“Really?”
“Not here,” Maurice growls. He is furious, I can tell. “Can we talk?”
“Why not?” Reijo says and slides gracefully from the stool. He’s wearing strappy heels, I see when he stands, and I was right about his height—he’s much shorter than either of us. “Let’s take this outside, shall we?”
The bartender eyes us warily, but I follow Reijo when Maurice signals for me to move. I don’t like turning my back on anyone in this pub. Still, we make it outside without incident and walk silently down the street, to the corner.
It is unusually quiet, not a soul outside save for us. Maurice crosses his arms over his chest when Reijo stops. “Well, hunter?” Reijo asks, voice cooler than it was in the pub. “What do you want?”
“I want to know why so many fae are crossing over,” Maurice says.
Reijo looks at him with a puzzled frown. “Why would they not?”
“No, not like this. You know something else is going on. Why are they all cominghere? Modern cities are no good for you.”
“I don’t know,” Reijo says with an elegant shrug. “I find I thrive in places like this.”
“Maybeyoudo.”
Reijo studies his face, then mine. “What happened?”
“We…” Maurice blows out a breath. “We were attacked last night.”
“By fae?”
“By a selkie and a dryad,” Maurice says. “Do you know her?”
“Who?”
“The selkie.”
“There are many of my kind I do not know. Doyouknow all vampires?”
It’s a reasonable answer, but Maurice’s eyes narrow. “Answer the question.”
“I do not know if I know the selkie who attacked you.” Reijo glares back at Maurice. He’s holding himself stiffly now, though, and tugs the front of his coat more tightly closed.
“You think you might,” Maurice says. “You can’t lie.”
“Everyone knows that about the fae.”
“So tell me—I met a selkie last night. She likes a pretty glamour; a white woman, with dark hair and a white streak through it. Her sealskin is brown and has that same streak. She—”
“Stop it,” Reijo all but spits. “I don’t know why she would attack you, but—”
“Youdoknow her.”
Reijo shakes his head, but I get the impression he’s not denying the accusation. Hecan’t.
“She was with a dryad,” Maurice continues. “She drew me away, and the dryad tried to kill him.” He jerks his head in my direction, and Reijo looks at me for a second before he turns his attention back to Maurice.
“I don’t want to talk about her,” Reijo says. “I won’t.”
Maurice growls. He clenches a fist, and I can’t feel anything, but from the way Reijo’s eyes widen, I wonder if he’s pulling on the magic he somehow possesses.
“Youwill,” he says.
Reijo still looks frightened, and I want to reassure him, want to try to de-escalate the situation, but I’m not sure how.
