by Sharon Green
"What's linking?" Oldon asked as my sluggish thoughts only just began to move a little. He wore both his day coat and hat, which means his face wasn't at all visible. "And why do I have the feeling I'll need to help?"
"You just might have to help," Eric answered, his hand moving my arm again. "Taz, can you drop your shield and link with me on your own, or do you need Oldon to help you? Can you tell me?"
I wasn't feeling at all well, and the ability to speak was quickly moving away from where I could grab it. I did manage to drop my shield, but reaching out wasn't proving to be possible. I did try, though, and that was when the world melted away.
Chapter Fifteen
I woke up kind of slowly, but one look around told me I was back in my apartment and on my bed. My shoes had been taken off and I was covered with a blanket, but other than that I was fully clothed. Which meant I'd slept in my clothes, something I don't enjoy doing. But it was still dark out, so I hadn't slept all night. Only until a few minutes after two, according to the bedside clock.
As I sat up I also realized I'd been sleeping face down, which made sense. It was the back of my head that had been hurt, so lying on the wound wouldn't have been smart. But my head didn't hurt any longer, and getting off the bed showed that I also wasn't unsteady anymore. Walking toward my bathroom let me turn on the light switch on the way, and then I used the facilities. Only after that did I strip and get into the shower, something I needed rather badly.
I didn't stay long in the shower, and once I'd dried off I found my sleep shirt and got into it. That was when I heard the scraping at my door, but I didn't have to wonder who was making the sound. The scent told me it was Freemont outside my door, and he'd come bearing gifts. I opened the door fast, and then took the mug of coffee he held out to me.
"Hi, partner," I said with a wide grin. "Have I told you lately how really attractive you are?"
"Once we moved in here I didn't think I'd be supplying you with coffee again, but I was wrong," Freemont said as he stepped into the room with his own mug of coffee and his own grin. "I knew you would be ready for company right about now, so I didn't come empty-handed. Let's sit down for a minute and I'll tell you what happened once you were out of it."
"I faded out in the car," I remembered aloud as I led the way to the chairs in my sitting area. Freemont had closed the door behind him, so we both could take chairs to sip our coffee.
"You did more than just fade out," Freemont said as he sat down. "Art told us that your body knew it needed to repair itself from a serious wound, but you weren't cooperating by sitting still in one place. For that reason you were made unconscious, so the repairs could be done. But the problem was you'd pushed yourself too far, so that wasn't all you needed."
"I remember something about linking," I said, dragging the memory out of the depths. "Eric said I needed to link to him and I tried to do it, but before I could complete the try the world went black."
"And that's why Oldon took control of you," Freemont said after sipping his coffee. "He ordered you to link to Eric, and then Eric was able to … stabilize you in some way. You had the strength to heal, but you were hurt too badly to … stay on an even keel, so to speak. Art said he's never seen anything like that, but he did know that some shapeshifters who are badly hurt come out of the healing … damaged in their minds somehow. Linking with Eric kept that from happening to you, and afterward Oldon released you from control."
"And we never knew about that," I said as I considered what I'd been told. "I wonder how Eric knew we had to link actively instead of passively the way we've been doing it."
"Eric said he … got something through the link," my partner said, almost groping for the right words. "He had no real idea what he was doing, but somehow he knew what had to be done. That has to be why I knew Eric needed to be in charge."
"I wonder if the old village of shapeshifters knew about this particular use for linking," I mused after taking another sip of coffee. "I haven't come across the point yet, but probably because Mykel is so young. Once he gets older I may well find out. In any case, I'm glad we know about it."
Freemont nodded his agreement and we sat in silence for a minute or so, and then a sudden memory surfaced that had nothing to do with linking.
"Damn, I just remembered," I said, more than a little annoyed. "I bought some clothes before I was hit on the head and kidnapped, but the clothes weren't with the other stuff the shifter took from me. That must mean the stuff is lost, and now I'll have to go and buy the same things all over again."
"I'm delighted to say your purchases are not lost," Freemont said at once, real enjoyment in his expression. "We must have come out of our store only a matter of moments after you left the women's store, because we came across a small pile of filled bags. Amiol and I would have walked right past the pile, but Eric stopped because he got your scent from the clothes in the bags. That was the first hint we had that something was wrong, but I still made sure to pick up the bags and put them in the back of the car with our own purchases."
"Freemont, you're an absolute love," I exclaimed, but softly because it was in the middle of the night. "Not only do I hate to shop, I hate even more the thought of trying to remember what I bought the first time. And now that I've had most of the lifeblood you supplied, I'm going down to see what I can scrounge in the kitchen. I'm a little too hungry to wait until breakfast."
"I thought you would be, so I spoke to Jack and he took care of the problem," Freemont said with a wider smile. "In your microwave is a Reuben, only needing some warming before it's entirely edible, and in your fridge is a diet Coke. That should help you wait until breakfast."
I shouldn't have been surprised, but I still was. So I stood up and headed for the microwave, and sure enough there was a paper plate inside holding a Reuben. Pastrami and cheese on rye bread, a sight that made my mouth water even if it wasn't rewarmed yet. I turned on the microwave with the quick minute setting, then opened the small fridge and got out the Coke.
