Forever Read online

  That wouldn’t have been you, would it?

  No. He committed a major violation of the creed, Steven.

  Sorry. I need to learn more about the creed.

  It bids us to do no harm if it can be avoided.

  I see.

  His thumb stroked my arm. I sighed, wishing we could stay like that all day.

  So do I, but I had best get moving. I should shower.

  I smiled, remembering the shower. He kissed my forehead, then got up, leaving me drowsing.

  I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. On two cups of coffee I shouldn’t have, but I did. I woke up when Lomen came in to get his shoes.

  I looked at the clock. “Oh, crap!”

  Your first class is at nine, correct?

  I have chem lab at eight.

  I jumped out of bed and scrambled into some clothes. The bedroom was getting trashed with dirty laundry and my unpacked bag sitting around. I would fix it later. I had a full day.

  Manda offered us a ride. I said no thanks, determined to ride my bike as much as possible. Didn’t see Lomen again; he had another test midday, so I had lunch alone at the Student Union Building.

  By the time I got home—some time that week, Len and Caeran’s had become home—I was hot and tired and brain-fried. The molecular biology class was a second-level course, and I was a couple of weeks behind. It would take some work to catch up.

  I put away my bike and came in from the garage to find the place deserted. Wonderful smells were coming from the kitchen. I went in to look and found a big pot simmering on the stove: green chile chicken stew.

  I volunteered to set the table, and watched Bironan and Faranin covertly, curious how they’d react to the chile, but they took it in stride. I guessed they’d had a lot of opportunities to sample extreme cuisine.

  Len was a little agitated. I couldn’t blame her. She was quiet a lot, and she and Caeran gazed at each other a lot.

  Not long after sunset a car pulled up out front. Savhoran had arrived—without Pirian.

  “Is Pirian coming on the bike?” Caeran asked.

  “I haven’t talked to him since last night,” Savhoran said.

  Caeran and Faranin exchanged a few words of ælven. Savhoran took out his phone and punched in a call, then waited while it rang.

  Not good. I traded a glance with Lomen. I was even more glad he was staying home tonight.

  Savhoran frowned and punched at his phone some more. Manda sat next to him, watching him. After a minute he said, “Pirian. Call me,” and hung up.

  Caeran stood. “We’ll go without him.”

  Len looked up at him, worried. Faranin and Bironan stood. Savhoran bent to say something in Amanda’s ear, then the four of them went out.

  Len sat staring at the door. I went to the dining nook and started clearing the table. Amanda came and helped. We tidied the nook and the kitchen. Amanda fixed a mug of tea and took it out to Len.

  “Let’s play poker,” she said brightly.

  Len came to the table, though she was clearly distracted. Amanda got out the cards and we sat down to another tournament. Lomen obviously liked poker, and he was good at it. I got too ambitious and lost all my chips early, so Amanda elected me dealer and proceeded to pelt me with little details about how it should be done.

  Len’s heart wasn’t in the game. She let her chips trickle away, and didn’t seem to care when they were all gone. She shuffled the cards for me and stared at the front door. Then, when we were halfway through a hand, she jumped up.

  The door opened. Caeran and the others came in. Len ran a couple of steps toward him.

  “They weren’t there,” he said.

  “What about Pirian?” Len asked.

  “We can’t find him.”

  Amanda went to Savhoran, abandoning the game. Lomen and I got up and joined the others in the living room.

  They talked about whether to go back later to the alben’s hotel, or go look for them on campus. No one was sure what to do.

  It was a week since I’d found Kimberly. “They’re out hunting,” I said, to myself mostly, but everyone else stopped talking.

  Caeran frowned, then looked at Savhoran. “When did Pirian last hunt?”

  Savhoran raised his shoulders. “We do not hunt together. He prefers to go alone.”

  “Has he been keeping the creed?”

  “I cannot say. He does not defer to me.”

  “You are the head of Clan Ebonwatch.”

