Beast of Wonder by Lilith Saintcrow

Author:Lilith Saintcrow [Saintcrow, Lilith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lilith Saintcrow
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

A massive brick house squatted on a hill, a black river of a freshly sealed driveway rising and curving back. The bleached bones of a dry fountain rose in the middle of the drive’s arc, and ropes of twinkling blue and white lights were wrapped around columns, skeletal leafless bushes, the roofline, outlining all the windows. A crystal-clear bay window held a sword of stars and tinsel, slow-dying wood hung with color-coded decorations.

Evan’s car had somehow acquired a glossy coating, sleek and lower lines. Cara rubbed at her eyes once, decided it was useless, and closed them. The engine cut off, and he exhaled, sharply.

“Remember the rules,” he said. “Okay?”

It took two tries to clear her throat. “Okay.” I didn’t ask what happened to him if I don’t. Probably nothing nice.

“Wait,” she said, as he reached for the door handle. “Here.” She dug in her jacket pocket, and dropped the rung into his palm.

“Oh, man.” Evan eyed its glitter, touched the blue stone with a large blunt fingertip. “What happened to my badge?”

“Lodi took it.”

“Figures.” His fingers closed, wrist swelling as he made a fist. He exhaled, hard, and she wondered if she’d made a mistake. “Thank you. It…man, I wouldn’t like to lose this. It was my dad’s.”

He had a father. A past. Cara looked down at her own naked, ahistorical hands as he tested the golden circle on one finger, then another. It fit on his left hand, third finger.

Like a wedding ring. “Cara? I mean it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, numbly, and waited for him to open his door.

Westering sunlight, winter-thin, broke briefly over the house’s brick façade before vanishing behind a scrim of icy clouds. The A low cold wind rattle-mouthed the bushes, their naked arms full of white lop-prune scars. A wreath on the huge, red-painted double doors glowed green and silver, both colors plastic-vivid. Its ribbons waved stiffly as Cara followed Evan’s wide black-coated shoulders, his hair glowing above the collar.

He didn’t ring the doorbell. Instead, he rapped his knuckles on thin hollowcore wood. Thack-thack. A pause. Thack.

The door shuddered, and Cara had a vivid image of him drawing back one fist, punching, and the entire front of the house falling down, dust and bricks and—

He glanced back at her, and she had the uncomfortable feeling he shared the thought. A radio tuned to her broadcast. His arm tensed, but she hurriedly looked away at the dry fountain and the ruthlessly clipped bushes.

The door swung inward. A broad-hipped black-haired woman with a round brown face peered from atop a white-and-buff uniform. Her ankles bulged a bit over scuffed, thick-soled white shoes, and she shook her head once, heavy, beautiful hair swaying in a tight scraped-back ponytail. “Come in,” she whispered, hunching her large, soft shoulders. “Take your jacket sir?”

The uniform, shiny rigid cloth, looked uncomfortable, and her shoes squeaked a bit as she stepped aside. Evan shook his head as her soft plump hands fluttered, Cara smiled as hard as she could, likewise refusing the woman’s ministrations.

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