“Then you do it,” Asil suggested. He was looking forward to his upcoming date with Ruby. His wolf was not consistently as coherent now as it had been in her presence, but he wasn’t worried he would come to himself in a room filled with dead bodies he and his wolf had left behind them, either. It was a good feeling.
“Me?”
“You are as capable as I am.” Asil considered his statement and added, “Almost.”
“Thank you. And I would.”
“But?”
“I can’t make it to Seattle.” The other’s tone wasunexpectedly grim. “In case you haven’t been paying attention, the storm that you drove through Wednesday has been getting worse. Snoqualmie, White Pass, and Stevens Pass are all closed.”
Meaning Asil was trapped in Seattle until they opened again, unless he wanted to travel on four feet—or fly out. It didn’t matter much to him; he was staying in Seattle to have dinner with Ruby.
But his friend wasn’t finished. “As are Lolo, Fourth of July, and Lookout. Highway 2 is closed at Bonners Ferry.”
Asil sat up abruptly. Those were all of his possible automobile routes to Montana. Almost as if something wanted to keep him here.
“That is an awfully large storm,” he said. “No one noticed that it was on the way?”
He didn’t always follow the weather predictions, but he was fairly sure that people would have been talking about a storm that stretched from the Cascades through the Rockies if it had been predicted.
“Powers are at work,” said the other in the sometimes-spooky tones that accompanied the most dangerous times.
Previously, Asil would not have associated danger with dating, but his recent experiences might have changed that for good.
“That is a lot of effort to trap me in Seattle.”
“Ha!” His friend gave a sharp snort of laughter. “I can always count on you to make it about you, Asil. In this case, I think that the Powers are at work on other matters.” More thoughtfully, Asil’s friend continued, “I thought so, at least.But you being trapped in Seattle might be one of those two-birds-with-one-stone kinds of things.” A pause, followed by a predatory strike. “Like maybe you should reconsider your refusal.”
Asil pinched his nose until he realized what he was doing and pulled his hand away. He was spending too much time in the Marrok’s presence and picking up his mannerisms.
“Look,” said his friend, soft voiced. “I understand your reluctance. I spoke to Alan Choo earlier today. He told me that your last date might be leading to an actual something. And you owe me for that.”
“Do I?” asked Asil dangerously. “Do I really?”
His friend changed tactics. “Surely she—of all people—will understand if you have one last obligation to fulfill. Especially since your previous obligation was freeing Ruby from servitude. Or from being food. Alan seemed a bit muddled on that point.”
“Obligation?” Asil let his tongue linger on the syllables. “Is it an obligation? I thought these dates were meant to be gifts?”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” his Concerned Friend said—and continued speaking because, of course, that was a lie. “This morning I started to cancel your date. Before I could hit send, my power cut out and my laptop fried itself. Now, that could be because we are in the middle of the storm of the century over here. But I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Asil didn’t answer. He remembered the moment on the mountain, the stillness that had overcome him when he’d sensed that he was being tapped for a greater purpose. He had wanted to assume that purpose had been fulfilled with the unexpected advent of Ruby into his life. But he was not normallya fool. Over many centuries of opportunity, Allah had never demonstrated overmuch regard for Asil’s happiness.
Asil had always known he was going on this last date, no matter how reluctantly, but he had wanted to make his friend work for it.
“All right,” he said. “But there is a price.”
“Agreed.” No mistaking the relief in his friend’s voice. “I was pretty sure you were going to make me pay for sending you out on these dates anyway.”
“At the end of this, I get to send you on a date.”
“That sounds…fair, actually. Fine.”
“Be grateful to Ruby,” Asil said ominously, “that your just deserts aren’t worse. Tell me where I’m going and when. Remember, please, I am busy on Saturday.”
A sigh traveled to his ear by the magic of the cell phone. “After the cat fiasco, I canceled everything and went back to the drawing board—for all the good that did either of us. This date is from SwingingWithStrangers.com. Under the circumstances, you will be glad to know that while sex is an option, it is not a necessity. Your date is Mari-Brigid Alvarez, the young and beautiful wife of a very wealthy businessman who is, like Howard Hughes, a man who does not leave his mansion.”
“Where am I taking her?” Asil asked.
