"Oh, boy," Mark whispered. He was standing beside Jade, staring from her to Ash.
Ash said, "Hi."
Don't look at him, Mary-Lynnette told herself. Herheart was pounding wildly and her knees were trembling. The attraction of particle to antiparticle,she thought, remembering a line from last year'sphysics lass. But there was another, shorter namefor it, and no matter what she said to herself, she couldn't keep it out of her mind.
Soulmates.
Oh, God, I really don't want this. Please, please, Ididn't ask for this. I want to discover a supernova and study mini-quasars at the Gamma Ray Observatory. I want to be the one who solves the mystery of where all the dark matter in the universe is.
I don't want this.
It should have happened to someone like BunnyMarten, someone who spent timelonging for romance.
The only thing Mary-Lynnette longed for wassomebody to understand ...
... to understand the night with you,a distant part ofher mind whispered.
And instead here she was, stuck with a guy whose own sisters were terrified of him.
It was true. That was why they were standingpoised to fight, making threatening noises. Even Kestrel was afraid of him.
The moment Mary-Lynnette realized that, anger washed out the trembling dismay inside her. Whatever she felt about Ash, she wasn't afraid of him.
"Don't you ever knock?" she said and walked toward him. Strode toward him.
She had to hand it to her new family. Both Jadeand Kestrel tried to grab her and keep her from getting close to their brother. Protecting her. MaryLynnette shook them off.
Ash eyed her warily.
"Oh. You," he said. Unenthusiastically.
"What are you doing here?"
"It's my uncle's house."
"It's your aunt's house and you weren't invited."
Ash looked at his sisters. Mary-Lynnette could justsee little wheels turning in his head. Had they already told about the Night World or not? Of course, if they hadn't, their behavior should be giving somebody a due. Most human girls didn't hiss.
Ash held one finger up. "Okay. Now, listen"
Mary-Lynnette kicked him in the shins. She knew it was inappropriate, she knew it was uncalled-for, but she couldn't stop herself. She just had to.
"Oh, for God's sake," Ash said, hopping backward.
"Are you crazy?"
"Yes, she is," Mark said, abandoning Jade and hurrying forward to take Mary-Lynnette's arm.
"Everybody knows she's crazy. She can't help it." He backedup, pulling. He was looking at Mary-Lynnette as if she'd taken all her clothes off and started to dance the mambo.
So were Kestrel and Jade. Their eyes had gone ordinary, their teeth retracted. They'd never seen anyone treat their brother quite this way. And to have a human doing it ...
If the girls had superhuman strength, Ash was undoubtedly even stronger. He could probably flatten Mary-Lynnette with one blow.
She still couldn't help it. She wasn't afraid of him, only of herself and the stupid floating feeling in her stomach. The way her legs wanted to fold under her.
"Will somebody just tell her not to do that anymore?" Ash was saying.
Kestrel and Jade looked sideways at Mary-Lynnette. Mary-Lynnette shrugged at them, her breath coming quickly.
She saw that Rowan was looking at her, too, butnot in the same dumbfounded way. Rowan looked worried and surprised and sorry.
"You've met," she said.
"I should have told you," Mary-Lynnette said. "Hecame to our house. He was asking my stepmotherabout you and your friends-saying that he needed to approve them because he was head of the family."
All three girls looked at Ash with narrowed eyes.
"So you have been around," Kestrel said. "Forhow long?"
Rowan said quietly, "What are -you really doinghere?"
Ash let go of his shin. "Can we all sit down and talk about this like reasonable people?"
Everyone looked at Mary-Lynnette. She took a deep, calming breath. She still felt as if her entire skin was electrified, but her heart was slowing down. "Yes," she said and worked at looking normal so they'd know her temporary insanity was over.
As he helped her to the couch, Mark whispered, "I have to tell you, I've never seen you act so immature before. I'm proud of you."
Even big sisters have to have some off time, Mary-Lynnette thought. She patted him vaguely and sat, feeling tired.
Ash settled in a plush-covered chair. Rowan andKestrel sat beside Mary-Lynnette. Mark and Jade shared an ottoman.
"All right," Ash said. "Now can we fast introduce ourselves? I presume that's your brother."
"Mark," Mary-Lynnette said. "Mark, that's Ash."
Mark nodded. He and Jade were holding hands. Mary-Lynnette saw Ash's eyes drop to their intertwined fingers. She couldn't tell anything from his expression.
"Okay. Now." Ash looked at Rowan. "I'm here to take you back home, where everyone misses you violently."
Jade breathed, "Give me a break."
Kestrel said, "What if we don't want to be taken?" and showed her teeth briefly. Mary-Lynnette didn't find that strange. What she found strange was that Ash didn't return the smile. He didn't look lazy or sardonic or smug right then. He looked like somebody who wants to get a job over with.
Rowan said, "We can't go home, Ash." Her breathing was slightly irregular, but her chin was high.
"Well, you have to come home. Because otherwisethere are going to be some fairly drastic
consequences."
"We knew that when we left," Jade said, with aslittle emotion as Rowan. Her chin was high, too.
"Well, I don't think you've really thought itthrough." Ash's voice had an edge.