As soon as the food was warmed I pulled it out and took it back to my chair before I wolfed it down. I really was hungry, but the sandwich did the trick. I also drank about half of the soda, then recapped the bottle before putting it back in the fridge.
"And now it's time we both got back to bed," Freemont said as he rose from his chair. "You can sleep as late as you need to tomorrow, Taz, there's nothing going on that can't wait a short while. Sweet dreams, and I'll see you in the morning."
"Sweet dreams to you, too, partner," I answered, getting up to walk him to the door. "And thank you for being there for me. Again."
Freemont gestured away my thanks with a smile, and then he left. I locked the door behind him, then went back to the chair I'd been using to finish my cup of coffee.
"It's probably a good thing there isn't more coffee available, or you'd fill another cup," George's voice came before he materialized in the chair Freemont had been using. "I've never known you to choose sleep over caffeine even when you should."
"Well, tonight will change that statistic," I answered with a smile. "As soon as I finish these last couple of swallows I'm heading straight for bed. Instead of heading for Freemont's room where there probably is more coffee."
"You must be getting old," George commented with no expression on his face. "Wisdom usually comes with old age, so it isn't likely there's another explanation involved. I can't imagine you learning from experience."
"Okay, George, what happened was my fault," I said with a sigh, fairly sure I knew what was bothering him. "I should have been more alert, and then someone wouldn't have been able to sneak up behind me and clout me on the head. If you want something else to blame, blame that shopping expedition. Clothes shopping is the time when most people go numb from the neck up."
"Even if they should know better," George agreed, his expression now on the bleak side. "Do you have any idea how lucky you were?"
"Even better than you," I answered with a sigh. "That slime in the trailer
had me taken rather than killed because he wanted my dead body where he could see it. I'm telling you right now, George: if the law doesn't take care of that slime, I'll be taking care of the problem personally."
"As long as you're willing to wait to see what happens," George grudged. "You know I can't stop you if you go off the deep end, and I can't tell you how glad I am that so far you've been able to stick with the shallows."
"The deep end and shallows," I echoed, making sure I added a sigh to the words. "I don't think I'm strong enough for any more of your sayings, George, at least for tonight. I'm taking this last swallow of coffee, and then I'm going to bed."
"About time," George came back, a trace of laughter in his dark eyes at the way I'd teased him. "And don't worry about how deeply you sleep. I'll be spending the rest of the night here."
I smiled at George before emptying my cup, getting up, and then heading for the bed. My first partner knew I really would sleep well, knowing he was on watch.
* * *
When my eyes opened I felt well rested and entirely healthy, and a glance at the clock on the night stand told me it was only a couple of minutes past ten. There was no urge to turn over and go back to sleep, so I got up, used the bathroom, then got dressed.
George had disappeared, probably when I first began to stir, so I opened my door intending to go downstairs for some breakfast. Before I could step out I noticed a bunch of bags near my door, and checking said the bags contained the clothes I'd bought. It took only a moment to move the bags into my apartment, and then I headed for the stairs. I'd put away my purchases once the new hollow inside me was filled.
The first place I headed for was the kitchen, where I could get rid of the paper plate from last night and refill the mug I'd rinsed out before coming down. Jack was in the kitchen, of course, and he smiled when he saw me.
"Glad you're up and around again, Taz," Jack said with a friendly nod. "It was upsetting to see you carried in here by Eric, but they all assured me you'd be fine. I'm delighted to see they were right."
"I'm fine thanks to their efforts, so those thanks will be passed on as soon as I get some coffee in me," I answered. "And I also need to thank you for that Reuben. It was exactly what I needed when I woke up early this morning."
"Your partner Freemont was the one who suggested the Reuben, so I was glad to help out," Jack responded with a widened smile. "There's already food on the table in the dining room, but if you'd like something else just let me know. Shell has more food supplies coming this morning, so we won't be running out of food anytime soon."
"That's good to know," I said as I finished filling my coffee mug. "Right now I feel as if I can empty this kitchen all by myself, so I'm going to make the effort to do my bit to make room for what's coming. See you later, Jack."
He nodded without adding anything, a gesture I appreciated as I headed for the dining room. The sugar and cream I needed was already on the table, I knew, so I didn't drag my feet. When I walked into the room I saw it was filled with the rest of the team including Oldon, as well as Bari Lancaster in a chair of her own. And Oldon wasn't wearing his day coat, probably because filters had been put on the windows.
"Glad to see you back to normal, Taz," Eric said when I walked into the room, causing the others to look up from what they were eating. "Freemont told us you were all right when you woke up earlier this morning, so we stopped worrying."
"I'm back to normal because of you people," I stated as I reached the table and took a seat. "I want to thank all of you, especially you, Eric. How did you know I needed to be … supported?"
"I didn't know what you needed, but I did know there was something that had to be done," Eric responded, looking the least bit embarrassed. "Without solid facts to go on, all I could do was wing it. I'm glad things worked out right, but I didn't do the save alone. If not for Oldon I don't think the try would have worked."
