Midnight Girl Part 11

"Done, Auntie," Olujimi said.

"A Red-naped Sapsucker!" said Auntie Fong, looking back out the window.

"Three months later, they married. Why Val didn't figure it out in the next seven months, well, that tells you how much he loved her."

Cat said, "Um, does seven months mean nighters are different, or--"

"No one asked," Olujimi said. "And continuing to be fair to Val, we keep the hours of the creatures we hunt. Zoraida told him she liked staying up to meet him when he came home. If he returned early, they would go to clubs and dance until dawn. He thought he'd found the perfect mate for someone in our trade." Cat nodded, imagining her father and mother dancing together, his face unscarred and smiling, her eyes flashing with joy. "When you were born, Tiger, Auntie and I were here. So was Baldomero. The midwife was under his glamour so she wouldn't notice anything unusual. But the birth was harder than expected, and your mother went into a deep coma. Baldomero didn't dare use his glamour on Val, Auntie, or me. With our training, we would know what he was. He had to let us think Zoraida was dead.

"He said he would take her body for a traditional burial. He wanted to take you with him also, but Auntie insisted that since you couldn't bond with your mother, you should stay with your father. Val swore no one would take you from him, so Baldomero gave in. I doubt he had time to argue. Zoraida had lost a lot of blood. How he managed to save her, I'm glad to say I don't know.

"We hired a nurse to help while we tried to figure out what to do. None of us were thinking about nighters. We built a fire in the den and put your crib there. Val would've been useless if he hadn't had to think about you, but because he did, he was watching over you constantly, pacing all the time, rarely pausing to sit or sleep. Once the nurse showed him what to do, her job consisted of making coffee. We drank a lot of coffee over the next three nights.

"On the third, despite the caffeine, Auntie and I and the nurse fell asleep around midnight. Val must've dozed off, too. All he said is he woke and saw his dead wife in the room. She was drinking from your arm."

Cat's eyes flicked wide. Olujimi frowned. "Tiger? If you don't want to hear the rest--"

She made herself nod. "'Have to' beats 'want to'."

"True. Val yelled at her to stop. Zoraida set you in your crib. There was blood on your arm and her lips. He grabbed a brand from the fire as she came at him, and he swung it, catching her sleeve. Her dress began to burn.

"Nighters can't deal with fire. It overloads their senses, or maybe their senses are so acute-- Well. She screamed and hit him, knocking him across the room and into the wall. That's when I woke. I saw a burning woman go out the window. I saw the man I considered my brother, collapsed on the floor like a broken puppet. I heard you crying. It was--"

"It wasn't my best night," Professor M said from the door. Cat whirled to face him, thinking, Poor Dad-- Before anyone could speak, the professor said, "So, I'm in the hospital. Auntie and Olujimi are taking care of you--" Auntie Fong told Cat, "Everyone said you were a much easier child to care for than your father, dear." Professor M said, "I wake in intensive care, and Baldomero's at the foot of my bed, watching me. I can't say how, but I knew what he was as soon as I saw him. I think he wanted me to feel his power, to know how easily he could kill me, especially now that I was..." He glanced down at his legs, shook his head, then met her eyes. "Baldomero says Zoraida's dead, and he would gladly kill me while I'm helpless, but he has a problem. He doesn't know if you'll become a nighter or stay human. Till that happens, he offers a deal. Nighters will only kill humans in self-defense. In return, the Medianoches won't hunt them. Once a year, a nighter or two of his choice will visit you. And to make sure we keep our word, one of them will live with us." Professor M's lips tightened into a thin line, and Cat thought about what must have gone through his mind then, as he realized the woman he loved had been the worst of his enemies, and his daughter might be one also, and the price of learning the truth was letting a nighter live with him for years.

"I agreed," he said simply, then studied Cat's face and added, "Some kids blame themselves for everything that goes wrong. What happened here is ancient history you have nothing to do with. Got it?"

She nodded. "I'm good with blaming adults for everything wrong with the world."

"Then I raised you right. Questions?" "When Mama attacked us, did she mean to?" "What people do matters more than what they mean." "But if it was the hunger, and she lost control--" "I play it over in my head ev-- Well, a lot. Maybe she was planning to carry you off and leave me sleeping, but she hadn't healed, and her hunger took her--" He shrugged. "She's a nighter. Either she's a stone cold killer or a mad one. Doesn't change what has to be done."

"You're sure about what you saw?"

"My dead wife with her fangs in our daughter's arm?" Professor M nodded. "Oh, yeah. I don't think a rattlesnake bit you and she was sucking out the venom. It may've been a nightmare, but it was real."