  “In name. But we are not brethren, Caeran. We have no such bond.”

  Lomen stepped forward. “We should go to the campus.”

  I wanted to protest. I clenched my jaw and shielded.

  “I will go,” said Savhoran.

  “Yes,” Caeran said, “let us go now. Perhaps we can prevent them...Lomen, you will remain here in my stead.”

  Len looked miserable, but didn’t say anything.

  “I am willing to go,” Lomen said.

  “No, I wish to speak to them, if I can. Stay and guard our kin.”

  They went out again, the four of them. Len stayed on the couch. No one bothered to suggest we go back to the poker game.

  Manda turned on the TV and channel surfed. She found a silly movie and left it on. Len sat hugging a cushion, staring at the screen with unseeing eyes.

  I quietly cleared away the card game, went and collected a load of laundry and set it going, then sat with Lomen. We watched the movie, then the news. When the talk shows started, I glanced at Lomen, then stuffed the laundry in the dryer and headed for bed, thinking maybe Len needed some girl-talk with Manda.

  Lomen followed me. We slid into bed and held each other. We didn’t talk. No use speculating on what was going on with the hunters. We would hear about it when they got back.

  I shielded, just for the sake of getting into the habit, then tried not to think about the alben. The memory of finding Kimberly kept coming to me and I kept pushing it away. Finally I drifted to sleep.

  I woke when Lomen got out of bed. “They’re back,” he whispered, pulling on his jeans.

  I got up and dressed. It was getting light outside, though it wasn’t yet seven.

  Caeran, Faranin, and Bironan were in the living room. Len looked like she might have slept on the couch. I glanced at Amanda, who was in her chair with her tablet. She looked all right, so I concluded that Savhoran was OK and had gone to ground for the day.

  “What’s the news?”

  Caeran grimaced. “We didn’t find them.”

  “We searched the entire campus,” said Faranin.

  “Twice,” Bironan added.

  “The last hour we went back to their hotel, but they were not there either,” Caeran said.

  “And Pirian?” Lomen asked. “Still no sign?”

  Caeran shook his head. “I left another message on his voicemail.”

  “Holy shit!” Manda said.

  She was staring wide-eyed at her tablet. I moved to look over her shoulder at a photo of a woman, naked, splayed like Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man.

  “I just found this online,” Manda said in a shaky voice. “It’s gone viral.”

  Lomen peered at it, then grabbed the TV controls and in a few seconds had the image on the big screen. It wasn’t great quality—obviously snapped on someone’s phone—but it was clear enough.

  The woman was tied to a chain link fence. Her wrists were bloody, but that was nothing compared to the river of blood that had poured down her torso. Her head was bowed forward, black hair dangling in two dagger points.

  “It’s Poppy,” I said.

  “Oh, my god,” said Len.

  A few tattooed curlicues were visible on the woman’s shoulders. Most of the tatt was drenched in her blood.

  “You know her?” Caeran asked.

  “S-she worked at Zimmerman,” Manda said.

  Caeran walked toward the screen, peering not at Poppy but at her surroundings. “Where is this?”

  Where was there a fence like that? The background
was dark, except for some shadowy shapes that looked tree-like and a few distant points of light. I took a couple of steps toward the TV.

  “Golf course,” I said.

  “Oh, crap,” said Manda. “North of campus.”

  Lomen looked at Caeran. “Did you search there?”

  “Not that far north.”

  Caeran headed toward the garage. Faranin rose and followed, with Bironan behind him.

  “I’ll go with you,” said Lomen.

  “No. Stay and watch them,” Caeran told him, gesturing toward the couch, where Len had curled up around a cushion again.

  I picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned off the TV, then took Manda’s tablet away from her and shut it off. She let out a gasping sob. I sat next to her and held her while she cried.

  Len was crying too, but silently. Lomen went and put an arm around her. She turned and buried her head in his chest.

  It took a while for them both to be cried out. When Manda was calm enough, I got up and fetched her a handful of tissues, then went into the kitchen to start tea and coffee.

