Inside the clean, efficient, well-kept village jail, I’m humming. Beasts can hum.
[What is that?] Lightning’s paws are soft on the stone floor that must be pushing back against her. At least it’s spotless.
[A song. By an obscure singer. Elfis Presleyan. An elf. It is called "Jailhouse Rock." He dances and sings about prisoners making music in a jail.]
A mory flashes in my mind. Amber singing karaoke at the Dive Down, a dive bar near the university in W City. Amber belting out "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley, trying to gyrate like he did in the video of the song.
Lightning inclines her head. [Elfis Presleyan? I have not heard of this man.]
She polls our friends. None of them have heard about it, except Lobo, who "thinks he rembers sothing about it." Nice touch by my brother.
The interview room entryway, a too-bright rectangle of light, looms ahead. A village guard stops us. Despite imdiate recognition, the guard frisks Lamant and Minette as well as Hans, Niall, and even Ugak, whose glower suggests that the inspection should not be too vigorous. The guard requests permission to frisk Vedette and Kaline. Minette agrees, with a glower even more unsettling than Ugak’s.
Indignity! The guard even frisks us. But then again, considering I hid the amulet in my fur once, I can hardly fault the thoroughness of the jail security.
We pass into a cold stone room with one diamond-shaped cutout window, harsh lighting, and a single table that can seat six. The room is empty, except for sad heaviness.
Kaline, Lamant, and Minette take up seats on the wooden bench, with resting my head on the wooden table. It feels uneven beneath my chin. Rough. But no splinters.
Lamant looks at his pocket watch. "We’re on ti."
"They are late," Kaline mutters. "Did you ever?"
Gussie, on Lamant’s shoulder, peers at the far door in the stone wall. "They are late. They asked for this. Do they want to make us wait deliberately?" She sounds peeved.
CREAK. The door opens. I peer into the blackness. Clinking of chains. And the sll of an elf who hasn’t washed properly in days. Rosabel reeks almost as pungently as Rossa.
"Bael Rossa and Rosabel Rossa," the guard announces. "Your visit begins now. Rember: no physical contact. No weapons. No threats."
No reference to Rosabel’s forr status as Lady Lamrmoor or even as Viscountess Rossa, either. Apparently that doesn’t matter in jail.
The manacled pair stride into the room as if making an entrance at a ball. Rossa’s eyes are red, Rosabel’s eyes stony. The guard frogmarches them over to the table opposite us, where they sit down, as cool as you please.
Rosabel says in a snippy voice, "We are Viscount and Viscountess Rossa, for the next ti you announce us. Really, so people."
The guard just grunts.
Minette rolls her eyes at Rosabel acting as if this jail interview room is the drawing room at Lamrmoor Manor, or even the residence that Rossa ran into the ground.
Brazenly, Rossa makes eye contact with , and refuses to look away. I won’t give him the sensation of averting my gazes.
A sharp intake of breath from Hans at seeing his mother. How does he feel? Murky. I can feel him through Kaline. He is all in a muddle now that he stands in the sa room as his mother. The woman who gave birth to him, and then betrayed him. As well, she’s an entitled brat.
"Hans." She reaches out a hand, even though she’s manacled. "Darling. Join us."
Hans, although a teenager, has the elf grace and poise. He moves silently across the unforgiving stone floor and cos to a stop right behind Kaline. However, he says nothing. No smile. No schmaltzy family mont.
Rosabel reaches across the table. The guard barks, "No touching."
Of course, Rosabel doesn’t comply. Her outstretched hand is a demand. However, Hans stays right where he is. His lack of response is a response in itself.
"You asked us for this eting," Lamant begins. "Why?"
Rossa’s forrly fat face seems to have lost so air, not to ntion plumpness. No doubt being on the run and all that, and then thrown in jail. "As we explained, to warn you that we will never stop fighting the oppressive beast taming system."
