One Part Human (3 page)

“What about the Mage Guides and Scouts?”

“They are on their own. Human officers deal with them.”

She nodded. “Right.”

She had never fit in in the Mage Guides, but it had been the only option for her. She didn’t appear to be anything other than human, but the magic was in her blood. Her sash still hung proudly on the wall of her parents’ study.

Smith looked up from his keyboard, “Were you in the Guides?”

She blinked. “Uh, yeah.”

Tremble smiled and a wicked gleam came to his eyes. “I bet you looked adorable in that uniform.”

She gave him a bland look. “From time to time I still do.”

Argyle’s shoulders shook as he chortled.

Tremble sighed and smiled blissfully. “Well, my dreams are set for the next week.”

Benny grinned, and she settled into her place as pervert mascot to this gathering of officers.

“So, when do we eat?”

Smith smiled. “Thank goodness. Someone else with an appetite...for food. Argyle, tacos!”

Argyle muttered about basic human necessities, and he pulled a U-turn, heading for Benny’s part of town.

Taco! Taco! Taco!
was her favourite haunt when she went out with Freddy, but she had never been there in the wee hours. It was after midnight and not yet dawn, so she was on new territory with a bunch of XIA agents.

Dem-rah was the chef on duty, and he waved at Benny cheerfully, all four arms waving. “Benny, darling. What can I get for you?”

“Three chicken, two beef and plenty of hot sauce.” She looked over and nodded. “And a coke.”

He got her order, took her money and turned to her companions with a cold face. “Agents, what can I get for you?”

Smith and Tremble ordered, their food was served, but it didn’t look anything like Benny’s.

Argyle sat at a picnic table and sipped at a thermos. Apparently, he brought his own.

She looked at Dem-rah as she wrestled for a straw. “While the agents seem willing to eat anything, please give them the same calibre of food that you serve to me and my friends.”

“They are with you?” He raised his brows and snatched the food back before the agents could grab it. Smith looked like he wanted to cry.

“I am doing a ride-along for the article. One week for the XIA anniversary.” She smiled. “It is really very interesting so far.”

She munched one of the tacos and groaned happily. “I might have to start waking Freddy up before dawn and hauling her over here. It is worth it.”

Dem-rah beamed. “Gratitude for the compliment. It means much coming from you.”

She winked and joined Argyle at the table. She worked her way through her delightfully spicy tacos in soft shells and sighed happily when she was done.

Smith looked at the food suspiciously, but Tremble dove in. He moaned and sauce covered his pearly skin. Smith took the hint, and he was halfway through his platter of ten when he picked the mass up and went back to order another ten tacos.

When he came back, he smiled at his new treasures. “When this is over, do you mind if I wake you up in the middle of the night to act as my food liaison?”

She laughed. “Probably. Dem-rah is an excellent cook, but his brother had two arms broken by overzealous XIA agents twenty years ago and spider goblins hold a grudge. You were getting the health-code special. It met all the codes...barely.”

Smith sighed. “It still tasted damned good.”

Tremble daintily cleaned his face with a napkin. His lips were slightly swollen from the chili sauce, but he looked happy.

Smith destroyed the second set of ten, and Argyle looked at them wistfully. “I never ate a taco.”

Benny acted on reflex, and she extended her arm. “Here you go. It is still active in the bloodstream.”

He blinked. “Are you sure?”

“Just a taste. I am sure the others would help pry you off if necessary.”

“They might have to.”

“I heal quickly so I digest quickly. If you want to taste taco, you had better bite now.”

He flashed his teeth and bit her wrist. She focussed on providing him with the taste of dinner and downplaying what was all in her bloodstream.

She counted to five before she tapped his cheek. After that, she clenched her fist and put pressure on her vein to remove the flow.

He lifted his head drowsily. “So, that is a taco. There was a lot more going on in there than human magic, but thank you. Few folk realise that a little donation does not bind them to a vamp.”

“I had a decent education. My parents raised me right.”

She pressed the puncture wounds and tried to get them to stop.

