Colette shrugged again. "They're of no use except for what I can do with them, and the fact that people fancy them. I find that much color gauche."
It was a pity Declan wasn't a seagull shifter, Tara thought quite clearly. Colette Saunier could use somebody pooping on her head. "Why would you even want to work with those kinds of colors if you don't personally like them?"
"To get paid an outrageous amount of money," Colette said coolly, and Tara decided she didn't really want to have much more conversation with this woman. Fortunately, Declan, in all his peacocky glory, decided the time was right to approach them. He came quite close, lifting his train, and began that funny, tail-rattling dance that he'd done for her at the wildlife park.
Tara put her camera down to clap for him, making a series of delighted cooing sounds that weren't performative at all: she really was thrilled to watch his dance, and the way the feathers glimmered in the soft morning light. Another of the peacocks came hurrying over like it was afraid it was missing out on some quality flirting time, then—Tara swore—it stared at Declan in dismay, like it was wondering why on earth he was putting so much effort in for a couple of humans. Its entire posture basically said "You can't hatch chicks withthosebirds, mate!"
Declan ignored his rival and spun and hopped a bit more, feathers rattling and glinting before he heaved a sigh and, with an expression just as effortful as the one yesterday at the wildlife park, ejected two tail feathers, which drifted gently to the ground.
Chapter 10
Colette Saunier pounced toward Declan's fallen feathers like a starved predator. Even the human part of Declan wanted to flinch back; his peacock, which was considerably more in control just then, gave a horrified shriek and flung its wings wide, bouncing into the air and out of Saunier's reach. She snatched up his fallen feathers, and his peacock snarled,I don't like her having them!inside Declan's head.
I don't either.Declan tried to sound calming and reassuring and was quite sure he failed.But look now, she's got them and we can call the guards on her if nothing else, and that will keep her from ever taking any more from any peacocks.
Or I could peck her eyes out,his peacock snapped.That would stop her, too.
For a moment Declan enjoyed considering the tempting option, but then sighed and got the peacock to settle back on the grass.That would be bad,he said regretfully.They would consider us a dangerous wild animal, then, and probably have to put us down.
We're already down,his peacock grumped, and stomped its feet on the ground a few times to make sure Declan understood.
Ah. Em. Right. No, it means... Never mind.The last thing he needed was the bird panicking at the idea of…well…what 'putting them down' meant in human terms regarding dangerous animals. He didn't even want to think what it really meant, just in case the bird caught on.It means we wouldn't be able to stay with and protect our mate,he said after a moment, and that was horrifying enough to the peacock.
No! We must stay with her! Tara is perfect and funny and clever and beautiful! And she loves it when I get it up! See?His peacock fluffed its tail demonstratively, and Declan had to admit that Taradidlook delighted. Saunier made greedy, grasping hands, though, and the peacock clicked wildly at her, a warning to back off. She did, but with a furious look at Tara that made his peacock screech in anger.How dare she look at our mate that way! I'll bite her nose!
Declan started to say,It's fine, it'll be all right,when a horde of small children in uniform suddenly arrived at great speed, with delighted screams and shouts aboutlook at the pretty birds!Like every other peafowl in the green, Declan flung himself toward the safety of low tree branches and bushes to hide behind as the stampede of children grew larger and larger. Both in number and in sizeofthe children: there had to be two hundred of them, ranging from smaller than Declan himself up to some rangy kids who looked three times the smallest ones' sizes.
Amidst their happy squealing, Colette shrieked, "No! I need my feathers!" and actually started chasing one of the peacocks herself. She looked like an angry, oversized toddler among all the kids, whereas Tara, who climbed to her feet and watched the children with obvious amusement, seemed like an oasis of adult calm.
They were not going to be able to getanythingdone with their plan to scare Saunier straight, with all these kids around. Declan could spend the next hour or so with Tara, probably. Maybe longer, depending on how long the school tour took. Maybe long enough for his mates to get there, after which Declan had a plan that would definitely convince Colette the peacock gods disapproved of her behavior. So, since he didn't have much other choice except nesting in a tree for a while, Declan hopped to the ground and went in search of somewhere to shift without being seen.
He made it around to the back side of a thicket and was looking around to be sure he was unobserved when a net fell over him, and a cheerful Corkish accent said, "Sorry, lad, but it'll be safer to keep all of yis penned up until the smallies are gone. Bernie should never have let you out this morning to begin with."
Then, to Declan's absolute horror, the groundskeeper scooped him up in the net and carted him off to the peacock enclosure.
Chapter 11
The groundskeeper had kidnapped Declan.
That was all Tara could think, watching him being carried away. Their plan was to convince Colette Saunier to be a better human being, and instead, they'd gotten Declankidnapped.
The other peacocks were being rounded up, too, with remarkable efficiency. It looked like the five or six men doing the job had a lot of practice at it. And given the cheerfully yelling children and their obvious desire to chase the big birds all over the place, it was obviously a good idea, overall. But the rest of them weren't beingkidnapped! They were actual birds! They were being secured for their safety! AllDeclanneeded for his own safety was a few seconds out of everybody's line of sight so he could shift! And instead, this!
This had already been far more adventure than Tara had planned on for her Irish vacation, and now she had to rescue a kidnapped peacock. Her life had become unrecognizable in just a few days.
It waswonderful.
One of the peahens ran by her, straight into a keeper's net, and as it kicked and shrieked, Tara saw the answer to all her problems: the castle birds were banded on their left ankles. She hadn't noticed it before, but that would clear everything up. Declan didn't have a band, so obviously he didn't belong to the castle peacocks. Relieved, Tara followed the groundskeepers down to the peacock enclosure, which turned out to be a quite nice spot near the river. It was gated and fenced off, with a net over its considerable square footage, and there were a number of coops that would suit chickens just perfectly, if they were peacock-sized.
The last of the birds was being closed inside as Tara caught up to them, and she waved the final groundskeeper down. He was a craggy man in his fifties who looked like he'd spent a lot of time working outside in his life, and his expression as she approached bordered on hostile. "This is private property, miss."
"I know," Tara said apologetically. "I did see the signs. But—one of those peacocks you rounded up is, uh, mine." She lifted her camera. "I was taking pictures of him? He's right there." She pointed to Declan, who was more or less smooshed up against the wire fence like a kid staring into a candy store's window. Blue feathers poked through the wire, and he kept switching his head from side to side, staring at her with desperate hope. "No ankle band, see? He's not one of yours."
The groundskeeper, with the most suspicious expression Tara had ever seen on a human face, went to examine Declan's ankle, then straightened with an incredibly deep scowl. "And how did ye get this craytchur inside the grounds to take pictures, I ask ye? Sure an' nobody saw yebrangin' a paycook in through the gaytes this marnin', did they?" Every word became more thicker with accusation, until Tara was left fighting her way through the accent to understand the words.
"I…released him over the estate wall last night?" She didn't even know if the estatehadwalls, but the groundskeeper's suspicious glare relented just the tiniest fraction. Apparently that was plausible.
"And where's your paypurs?" the man demanded.