  Lomen joined me. “You knew her?”

  “Not really. Not like they did.” I nodded toward the living room. “I saw her at the library a few times, and we’d chat a little, but we weren’t friends.”

  We took mugs of hot stuff to Len and Manda. Lomen asked if they wanted breakfast, but they both said no.

  “We should watch the news,” Manda said.

  She picked up the remote and turned on the TV, then muted it. Images of local politicians filled the screen.

  “They won’t put that picture on TV,” Len said.

  “Why not? The whole world’s already seen it online.”

  I sipped a mug of tea and watched the news stories, trying to guess the topics from the images and a little lip-reading.

  At 7:30, my phone rang, It was in the bedroom, so I hurried to grab it. Checked the number: campus police.

  I took a deep breath before answering.

  “Mr. Harrison?” said Buzz-cut’s voice.

  “Yes?”

  “We’re at your apartment. Where are you?”

  “I’m staying with friends.”

  “What address?”

  I was reluctant to give it to him. I didn’t want him barging in and pestering Len and Manda with questions. Refusing wouldn’t go over well, though. I gave him the address.

  “How long have you been there?”

  “A few days.”

  “When did you last leave?”

  “I went to classes yesterday. Came back about five-thirty.”

  “And you’ve been there since then?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can anyone there confirm that?”

  “Yes. Three others have been here the whole time.”

  “I’ll need their names.”

  I gave them. Lomen came in and sat on the bed, watching me, which made me realize I was pacing the room. I made myself stop, and sat beside him instead. He laid a hand on my back.

  “OK if we come ask you some questions?”

  “It’s a little early.”

  “We won’t take long.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Sure, fine.”

  He hung up, and I put the phone on the night stand. Lomen’s arm slid around my shoulders.

  You haven’t told me of this. How long has he been harassing you?

  He just doesn’t like me, is all.

  Lomen was silent.

  I don’t want him bugging Len and Manda.

  I will talk to him.

  That might make things worse.

  It won’t. I promise you. Let’s get you something to eat before he arrives.

  We went to the kitchen and made toast and eggs. Manda wandered in.

  “The news had a teaser about it. Breaking news, another campus killing. That smells good.”

  I handed her the piece of toast I’d just buttered. “Where’s Len?”

  “She went back to bed.”

  Not a bad idea. Wished I could do the same.

  “Listen, Manda, that cop that called you? He’s coming over here.”

  “Jeez, why can’t he leave you alone?”

  “You don’t have to talk to him right now if you don’t want to. You could go keep Len company.”

  She chewed a bite of toast. There was a mulish look in her eye. I hoped she wouldn’t decide to give Buzz-cut a piece of her mind. That wouldn’t help my cause.

  Lomen presented me with a plate of eggs over easy and gently nagged me to eat them. I nabbed the last slice of toast and put two more pieces of bread in the toaster, then started eating while I watched Lomen crack more eggs into the pan.

  I didn’t know you could cook.

  I’ve picked up a few tricks here and there.

  Yeah, but over easy’s not easy. Half the time I break the yolks.

  It just takes practice.

  He handed the next plate to Manda, then said, “Will you excuse me a moment?”

  “Sure.”

  I had finished my eggs, so I rinsed my plate and dug in the fridge for some orange juice. Manda’s eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously, unable to talk because her mouth was full. I poured us each a glass.

  The doorbell rang.

  Hissing displeasure in case it woke Len, I hurried out to answer it. Buzz-cut and Officer Ulibarri stood outside. I stepped out on the porch with them.

  “Hi.”

  “Can we come in?” said Buzz-cut.

  “One of my friends is asleep,” I said.

  “It’s OK,” said Officer Ulibarri. “We only have a couple of questions, then we’ll get out of your hair.”

  Buzz-cut shot her a look, which she ignored. She had a black bag slung at her hip, I noticed. I figured it was investigation gear.