Smith sighed and took her forearm, licking his tongue across the wounds. They sealed up, and she was soon back to fighting form.

“Thank you.” She smiled.

Argyle was looking at her with a sober expression. “Thank you. It was an honour to have tasted you.”

“I would have to second Argyle’s statement. I could get drunk on the taste of your skin, Benny.”

“Not an option. We are on business. I was just upset that Argyle had not experienced Dem-rah’s tacos.”

Argyle looked at her with assessment in his gaze. “You are not afraid of any of us, are you?”

She shrugged. “Nope. I have met people from most species and guilds over my life. My parents used to entertain a lot.”

“Politicians?” Tremble arched his brows.

She shook her head. “No. Academics.”

He chuckled. “That would explain it. You have a self-contained manner that I usually associate with humans in their fifth or sixth decade.”

She smiled and inclined her head. “I will take that as a compliment.”

“You should. A woman who cannot appreciate the past holds little appeal for most men with family histories.”

Argyle chuckled and licked his lips again, “Or personal ones.”

Tremble chuckled. “That, too.”

Benny clutched her hands to her chest and said on a breathy gasp. “So I might be good enough for a man one day? Oh, joy! I never thought such a thing would be possible. Butt-heads.”

Smith’s shoulders were shaking as he covered his mouth with one hand. Finally, he said, “Keep your compliments, Tremble. The lady neither needs nor wants your approval.”

Benny waggled her eyebrows as she finished her soda. With a last slurp, she tossed the cup to the garbage can. A hand shot out and pulled the trash inside.

Tremble blinked his pretty eyes.

Smith chuckled. “Trash troll?”

“Yup. One of the best recyclers in the last ten years. That can probably weigh around four hundred pounds.”

Argyle turned his head to look over the street. “Anything else lurking around that we should know about?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Same old, same old.” She got to her feet and headed over to Dem-rah. “Any chance that I can get your spice mix recipe out of you tonight?”

“Ah, Benny, only if you were my wife. So, I am afraid that it will not happen. Your father would kill me if I tried.” He winked.

“Yes, in an extremely unpleasant manner. Ah well, it was worth asking.”

He winked and got back to cleaning. “It is always worth asking.”

She returned to the XIA agents with a series of hand wipes, and she distributed them with a smile. “What happens next?”

Smith straightened, “We get back in our vehicle and wait for the next call.”

They got to their feet and headed for their transport. Benny followed along and settled into her spot, buckling the seatbelt and waiting.

Argyle drove down the street at a normal speed, and when a call came through, they were off.

A pugnacious zombie was refusing to accept last call, so Argyle took their group to The Hyde.

Benny had been to the nightclub twice in her life, and neither time was particularly memorable. This one definitely made it one for the books.

Tremble ordered her to stay in the car. “Lock the doors. This time of the morning, most things out here are hungry.”

She nodded and stayed in the dark of the SUV.

The XIA agents went into the club, and it was six silent minutes before the doors burst open and Smith tumbled out with what she hoped was their target.

The lion shifter was beating the undead into the pavement, and Argyle and Tremble came out after them.

She saw Tremble calling in a pickup, and then, she turned her attention back to the zombie giving as good as he was getting.

There was snarling and gnashing of teeth on both parts. Two minutes later, the hauler arrived, and Tremble stepped forward, wrapping the zombie in bands of fey magic. Argyle stepped in and loaded the zombie into the storage case that had been brought out for him. He would remain boxed up until he calmed down. That would probably be sometime after Friday night. Zombies were notoriously vulnerable to alcohol and caffeine.

Argyle held him in the case while Tremble locked him down. To Benny’s surprise, they were wearing black gloves that they stripped off and dumped in the biohazard container inside the transport vehicle. Even Smith was wearing the gloves, and he peeled them off, tossing them with distaste.

The drivers of the pickup vehicle handed Smith some wipes, and he rubbed every part of himself with them to remove the zombie smell.

Benny hid her smirk as they joined her again. At least they got to get physical on their shift. She had the feeling that she was holding them back a bit.

It was the last bit of excitement on her first night.

