Lish was staring at the series of screens that lined the front of the tank. She was like the ultimate personal assistant. No sick days, no vacations, no sleep, and she wanted to be there. A lot of the paranormals couldnt be trusted with too much. Even though theyre neutered, most of them harbor a bit of resentment toward IPCA because of the loss of freedom. But Lish loved her job. She was in charge of scheduling, monitoring, transports, you name it. Girl knew everything.
Apparently not today, though. Her green eyes widened with interest when I walked up to the tank. I smiled. Whats up, Lish?
How are you feeling? Are you okay after last night?
Lish knew me better than anyone else at the Center. Raquel was in charge of me, but she was hard to talk to about feelings. After all, when the main way you communicate is through sighs, it makes it hard to relate to teens. Lish understood how bad a new run-in with Reth would mess me up. I could (and did) talk with her about everything.
Been better. Didnt sleep.
Lish tried to swearwhich is always funny, because the computer wont translate it. It went something like this: Bleep stupid bleep bleep faeries and their bleep bleep bleep obsessions. He had better stop bleep bleep bleep the bleep bleep rules or I will bleep bleep bleep the little bleeeeeeeeeeep.
All in a completely robotic monotone. Awesome. Lish could really get going sometimes. I loved her for it; she was like the big sister I never had. The big sister who happened to be shiny green and covered in scales, with a long, finned tail and webbed hands. But she was beautiful in her way.
I laughed. The robot voice tirades always cheered me up. Okay, you bleep bleep do that. She shook her head, still mad about Reth. Something on one of her screens took her attention and she waved her webbed hands in front of it for a few minutes. I wasnt sure how all the tech worked in there, but it always looked cool.
Once she was done, she looked back at me. So, tell me about what happened yesterday with the break-in.
What dont you know? Lish was usually the font of all information. Granted, most of that information was classified, but we were best friends. We told secrets, and kept them, too. Like the time when I was twelve and the Center was processing a load of pixies. Lish knew how badly I wanted to see them and slipped me the when and where informationeven though Raquel had grounded me for wandering off on a bag-and-tag mission. Too bad pixies turned out to be dirty, ugly little things, even their wings coated with mucous. Yet another cartoon dream shattered.
What dont you know? Lish was usually the font of all information. Granted, most of that information was classified, but we were best friends. We told secrets, and kept them, too. Like the time when I was twelve and the Center was processing a load of pixies. Lish knew how badly I wanted to see them and slipped me the when and where informationeven though Raquel had grounded me for wandering off on a bag-and-tag mission. Too bad pixies turned out to be dirty, ugly little things, even their wings coated with mucous. Yet another cartoon dream shattered.
They are not releasing much intel. What is it? She looked worried.
Dont know. Ive never seen anything like him. Neither has Raquel.
Why was he here?
Dont know again. I caught him in Raquels office, but he hasnt said why.
And he can take the appearance of anyone?
Yup. Pretty freaky when youre standing there talking to yourself.
A small, wheezing laugh sounded. I looked over and noticed one of the office vamps standing close by, listening. Something funny, Dalv? I glared at him.
He glared back. Its Vlad and you know it.
You and half the other vamps out there. Vlador Dalv, as I liked to call him just to piss him off was one of my least favorite parts of the Center. After neutering, IPCA always set the paranormals up with some mandatory job. Werewolves had the most job flexibility, depending on what they were before. Vamps usually worked in the satellite buildings or did cover-up for sightings using their persuasion skills. Vlad was pretty useless though. I guess I cant blame him for feeling bitter.
Going from being the terror of Bulgarian nights to a janitor would kinda suck. And, since I was the one who had done the bag-and-tag, he especially hated me.
He shrugged as he swept the already spotless floor. His glamour was less flashy than most; he looked like a forty-year-old man, not handsome, not ugly, just thin and slightly balding. Underneath all vamps looked the same. Ugh. He could be a doppelg?nger, he said, a sneer of a smile creeping onto his face.
Whats a doppelg?nger? I immediately regretted asking as his smile spread.
Good news for the rest of us, if he took your form. Giving another wheezy laugh, he walked out.
I turned to Lish; she was already looking it up on one of her screens. Her eyes narrowed. What?
The look on her face was making me nervous. Whats a doppelg?nger?
Doppelg?ngers appear to people as harbingers of she paused death. The tale was that if you saw yourself, it meant you were going to die. They were also bad spirits who would take your form and destroy your life, again leading to your death.
