“How about if we sit down and get some coffee while I get Bradley to shuffle some people around to give you a space to crash? We’re pretty full up, but there’s a couple of open rooms. Most of the sand rats we’ve got are in the common space.” Hernandez waved Ryder to the right, herding him along the way. “Flooding’s pretty bad in the lower valley, so we pulled up everyone who’d come, and most of them brought their dogs and some livestock with them. It’s like a damned ark down there. Woke up this morning to help break up a camel fight. This is a crazy job. No one at the Academy ever told me I’d be working in a damned looney bin.”
“Better in here than out there,” I said, falling into step next to him. “Coffee’s not a bad idea. Neither’s food if you can spare some.”
“Mostly beans, rice, and tortillas. Went for staples and canned goods once the radar went red with rain. Didn’t have a lot of time to stock up, but if you’re lucky, I can probably scrape up some cheese.” He gave Ryder a quick glance. “His kind eats that kind of stuff, right?”
“His kind is my kind, Hernandez. Have you known me to turn away food?” I reminded him, smirking when Ryder broke into a wide grin. “Don’t get any ideas there, lordling. Just pointing out the obvious.”
“Sends a thrill of delight through my heart to hear it,” Ryder commented behind me. “And yes, Chief Hernandez, all of that sounds lovely. Traveling with Kai usually means lots of noodles floating in hot water flavored with salt packets. Or dried meats of dubious origin.”
“He’s still traumatized by the cuttlefish,” I muttered at Hernandez. “I mean shit, feed the guy a handful of suckers on a stick once and he complains about it for the rest of his life.”
“Well, good to know there’s something we’ve got in common with the elfin,” Hernandez spat back. “Feed me anything with suckers and I’d hold it against you too. Here we go. And don’t pay any mind to the staring. Most of these people haven’t seen any Sidhe up close before, so chances are, you’re going to catch everyone’s attention.”
“Even Kai?” Ryder picked up his pace, leaving off his study of the station’s architecture.
“Hell, especially Gracen. Far as most of them are concerned, he’s like Dracula and the boogey monster rolled up into one. They know he’s on their side, but now that Dempsey’s gone, he’s off his leash and they don’t know what he’s going to do.” Hernandez stopped in front of a pair of double doors much like the ones in the staff parking area. My hackles were ruffled from his words, but I knew the truth when it was shoved up against my teeth. “You know how some people are, Gracen. No matter how often you pull them out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves, they’re still going to fear your shadow falling across theirs.”
He wasn’t wrong. Or at least not about all eyes being on us when the doors slid open to let us into the cafeteria. The room was larger than the parking level, set up with round tables and folding chairs to absorb the station’s increased population, and while not packed, it was still busier than I’d ever seen it, filled with everything from sunbaked families to grimy old loner sand rats huddled over metal plates of food. A long counter on the long side of the room was lined with chafing dishes heaped with beans, seasoned rice, and warmed-up canned mixed vegetables. Clusters of hot sauce, shoyu, and chili-pepper water sat on each table, their squat bottles surrounding tall plastic tumblers stuffed with utensils and folded napkins.
The cafeteria smelled of cheap, stomach-filling food and human sweat, and once the doors were fully open, any chatter and clanking metal stopped, leaving behind a stillness so weighted I could hear the old woman sitting nearest the entrance breathing through her flared nostrils.
“Coffee’s not much, but it’s hot and strong.” Hernandez’s rolling, deep voice boomed through the quiet, startling a few people enough they jerked in their seats. “Let’s grab one of the staff tables and I’ll get someone in the kitchen to bring us some plates.”
I was used to being stared at. Every time I rolled into a station, there were always one or two people who found themselves either on the wrong side of the law or in desperate need of help, so I ignored the whispering that kicked up in our wake. Ryder, however, stiffened up and stood there, not hearing me when I muttered his name under my breath.
“Don’t stare back. You’ll make them uncomfortable.” Tugging on his shirt, I got his attention with a sharp jerk. “Told you this would happen. Just let them get used to you being here. Get some food in you and we’ll crash here for the night. No sense going back out into the storm. If the road’s flooding out, we’ll be found in a ditch somewhere under a pile of rocks. If we’re lucky.”
“They’re… scared of us,” he whispered back. “Or at least the adults are.”
“Yeah, well, wars and shit kind of make that happen. Give the kids a few minutes. They’ll come wandering by.” I jerked my chin toward an empty table in a blue-walled niche. “Just sit on the outside. You’re pretty. They’ll come. Probably want to stroke your hair. It’s all gold and sparkly. Kids like sparkly.”
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” Ryder walked toward the table. His jeans were too new, too perfect-looking despite the muddy ground we’d rolled around in during the black dog’s attack, but I watched him stride off and caught a woman eyeing his ass as he went by. Sniffing, he said, “I have candy in my pockets. If any come near me, I’ll bribe them.”
“Yeah, that’s going to go over well,” I snorted. “Big pointy-eared cat bastard luring kiddies in with candy. Their parents are going to love you.”
“Works with you,” he shot back, settling down on the chair closest to the cafeteria buffet.
I eased around him, taking the seat facing the door. The nook in the wall brought us out of eyeshot of most of the people in the area, but enough could see us to make my skin itch. The glances were quick, flashing over me and lingering on Ryder. I recognized a few, mostly the older ones with folds of dry skin crisscrossed with deep wrinkles hanging off their skinny faces. Beards were longer and grayer than I remembered, but the suspicious glares were the same.
“Ah, just like coming home.” Sighing contentedly, I leaned back in the hard metal chair. “Give it five minutes and someone will come by to spit on us. Bonus points if it’s one of the kids.”
“They’re not that bad,” Hernandez chided, coming around the corner. Setting down the steaming coffee mugs he’d carried over, he grimaced. “Crap, there’s something I forgot to tell you.”
“Let me guess,” I drawled, hooking my arm over the back of my chair, slouching toward Ryder. “Jerem Samms is here.”
“Shit.” His grimace deepened, etching long brackets on either side of his thin mouth. “How’d you know? Grapevine whisper into your ear?”
“Nope,” I replied, nodding toward the cafeteria door filled with a broad-shouldered man with his long brown hair pulled back from his craggy face. “The son of a bitch just walked in.”
Nine