My stomach rumbled. “Apparently. You don’t have anyone chained up in the basement, do you?”
Dahlia grinned. “No. That’s a story Remo spread around. He’s not the badass he looks like. I mean, I wouldn’t seriously cross him, he’s stronger than any of the other supernaturals, but he’s kind of a softy.”
“He’s not going to punish you for helping us?” Tad asked.
She shrugged and stepped away from the kitchen, pushing the fridge door shut with a foot. A glass milk jug in one hand and a glass in the other were her only accessories. If it weren’t for the bold-red filling of the milk jug, it would have looked normal. “Nah. I might have to do day duty, which sucks because we do need to sleep contrary to what others will tell you. And a few days up on both shifts is no fun.”
She pulled a pot out from under the counter and poured the contents of the milk jug into it, then put the pot on the stove. Her eyes met mine. “It’s better warmed up on the stove. The microwave does weird things to it.”
“Of course,” I murmured. A twist of hunger rolled through me. “Is there other food here?”
“Yup, the basics.”
Tad and I went on a search. I found crackers and cheese, and a can of some sort of processed meat. He found a half-opened box of pastry tarts and a jar of jam.
We cracked it all open and dug in.
I dipped a pastry tart into the jam, the multilayers of sweetness making my teeth ache at the same time that I couldn’t help but want more. I flicked my tongue out to take the jam from my lips.
“Holy hell, now that’s a tongue.” Dahlia stopped stirring her pot of blood in midmotion.
I put a hand to my mouth. “What?”
“Your tongue is long, my friend. I didn’t notice when I kissed you. You’re a naga like your brother?”
I swallowed hard and looked at Tad. “I think so. But Oberfluffel said I didn’t smell like a naga. Could he be wrong?”
Tad licked crumbs off his fingers. “I told Merlin to make you the same as me. There’s a couple of other nagas around, but they’re solitary. Here, let me see your teeth.”
He scooted over and I obediently opened my mouth. He peered in. “Damn. Where are your fangs?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Dahlia tapped her spoon on the counter, then poured from her pot into her glass. A steaming glass of blood. I shuddered, I couldn’t help it. “Vampire fangs are always there too. You’re sure hers aren’t retractable?”
Tad shook his head and opened his mouth. Tiny fangs, almost unnoticeable, were there. Much smaller than a vampire’s mouthful.
The idea of retractable fangs, though, that would be okay. No one would ever know I had them unless I bit them. Which I would never do. With my mouth closed I flipped my tongue up and touched the roof of my mouth. Two fangs were indeed there, along the roof of my mouth. Only two, thank God. But they went way back, far further than I thought they should have.
“I think Dahlia’s right. I can feel them in my mouth.”
Tad grabbed me and tipped me backward. I grunted and opened my mouth again.
“Shit, you’re right, those are not naga fangs. That bastard Merlin! I told him what to do.”
“He gave me options. I said I wanted to be something unique.”
Tad shook his head. “But that’s just it. We won’t be allowed to be around each other.”
“We’re doing it right now. So what as long as we’re both alive?” I pointed out, and Dahlia nodded.
“Yeah, so what? The SDMP is too stupid to find out, and besides, we’re small fish. They won’t be looking for little old us.”
My brother paced the kitchen. “Yeah, except they’re cracking down for some reason. They’re shutting the border crossings next week. Not even those with legit day passes will get through.”
“Temporary. Remo isn’t concerned.” Dahlia took a sip of her drink.
“No.” He shook his head, his green eyes worried. “For good this time. No more day passes, no more nothing passes. They are shutting down the hospital on Whidbey too. When people get the Aegrus virus they’ll be shipped over the Wall from now on.”
I felt like a child listening in on the adults’ conversation. “Why would they do that?”
“The virus. There’s been another outbreak way deep down in Sonoma County in California. Government is putting a stop to all connections. They’ll ship in blood and willing bleeders for those who live off the blood.” He took a bite of a cracker, swallowed it, and went on. “At least, that’s what they’re saying.”
“They can’t let us starve up here, and they can’t really keep us in. It’s a willing thing for us to stay; we can leave if we really want. You know that,” Dahlia said, but there was no fire in her voice. Tad looked at her, and then away.
“What would happen if no food sources came in? You’d start targeting the other supernaturals. You’d wipe us out within fifty or a hundred years. Maybe less.”
Whatever hunger I had fled. “You think that’s what they’re going to do?”
“It’s a distinct possibility. Let the monsters kill each other, then the problem of what to do with them is solved.”
“Then we have to get over that border before they close it down.” I stood up and brushed off my dress. “We need to go see Mom and Dad right now. Tell them we’re alive. They have to know.”