I frowned. Not cool. Wait, spirits? She nodded. Nope, dudes corporeal. I had dealt with a few ghosts and poltergeists in my time. The great thing about them is they cant touch you. Their only power is fear. And theres a whole lot you can do with fearmake people see, hear, and even feel things that arent therebut if you know that going in, its a lot easier to see past it. Besides, if Im going to die, Raquel, Denise, and Jacques are all going with me.
She blinked thoughtfully. And why would a doppelg?nger want to look through Raquels files?
Exactly. Plus, hes only seventeen.
Lish tilted her head. He is not an immortal?
Nope. Oh, whoops, probably should have told Raquel that. I frowned. Id tell her when she decided to include me. Listen, dont say anything, okay? I want in on this one, and infos the only leverage I have.
Lish closed one of her transparent eyelids at me in her best imitation of a wink. They are not giving me research clearance anyway. I have no reason to tell.
Youre the best, my fine fishy friend.
Lishs eyes smiled at me. Different as we were, we were both exactly what the other neededa friend. As was my custom, started when I first met Lish as a ten-year-old, I smashed my face against the glass and blew my cheeks out at her.
DEAD MEAT IN ANY LANGUAGE
I had finally fallen asleep later that morning when the alarm went off. I jumped out of bed, confused, thinking there was yet another break-in or emergency. Then I realized it wasnt the Centers alarms, it was my personal alarm. The alarm that meant my tutor, Charlotte, would be here in exactly ten minutes.
Oh, bleep. I hadnt done any of my homework.
The last few years Id tried to convince Raquel that I really didnt need to study math, English, science, world history, and fouryes, fourforeign languages. It wasnt like I was going to go to college or anything. Sure, I wanted to attend real high school, but that had more to do with being around actual teenagers than learning stuff. Besides, I doubted IPCA cared whether or not I had my
GED. As long as I could keep seeing through glamours, I had a job for life. But every time I brought it up, Raquel looked at me with those almost-black eyes and heaved her patented I know you think its not important to know these things but one day youll appreciate that Ive made you into a well-rounded adult sigh.
I pulled out my Spanish book, pretty sure thats what I had this morning. Hastily filling in my irregular verb chart for morir, I wrote out example sentences. T? eres muerta carne. Scratched thatadjective after the noun. T? eres carne muerta. Oh, who was I kidding, I wasnt even using morir in the verb form anyway. Yo soy carne muerta. Translation: I am dead meat.
Right on time my unit door beeped and I let Charlotte in. She was a pretty woman, looked to be in her late twenties. A couple inches shorter than me with shiny brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and these adorable rectangular glasses over her blue eyes, which were over her bright yellow wolf eyes.
Charlotte always smiled so sweetly. Teaching had been her lifes passion until she was infected. After she realized what she was and what she had doneattacked a family membershe tried to kill herself. Fortunately we found her before she could figure out the few things that can bring down a werewolf. I could never tell if it was my lack of motivation as a student or her pain and regret about the past that made her look sad even when she was smiling.
We sat down on the couch and pulled up a table. She glanced over my worksheet and suppressed a smile. You are dead meat?
I gave my best dont get mad, arent I cute? grin and shrugged.
Thats an American expressionthe meaning doesnt translate. And you didnt finish your verb charts or the short story you were assigned. She looked up at me with those sad, sad eyes. Those eyes killed me.
Im sorry. I hung my head. Yesterday was crazy. First I had a vamp job, and then there was the break-in, and then Reth paid me a late-night visit, and then I couldnt sleep.
It sounds like you had a rough day. But youve had this assignment for a week. Perhaps next time if you didnt leave it to the night before?
Hey, now, lets not start talking crazy, Char. That, at least, got me a less-sad smile.
We spent the rest of the morning conjugating (a word that sounds dirty but is, in fact, boring) and conversing in good old espa?ol. She stayed and ate lunch with me, and then it was time for my afternoon training session.
Bud, my self-defense and combat skills teacher, was still trying to get me to learn knife fighting.
Bud, my self-defense and combat skills teacher, was still trying to get me to learn knife fighting.
Silver knives! Painful and sometimes deadly to nearly all paranormals!
Tasey! I countered. Hot pink and sparkly!
You cant always count on technology. Bud was human, but youd think hed grown up in the
Middle Ages. In case you were wondering if he was cute, well, maybe thirty years ago. Now, not so much. And, since weve had this argument before, I made you something.