Fledgling_ a novel Part 16

"Where do the Gordons live?" I asked.

She hesitated, frowned. "Somewhere on the coast of northern California."

"You don't know exactly where?"

She shook her head. "Their community has a name-Punta Nublada-but it's not a real town. It's only the four brothers and their three fathers and a couple of elderfathers who were born in the sixteen hundreds. It's amazing to meet people like that."

"You met them?" Wright asked.

"I went with Iosif and one of Shori's mothers and some other symbionts to visit them. I loved the trip, but I didn't know where I was most of the time. I know we flew into San Francisco Airport-at night, of course-and a couple of symbionts from Punta Nublada met us in vans and drove us up. It was more than two hours north of San Francisco Airport and on the coast. That's all I know. They have a lot of land. Inland, away from their community, they own vineyards. They have a wine-making business, which is kind of funny when you think about it."

Wright laughed. "Yeah. I'll bet they still don't drink it."

"What?" I demanded.

"Old joke from a vampire movie," Wright said. "From the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula Dracula. Someone offers the Count a gla.s.s, and he says, 'I do not drink ... wine.'"

I shrugged. Maybe I'd watch the movie someday and see why that was funny. "We'll go to Punta Nublada," I said. "You'll find it for us, Brook."

She looked distressed. "I don't know where it is, I swear."

"Did you sleep while you were being driven?"

"No, but it was dark."

"You can see in this darkness-here, under the trees. Your night vision is good."

"It is. But most of what I saw was headlights and taillights."

I nodded. "They can be a problem. But I think you saw more than you realize."

"I didn't," she said. "I really didn't."

"We need help, Brook," I said. "Can you think of anyone else-anyone other than the Gordons-who might help us?"

She faced me and shook her head. "But these people may not help us, even if we find them. I don't know whether there was a confirmed agreement between your family and theirs. And even if there was, they ... I'm sorry, Shori. They might not want you without your sisters. It's hard for only children to find mates. Iosif said it would have been hard for him, but he was already mated when his brothers were killed. His mates were just smart enough to get out before he did."

I shrugged. "All right, even if the Gordons don't still want to mate with me, they should be willing to help find and stop the a.s.sa.s.sins. That's what I really need help with, after all. Human gangs wiping out two whole communities of Ina. Any Ina should be willing to do something about that-out of self-preservation if nothing else."

"They should."

"Then you find them, and I'll put it to them in just that way. Self-preservation. Iosif must have seen some good in them." I looked at her, and she looked away. "I feel as though I know humans better than I know my own kind-not that that's saying much. Am I missing something here? Is there some reason these people might not help us?"

She shook her head. "I think they will help, even if they don't want you as a mate. I'm just scared I won't be able to find them for you."

"Yes you will," I said. "You'll find them. Then once we get some peace, we can begin to a.s.semble a household. The Gordons should be able to give us phone numbers and addresses of other Ina-my mothers' brothers, perhaps. Are they alive?"

"Your mothers' brothers? Yes. I've never met them, but you have." Suddenly she put her hands to her face. She didn't cry, but she looked as though she wanted to. "How can I do this?" she demanded. "You can't depend on me. I don't really know anything."

"You can." I said. "You will. Don't worry about it. Just know that you will."

Wright said, "We can drive down-all the way to San Francisco Airport if we have to. From there, we can turn north again, and maybe Brook can find the way."

"We'll start tonight," I said.

He nodded. "What about Celia? She might know something."

"She needed to sleep. We'll tell her when she wakes up, and I'll find out what she knows."

"We need maps," Wright said. "I don't know the way, except that we'll be going south, probably on I-5. We'll make San Francisco Airport our destination, so when we reach California, we should stick to a coastal route-probably U.S. 101-until we reach the airport or until Brook recognizes something."

"We should go back to your cabin first," I said, "or if you don't want to do that, you can let me out a few blocks from there. I need to talk to Theodora and see whether or not she should come with us."

He nodded. "I need to talk to my uncle anyway, to let him know that I haven't just disappeared on him and that I want my job. I want him to be willing to hire me again when this is over. I want to get some of my stuff, too. h.e.l.l, I was all packed to leave anyway."

"Let's go now," I said. "We've got hours of darkness left. By daybreak, we should be well on our way."

Fourteen.

Once we got back to Wright's cabin, I went to visit Theodora. I slipped into her bedroom by way of her balcony, woke her, and told her what had happened and what we were going to do. Her scent was still mostly her own so I knew I could leave her, lonely but safe.

"I want to go with you!" she protested.

"I know," I told her. "But it will be better if you wait. I can't protect you now. I don't even have the prospect of a home now, and I have no Ina allies. It was only luck that none of us was hurt or killed at the Arlington house."

"You protected them."

"Luck," I said. "They could so easily have been burned or shot. Wright could have left the television on, and I might not have heard the intruders until it was too late. I want you with me, and you will be. But not yet."

