Kitty's House of Horrors (kn-7) by Carrie Vaughn (christmas read aloud txt) 📕

“Keep in mind, he’s used to swimming in the Arctic,” Jeffrey said.

“How about I just stay out here and watch you?” Ariel said.

Lee slapped the surface and sent a shower of water splashing at her. Predictably, she squealed. Unpredictably, she jumped in after him and they started a full-on splashing water fight. Much laughter and shrieking ensued.

I reminded myself that I was supposed to be enjoying this. That I would be enjoying this if I hadn’t nearly convinced myself that all this was a front. I should have been sprawling out on my blanket enjoying the scenery, but I was distracted, turned inward, gnawing on the issue like a dog with a bone.

Also present: Conrad and Jerome, who were talking sports together over chicken sandwiches. The vampires and Dorian were inside, tucked safely away in darkness until nightfall. Odysseus Grant also joined us, which surprised me. I didn’t associate him with bright sunlight. More like shadowy theaters and stage lights. He sat with his back against the trunk of a tall conifer, up a little ways from the edge of the beach. His sleeves were rolled up past his elbows, but that was the only concession to the great outdoors he’d made in his clothing. I was in shorts and a T-shirt.

I picked myself up and wandered to where Grant was sitting. He watched me. I tried not to be nervous.

“Mind if I join you?” I said.

“Of course not.”

I sat cross-legged, nearby. “Your show yesterday made Tina a little edgy.”

He gave a thin smile. “That wasn’t a show. Stage hypnotism looks completely different.”

“I get the feeling that wouldn’t make her feel any better.”

“She opened a door. Accessed a dark place. She should be nervous.”

“This is all so vague. Conrad’s not half wrong about some of this stuff. It’s hard to believe when it’s all just shadows.”

“If it was more than shadows, we’d be able to see it clearly. We wouldn’t be as terrified.”

I wanted to deny that I was terrified. I hadn’t reached that level yet. But it wasn’t too far a leap from lurking anxiety to terror. “You? Terrified?” I said, smiling to take the edge off my prodding.

“Watchful,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong. I trust you implicitly. But I also suspect you don’t do much of anything without an ulterior motive. You agreed to do this show because it would bring you in contact with certain people. It would get you access to information. What brought you here? What are you looking for?”

He pursed his lips, looking thoughtfully over the lake, its surface sparkling with sunlight on ripples of water.

“Shadows,” he said finally. “The trouble in Las Vegas last year was just a thread in a larger… web. I almost called it a tangle, but it’s too organized for that. You know it—you’ve seen it. You’ve faced it. You tell me whether we ought to be terrified by it.”

This was far too serious a conversation to be having in such a beautiful setting. I ought to rip off my clothes and join the others for a swim in the lake. I said, “I’ve decided to ignore it for as long as I can.”

“Implying that you’re aware that you won’t be able to ignore it forever.”

My kingdom was a small one. I had my family, my mate, my pack, my city. I didn’t want anything else. I didn’t want an empire. But I would fight to protect what I had. I’d fought before, and I’d be an idiot to ignore the forces out there building empires, who would take my world away from me if I let them. Grant was right.

“So this is just another battle in your war against the forces of chaos,” I said.

“‘Just’ another battle. You make it sound mundane.”

“And you suspect Anastasia of being part of it?” I said.

He just smiled.

And while we were all discussing various conspiracy theories and secret suspicions, Provost and his crew were recording everything on video. Maybe one of the producers wanted information. What better way to gather intelligence than to bring a bunch of people on the inside together, then record their conversations? What happened when the secret shadow world of vampires and the forces of darkness got discussed on national TV? Wait a minute, who was I kidding? To the average TV-watching audience, these conversations would seem boring. They’d never end up in the final cut.

The gathering by the dock had turned quiet, drawing our attention.

“Lee?” Ariel called. She treaded water, turning slowly and looking out over the surface. “Where’d he go?”

“How long has he been under?” Jeffrey said.

“I don’t know,” Ariel said. “A while, I think.”

“Lee knows how to take care of himself,” Tina said. “He’s a were-seal, for crying out loud.”

“But where is he?” Ariel said.

Except for the ripples Ariel was making, the surface of the lake was still, dark, not a bubble in sight. I stood and wandered to the edge of the water. Grant came with me. A moment later, Jerome was standing with us, all of us looking out, and the nervous rock in my gut was growing heavier.

“Should we call someone?” Jeffrey said.

A body erupted from the water and lunged onto the edge of the dock. Torpedo-shaped, it was big, rubbery, with slick gray skin mottled brown, dripping wet. It had a face like a mashed-up dog’s, with huge, shining dark eyes. Opening its mouth wide, it showed off way too many sharp teeth and brayed, a throaty, belchy bark.

Everyone screamed. Except maybe Grant, who raised a curious brow and took a step back. Even Jerome shouted and stumbled away from the water. Tina and Jeffrey scrambled away from the barking seal. Ariel didn’t even bother climbing onto the dock. She swam for the shore, splashing in a panic.

The seal—Lee, I assumed—gave another growl. I swore it sounded like laughter. Then he rolled back into the water. Breaking the surface, he splashed his flippers, then swam, fast and hard, away from shore. He broke the surface now and