Tales Of The Sazi 02 - Moon's Web (3 page)

Sue hesitated for just a second, while we stared at each other lustfully. But at the sound of Bobby's impatient hiss, she limped over and raised her leg to rest on the cushion next to him.

"Relax." He moved his face closer to her leg. "This won't hurt."

"Hey!" I exclaimed as he suddenly licked the wound. He held up a hand in a sharp motion to stop me moving forward. I trusted Bobby but it was unnerving to see his tongue darting out and touching each indentation. When he reached the last tiny tooth print, he stuck out his tongue and waved it in the air over the wound. His whole upper body began moving fluidly from side to side like he was in a trance. After a few tense seconds he stopped, opened his eyes and glanced up. He spotted the charm bracelet that Sue always wears and touched it lightly with his fingers. I saw a small wisp of smoke as the silver scorched his skin. He gave a satisfied nod. I could've sworn I saw a flicker of relief, but it was gone in a fraction of a second.

"Sue, Tony, you should both hear this, too." He gestured in the general direction of a puffy brown leather recliner. I took the seat and Sue perched on the arm beside me. I reached up and slid a gentle finger along her arm. It made her shudder and close her eyes. Her hands balled tightly into fists to fight the need. When the scent of her desire reached my nose, it was all I could do to pull back my hand and return my attention to Bobby.

Bobby did a fine job of ignoring our little struggle. He kept his gaze locked on the blond biter. "Denis, we need to have a serious talk." He released the child from the magic and the boy dropped an inch or so to the carpeted floor. Tears were rolling down his terrified face. The air in the apartment was filled with the stench of ammonia emanating from the children. I could feel Sue's discomfort for the boy. I couldn't share her sympathy for him. I'd have gotten my teeth knocked out if I bit a stranger when I was that age. The longer Bobby made him wait, the more terrified Denis became. He was like a cornered rabbit. His eyes moved rapidly from side to side and his body actually twitched from the tension. Bobby watched the boy with those strange red eyes, his expression utterly neutral. Even his natural scent of sweet musty jungle vines showed no sign of discomfort or anger.

"There's no use running, Denis," he warned. "I know your scent, the taste of you. I could find you anywhere you'd go." Denis backed up until his spine was against the wall. He curled into near-fetal position and began to suck his thumb. His hazel eyes were wide and showing too much white. Bobby released the other children. They dropped gently to the carpet but didn't move so much as a hair. Only their shallow breathing told me they weren't statues. They didn't want to turn Bobby's attention on them for any reason. I couldn't blame them.

"What are you?" the boy asked in a whisper before tucking his thumb back between his lips.

"You're lucky, Denis," Bobby said in a stern voice. "I'm a python— a very special member of Wolven." The two older children looked at Bobby with new panic plain on their faces. The dark-haired teen opened her mouth in a silent 'o'. A second wash of ammonia-laced hot and sour soup filled the air. Wolven is the Sazi equivalent of the bogeyman, and not just to children. Knowing that the cops had a license to kill— and wouldn't hesitate to use it— was enough to instill fear in most anyone.

The kids hadn't known who Bobby was. They all flinched when he stood to his full 6'2" and reached down one nearly blue-black hand to touch Denis's head.

"I'm the chemist for Wolven. You're lucky I was here instead of one of the other agents. I can use my tongue to detect and analyze any organic or man-made chemical on earth— even the tiniest little bit— and know what it is instantly." He glanced at me and Sue.

"When I used my tongue where you bit Mrs. Giambrocco, I didn't find any traces of blood. That's why you're lucky, Denis." He raised the boy's face to meet his gaze. "Most Wolven agents wouldn't have taken the time to check. You all know that biting and scratching is absolutely the worst thing in the world you can do, don't you!" The blank stares from the kids weren't just because they were frozen in place. They actually seemed confused.

Bobby's face grew suspicious. "You don't scratch and bite each other at home, do you? Your parents have forbidden that, like riding with a stranger, or crossing the street without looking— right?" Denis shook his head until his hair raised a breeze. The thumb popped out of his mouth. "Mama doesn't care if we bite each other. She said that's what wolves do."

