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Authors: Stacy Mantle
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roared past the freeway signs. A glance at the next exit told me I still had a ways to go. No use merging quite yet.
“You didn’t tell me he was a chimera,” I accused when Richard answered.
“A chimera?” he laughed. “What are you talking about?”
“Chimera,” I said, slowing down for yet another car. “You know…mythological creature turned into science project for bored geneticists. Do you have any idea how rare that is, Richard? Rare enough that I’ve only ever heard of it. And you sent me in there completely unprepared!”
He grunted. “I wouldn’t have guessed that he was a chimera.”
“You wouldn’t have guessed…” I shook my head. “I warned you, Richard. I told you we needed more information before going in there. I warned you that you didn’t know a goddamned thing about the situation. Now I have to deal with a chimera.”
He let my cursing go this time, which signaled to me that he knew he was in the wrong. Which also meant I was wasting my time on a lecture.
“How did it go?” he asked, ignoring my impending hysteria.
“How did it go…” I repeated. “How do you think it went? The poor thing hadn’t shifted in months. I glanced in the rearview mirror and noted a black Acura behind me that was keeping up with my hazardous driving a little too well. “I had no idea what to do. He’s sick, Richard. Another week of refusing to shift and he would have been too weak to try.”
“You handled it, of course.”
“Of course, I handled it. I couldn’t let him suffer.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I didn’t really want to tell him about the cancellation, but didn’t see much of a choice. Besides, he was the one who created the problem—not me. It wasn’t my idea to send a new Shepherd into the den of a chimera. He picked up on my obvious hesitation.
“What are you not telling me?” he asked.
“Meg saw him after he Shifted.” I hesitated, knowing he wouldn’t like the next piece of news. “We had to do a cancellation.”
“ We , who?” His voice was flat. He already knew the answer.
“You know who.” I glanced in the rearview mirror again, watching the Acura fall back a bit. “It’s not like I have a lot of choice in the matter.”
A long silence followed as he processed the information. He didn’t like Bren any more than I did. The wild vampire didn’t fit into Richard’s world of authority and control.
“Is Meg okay?” He finally asked.
“She was fine when I left.” I wondered why he would bother to ask. He knows I do my job, he knows that Bren is the least favorite member of my extended family, and he knows that I don’t trust the vampire as far as I can throw him, which means I watch him all that closer. So why the sudden concern about my ability to manage the situation?
“What’s going on, Richard?”
I could hear him tapping the desk as he paused. “It’s nothing. Besides, it’s done now.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, checking my mirrors again. The black sports car was still behind me; just far enough back for anyone who hadn’t been tailed her entire life to think it was a coincidence. The problem was that it didn’t make sense to tail a person—not in the digital age. It’s much simpler to make use of satellites and the million other forms of technology available. With things like GPS, microscopic cameras, and electro-optical equipment, even a trusted family pet could be turned into an effective listening or tracking device. So assuming I was being trailed, the person doing it was definitely “old school.”
Taking my foot off the gas, I slowed a bit and waited to see how the Acura would respond to a change in speed. The black car did not slow. Within a few seconds, it blew past me two lanes over. I chalked it up to paranoia. Besides, why would anyone bother to follow me?
The flash of a roadside camera brought me back to attention. Someone was getting a speeding ticket — I just hoped it wasn’t me. Unlike Billy, it
“You didn’t tell me he was a chimera,” I accused when Richard answered.
“A chimera?” he laughed. “What are you talking about?”
“Chimera,” I said, slowing down for yet another car. “You know…mythological creature turned into science project for bored geneticists. Do you have any idea how rare that is, Richard? Rare enough that I’ve only ever heard of it. And you sent me in there completely unprepared!”
He grunted. “I wouldn’t have guessed that he was a chimera.”
“You wouldn’t have guessed…” I shook my head. “I warned you, Richard. I told you we needed more information before going in there. I warned you that you didn’t know a goddamned thing about the situation. Now I have to deal with a chimera.”
He let my cursing go this time, which signaled to me that he knew he was in the wrong. Which also meant I was wasting my time on a lecture.
“How did it go?” he asked, ignoring my impending hysteria.
“How did it go…” I repeated. “How do you think it went? The poor thing hadn’t shifted in months. I glanced in the rearview mirror and noted a black Acura behind me that was keeping up with my hazardous driving a little too well. “I had no idea what to do. He’s sick, Richard. Another week of refusing to shift and he would have been too weak to try.”
“You handled it, of course.”
“Of course, I handled it. I couldn’t let him suffer.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I didn’t really want to tell him about the cancellation, but didn’t see much of a choice. Besides, he was the one who created the problem—not me. It wasn’t my idea to send a new Shepherd into the den of a chimera. He picked up on my obvious hesitation.
“What are you not telling me?” he asked.
“Meg saw him after he Shifted.” I hesitated, knowing he wouldn’t like the next piece of news. “We had to do a cancellation.”
“ We , who?” His voice was flat. He already knew the answer.
“You know who.” I glanced in the rearview mirror again, watching the Acura fall back a bit. “It’s not like I have a lot of choice in the matter.”
A long silence followed as he processed the information. He didn’t like Bren any more than I did. The wild vampire didn’t fit into Richard’s world of authority and control.
“Is Meg okay?” He finally asked.
“She was fine when I left.” I wondered why he would bother to ask. He knows I do my job, he knows that Bren is the least favorite member of my extended family, and he knows that I don’t trust the vampire as far as I can throw him, which means I watch him all that closer. So why the sudden concern about my ability to manage the situation?
“What’s going on, Richard?”
I could hear him tapping the desk as he paused. “It’s nothing. Besides, it’s done now.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, checking my mirrors again. The black sports car was still behind me; just far enough back for anyone who hadn’t been tailed her entire life to think it was a coincidence. The problem was that it didn’t make sense to tail a person—not in the digital age. It’s much simpler to make use of satellites and the million other forms of technology available. With things like GPS, microscopic cameras, and electro-optical equipment, even a trusted family pet could be turned into an effective listening or tracking device. So assuming I was being trailed, the person doing it was definitely “old school.”
Taking my foot off the gas, I slowed a bit and waited to see how the Acura would respond to a change in speed. The black car did not slow. Within a few seconds, it blew past me two lanes over. I chalked it up to paranoia. Besides, why would anyone bother to follow me?
The flash of a roadside camera brought me back to attention. Someone was getting a speeding ticket — I just hoped it wasn’t me. Unlike Billy, it
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