Cat pulled her sleeves back and looked at them. "No scars." "Nighter bites heal clean." "Oh." "I wouldn't tell you if you didn't have to know."

Cat nodded.

"No one's going to ask you to kill your mother. But you might have to stand back when it happens."

Could she watch someone send a spike into her mother's heart? She said, "Mama was drinking my blood," half as a question, half to make it real.

Professor M nodded. "Babies don't have much to spare."

Auntie Fong added, "She must've feared you would be compet.i.tion. You are a threat to her, whether you're with them or us."

Professor M said, "Cat's with us!" Auntie Fong glanced at Olujimi, then nodded. "Of course she is." Cat said, "But Mama loves me." Professor M said, "In her way, yes." Auntie Fong said, "Last night, she thought you would be useful. She may not love you so much now." "Not just last night. I always knew Granny Lupe loved me." "Remember their glamour," Olujimi said. "Wasn't glamour." "How can you know?" asked Auntie Fong. "Without training--" Cat stared at her. How could she be sure of anything about Zoraida de la Sombra? She had thought she knew Granny Lupe, but Granny Lupe was only a mask. Would Cat have to help half of her family kill the other half?

Olujimi said, "Tiger, if it feels like we're piling on, say so. We'll back off."

Professor M said, "As much as we can. A lot has to be decided today. You can deal?"

Cat shrugged. "Lots of kids have mother issues."

Professor M nodded. "That's my girl. So--" He wheeled his chair toward the stove. "Let's eat."

The soup was as delicious as it smelled. After the first taste, Cat wondered if yesterday's Cat would've liked it as much as she did. Then she decided yesterday's Cat could worry about that.

Olujimi said, "What's the verdict?"

"Olive oil on bread is different," Cat said. "But I like it. The bread's ex. But the soup doesn't just taste ex. It makes me feel, like, stronger." She looked at her father. "Don't ask if it's like stronger or really stronger. It's stronger."

He said, "Part of a parent's duty is to despair at the damage the young do to our language. Fortunately, English is tough."

"Lentils aren't as high in protein as soy, but they're up there," Olujimi said. "Humans need a little protein and a lot of carbs. With nighters, the reverse may be true. I'd love to autopsy one."

"Not volunteering," Cat said. He nodded. "And you won't be drafted."

"No one's autopsied a nighter?"

Auntie Fong said, "The circ.u.mstances are rarely conducive for bringing a body to a laboratory."

Olujimi added, "And nighter tissue is volatile. Probably a factor in shape-changing. Getting blood and skin samples from you would be nice."

"For you," Cat said. "It won't hurt." "I hate doctors who say it won't hurt." "It won't hurt a lot." "I can live with that." Cat got up for a second bowl of soup. "Why did Ms. Arkan use her own van to try to kill me?" "More of the Arkan way," Professor M said. "Reporting it stolen gives her deniability, but nighters and the clans both know who gets the credit."

"Will she try again?" "Depends on the council meeting." "Should I worry?" He glanced at Olujimi and Auntie Fong. "I don't think so. Tell the truth, give everyone a big smile, and things'll be fine." "Not your best advice, Dad." "Then how about, get a nap? When you can't do anything else before a fight, rest." She thought, It'll be a fight? but she only said, "Do I need everyone on the council to vote for me? Ms. Arkan never will." Her father held her gaze, then nodded. "True. But you only need a majority." Cat glanced at Olujimi and Auntie Fong. Both were focusing on their tea. Were they avoiding her eyes? She had proven herself, hadn't she? The meeting was just a formality, wasn't it? She looked at her father. He said, "Nap, kid. You've had a long day, and it's not over yet."

The thought of resting before a fight did not make her want to rest. She started to say she wasn't tired, then realized she was a little drunk with sleeplessness. Resting was smart. Getting away from people for a while was smarter. She nodded. "Sure."

Heading down the hall, she heard her father call, "Rest well!" Olujimi added, "Shout if you need anything!" But all she heard from Auntie Fong was a question addressed to her father, "Can the two of you keep up this old house?" She wanted to stay for the answer, but an infinite number of questions needed answers. They all hung on the meeting of the Five Clans. Why should she worry? Even if Ms. Arkan and Mr. Rahman voted against her, Dad and Uncle Olujimi and Auntie Fong were on her side.

She found herself walking faster as she neared her room. She wanted to lie on her bed and pull her purple blanket around her and not think about it being a present from Granny Lupe. She wanted to close her eyes and not think about anything until someone said it was time for the meeting.

She ran up the last steps. With her hand on the door handle, she hesitated. The first thing she would see would be the portrait of Zoraida de la Sombra.

Cat had other favorite places in the house. She could nap in any of them.

But then her father would worry when he couldn't find her.