"So that means Oldon gets to be thanked next," I said, moving my smile to our vampire teammate even while I added sugar and cream to my coffee. "For someone with so little to offer a team, my friend, you do all right."
Oldon had been looking kind of … blank since I reached the table, but now his expression changed to something that really was an expression. What looked like a close relative of his usual grin came out, accompanied by what seemed to be vast relief.
"I'm just glad my pitiful efforts worked," he told me, a gleam in his dark eyes. "I wasn't sure you would … like having me do what I did, but with your life at stake… It was an emergency, Taz, otherwise I never would have done it."
"And you think I need to be told that," I stated, shaking my head at him. "Great. My newest teammate believes I'm an idiot. If I thought I could beat up on him I'd probably do it."
"No, no, anything but that!" Oldon protested, trying really hard to look and sound helpless and afraid instead of delighted. "I didn't mean to insult you and I apologize if I did it anyway."
"Apology accepted," I allowed as the rest of the team chuckled. "Now will someone please pass me some of that food before I fade away into George's form?"
"Fat chance of that," George muttered from the chair he sat in, bringing actual laughter to the team as they began to pass the food in my direction. Bari had smiled at the silliness, but then she lost her amusement.
"I hate to ask this, but – Was Taz hurt because of the job I gave you people?" she asked, looking around at everyone. "I didn't expect one of you to get hurt, so–"
"No, the attack wasn't part of your job," Freemont hurried to assure her. "We're still not completely sure what it was about, but it definitely wasn't part of your problem."
"I'm fairly sure the attack relates to Rolfe's problem," I told all of them as I began to fill my plate. "George and I saw a shapeshifter outside Rolfe's store, one who was about to do something to discourage us from going into the store. George tried to follow the man, but he disappeared – underground, we think."
I then told them about the man who wanted to buy the building Rolfe's business was in, and the way the building's owner had refused the sale.
"So the one trying to buy the building decided to get Rolfe to renege on the lease he had," George took up the story while I began to shovel food into my mouth. Great food, all of it… "What I still don't understand is why he had Taz kidnapped."
"He was going to have me killed to teach the rest of you to 'butt out of' his business," I put in after I'd swallowed. "That shapeshifter somehow managed to follow us to the mall, where he got a girl to sneak up behind me by pretending she was just heading to her car. Once I was unconscious the shifter took me to that warehouse, where I was supposed to be killed where his boss could see it."
"I don't understand that," Eric said slowly, the look in his eyes telling me he was thinking harder than usual. "Why would anyone believe that killing one of Rolfe's customers a couple of miles away from Rolfe's store would make people think there was a connection? There's no sense to the belief, at least none that I can see."
"I hadn't thought of that," I said just as slowly, now considering the point. "Maybe it was the way my spotting the shifter stopped him from using that horrible-smelling stuff he was carrying. His aim was to discourage people from buying things from Rolfe, and I didn't let him do it."
"Now I'm wondering something," George said, his expression showing that he wasn't enjoying his thoughts. "If they moved so fast to take Taz out, was that because they'd done something of the same before? If so, did the police learn that the victim was a customer of Rolfe's?"
"I don't like the sound of that," I said, an understatement if there ever was one. "If other people have been kidnapped and killed, the man behind all this is seriously insane. Once I finish eating, we can call Allison and ask her to check. The more information we have against that guy the better off we'll be."
Everyone at the table agreed with that conclusion, and then we all went back to eating. The food was so good that even the nasty thoughts floating through our heads didn't r
uin our appetites. I cleaned my plate before refilling it, then cleaned the plate again. Only after I'd taken another cup of coffee and was sitting back with it did I notice that the team – and Bari – had accounted for all the food the table had previously held.
I was one-last-swallow-of-coffee away from taking out my cell phone when someone knocked at the front door. We only had a moment to think about answering the knock when Shell stepped into the dining room from the kitchen.
"That's the supplies I ordered," Shell said with a smile as he hurried through the room. "The delivery man and I will take them directly into the kitchen, so don't think you're in the way. Or that you have to help."
That last comment put smiles on all of us, since we would have helped anyway if we'd been needed. If they really did have the problem covered we'd stay back out of the way, and then I'd be able to make that phone call to Allison.
Shell opened the door and greeted whoever stood outside by name. The fact that the caller had made it to the door through Amiol's spell told us we weren't likely to be attacked without warning, so I just watched as Shell opened the screen door to let the man with the supplies come inside. A protest of "Hey!" came from Shell while the man outside made the same kind of protest without words, and then I was able to see what had caused the reaction.
A big, mostly black Rottweiler had pushed its way into the house, moving immediately past Shell to head in our direction. Or, to be more precise, in my direction. The dog looked exactly like the one I'd freed in the warehouse, and its grin was also the same. The Rotti came trotting up to me before stopping to sit near my chair, ignoring the mild pandemonium that its presence was causing among my teammates.
"Well, it's nice to see you again," I said to the dog as I petted it, distantly wondering what I was doing. After all, having a pet didn't make much sense with the kind of life I led… "I'd love to know how you found me."
