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"Sure," she said with a wistful look. "But I can dream, can't I?" With a laugh, she took off for the hal bath. Nerissa had spent enough time here. She knew where the towels were.
As I stood there, watching the back of the Amazon goddess as she headed down the hal , I could only hope that things worked out better for them than they had for Chase and me. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Iris answered and led Luke in.
"Have you found out anything about Amber?" he asked, scanning the room quickly.
I shook my head. "We have some news, but now more questions. Iris, can you help Camil e get her ass in here?"
I motioned for Luke to join me in the living room. He slid into one of the upholstered armchairs and crossed his legs, tapping on the end table with his fingers. Nervous. Beneath the scruffy exterior, I could see the glimmer of trouble in his eyes. His long ponytail was neatly caught back, and he looked like he was trying to keep his composure.
Camil e slowly made her way to the sofa, looking exhausted. Iris brought her a blanket and then quickly vanished with the promise of tea and cookies.
Luke looked at Camil e for a moment, then sniffed the air. "What the hel happened to you? I smel something . . ." He stopped short and growled.
"Wolf Briar." I said the words as gently as I could, but he jerked his head up, his face a wash of fear.
"No . . . no. Where the hel did you run into Wolf Briar? I didn't know that crap could affect a non-Were. Unless there's something about Camil e that I don't know." He bit his lip and then let out a soft sigh as the words sunk in. "Not . . . Amber?"
"When we went to Amber's room, we found a trap. It exploded al over Camil e. Definitely Wolf Briar. Apparently it messes something fierce with magical energy like Camil e possesses. Damned stuff paralyzed her. We had to cal in the medics."
"And my sister?"
I could tel he was holding his breath, and I shook my head. "We don't know. She's gone. Her clothes are there, her purse and keys. But Amber's gone.
A strange magical signature was left behind in the room. We have no idea what's going on." I paused for a moment. "Do you think Rice would use Wolf Briar to capture her?"
Luke winced. "I'd like to say yes, because that scumbag wil use just about any dirty trick in the book . . . but Wolf Briar . . ." He shook his head. "I can't imagine a werewolf using it on another werewolf. They'd have to be a psychopath, and while Rice is a sadistic bastard . . ." Wiping his hands on his knees, he final y looked up at me. "I don't know, but I'm not inclined to think so."
"Is there a way to find out if Rice is in Arizona right now? If so, he can't be the one who actual y used it, though I suppose he could have hired somebody."
Luke frowned. "I don't have any connections down there anymore. Amber was the only one from the Pack that would talk to me. Except . . ." He frowned, then stood and paced over to the window. "I had one buddy. He's an expatriate from the Pack, too--but he stayed down in the desert. I haven't heard from him in ages, but I can try to contact him. He might be able to find out for us."
As he pul ed out his cel phone and began flipping through the contact list, it occurred to me that Luke was very much like us. He was a Windwalker, a nomad without roots. He'd been cast out. We lived between worlds. More and more it seemed like too many people had nothing to anchor themselves to except the family they could create from their friends.
"Hey, while you're looking for his number, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? We're going to be putting on a huge spread here, and you're more than welcome to join us. Your sister, too, once we find her." I wasn't about to put a damper on the offer by hinting that I thought Amber was dead.>As I put the Jeep in gear and we headed toward the freeway, Camil e talked Luke into meeting us at the house. Then she cal ed Iris to let her know we'd be there in a few and would she have a good lunch ready. But my mind wasn't on lunch or on the road. It was back in that basement apartment, mul ing over the bombshel Carter had dropped on us. I had a mil ion questions for him, but they'd have to wait.
CHAPTER 8
When we pul ed into the driveway, I noticed right away there was a strange car there. A four-door Volvo . . . it looked familiar, and yet it didn't. As I hustled Camil e up the stairs, helping her as she leaned against the railing, the sound of arguing came blaring from inside.
"What the hel ?" I opened the door to a blast of shouting from the living room. Iris hurried over, and I pushed Camil e toward her. "Get Camil e settled and comfy somewhere, please, and don't let her get out of her chair except to go to the bathroom, please. What the hel 's going on in there? Who's yel ing?"
Iris looked flustered. "I was about to break it up. Nerissa's going at it with . . ." She paused, staring at the wal beside me.
"You don't want to make eye contact. Al right, who is it? Tel me before I go in and find out myself. Forewarned is fore-armed." I wasn't in any mood for shouting fests, arguments, or whining.
"Andy Gambit." Iris blinked.
"Gambit? Gambit? That little weasel is here?" Camil e struggled to push past us toward the living room, but I barred the way.
"I'l take care of this. You--go sit in the rocking chair in the kitchen. Iris, please fix her some tea and strap her down if you have to. Then join me. I'l take care of whatever the heck is going on in there."
Without another word, I strode into the living room. Andy Gambit stood there, and I stared at his back for a moment. Yel ow journalist extraordinaire, purveyor of sleaze, slander, and innuendo, he was an unassuming little prick, making up for his lack of personality with ful -scale assault on anybody belonging to the Supe Community.
My guess is that we'd replaced the blacks, Hispanics, and Asians as his targets. He was also pushing Taggart Jones, a wing nut extremist going head-to-head with Nerissa for the council seat. Jones wanted to revoke al rights that had been extended to the Supe Community and the Fae, and--in his own words--"Drive them freaks right back where they belong. Under a rock."
And if Gambit was arguing with Nerissa, that could only mean . . .
"You fucking freaky cunt," Gambit said as I entered the room, his attention focused on Nerissa. "I knew I'd catch you up. Not only are you one of those damned Weres, you're also a lesbian and into necrophilia. Corpse slut. So, you the D'Artigo freak's blood whore? You might as wel admit it--"
