Hybrid

I had no idea. I ran up the stairs and into our rooms. She was a little wretched ball curled up on our bed. I ran and picked her up, holding her tightly and she cried into my chest. She even smelled sick.

"I'm so sorry, baby," I told her. "I didn't know. I knew you'd be sad for a while, but I didn't know you'd be sick. I'm so, so sorry. Do you forgive me, Serisi?"

She nodded into my chest. "I told you, Guerin! I can't be without you. Maybe for a day or two, but I need you. I love you and I feel all weak and icky inside when you're not here. Please don't leave me alone anymore!"

"No, I won't; I promise. Why do you think this happens?"

"I don't know. I feel like I'm drowning and all my bones ache."

Jynn came in and we talked to her about it. Jynn was old; I didn't know how old, but she'd been there for decades. She didn't age that I'd seen, but I know she was very old. She looked about 25, but she'd let it drop that she was at least four times that. I asked her what she knew about the Shai.

"Have you ever heard that they get sick when people they love aren't around?"

"I know they mate for life and when one partner dies the other does, too," she said. "Maybe it's like that."

"We're not mates," I told her. "I'm her father."

"Serisi, how do you feel about Guerin," Jynn asked her.

"Love Guerin," she said.

"Yes honey, I know; but when you're older, say about 20, what do you think you'll feel about him?"

"Going to marry him," she peeked up at me.

"I think you have your answer," Jynn said. "She's not entirely human, Guerin. You may have begun something you don't fully understand."

"She's five," I protested. "How can that be possible? Every five year old is going to marry their mother or father."

"I don't know. I know she was puking her guts up and now she's okay. We couldn't do anything to help her and we can do a lot. The only difference is you're here now and you were gone. Until I hear another explanation, that's what I'm going to assume."

I looked down at Serisi. She was snuggled in like a bunny. Her eyes sparkled up at me and I petted her. She fell asleep presently and I went off to put my gear away and clean up a bit. I caught up on the news and when I went looking for her she was in the kitchen keeping Marrat company while he ate. She was freshly bathed and she was eating right along with him. When I sat down beside her she shared her bird with me. I got us a glass of cider and we shared that, too. She was a little wan looking, but seemed to suffer no lasting ill effects from my absence. She was a little clingy for a few days after that, never letting me out of her sight, but she gradually relaxed when she realized I wasn't going to sneak away without her. I stayed home for two weeks and then I took her with me to Gent. I had a job to track down a missing person, and she stayed at the local inn with me. She attracted a great deal of attention. I suppose a mutant and a hybrid traveling together was a little out of the ordinary. I didn't feel comfortable leaving her at the inn while I talked to my employers, so I took her to meet a friend of mine. Zee is sort of a spy. She worked for my father.

Yes, I knew who the son-of-a-bitch was. He didn't know who I was. He was the Baron of Lost March. My mother died at Cliff Keep, years previously. Zee played at being a singer, but she really ran quite an information network. We'd done a few favors for each other over the years and she liked me. I liked her, too, and I trusted her. I introduced her to Serisi.

"She's gorgeous, Guerin. Where did you get her?"

"She's been with me for two years," I told her. "I love her, Zee. She's like a daughter to me. I need a place for her to stay for a few hours."

"Well, that was your typical enigmatic Guerin answer. You do realize that she's an elf? Honey, would you like to stay with Aunt Zee for a little while? We'll go out and get a treat and then we'll take a swim in the hot spring behind my house. Would you like that?"

Serisi clung to me desperately. "Don't leave me for too long, Guerin. Please?"

"Gods, child, he's a rogue but he won't leave you. Let him take care of business and we girls will have a party," Zee held out her arms.

Serisi reluctantly let go of me and gave a weak smile as Zee led her away. I went and talked to the owner of a large blacksmith shop. His wife was missing and he wanted me to find out where she was. I asked if I could look over the house to see if I could find any clues. He gave me the key and it took me an hour to find her hidden stash of letters. She had a lover, and I found out where he lived. I went back and told the blacksmith I had an idea and I would let him know when I had information. When I got back to Zee's, they were nowhere to be found. I sat in a chair and waited. I kept hearing something out back and I went to the window. They were playing in the spring. I went out and Serisi squealed when she saw me.