She opened the door. The painting was just a painting. Better to sleep than to think about her mother. She fell onto her bed and thought, I have to help kill Mama and Baldomero and all the nighters, unless the Five Clans decide I'm some kind of scary freak nighter. Then what happens?

She was toying with the necklace that Baldomero gave her. She pulled it off, wanting to throw it out the window or in the trash, or take a hammer to the locket and destroy it so no one would ever wonder what it was or who the monsters inside it were. But as she looked at it, she remembered that he gave it to her before he knew if she would become a nighter. If she had turned out to be human, she would still have the locket to remember her mother and cousin by.

She clicked it open. Baldomero and Zoraida didn't look like monsters. They seemed to smile with secret knowledge, but it was knowledge Cat shared now. Was she more like them than like her father? She wanted to hate them, but all she could think was, They're monsters. And they love me. No way I'll get to sleep.

Then she slept.

And dreamt she was dancing, swirling through a windy, moonlit night, laughing with her mother and Baldomero and Tia Ysabel.

Chapter Thirteen.

The Five Clans.

She woke to the sound of someone saying, "Cat?" Tarika stood by her bed with a big purple mug in her hand. "Bean juice?"

Cat sat up. "Is everyone going to be afraid--" "Yes." Tarika shoved the mug at her. "Drink, and we'll relax." "I'm good. Nighters probably only feed every day or two." "Not the time to test that, Cat." She nodded and drank. Soy milk tasted even better as it became familiar. Did it make her feel stronger? She didn't think so, but maybe it was more noticeable when she needed to drink. She glanced at the clock. "You're skipping school?"

"Like I never skipped school before." "Tee, you never skipped school before." Tarika shrugged. "Like I never thought about skipping school before." She sat on the edge of the bed. "I had to know how you were." "How did you get in?" "You know the tree by the back fence? Once you jump from it and dash across the yard, keeping low so no one sees you, the hard part's over. Shinnying up the back porches and onto the roof and up the tower and through your window after that? Easy." Tarika nodded. "Or you could get your jeans stuck in the tree, and while you're freeing them, Professor M could come on the back porch and yell, 'Hey, Tarika! Want to go up and see Cat?' It would've been rude to shinny then, though I was looking forward to it, because, you know, who gets to shinny every day? You're really good?"

"Really good," Cat agreed, thinking, In the not-hungry sense, not the not-nervous one.

"You're supposed to go downstairs once you've washed. What's the deal?"

"It's about nighters." "Kind of guessed that much. And about you?" "Kind of yeah." "I'll tell how you saved me." "Dad would've said if you were supposed to. What did your folks say when you got home?" "It was weird. The house was empty, so I called Mama. She asked why I was calling from home instead of school. Baldomero must've glammed them."

"What'd you say?"

"That I wanted to see what skipping school was like. She said I'd better not decide to see what it was like twice." Tarika shook her head. "I'm just glad she wasn't glammed into forgetting she had a daughter." Tarika glanced at Cat. "What?"

"I keep trying to think nighters aren't the total bad. But they kill and kidnap and mess with people's minds and--"

Tarika said, "And it's still your mom and cousin."

"Yeah." Cat glanced at the clock, sighed, stood, looked in the mirror, and smoothed her hair. "Okay, officially washed."

Professor M waited in the upper hall. He looked at Tarika and said, "Might be best if you left by the back stairs."

Cat said, "She knows like everything I do. And the clans know she's involved, right?"

"Slightly involved." Tarika said, "Weird definition of slightly, Professor M." He shrugged. "Once is slightly. Twice is something I wouldn't wish on anyone." "Cat's involved, so I am." "Nothing dangerous will happen at the meeting, will it?" Cat said. "I don't want--" Tarika said, "Not entirely about what you want, Cat. I'm not leaving unless you throw me out." When her father nodded, Cat said, "You let her in so she could insist on staying!" He rolled into the elevator, then glanced at them. "Don't tell Auntie Fong." The elevator doors closed. Tarika said, "So I'm here for moral support? I can handle that." Cat grinned, but as Tarika grinned back, she thought, Not just moral support. To show everybody that even after last night, Tee trusts me. Is anyone sneakier than my dad?

She stopped at the top of the stairs. Auntie Fong and a goateed Middle Eastern man in a dark blue suit were frowning up at them. As they came down, Auntie Fong told the man, "If you'll step into the dining room, we'll follow momentarily." As he left, she turned to Cat. "Shouldn't your friend be going now?"

Professor M rolled up the hall. "Tarika's involved." "This is a matter for the families." "She's family."

