Burnt Offerings - Laurell K. Hamilton [14]
“I think she wants to be Ulfric, Anita. I think she wants Richard’s job.”
I stared at him. “There’s only one way to be Ulfric, Irving.”
“To kill the old king,” Irving said. “Yeah, I think Sylvie knows that.”
“I haven’t seen her fight, but I’ve seen Richard fight. He outweighs her by a hundred pounds, a hundred pounds of muscle, and he’s good. She can’t beat him in a fair fight, can she?”
“It’s like Richard is wounded, Anita. The heart’s gone out of him. I think if she challenged and really wanted it, she’d win.”
“What are you telling me? That he’s depressed?” I asked.
“It’s more than that. You know how much he hates being one of the monsters. He’d never killed anyone until Marcus. He can’t forgive himself.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I listen. Reporters make good listeners.”
We stared at each other. “Tell me the rest.”
Irving looked down, then up. “He doesn’t discuss you with me. The only thing he said was that even you couldn’t accept what he was. Even you, the Executioner, were horrified.”
It was my turn to look down. “I didn’t want to be.”
“We can’t change how we feel,” Irving said.
I met his eyes. “I would if I could.”
“I believe you.”
“I don’t want Richard dead.”
“None of us do. I’m afraid of what Sylvie would do without anyone to stop her.” He motioned to the other bed. “First order of business would be hunting down all the wereleopards. We’d slaughter them.”
I took in a deep breath and let it out. “I can’t change how I feel about what I saw, Irving. I saw Richard eat Marcus.” I paced the small room, shaking my head. “What can I do to help?”
“Call the pack and demand that they acknowledge you as lupa. Make some of them come here and guard both of them against Sylvie’s express orders. But you have to give them your protection. You have to promise them that she won’t hurt them, because you’ll see to it that she can’t.”
“If I do that and Sylvie doesn’t like it, I’ll have to kill her. It’s like I’m setting her up to be killed. That’s a little premeditated even for me.”
He shook his head. “I’m asking you to be our lupa. To be Richard’s lupa. To show Sylvie that if she keeps pressing, Richard may not kill her, but you will.”
I sighed. “Shit.”
“I’m sorry, Anita. I wouldn’t have said anything, but…”
“I needed to know,” I said. I hugged him, and he stiffened in surprise, then hugged me back.
“What was that for?”
“For telling me. I know Richard won’t like it.”
The smile faded from his face. “Richard has punished two pack members since he took over. They challenged his authority, big time, and he nearly killed them both.”
“What?” I asked.
“He sliced them up, Anita. He was like someone else, something else.”
“Richard doesn’t do things like that.”
“He does now, not all the time. Most of the time he’s fine, but then he snaps and goes into a rage. I don’t want to be anywhere near him when he loses it.”
“How bad has he gotten?” I asked.
“He’s got to accept what he is, Anita. He’s got to embrace his beast, or he’s going to drive himself mad.”
I shook my head. “I can’t help him love his beast, Irving. I can’t accept it either.”
Irving shrugged. “It’s not so bad being furry, Anita. There are worse things…like being the walking dead.”
I frowned at him. “Get out, Irving, and thanks for telling me.”
“I hope you’re still thankful in a week.”
“Me, too.”
Irving gave me some phone numbers and left. Didn’t want anyone to stay too long. People might suspect him of being more than just a reporter. No one seemed to worry about my reputation. I raised zombies, slew vampires, and was dating the Master of the City. If people began to suspect me of being a shapeshifter, what the hell difference would it make?
Three names of submissive pack members who Irving thought were tough enough to play bodyguard and weak enough to be bullied. I didn’t want to do this. The pack was based on obedience: punishment and reward, mostly punishment. If the pack members I called refused me, I had to punish them, or I wasn’t lupa, wasn’t strong enough to back Richard. Of course,