"Guerin, come in. This water is amazing. I like it here. We must come back here often. I love Aunt Zee."

I raised an eyebrow at Zee and she nodded. I stripped off and slid in. It did feel amazing. The smell wasn't very good, but the water was hot and made you feel slick and relaxed. Zee had built a floor and a bench into the bottom of the spring and as I relaxed they came over and slid onto the bench on either side of me. I put my arms around them and pulled them against me.

"Aunt Zee is very beautiful, don't you think, Guerin?"

"She certainly is," I admired Zee a little. She was a very pretty redhead with milky skin and green eyes.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Serisi asked.

"Are you my girlfriend?" I asked Zee.

"No, well, sometimes; it's complicated, Serisi," she said. "I want to be his girlfriend, but I do my work and he does his. We're lovers sometimes, but neither one of us is going to give up what we do. I do love him, though. Do you understand?"

"I think so," Serisi confided. "I'm not his girlfriend either. I'm going to be someday, but I love him and he loves me. Time isn't always what you want it to be."

"You're very smart, Serisi," Zee told her.

"What do you do when you're a man's girlfriend?" Serisi asked her.

"Anything you want to," Zee said. "You kiss, play with each other, touch each other, stuff like that."

"Do you want to do that with Guerin?" Serisi asked.

"Yes, but I don't have to do that now," Zee said.

"I want to watch you do it," Serisi announced.

I choked and sat up. "No, Serisi; you're too young for that."

"Why?" she asked.

I floundered around. "Help me out here, Zee."

She laughed. "I was wondering that myself. Why, Guerin?"

"She's too little."

"Too little for what? She just wants to watch. Let's just fool around. We don't have to get raunchy."

Normally I'd be happy to fool around with Zee. She's a living doll, but I was very uncomfortable with Serisi being there. Zee seemed to have no such concerns, because she made my toes curl with a kiss.

"Let's go inside," she whispered. "Serisi, we're going inside. You've seen enough, honey. Some things should be a mystery until you do them yourself. Stay here and play and we'll come and get you when we're through."

She was suspiciously compliant, and Zee climbed out. I followed her and her fantastic butt swinging in front of me was enough to keep me excited. She led me to the bed and she was as responsive and sensual as I remembered. I kept feeling like someone was watching me. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I glanced back and there was nothing there, but I could still feel a presence. Just then, Zee did something that made me forget about everything except her for a long time.

We rested together for a while and went back to the spring. Serisi was sitting quietly on the bench and seemed very introspective. I bathed, kissed Zee and we got dressed. We walked back to the Inn and I didn't say anything while we walked. I could see Serisi peek up at me from time to time, but I didn't look at her.

"Are you angry with me, Guerin?" she asked.

I didn't answer her.

She walked on in silence for a while. "How did you know?" she finally asked.

"I'm a mutant, I'm sensitive to things like that," I told her. "I don't know how you did that, but you don't spy on people you love."

She burst into tears. "Please don't be mad at me, Guerin. I wanted to know. I'm sorry I spied. I knew you wouldn't like it, but I didn't think you would know." She was weeping harder now, her tiny frame wracked by sobs. I knelt down in front of her.

"So, you think it's okay to deceive me so long as I don't know? Do you want me to not trust you, Serisi?"

"No!" she wailed miserably. "I'm very sorry, Guerin. It was bad. I won't ever do it again. Should you punish me?"

"Yes, I should, but I won't. I've never punished you. You're always a good girl. If you do things you know are wrong, I'm going to very disappointed in you. You asked my permission. I told you no and you did it anyway. This is different than when I tell you you shouldn't eat another piece of cake or something. You do that anyway, and it's no big deal. This is a big deal. I didn't want you there, I told you and you did it anyway. That's not how you treat people you love."

She threw herself against me, sobbing deeply and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I'm sorry, Guerin." She drew in great shuddering breaths. "I won't ever do it again. I'm sorry I disappointed you. It nearly kills me to think about that. I won't ever do it again. Please don't be mad at me. I would rather be punished!"

"I forgive you." I told her. "I love you, Serisi. We'll forget about it. Do you love me?"

She nodded into my chest. "Here, dry your face and don't cry anymore. It's okay, baby. You're little and you make mistakes. Everyone does. You just learn from them and don't make them again."