  Buzz-cut flipped through a much-scribbled-on pocket notebook. He took his time. Finally he held it up and squinted at it.

  “Where were you last night between 9:00 p.m. and dawn?”

  “Here,” I said.

  “You didn’t go out?”

  “No. We played poker.”

  He handed me a thin stack of photos. “Look through there, tell me if you know any of those people.”

  There were six pictures, all young women. The third one was Kimberly.

  I frowned. “That’s Kimberly Darrow.”

  “Got it in one. What about the others?”

  I stared at him, wondering if this was some kind of head game. Probably it was.

  Going back to the photos, I dismissed the next one and moved it to the bottom of the stack, and found myself looking at Poppy.

  Poppy, alive and smiling. Damn.

  “Know her?”

  “She works at the library on campus,” I said. “Her name is Poppy. I don’t know the last name.”

  “When did you last see her?”

  I was about to play it cool when I realized that it was a trick question.

  “I just saw a picture that looked like her,” I said. “Someone posted it online. Has she been murdered?”

  Buzz-cut grimaced. “Looks like. So when did you last see her in person?”

  I thought about it. “Last Friday.”

  “You sure about that?”

  I looked at him. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  He gestured to the photos. “What about the last one?”

  I looked at it. Hispanic girl. Pretty, looked shy, and rang a very vague bell. I frowned.

  “She looks familiar...”

  “What’s her name?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know her, but I’ve seen her picture before.”

  Officer Ulibarri reached for the photos. “Thanks.”

  The door opened and Lomen stepped out. “Is there a problem?”

  I shielded, just out of surprise. He looked like Mr. Straight Nerd. He had his hair pulled back into a tight knot at the nape of his neck. He was wearing a striped long-sleeved button-down shirt tucked into his jeans, and a pair of dark-framed glasses.
<
br />   Buzz-cut looked him up and down.

  “Um, this is Officer … Renniger, and Officer Ulibarri,” I said.

  Lomen stuck out a hand straight at Buzz-cut. “Lomen Greystone.”

  Buzz-cut shook hands. His eyes narrowed.

  Lomen shook hands with Officer Ulibarri. “How can we help you?”

  She smiled. “We were just asking Mr. Harrison some questions.”

  “Can you tell us where he was last night?” said Buzz-cut.

  Lomen turned his head to look at him. “He was here. We were playing cards.”

  “He didn’t step out?”

  “No, we stayed in all night. What’s this about?”

  “Just confirming a couple of things,” said Officer Ulibarri. “Thanks for your time.”

  She moved to go, but Buzz-cut stayed put. “How long have you known him?” he asked Lomen.

  Lomen looked faintly surprised. “A few months. Why?”

  I felt a touch on my wrist and glanced aside to see Officer Ulibarri offering me a business card. She was looking at me intently.

  I took the card and nodded a thank you, then stashed it in my pocket.

  Manda burst out the front door. “Steve, they’ve got that picture on the news, only they...”

  She looked at Buzz-cut, then flung her arms around me.

  = 10 =

  Startled, I froze.

  Lomen?

  Just play along.

  I brought a hand up to Manda’s back and whispered in her ear, “Did Lomen put you up to this?”

  She nodded and kept clinging. I was acutely aware of Buzz-cut’s gaze. I squeezed Manda’s shoulders, then let go, taking a step toward the policeman.

  “Is there anything else you need, Officers?” Lomen asked.

  Buzz-cut watched me with hooded eyes. “Guess not right now.”

  I turned to the door. Manda followed me. I let her go in first.

  Lomen lingered behind. I was about to go back out when he stepped in and closed the door. He headed for the kitchen and we followed.

  “Thank you, Amanda,” he said in a low voice. “I think that was helpful.”

  Helpful?!

  Shh.

  I grabbed a mug and reached for the coffee. Heard the sound of a car pulling away.

  “My pleasure,” Manda said. “That cop’s a jerk. He’s got no business treating Steve the way he does.”