I'd seen that tight, angry expression on Bobby before. Someone was going to get hurt, now or later. I might be forced to step in, but I hoped not. I didn't have to, because he calmed down quickly when Denis recoiled so sharply from the anger that he nearly bumped into the wall. Bobby sighed.

"I know that Mrs. Giambrocco made you mad when she wouldn't let you change the TV channel, Denis. But you need to understand that she's human— and you're not. If you bite or scratch a human and they aren't wearing silver, they will become Sazi like us."

"But that's good, isn't it? Mama says we're better than humans."

The hell you say! A growl rose from my chest before I could stop it. The children's fearful eyes turned from Bobby to me. They huddled together in a quivering group, not knowing who to trust. Bobby shook his head. "No, Denis. We're different, not better. Let me explain how our law works, kids. Gather 'round." Three of the children moved tentatively forward to sit down cross-legged in a semi-circle just out of Bobby's reach. The older boy took Denis's hand and had to tug a little to move him closer. Now that I looked, there was a strong resemblance.

"Sonya, Vera, Alek— and Denis." Bobby looked at each one of them slowly and strongly as he spoke their names. He needn't have bothered. He had their full attention. "It is against the law to scratch, bite or injure a human so that they bleed. The magic that makes us Sazi can get into their body through the blood. Most humans who are attacked will die when the animal inside tries to come out to greet the moon." Bobby pointed at me. "Mr. Giambrocco was attacked by one of us. He is lucky to have lived. If he hadn't already been a predator in the human world, he wouldn't have survived. He was a hunter, so it was easier for him to be like us."

The two older children looked at me with a new level of respect. They suddenly liked me more. I tipped my head in acknowledgment. Nice to know it has value in both worlds.

"Sonya," he continued to the girl of about six, "If Denis had drawn blood on Mrs. Giambrocco, what would have happened?"

She wasn't as impressed by Bobby or me as her older counterparts. Innocence has its advantages.

"His aht-yets and maht would have spanked him?" she asked tentatively. Her voice was a soft alto. I could tell it would end up a really sexy contralto by the time she was a teen. Sue elbowed me in the ribs without the kids noticing. I stifled my amusement. It wasn't the time.

From Sue's mind, I heard Sonya's Russian as father and mother. Hmm. Didn't know she spoke other languages.

Bobby gave a negative shake of his head. "Vera?"

The dark-haired teen glanced at Denis before turning her eyes back to Bobby. Her strong soprano voice was confident and a little too predatory. She smelled amused at the child's mistake. She smirked as she spoke.

"The Alpha would punish him." The Alpha— as in the pack leader, Nikoli. The children around her gasped and Denis lip started to tremble again. Hot and sour soup filled the air again and made my jaw clench. I needed a steak. And soon.

"I don't want to go to the Alpha's dragon!" he wailed. "It'll eat me!" Alek looked at Bobby with wide eyes and hugged Denis to him protectively.

That was the second time someone mentioned a dragon. It made me more than a little curious. I couldn't wait to meet this enforcer of Nikoli's.

Bobby sighed deeply. He shook his head again. "Your parents have been careless in your schooling. Neither answer is correct. You need to understand that it's not your parents, not your pack leader, but Wolven who would punish you for attacking a human." The older children gasped a second time but the younger boy and girl just looked blank.

He looked around at all of them and then to us. "If Denis had drawn blood, even if Mrs. Giambrocco was wearing silver and wouldn't have turned," he said, pointing a shaking finger at each child in turn, "I would have found you guilty of grave damage and I would have killed you. Right here and right now, without anyone's permission. Biting or scratching is as bad, or even worse than telling the humans the Sazi exist. There is no excuse that is good enough for attacking a human short of defending your life or your family's life! And even then, you may die if the investigator decides it wasn't justified."

He waited until he knew that the words had full effect. I admit I was a little surprised. The children were apparently very surprised by scent of shock that rose from them.

The wolf who turned me, Babs, only got knocked around a little. Well okay. She got knocked around a lot. Of course, I was trying to kill her at the time so she could claim self-defense. Denis had no such excuse. Bobby was continuing on with the children hanging on every terrifying word. The stench of ammonia would take a full day to air from the apartment. It was making my eyes water.