"She's a friend. Friends are not--" "To Cat, she's family. So she's mine." "She's a child." "She's two months older than Cat." "Catalina had no choice." Tarika said, "Like I had a choice last night?" Auntie Fong looked at her. "No, and I'm sorry for that. But you have a choice now." "To go play video games?" Tarika shook her head. "If you know about a problem, you have to find a solution." Auntie Fong looked at Cat. "Dear, any involvement in these matters could be dangerous. For your friend's sake--" Tarika said, "I'm here for my friend's sake! You're having a meeting to decide what happens to Cat, and she needs all the protection she can get. Even if it's just me."

Auntie Fong shook her head. "You don't know what you're getting into."

Professor M said, "Who does?"

Auntie Fong shrugged. "It's the clan leader's call. But if this child is hurt--"

"She's a target already. There comes a time when knowledge is more protection than ignorance."

"I hope you're right, Val." Auntie Fong looked at Tarika. "Let's go inside."

Entering the dining room was like stepping into a different universe. For all of Cat's life, the table and chairs had been covered with dusty bed sheets. When she was small, the room was the perfect place to play, but she hadn't been in it for years. The walls were a duller white than she remembered. Like many of the unused rooms in Casa Medianoche, it had stored boxes, trunks, and books.

Now the sheets had been put away, the boxes moved, the curtains opened, the windows washed, the black walnut table polished, the chairs dusted, and the tile floor cleaned so it shone. Olujimi was setting out a pitcher of water and a thermos of coffee next to a jumble of mugs that made Cat wonder if no one could find the good dinnerware or if it had been sold to pay a bill.

Olujimi grinned. "Hey, Tiger." Then he squinted at Tarika. Auntie Fong said, "Val's idea." Professor M said, "Tarika's idea." Cat said, "We just backed it up."

"O-kay," Olujimi said slowly, clearly thinking it wasn't wise. "Life's never dull around Val."

Cat almost said life had been dull for fourteen years, but watching her father roll across the room, she realized it hadn't. It had been quiet and dependable, which, for him, must have been the greatest gift he could give.

At the far end of the room, with the goateed stranger, were Ilya and Ms. Arkan. She wore a gray suit with a white shirt. He wore a brown jacket, tan trousers, and a green T-shirt. He looks good in those colors, Cat thought. Not gorgeous like Baldomero, but good.

Their eyes met, and she caught him looking away as quickly as she did.

Everyone was dressed nicely. Had her father meant "dress up" when he said, "wash up"? It didn't matter. Everyone was going to stare at her no matter what she wore.

Her father wheeled toward her with the young Middle Eastern man. His Ouroboros ring held a blue sapphire. "Cat, meet Saeed al-Rahman. Saeed, my daughter, Cat."

"Nice to meet you," she said. Was she supposed to offer her hand, or was he? By the time she had asked herself the question, it felt too late to offer hers. She added, "Uh, I hope."

"As do I," said Mr. Rahman with a polite nod. Cat thought, Do all the clan leaders learn to hide their emotions? I guess they have to.

Ms. Arkan jerked her hand toward Tarika. "What's she doing here?" The ruby on her finger flashed in the light, and Cat thought, If they're supposed to learn it, they don't all succeed.

Professor M said, "The First of the Medianoches wants her here."

Ms. Arkan's nostrils flared. "The problem with you, Valentin, is you don't respect tradition."

"Then you should be happy. Doesn't the head of the hosting clan have the right to invite anyone?"

"Which hasn't been done in four hundred years." "And the winner of the respecting tradition contest is--?" "Have your joke, Valentin. Involve a child in a war she's not prepared for. I only hope you find her drained body, not me." "How old was your son when you took him on his first hunt?" Ilya said quietly, "Twelve." Ms. Arkan said, "He began his training in the crib! He's never been a child, but if you have your way, that girl--" She pointed at Tarika. "-- will never be an adult!"

Auntie Fong said, "Val's within his rights, Alexandra. For better or worse, it's what the girls want." She shook her head. "Tarika, why don't you sit across from Ilya?"

Cat said, "We'll be the kiddie section," and started to follow. But Auntie Fong leaned close to her and whispered, "Head of the table by your father, dear. Return his ring as discreetly as possible."

Cat looked at the Medianoche ring. Her father must've meant she could wear it for her birthday since it would be hers someday.

Auntie Fong whispered, "Dear? One more thing. What we decide today has nothing to do with affection. My fondness for you could not be stronger."

Cat blinked, but Auntie Fong had already turned away. Cat thought, She's going to vote against me! Auntie Fong is going to-- She wanted to shout or cry, but if she couldn't control her feelings, how could she make anyone believe she could control her thirst? She thought, Okay. Not about emotions. Just have to convince Auntie Fong to vote for me. One more besides Dad and Uncle Olujimi, and I'm safe.