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He gave a little laugh. "Morio. I just arrived in town."
Morio? That was a Japanese name.
"Not from Otherworld, you didn't," I said before I could stop myself. "You aren't one of the Sidhe. What are you?" Whoops… very rude. In Otherworld it was considered the height of bad manners to ask what someone was upon first greeting. I backtracked. "Excuse me… bad manners. My name's Camille. So Grandmother Coyote pointed you my way? How did you know I'd be here tonight?"
"I followed you from your house." He brushed away a shoulder-length strand of hair that had come loose from his ponytail.
Shit, then he also knew that Menolly and I were connected. I prayed that he was really on our side. "You've been watching me? I don't appreciate that."
Morio shrugged. "You wouldn't have noticed me if I hadn't told you, so don't worry about it. I arrived from Japan yesterday." He glanced around the tavern. "I haven't been here in a while. The giant's gone." With a quick gesture at Menolly, he leaned forward. "I won't tell your secret. Or hers."
I sucked in a deep breath. Direct questioning wasn't going to work on him. "What do you want with me?"
He traced an intricate pattern on the table. I tensed—the weave looked like spell work, but I couldn't feel any magic emanating from it, so I tried to relax. "It's not what I want with you," he said. "It's what I can do for you."
"And what can you do for me?" I leaned forward, realizing that I was asking more than one question.
"I can help you find that which you seek," he said. "I know the forest. I know how to track, to sniff out and seek."
He lifted his head, locking me in with his gaze. His slow smile ran through my veins like fine wine, disorienting me as the energy of the woodland closed in around us. Dark and deep, old and wild, it wove itself like a cloak around his shoulders. "Whatever you want beyond that, I'm sure I can provide."
As I caught my breath, I realized he was an Earthside spirit and that he belonged to this world. "Did Grandmother Coyote call you in on our behalf?"
Another smile, another yank into a swirling kaleidoscope of leaves and twigs and roots plunging deep into the earth. "Not exactly, but she showed me those who threaten this world. My world. I'm at your disposal. Put me to work."
He lifted his glass to salute me, and I returned the compliment, wondering what to do next. My question was answered when Menolly caught my attention. She hadn't lifted a finger, but we were sisters, and I could feel when she called me. I glanced over at the bar to where she stood, a small book in her hand. A traveler's notebook, an elastic band held the pages closed. Jocko's diary.
"You'd better go talk to her. I'll wait for you," Morio said.
As I slowly stood, keeping my eye on my new companion, it occurred to me that Morio had affected me in a way no man had since before I'd met Trillian. Whether that boded for good or ill remained to be seen.
Menolly gave me a quizzical look as I approached the bar. I asked for another white wine, then leaned over the counter. "We need to talk."
"I can't get off duty right now, and after work I want to look around and see if I can figure out who was helping Bad Ass Luke from here. But take the journal with you. By the way, who's the hot-to-trot? Please don't tell me he's on Shadow Wing's side."
I raised one eyebrow and glanced back at Morio, who lifted his glass in my direction. "I'm not sure yet, but he's an emissary from Grandmother Coyote, and if he's a demon, he's an earthbound one. I'm certain he's not in league with our big bad boys from the netherworlds. I'd smell them on him."
"Really?" Menolly topped off my glass and pushed it across the counter, along with the diary. "I've been watching you two. You've got something going on there. Be interesting to find out just what he is… maybe a wizard?"
I shook my head. "Don't think so, but can't tell yet. Okay, I'm leaving, and I'll probably take him with me."
"Planning on doing some undercover work?" she asked, snickering.
I started to make a smart-assed retort, but who was I kidding? "I wouldn't mind finding out what's under that smooth exterior, I'll tell you that. His name's Morio, by the way. If anything happens to me, go to Grandmother Coyote and ask her what's going down." Sliding the diary into my purse, I drained the glass, then strode back over to the booth, where I nodded to Morio. "You coming?"
Without a word, he stood, slid his shoulder bag, and followed.
The rain whipped so hard that I cringed; my legs felt like they were under attack by a swarm of bees. Morio didn't seem to notice, but he did know where I'd parked and led me directly to my car. As I unlocked the doors, I wondered if I was crazy getting behind the wheel with this strange creature by my side. Inhaling deeply to calm myself, I fastened my seat belt and waited while he did the same.
"We're going back to your house?" he asked.
I glanced at him quickly. "Why?"
"That seems most logical. You need to sleep before tomorrow. We are going looking for Tom Lane, aren't we?"
I sighed. "Listen, I don't know what you are, or how you know so much, but bad manners or not—I want some straight answers. You say Grandmother Coyote told you about me, you say you watched our house, and you knew which car was mine. What's going on?"
He grinned then, a full-fledged, delightful grin that made me want to lean over and kiss him. "Camille, your temper's showing."
