly, husky, “You had better depend on me to protect you, little kitten. Otherwise you'll be shooting people with your mama's gun and your brother's silver ammunition, and we can't have that.”

Natividad laughed. She couldn't help it.

There was a stifled sound from the doorway, and they both turned.

Alejandro stood there, staring at them both. Natividad twitched guiltily and stepped hastily backward, though she wasn't guilty of
anything
, so it wasn't
fair
. Ezekiel gave a little mocking tilt of his head and smiled his slight, dangerous smile. He didn't step back at all.

Alejandro stared at Ezekiel. After that first searing look, he didn't glance again at Natividad.