For the first time in a long time, I just lazed around. Eventually, I climbed out of bed and had an amazingly long shower under the pissed off gaze of Pip. “Don’t worry, baby. Today I’ll let you come out of here. Baby steps, hmm?” He growled at me, turning and showing me his butthole. Yep. He was cranky.
True to my word, I let the cat out and pottered around the apartment, putting my stuff into the drawers Micah had cleared out for me, and keeping an eye on Fred and Pip. When I was done, and Fred had begun to whine a little that he had to pee, I put on my armor of a poodle skirt printed with skulls and a knitted sweater in bright pink.
I left Pip asleep on top of a bookcase and took Fred downstairs to do his business on the sidewalk. I was going to take him to the library with me. I needed all the support I could get.
Standing on the cold sidewalk, I remembered that I forgot to ask Micah what part of Boston we were in. We were in a middle class area I assumed, because there were a lot of SUV’s, newer than mine of course, surrounded by apartment buildings and every now and then, a row of townhouses. We appeared to be inner city, because there were a few people striding down the sidewalk purposefully, and I could see the very tip of skyscrapers above the tops of the apartment buildings. Other than that though, I was still as lost as ever.
Walking back inside out of the chill, I climbed the three flights of stairs to the library. The apartment building was filled with people. Most of them were young, well they looked it anyway, and every single one turned to stare at me and Fred when we walked by. Their expressions varied. Some seemed suspicious, some seemed open and friendly.
When I got to the library, there were even more people outside in the halls. They reminded me of my college days, everyone waiting outside the lecture halls to take their seats. Suddenly, Penelope appeared in front of me, her warm smile closely followed by an even warmer hug.
“Layla, how did you sleep? Micah said you might come down here to say hello. He also said that you brought some of the farm with you; his words not mine.” She flashed her teeth in a smile before kneeling in front of Fred, making cooing baby talk and scratching his ears. Like they were waiting for someone else to make the first move, a few others came over to do the same, and Fred lapped up the attention, his golden tail wagging happily.
A cute boy, probably a little younger than me with short dreadlocks and a wide smile, was the first to come over.
“Hi, I’m Terrance. Shapeshifter.”
I was a little shocked that he just put that out there. “Hey, I’m Layla, I’m a human?” Terrance laughed so loud that it startled me. “Nice to meet you. Sorry, bad habit. We tend to tack on our species onto introductions to cut out the guessing and posturing about power. But I can’t believe you’re just a human, because why would you be here? Normals don’t usually get past the front door. Can’t hold their tongues, you know?” He winked like he was telling a well-worn joke, and my cheeks flushed.
Penelope stood up, addressing Terrance loud enough that it could be heard by everyone. “Layla is our special guest. Micah’s special guest.”
Terrance’s eyes widened at the mention of Micah. His gaze flicked back to me, a new appreciation in his expression. I noticed that Penelope didn’t say anything about me being a ‘normal’ though.
“Also, she has a brilliant track record of silence.” The finality in her voice informed everyone that was the end of that. She turned to indicate two girls standing at her side. “Layla, I’d like you to meet Caroline and Lorelei. I will let them tell you their extra abilities if they wish.”
The two girls in front of me were fairly ordinary looking teens, about eighteen or nineteen at the most, mouse coloured brown hair and plain features, but wide friendly faces. The most unusual thing about them was that they were identical twins. Well that and the fact that one looked like she was straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting in a beautiful floral tea dress, and the other one looked like she was straight out of a metalcore club, her face heavily made up with dark eyeliner and black lipstick. I murmured something about them being identical, the normal mundane stuff you say when presented with twins.
“We aren’t really identical. Our powers differ but I guess you would call them complementary. My ability is that I can confuse people, muddle their thoughts to varying degrees, from something as simple as not knowing why they were standing at the fridge to more extreme conditions like not understanding who or what they are.” I was guessing that the girl speaking was Caroline. I looked at Penelope and she confirmed my guess. Penelope being able to read my mind was handy sometimes, I guess.
Lorelei looked bored with the whole conversation. “I can compel people to do anything I want. You would be amazed how quickly confused people will latch onto any coherent suggestion, no matter what it is. Of course, I can do it to people who aren’t confused; it’s just a little more of an effort. Would you like to see?” She gave me a grin that was probably designed to be creepy, and man, she pulled it off well. I was going to tuck that expression away in my memory for the next time I was in Roseau.
I shook my head quickly, politely declining. I’d be more scared if I hadn’t lived through being attacked by a pack of wolves and saved by a monster at their age. Your standard of scary changes after an event like that.
Though god knows, teenage girls are terrifying, regardless if they were supernatural or human.
Gently touching my elbow, Penelope directed me through a door that said ‘Library’.
“Do you like to read, Layla? We have a great collection here, from old classics in latin to some modern paperbacks. Loads of young adult novels as you can imagine, but we have fiction and non-fiction. Feel free to take whatever you like back to your room or, if you feel comfortable, you’re welcome to stay and read here.” She looked across the room, where Fred had managed to corner a group of people, and was laying on his back like a hussy, getting all the belly rubs. “I know the members would like to spend more time with Fred. Most miss having pets, being in the city, especially the shapeshifters. We have a special affinity with animals, as you can imagine.”
The library was huge, but by now, I had grown accustomed to whole apartments being turned into single rooms. What was spectacular was the floor to ceiling bookcases, packed to capacity with books. It had a brass rail around the room, a sliding ladder running along it to help access the books at the very top. It was a bibliophile’s wet dream. I wondered if Micah would be mad if I got a sleeping bag and just lived in this room. Penelope laughed, reading my thoughts. I got mischievous and mentally pictured Micah and I in the spa last night and I heard her suck in her breath.
“Sorry, sorry! The line between what is verbal and what is mental gets blurred, like I explained last night. I do try, I promise, but I have to be constantly vigilant in such close proximity.” I shook my head and smirked at her blushing cheeks that managed to turn her whole face bright pink.
“It’s okay,” I said softly. And it was. I was kind of getting used to her being able to read my thoughts now that the initial shock had worn off.
The space between the bookshelves contained a long study table and different sized couches, all in dark brown leather.
“Would you like to browse now or would you like to see the common room first?”