She cried and wanted me to at least stay the rest of the night with her. I bit her a little-only to taste her-then held her and lapped at the wound until she was focused on the pleasure. She was like Wright. She had some hold on me beyond the blood. At last, I knew I had to go so I told her to sleep. She resisted briefly, took something from the very back and bottom of the middle drawer in her night table, and put it in my hand. "You might need this," she whispered. "Take it. I've got more." Then she kissed me and let herself drift off to sleep.

She had put money into my hand, a thick roll of twenty-dollar bills with a rubber band around it. I took it back to Wright's cabin. He was in the main house, talking to his uncle. He and the two women had each had a shower. By the time Wright came back, I was having one, and the women were eating the meal they had prepared. We were all wasting time, and I knew it, but I enjoyed my shower and let them enjoy their microwaved mugs of vegetable soup, slabs of canned ham, and dinner rolls heated in the convection oven-simple, quickly prepared food.

They finished, cleaned up, took out the trash, and made sandwiches of the last of the ham and some cheddar cheese Wright had had in his refrigerator. Meanwhile, I put Wright's two suitcases and the canvas travel bag he had given me for my things into his car. Wright already had a book of maps called The Thomas Guide: King and Snohomish Counties- The Thomas Guide: King and Snohomish Counties- we were in Snohomish-and a map of Pierce County. We would get whatever else we needed as we traveled, although, according to Wright, all we really had to do was get on 1-5 and stay on it until we got to California, then switch over to U.S. 101. None of that meant anything to me. I meant to look at the relevant maps in we were in Snohomish-and a map of Pierce County. We would get whatever else we needed as we traveled, although, according to Wright, all we really had to do was get on 1-5 and stay on it until we got to California, then switch over to U.S. 101. None of that meant anything to me. I meant to look at the relevant maps in The Thomas Guide The Thomas Guide while we traveled. I needed, for my own comfort, to have some idea of where we were going. while we traveled. I needed, for my own comfort, to have some idea of where we were going.

Wright came out ahead of the two women, and I put the money Theodora had given me into his hand. "Take this," I said. "If I get separated from the rest of you, you take care of Brook and Celia. All of you would have to find other Ina as quickly as possible."

His hand closed around the money, then he looked at it in the light from the back door of the cabin. His mouth dropped open. "Where did you get this?"

"From Theodora. She said we might need it, and we might."

He put the money in an inside pocket of his jacket and zipped the pocket. "I'll use it to keep us all as safe as I can," he said. "But don't imagine I would just drive off and leave you, Shori. I wouldn't. I couldn't."

"I hope it won't be necessary. But if it is necessary to keep you safe, to keep Celia and Brook safe, you'll do it. You will do it!"

He drew back from me, angry, wanting to dispute, yet knowing he would obey. "Sometimes I forget that you can do that to me," he said.

"I do it to save your life," I said.

After a while he sighed. "You're a scary little person," he said.

I had no idea what to say to that so I ignored it. "Theodora wanted to come, too," I said. "I couldn't let her, even though I wanted her to. The only person I want more is you. I need you to be safe, and I need you to keep Brook and Celia safe."

He shook his head, then put his arm around my shoulders, his expression going from angry to bemused. "That is the most unromantic declaration of love I've ever heard. Or is that what you're saying? Do you love me, Shori, or do I just taste good?"

"You don't taste good," I said, smiling. "You taste wonderful." I grew more serious. "I would rather be shot again than lose you."

"More and more romantic," he said and shook his head. He bent, lifted me off my feet, and kissed me. I nipped him, tasted him, and heard him draw a quick breath. He held me hard against him, and I closed my eyes for a moment, submerged in the scent, the feel, and taste of him.

Then Brook came out with her own suitcase. She had taken it from the back of her car to get at her toiletries. "We'd better get going," she said, noticing the way Wright and I held each other, then looking away.

We sighed. Wright put me down, and we let each other go.

Celia came out carrying the sandwiches, each bagged with the apples and bananas that Wright had had in the cabin. She handed a bag to Wright and one to Brook, then said, "You guys got everything?"

We nodded, and Wright went to turn off the lights and lock the door.

We drove, Wright with me in one car and Celia with Brook in the other. We drove through what was left of the night and into the day. By daybreak we had reached Salem, Oregon. We were still, according to the maps, hundreds of miles north of San Francisco Airport. We got two motel rooms at a place that did not force us to park our cars where they could be seen from the street-just in case someone was hunting us. We picked up a map of the area, the others ate the food they had brought, and we all went to bed.

I lay awake for a while next to Wright, wondering whether I should even be in bed. Perhaps I should stay awake, keep watch. But I couldn't quite believe that humans would have been able to follow us without my noticing them. And I couldn't believe they would be willing to kill a motel full of humans unrelated to Ina if they did find us. Also, the motel was filled with windows-eyes-and perhaps with curiosity. Our enemies liked concealment and quiet. I could sleep. In fact, this was an excellent place to sleep. I let myself drift off.

Once Wright had slept off some of his weariness, he woke me up and told me to try biting him now and see what happened.

I laughed and bit him. I didn't take much blood because I had taken a full meal from him only two days before. Still, I was eager to see what happened, and he didn't disappoint me.