Two more hours of hashing the events of the evening for her article and she was ready to go home. They pulled into the XIA lot, and the moment they were parked, she hopped out of their vehicle.

After the zombie fight, the air had been a little thick in the SUV, so breathing fresh air became a luxury.

She stepped away from the vehicle and made sure she had her notes and her purse.

Tremble leaned against their SUV. “So, Miss Benny, same time tomorrow?”

She chuckled. “You mean later today? Yes. I will be here. Four more shifts with you guys before the anniversary. I have more research to do.”

Smith looked at her with concern. “Are you all right to drive home?”

“Aw, how sweet. Yes, of course I am. All I have done tonight is hang out in the car.”

Argyle inclined his head. “It was an entertaining first evening.”

She bowed to them all. “Thank you for improving my education.”

With her shoulders back, she headed to her car, starting it up with a flick of her keychain.

She opened the door and chucked her purse into the passenger seat. She slid behind the wheel, and the car roared with excitement before she even put the key in.

“Down boy. We are going.” She stroked her dashboard and checked the mirrors. Everything was clear, so she got underway to get herself home.

Driving an enchanted car was not for everyone, but Benny was confident enough in the car to take it anywhere and let it take over if it needed to. She called it Pooky, but it used to be a Pukha.

The earliest touches of dawn were sparking, threatening to bloom. Benny drove back to her home and sighed happily when she parked next to the dower house.

She dragged herself and her stuff into the house. “Morning, Jessamine.”

The house’s ghost smiled and whispered. “How did it go?”

“I need a shower and sleep. The agents were fine.”

“Just fine? That isn’t the chatter in the spectrum. I have heard that the agent teams are fine physical specimens.”

“They are, and I will talk to you about them when I wake up.”

“Fair enough. Your room is ready.”

Benny removed her jacket and hung it up. Her shoes went flying, and she peeled off her clothing on the way to her shower. Jessamine was her housekeeper and companion, and she liked the cleaning. Benny was in no mood to stop her.

Half an hour later, she was wrapped in a towel with another on her head, flipping through her notes and transcribing them onto her computer in a rough outline.

Jessamine blacked out the coming dawn and edged the computer away from her until Benny caught the hint. “Good night, Jess.”

“Good morning, Benny. Have a nice rest.”

The room was dim and quiet. Benny leaned back and pulled the sheets over her, trying to rest before she had to go back.

The moment she closed her eyes, images of her agents danced through her mind. Their dancing eventually slowed, and her mind slowed enough to sleep.

Benny glared at the sunset and checked her phone. “Jess, did you change my wallpaper again?”

Jessamine floated over. “No. Why do you ask?”

Benny turned it to face her. “Because I have never seen a picture of a kitten in a sailor suit on my phone before now.”

“Maybe he just crawled in there.” Jessamine smiled.

“I doubt it. It isn’t Fleet Week. No sailors should be creeping around in my phone.” She tapped the back of her phone with her finger. “Put the starscape back.”

“I don’t have time. Your parents would like to see you at the big house.”

“When?”

“As soon as you woke up?” Jessamine wrinkled her nose. “Sorry. I forgot.”

“Damn, damn, damn.” She raced to her room and put on her clothing for the evening of sitting in a car.

The black button-down shirt would hide any stains if anything happened to smack into her. She didn’t know if they were hitting Dem-rah’s joint again, but she was willing to take that chance.

Her bag, phone, wallet and notebook were with her as she got into her car and blazed a path the two kilometres to her parents’ very large abode.

Gravel flew as she braked and threw her car into park. She grabbed her bag and headed into the place she had grown up.

Her mother greeted her in the hallway. “Oh, sweetie. You didn’t brush your hair.”

Benny muttered a quick spell, and her hair sorted and tidied itself, wrapping up into a professional bun.

“Much better, darling. He has been waiting all day. There was an omen yesterday, and he has been eager to speak with you.”

Benny hugged her mother and headed to the study. The door opened and closed silently as she entered the largest collection of magical books in the state, possibly the country.