I give a little "mrrrp" at the repetition. Why use those words unless he wants to send a ssage? Can an NPC send a ssage? Well, NPCs can be great helpers, like Kasz and Maartenwitz.
"Oppressive?" Minette’s brown eyes glitter. "How so?" She finds their argunts specious.
Bael Rossa rests his manacled hands on the wooden table. The tal scrapes against the wood. "It limits a beast’s potential."
I growl. [Kaline, that’s the sa pitch he used when he attempted to kidnap .]
Kaline relays my skepticism to Rossa. "You said that when you were taking away my Blaze!"
Eyeballing my most impressive form, Rossa grumbles, "He’s too big now."
"HUSBAND." Rosabel gives him a forbidding stare. Then, to us, "We are doing you a favor. One would be wise to accept."
Rember the goal. Get them to give up the larger beast thief ring.
Lamant narrows his eyes. "Favor? What sort of favor? And what do you want in return?"
Good, Lamant. Put it all on the table. Keep them on the defensive.
Rosabel looks up at Hans, who is a brick wall for all the emotion he shows. "My son. I want my son. I gave birth to him. His loyalty should be to his mother."
Yep. Brick wall. Hans doesn’t even blink. No words co out. He slls cold and sad like a gray, rainy morning.
Minette plays Good Cop. "I understand. I am a mother, too. Of course you want your son. Anyone would. Perhaps we can help you."
Now Hans revives. An angry hiss from his lips. "NEVER."
And he stomps away toward the visitor door, finished with the interview. Torn, Lightning stares after him.
I give her a gentle nudge through the link. [Go, my mate. Go with him and keep him from doing sothing reckless.]
[Of course. I won’t let him out of my sight.] Lightning rotates her body and follows Hans.
Now, Rosabel stands, livid. "HANS. I am still your mother. You co back here."
"NO. I don’t recognize you as my mother." Hans’ words are a whip cracking. "You are dead to . Father is the only one I need. You are not even married to him. You had out of wedlock while still married to your criminal husband. You are an adulteress and a beast thief. You hurt our other family, the Riddlehoevens. You hurt Father deeply. You are not my mother and you never were."
With that, he leaves, Lightning following him.
That was unexpected for an elf. But Hans is only a preteen. His emotions are all over the place. Despite his gifts and his aristocratic life, he’s been through a lot. Even an elf has limits.
A pall settles over the room in the wake of Hans’ departure.
Lamant and Minette sll of sympathy for Hans. Empathy, even. After the revelations about their own family, they understand what it is to be disappointed with blood relatives.
Rosabel stays standing, with the guard poised to intervene if necessary. "You bring him back."
"The boy is emotional," Minette says gently. even though she most likely wants to wring the woman’s neck. "He’s not thinking clearly. This must be so difficult for you."
She says this with a straight face. Truthfully, I have never admired Minette more than I do now. She could be a second mother to Hans. She already acts like it.
Lobo woofs in admiration. [That’s my Mistress.]
Rossa sneers. "His father mollycoddled him. You bring him back here, and discipline him."
"Give him a mont," Minette suggests. "To calm down and reconsider. In the anti, what else can we do for you?"
Rossa doesn’t know when to quit. "Give up your beasts. Free them. Break the shackles."
NO. They can’t. That’s not happening. For one thing, breaking the bond would hurt all of us.
Is that System’s goal? To hurt ?
"NO." Lamant glares at him. "You have to know that that is not an argunt that will work."
"I am doing you a favor," Rossa snarls, his breath fetid. The concept of grooming still eludes him. "To be free of the beast system."
I nudge Kaline. [Ask him what he ans.]
Kaline asks, "What do you an? And is this beast kidnapping ring of yours ant to free us from the system, as you put it?"
Oh, masterful, Young Miss. So natural and effortless that he never saw it coming.
Rosabel is pure marble. "I want my son. You either get Hans back here or the deal is off! And you will never stop the beast taming ring."
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