Hidden Moon (Nightcreature 7)

"Sheriff McDaniel told you not to come at night. "

His dark eyes returned to mine. "I don't take orders from Sheriff McDaniel. "

I doubted he took orders from anyone. I recalled how whatever he'd wanted - towel, shirt, contract - had appeared in his hand that afternoon. To paraphrase the great prophet Mel Brooks: It must be good to be the king. I smiled at my own, secret wit.

"Do I amuse you then?" Cartwright asked.

Any amusement I'd felt fled. "No. "

One thing he didn't do was amuse me. I didn't want to examine what it was he did, because the feelings I had whenever I saw him were almost as scary as the howl of the wolf that couldn't exist.

"You never answered my question," I pointed out.

"Which question was that, darlin'?"

I refused to be charmed by the accent and the casual endearment. "Do you or do you not have a wolf in one of those cages at the lake?"

"I do not. "

He continued to stare at the trees as if searching for something, which brought to mind a better question - just in case he'd taken my query in completely literal terms: "Did your wolf get loose?"

"I do not keep a wolf. They're. . . troublesome. "

"In what way?"

"Wolves don't make good show animals. They're too independent to train, and they spook the hell out of the horses. "

"You seem to know an awful lot about them for not having one. "

At last he stopped staring at the trees. "I'm an animal trainer. Knowing which ones are good and which are bad is what I do. "

"I thought there were no good or bad animals, only good or bad masters. "

He gave a snort of laughter but didn't elaborate.

"Who was that you were talking to?" he asked.

"Balthazar Monahan. Owns the local newspaper. He'll want to talk to you. "

"He can want whatever he likes; that doesn't mean he'll be gettin' it. We prefer obscurity. "

I eyed his flamboyant dress, long hair, and the crucifix swinging from one ear. "I can see that. "

His full lips curved. "This costume is what people expect. "

"How do you get any business without publicity?"

"We've never lacked for work. We choose when and where we perform - midsized venues in places we are interested in traveling to. Like your Full Moon Festival. "

Which explained why he'd contacted Joyce. Must be nice to pick and choose when and where and how much you worked.

He lifted his face to the sky. Opening his mouth, he inhaled, as if drinking in the silver light of the moon. When he lowered his head, his eyes appeared again like bottomless black pools. I took an involuntary step back and the reflection shifted, making his eyes just brown once more.

"I'll walk you home," he said.

"Not necessary. I live - " I broke off. Did I really want him to know where I lived?

"Do you think I don't already know?"