"Do you understand, kids? It is Wolven that enforces the laws of all Sazis. Your parents can punish you for violating the decisions they've made for your family. The pack leader governs the pack and enforces its rules. But if you don't follow the laws of all of our kind— the principles we live by to protect us from being discovered by the humans— then your parents or your pack leader must call me. It's why you must always be careful to not harm anything but proper prey. You must NEVER let your temper, your fear, or even your pride make you do something as foolish as Denis did today. Every human that joins our society increases our risk of discovery. Every single bloodletting can let a human in."

I watched Denis carefully. His eyes were wide, his breathing was fast. He was still terrified, but overriding the scent of ammonia was the soured milk smell of disbelief.

Vera tipped her head toward him to catch his scent. Her nostrils flared delicately as she inhaled. "Denis, you have to believe him if he doesn't smell like black pepper. Trust your nose." The boy tentatively moved forward and sniffed the air around Bobby, who waited with reptilian patience until he was done.

"Denis, even for biting, I should punish you. You have caused Mrs. Giambrocco damage." Sonya furrowed her small brow and asked an innocent question in that so-adult voice. "She'll heal, won't she?"

Ah, yes. The standard line of the Sazi. Enough that it's practically a joke to me. They're just so damned casual about it. A shrug of the shoulder at a broken bone or a crippling wound with the words "You'll heal." And they will. In almost a blink of an eye.

Bobby shook his head. "You should know better than that." His voice was stern, "Aren't there other family members who don't change with the moon?"

"Well, yes," Sonya admitted, "But Mama doesn't like for us to talk to them." I fought down another growl. Bobby just looked disgusted. "Fine, Sonya. But the rest of you should know. That bite will leave a mark and a bruise that will last more than a week." The jaws of the two younger children dropped simultaneously and the air filled with the mildew smell of their amazement. Even the older two turned to look at us curiously. The dusty scent of Sue's embarrassment reached me. I knew exactly how she felt. It hadn't been that long ago that I was a human— and I still thought and felt like one. In this place we were the freaks. Oddities to be put on display to help children to learn the foreign world of humans.

I'm still amazed by it all— that their perspective of time is so incredibly different. The Sazi live their whole lives with the sure knowledge that nothing will actually hurt for more than a day. They will live for decades longer than a normal human lifespan. The strongest Alphas can live for centuries. Denis actually looked shaken, not just scared. He turned to Sue with an expression of horror.

"I didn't know I damaged you. I know what that means. I'm really, really sorry." Tears welled up until his eyes glittered like polished gems. He finally understood what he'd done and knew there would be consequences. He took a shuddering breath and squared his small shoulders. He was going to be a man about it. Attaboy. He stood up and turned to Bobby. "What will happen to me?"

Sorrow overwhelmed my nose— thick and foggy and laced with worry. I guess they didn't teach Sue everything in her classes in Colorado.

I heard her tentative whisper in my mind. Would he really kill a child, Tony?

I shrugged my shoulders. The law can be harsh in the world of predators. I just didn't know. I've seen Bobby do things that would make other people blanch, though. It's a question of order over chaos, Sweetheart. The boy could endanger all of the Sazi. Bobby might have no choice.

She closed her eyes to concentrate on hearing my reply. She stiffened for a moment as the words sunk home. Then she nodded her head numbly and bit on her lower lip. She looked about as uncomfortable as when we first met. The brief flash of our first meeting made me wonder about my old friend, Jocko. I hadn't seen him since I "died" four months ago.

"Well, at least you understand that concept." continued Bobby, bringing me out of my daze, "Fortunately, you're young, Denis, and obviously haven't been trained properly. No harm was done— this time. But I have to know what you've learned today, little ones."

Denis looked up and the cool air of hope filled the room. His words were very serious and grown-up. "Never, ever bite a human."

"Never bite anyone" replied Bobby. "A Sazi would have torn your throat out." Denis nodded quickly. "Never bite." He thought for a moment and added, "Or scratch." Bobby nodded and looked at the others. "And the rest of you?"

"Humans are just as good as us?" said Sonya with her head cocked and brows raised. She sounded a bit doubtful about it. When Bobby nodded, she continued with more confidence. "We're only different."