Everwild (Skinjacker 2)

That gave him pause for thought. If he hadn't realized it before, he was ready to consider it now. Here was the chance Mary had hoped for!

"You've built quite a civilization here in Chicago," Mary told him. "You are to be congratulated."

"Flattery from the Sky Witch! You really must want something from me!" He chuckled softly, and his henchmen took it as their cue to chuckle loudly.

"Do not call me that," she said, forcefully but respectfully. "My name is Mary Hightower, and it is the only name I answer to,"

"I know your name," said Pugsy, with an air of disgust in his voice. "So are you gonna tell me why you trespassed on my property?"

"I believe it's best if we discuss matters of importance alone," Mary said. His thugs looked ready to stand their ground, and Mary noticed the girl in the corner smile, perhaps impressed with Mary's boldness.

Pugsy looked to his thugs. "Send us up to the top, and wait for me on the ground," he told them.

"Yes, boss," they said, ever obedient.

Then he turned to the girl. "Why don't you go skinjack someone, and get today's sports scores."

It was the first thing that Pugsy said that really caught Mary by surprise.

"Whatever you say," said the girl with a toss of her crazy, nettle-nested hair, then she sauntered out behind the three thugs, eyeing Mary all the way.

In a moment the Ferris wheel grinded into motion, and the large car began a long, slow arc up and away.

"You trust a skinjacker?" Mary asked him.

"Sure," said Pugsy, "she comes in very useful--no matter what you say in your books."

"So, you've read my books, then?"

"Only what I could stomach."

"You should attempt to 'stomach' more," Mary suggested. "I've shared all the things I've discovered here--all the things I know."

"Yeah, well I know things too."

Pugsy stood up and went to a window to admire the view. Mary knew he wasn't very tall, but she didn't realize how short and stocky he was until he stood up.

"So now that we're alone, are you gonna tell me why you're here?"

Mary decided to take the direct approach. "I propose an alliance between you and me. A partnership between equals."

That made him laugh. "Equals? How do you figure that?" And he gestured out the window at his vast land holdings. "I have no need to look," she said. "My view from the Hindenburg is just as grand as yours."

"Oh," said Pugsy, "but this view is priceless."

Finally Mary looked. They had just crested the peak of the Ferris wheel, and as they began the journey downward, the car next to them came into view. To Mary's horror, it was packed with children--Mary's children--every last one of them. They had been packed into that car like sardines. This is what Pugsy meant by "storage."

"It's amazing," said Pugsy. "Afterlights can fit into whatever space you want them to. All ninety-three of yours are in there."

Mary couldn't find words to express her disgust.

"So you see," said Pugsy. "I hold all the chips. You gotta do whatever I say, or they're the ones that'll suffer."

Mary swallowed her urge to slap him silly, and spoke slowly, making sure all her words had time to sink in through his thick skull. "Treating me as an equal will elevate you far more than you can imagine."

"Is that so?" He sneered.

"Yes, it is." Then she put aside all modesty, false or otherwise. "In Everlost I am seen as a queen, an angel, a witch, an enchantress. I did not chose this, of course, but the fact remains that I am the stuff of legend. If you imprison me, you are a mere jail keeper. But ... if you rise to be my equal, you will become legendary as well."