“I have no sweetness,” she said. “I taste of saltness.”
I looked up to see her sitting in the tree in human form, her gauzy gown all shades of gray and lavender, her hair lavender too. She was a shape-shifter, a being of pure energy, who could achieve a state of matter and any form she wanted. Many with big teeth and claws. She was also immature, unsure of her place or her boundaries, yet full of opinions, and aggressively sullen. Like I had been as a teenager.
I had never been able to resist yanking her chain. “Salty. Good to know. In case I get hungry.”
Storm reared back as if insulted. I laughed and glanced upstream for any last sign of Ayatas. He was gone, so I headed back to the sweathouse. I double-checked the fire and picked up the plastic bin containing the undyed gown Grandmother had been wearing. In it I tossed the bloody cloth from my pocket. I wondered if Grandmother knew what could be done with DNA these days.
After I showered, towel-dried my pelt, and redressed, I put my own shift into a separate bin, Monique’s scorched bloody cloth went into a zippy, and I carried them inside the inn, heading to Alex’s domain. On the way, I grabbed leftover quiche from the fridge and munched it down. It hadn’t been there long and was still warm from the oven. I bit in and chewed.Heaven. Next slice would be shrimp.
Alex was sitting at his desk, yawning, a cup of espresso at his elbow.
“Alex, will you send all these to Leo’s lab in Texas for DNA testing? Three samples.”
“Your lab,” he said. “Leo’s dead.”
“Fine. The one with the scorched blood is Monique Giovanni’s. The unscorched one with the blood is to be listed, ‘Unknown.’ It’s Gramma’s.”
He looked up, startled. “Hayalasti Sixmankiller? That gramma?”
“The one and only.” I tapped the one on top, adding, “This one is mine.”
Alex met my gaze, speculation in his. “You sure you want to do that, Janie?”
“No. But we need a comparison, and my brother didn’t leave his loincloth behind.”
“Not a problem.” He pushed my bin back to me. “Wash that. We have your DNA and Ayatas FireWind’s DNA already.” He turned back to the screen.
Carefully, in my best Christian children’s home manners, I swallowed and said, “I beg your pardon?”
Alex ducked his head, his eyes on the screens. His fingers shifting between three of five keyboards. His dark skin carried a greenish tint from the screens, and his spiral curls bounced into his eyes.
“Alex?”
His fingers faltered. “So fuuu... reaking not fair.” He blew out an exasperated sigh. “You remember the first day Ayatas showed up? After you coldcocked him, and once he was able to breathe again, we ate a meal?” He stopped.
“I’m listening.”
“I collected your spoon and Ayatas’s fork, and... Well. We sent them to this doc at Leo’s lab. He ran both of them. So we have a record of you both already.”
“And you didn’t think that sharing this with me was important?”
“It wasn’t urgent. We didn’t tell Dr.Northern whose it was. So he just put them in with the others, and the tech ran them with the next batch. It took a while. And then you had the Sangre Duello and the cancer and... ummm.” He blew out a breath, and the little spiral curls fluttered. “And we got the results. But they didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know. Ayatas is your biological brother, and you both have fuc—messed-up DNA.”
I knew for a fact he had just dumbed down the report for me. “I’ve been in the Rift. Run mine again and get them to run a comparison between my new and my old, as well as against Gramma’s and Ayatas’s.” I slapped the back of his head, and he resisted the grin that wanted to pop out. “No cussing. And this time I want to read the comparison report.”
“Yes, Mooom,” he said, drawling out the word as if it was an insult. “Just so you know, it will take weeks to do acomparison unless we send it as urgent or send it to a specialist genetics lab.”
“Call it urgent. Keep it in-house. And stop treating me like I’m dying.”
“Hard habit to break. You had us terrified.”
“I love you too, bro. I’m grabbing some more leftovers and getting a nap in. See you in a bit.”
***
I didn’t nap well, and I didn’t need much rest in this form, though I did hope falling asleep might allow my body to shift back into my human form. No such luck. Late afternoon, I woke and was still in half-form, but the uncomfortable crown had come off, so that was good. Bruiser’s scent was on the air, letting me know he had checked on me while I slept. A peaceful warmth spread through me. “Coolio,” I murmured, rolling out of bed. I wasn’t used to being loved or having people to care about. I was still practicing all that and experiencing the joy of family.
I had showered at the sweathouse, so I was fast, brushing my fangs, pulling on clean yoga pants and a long-sleeved tee in a washed denim blue color. Makeup, even lipstick, was impossible with a partially pelted face, and I still sucked at putting the stuff on. I checked myself out in the mirror. I still had pawed feet, so shoes were a waste of time. I shrugged at my reflection. “Good to go,” I said to myself.