After a few hours, we got up and got on the road again. We didn't hurry. We stopped for meals, stayed within the speed limit, and, as a result, spent one more night in a motel. This time I was hungry enough to leave the room while Wright was asleep and wait until I spotted a stranger letting himself into his room. I slipped in with him before he realized I was there. I bit him and had a nouris.h.i.+ng, but unsatisfying, meal. Afterward, I told him to keep the bite mark hidden until it healed and to remember only that he'd had an odd dream.

Sometime later, after we got underway on our third night, I realized that I should be riding with Brook to do what I could to encourage her memory. I didn't really know whether she would remember more clearly or focus her attention more narrowly if I were there to prod her, but I meant to find out. When we stopped for gas, I switched cars.

"Do you want me to send Celia to keep you company?" I asked Wright. "Or would you rather have some time to yourself?"

He hesitated, then said, "Send her. I'll ask her questions and find out more about this symbiont business."

I looked at him and saw that he wasn't asking me to send Celia to him, he was daring me. And he was smiling a little as he did it.

"Ask," I said. "I'm afraid for you to talk to them and learn what they know-because I know so little. But you should talk to them. We're a family, or the beginnings of one. We'll be together for a very long time."

"It's all right," he said, immediately contrite. "A little solitude might be good for me."

"No," I said. "Talk to her. Get to know her. Ask your questions. It isn't all right, but it will be." I walked away to where Brook was putting gas into her car.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm switching cars," I said. "I want to do what I can to prod your memory."

She sighed. "I'm still afraid I won't remember."

"I'll drive, then," Celia said through her open window. "We're more likely to survive the trip if the driver isn't looking all around trying to remember stuff."

She was right. Brook hadn't been driving when she visited these people before. Best for her not to be driving now. I went back and told Wright he would be driving alone after all and told him why.

He grinned. "Decided you didn't want me to know everything, then," he said.

I grinned back at him. "That must be it."

They went into the store that was attached to the gas station and bought more maps, food, bottled water, and ice. Then Wright and Celia consulted over the new maps. Somewhere in Sonoma or Mendocino County in California we decided to use State Route I instead of U.S. 101 as we'd planned because Brook said State Route I "felt" like the right road. This apparently had to be discussed again. Then, finally, we were on our way. Celia led off.

Brook and I sat in the backseat, and she studied a huge, sheetlike map. Finally she put the map down and looked at me. "We're close enough," she said, "but I don't recognize anything yet."

"Are you still worried about your memory?" I asked.

She nodded. "Of course I am."

"You will remember," I said. "When you see things you've seen before, you're going to recognize them. You've been to this place before. You've seen the way, going and coming. Now you'll see the way a third time, and you'll get us there. Look out the windows. Don't worry about the map."

She took a deep breath and nodded.

And yet we drove all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge before she began to see things that looked familiar to her. By then we had to cross the bridge, then find a place to turn back. On our way back, though, she kept seeing familiar landmarks, businesses, signs.

"I think I paid more attention when we were traveling to Punta Nublada from the airport," she said. "We were headed north, the way we are now, and I know this place now. It all seemed so new to me when I came this way with Iosif. I hadn't been anywhere far from home for a long time. I was so excited."

Just over two hours later, a newly confident Brook had us turn down a narrow paved road that took us to a gravel road that led, finally, to Punta Nublada, a community of eleven large houses with garages and several other buildings scattered along either side of the road. It was almost a village. Behind some of the houses, I could see the remains of large gardens, most of them finished for the year, stark and empty. The community was dark and still, as though it were a humans-only place and everyone were asleep. I wondered why. I could smell Ina males nearby.

"Which house belongs to the oldest son, or perhaps we should see one of the elderfathers?" I asked, then had another thought. "Wait, which is the home of Daniel Gordon, the one you said first approached Iosif."

"Daniel?" Brook asked. "He is the oldest son."

"Show me which home is his."

"Third house on the right."

We stopped there. I got out and understood something interesting and frightening at once. There were people-human and Ina-watching us with guns. I smelled the guns, I saw some of the people hiding in the darkness. I smelled them and knew they were all strangers to me, but I sorted through them anyway. The scents of the Ina were very disturbing. These people were nervous. Some of the humans were frightened. At least none of the humans present had been among those who attacked Wright, Celia, Brook, and me. That possibility had not occurred to me until I smelled all the guns.

"Don't get out yet," I said to Celia and Brook. But behind us, Wright had already gotten out and come to stand beside me. It frightened me how vulnerable he was, how vulnerable we all were, but if these people wanted to shoot us, surely they would already have done it.

I took Wright's hand, or rather, I touched one of his huge hands and allowed it to swallow mine, and we walked to the front porch of Daniel Gordon's house.

"This the guy who wants to be your mate?" he asked in a soft voice that I thought he tried hard to keep neutral.

"Things have changed," I said, knowing that he was not my only listener. "I don't know what they want now. But for the sake of the past, I hope they will speak with me and not just point guns at me."

Wright froze, drew me closer to him, and I realized he had known nothing of those who watched us. He saw no one until the tall, male Ina stepped into view on the broad front porch.