She took my handkerchief and wiped her eyes. She blew her nose and handed me back the crumpled ball. I took it gingerly. "You're nothing if not thorough." I kissed her on both cheeks and she let me go. I stood up and she took my hand. Those chubby little fingers squeezed my big rough ones and the world was right again.

"How did you do that, anyway?" I asked her.

"I can't use the shadows like you," she said. "I tried but they wouldn't move. I listened really hard and then I was there, but not really. I could still feel the water in the spring."

"That's very interesting," I said. "Do you think you could do it again?"

"Yes, but it was weird. I don't think I will unless I need to."

We got back to the inn and ate supper. I told her we were going to have to go to the village of Bren and look for the woman that was missing. It would take a week and I asked her if she wanted to stay with Zee or go with me. She wanted to go.

"A week is too long, Guerin," she said. "I could stand a couple of days, but not a week."

"Do you know that, or will you just miss me?" I asked her.

"No, I know. I'll start getting sick," she said. "I'm afraid you won't come back. The longer you're gone the worse it gets. I trust you, but I'm still afraid."

"Okay, I'll take you with me, but I'm always going to come back, Serisi. It's you that will go away some day and not come back to me. That's the way life works. Children grow up and leave their parents. This isn't going to be much fun. I think this woman ran off with her lover. I don't know why, but I need to find out. If she went voluntarily, I'll tell her husband. If she's being held against her will, I'll have to fight. You'll have to stay out of the way. I don't know anyone there with whom to leave you. You'll have to hide."

"I'm never going to go away and leave you, and I could help you," she said.

"No, baby; I can't let you do that. Maybe when you're older, but I can't risk you getting hurt. That would kill me. That would make me sick."

"I could burn them," she said. "I can fight, too. I have my knife. I will if I think you're going to be hurt. I want to be close enough to see."

"I'll let you be close," I told her. "I don't need you to burn anyone. I'm really very good at this, Serisi. I can fight. I'm probably the most dangerous thing you'll ever meet unless you're really unlucky."

"I know you can fight," she said. "You're so gentle though."

"I'm gentle with you," I told her. "I'm gentle with gentle people. I can be very violent, too."

"I remember," she said.

"Okay then, you're not going to get involved, right?"

"Not if I don't need to," she said. "You can't make me promise to let you get hurt, Guerin. I won't. This isn't like the other thing. I'll do what you tell me up to a point, but not if it means letting you get hurt."

I laughed. "I can live with that. You do have to promise that you won't help unless I ask you. I won't let you come if you don't promise."

"I promise. I'm done eating. Are you going to eat your pie crust?"

I gave it to her and we went to bed. She devoured the last bite. "I'm through, now," she said.

I laughed. "I love you, kitten. Sleep well."

She snuggled back in and she was instantly asleep.

Chapter Three

The trip to Bren was fairly routine. We were attacked once, by two risca. Most of the native animals are some sort of reptile, and the risca look like reptilian cats if that can be imagined. There are no human cats. They didn't prosper there for some reason. The First Humans tried to breed them, but they sickened and died. The risca are about three feet tall and can weigh up to maybe a hundred pounds. If they take you by surprise or if you can't fight they might finish you, especially a hunting pair. They're fairly rare and they became extinct in that neighborhood. I was neither unaware nor unable to fight. I made Serisi climb a tree when I heard them following us and when they came springing out of the undergrowth I dove under the nearest one, rolling to slash open its belly. The other one missed, too, and I came up and slashed it across the eyes. It wailed and I severed its spine.

Serisi climbed down from the tree and came to look. "You are good at fighting, Guerin. You moved so fast you were just like a blur. Do you think I can learn to fight like that?"

"Do you want to learn to fight, Serisi?"

"Yes, I want to be dangerous so if the bad men come I can kill them."

"You're already learning to fight. You're half Shai, baby. You'll likely be strong and quick. I think you'll be deadly. You have to work hard at your lessons though."

"I will," she promised. "I want to be Ruby Order, like Trina and you."

"We'll see," I told her.

"Are they good to eat?' she prodded the risca with her knife."

"I don't know. We have food. They don't look appetizing. Do you want to eat one?"

She shivered. "No, it just seems like a waste."

