Perhaps such events were a part of courtship? A straightforward battle with cranky krakens would be easier, he thought dismally.
As the humans say, time to man up, came the remorseless voice.
This exchange was faster than a heartbeat. Mikhail smiled at Bird, and said tentatively, “I had planned to make my appearance, shake the hands that must be shook, and then slip out. But it would be a great deal more bearable if you would consider accompanying me?”
He was about to add that she ought not to feel obliged, but he swallowed the words when her entire countenance brightened.
“I would be delighted,” she said softly. “Is it a formal occasion? Where is it to be held?”
“At the university. A colleague of mine who is employed there arranged this reception as part of a book tour—what is it?” He halted his explanation, looking more closely at her.
She gave him that fixed, bright smile again. “Nothing, nothing . . . But I can’t ride my bike there, especially if I’m dressed for a reception.”
“Ah, but my friend promised to arrange transportation,” he said. “This gives me an excuse to borrow a car from him.”
“Have you been taking taxis or Lyft all over town?” she asked. “That really adds up!”
“All the more reason to find my own transportation,” he said, deciding to evade that question for now. “If it is not too much trouble, might we combine your most welcome invitation with my obligation, then?”
She brightened even more. “I’d love to fix dinner first. We can leave from my place. The university is only fifteen minutes away.”
Once again he sensed a cloud of sadness dim her brightness. He knew enough about her now to guess that she had chosen her residence thinking of visitations from her children, though how that connected to the university was unclear. But almost immediately her sunny countenance was back as they settled on a time. She furnished her address with a slightly self-conscious air that he found endearing.
By then he had walked her up the pathway to the top of the palisade. They parted, he watching her as she wheeled away on her bicycle.
Then he wrapped himself in invisibility, shifted to his dragon, and shot skyward, spiraling down toward the house belonging to Joey Hu, a nine-tailed fox shifter he’d met on a mission years ago.
Joey seemed to change professions every couple of decades. Currently he worked as an academic at this university. It was he who had set up the book tour as an excuse to cover his investigation.
As Mikhail had hoped, Joey was at home. Mikhail sent a mental call to Joey, then shifted back to his human self as he settled into the beautifully landscaped yard behind the home.
Joey soon appeared, a foxy grin on his cheerful face. When they first met, Mikhail’s hair and beard had been black, and Joey golden. Time and life had altered them both to silver.
Mikhail said, “I find I must accept your offer of a car.”
“Because?”
“Because I have found my mate.”
Joey let out a cheer. Though they were roughl
y the same age, Joey had always been irrepressible as well as independent—typical for his kind. His fair-haired form shimmered, a fan of plumed tails fading in and out of the mythic realm behind a noble fox-mask.
Then Joey quirked a brow and cocked his head, fox-like. “Though the timing is . . .let’s call it interesting.”
“More interesting than you think,” Mikhail retorted. Bird’s image lingered before his eye. But he was also convinced that the quake was not a natural occurrence.
Joey’s brows twitched together. “You’re not backing out of our shindig tonight, are you?”
“No. I promised to be there, and I will be there—but I wish to bring her.”
“Good! I’d love to meet her. As for our cover, a plus-one always looks good to the honchos.”
Mikhail regarded him with exasperation. “Why does it need to look good? In all the years I’ve known you I’ve never seen you get political. Don’t pretend to argue. There is no scholar here even remotely interested in my book. You could have gone about covering my presence a lot more quietly. Why the . . .”
“Hoopla?” Joey’s grin showed teeth, making him look more foxlike than ever. “Because I like my colleagues here. I like the university’s policies with diversity, and I really like the students and what they are working toward. But it all could get shipwrecked if the wrong person becomes Dean of the Humanities. Which is why I brought you in through the arts and not through archaeology or paleontology.”
“I’m still not seeing it.”