"They attacked us. I wouldn't have harmed them if they had left us alone. We only kill things to protect ourselves and those we love or to eat them. If we take a job to kill things, it's because they're harming people. Remember that."

She nodded. The rest of the journey passed without incident and I tried to teach her things as we traveled. I showed her plants and animals and told her about them. We tracked things and tried to tell what they were doing. She was a very quick study, and she seldom forgot anything I told her.

When we got to Bren, there was a taproom and we stopped for a drink. They had cider for Serisi and I got an ale. We sat at a table against the wall.

"Do you see where we're sitting, Serisi?" I asked her.

"Yes, why?"

"We're sitting here for a reason," I told her. "We can see the doors so we know who comes in and goes out. No one can get behind us. We aren't in a corner, so we can move either way if we need to."

She thought about that for a minute. "Do you think we'll be attacked, Guerin?"

"No, but I've been attacked before when I didn't think it would happen. It's always best to assume you'll be attacked. That way, there are no surprises."

The barmaid brought our drinks and I asked her if she knew the lover. Ironically, his name was Bron, and he was from Bren.

"Yeah, I know him," she said. "He has a booth down at the market. Sells trinkets and jewelry. Isn't much good, though, from what I've seen. Just baubles."

I thanked her and tipped her. She glanced at Serisi. "What you doing with an elf girl?"

"She's my daughter," I told her. "You have a problem with that?"

"No, luv, just curious. You see old Martha down at the Market. She can tell you all about the elves. She's a seer, she is. She can tell fortunes."

"We'll have to do that," I said.

She flounced off and we drank our drinks. "Why do people call me an elf?" Serisi asked.

"Don't worry about it, baby. They're ignorant. That's what some humans call the Shai. They don't know you're half human. They see the white hair and the shape of your ears and just make assumptions. They don't know there are no dark skinned Shai."

"You have white hair, too," she pointed out. "Why is my skin brown, Guerin?"

"Some of the Old Stock humans were what people called 'black,'" I told her. "I've never seen one, but your mother must have been Old Stock. That's why you're darker than most people. There's nothing different other than the shade. You're all girl under there. Very pretty girl."

She dimpled up. "Thank you Guerin. You're very beautiful, too."

I laughed out loud and a few heads turned. "Let's get out of here and go find Bron from Bren."

A few enquiries led us to Bron's booth. He was a sandy-haired fellow, a little overweight and very friendly. We looked at his wares and he told us all about himself. He had a nice red-stone bracelet in gold, and I bought it for Serisi. I put it on her and she did a little dance.

"You got any kids, Bron?" I asked him.

"Two," he said. "See that house over there with the blue shutters? That's mine and that's my boy out by the fence."

We bid him goodbye and walked over to his house. There was a woman churning butter around back, and we strolled down the fence. I told Serisi to go talk to the boy and I said hello to the woman. Her name was Betts and she didn't look like much to me. There was a lot of her for the two lovers to fight over and a good bit was spilling over the top of her blouse.

"I've been looking for you," I told her.

"Lots of men looking for me," she told me. "I'm a good wife, though, so go on with you."

"That's not what the blacksmith at Gent says," I told her.

She went pale. "You here to take me back?" she asked.

"Do you want to go back?" I asked her.

"No I don't. You'll have to kill me. That bastard got drunk and beat me like a dog every Friday. I'll never go back."

"Okay, it's not my job to take you back. I'm just supposed to find you."

"Don't you tell him where I'm at," she said. "He'll send you back here to make me go back."

"No, he won't," I said. "I won't take the job. I don't kidnap people."

"Well, he'll send someone as ain't got your scruples," she objected.

"Not my affair," I said. "I took the job. I thought you might be here against your will. I'll take my leave now."

She was still talking as I collected Serisi and she followed us halfway out of town, begging me not to tell where she was. We ignored her and she soon fell puffing behind.

"Why are you going to tell on her?" Serisi asked.

"I took the job," I told her. "When you take a job, you do it."

"Why?' she asked. "She doesn't want him to know."

"It doesn't matter," I said. "If I don't do the job, word gets around and pretty soon no one will hire you. It's our code. If you take the job, you do the job."

"I see," she said. "What if it's a bad job?"

"Don't take it," I told her. "I can always say no. That's why jobs go through Jynn. She checks them out to make sure they don't violate our code."

"What if you think she's wrong?"