"Come on," Lupe said, interrupting Hannah's eavesdropping. With that same cheerful bluntness she added, "You look like you could use a bath."
She led Hannah past a giant white sculpture toward a wide curving staircase. Hannah glimpsed other rooms opening off the hallway. A living room that looked as big as a football field, decorated with white couches, geometric furniture, and abstract paintings. A dining room with a mile-long table. An alcove with a grand piano.
Hannah felt more like Cinderella than ever. Nobody in Medicine Rock had a grand piano.
I didn't know he was so rich. I don't know if I can deal with this.
But when she was installed in a sort of Moorish fantasy bathroom, surrounded by jungly green plants and exotic tiles and brass globe lights with cut-out star shapes, she decided that she could probably adjust to living this way. If forced.
It was heaven just to relax in the Jacuzzi tub, drinking a Coke and breathing in the delicious scent of bath salts. And it was even better to sit up in bed afterward, eating finger sandwiches sent up by "Chef" and telling Lupe how she came to be in Las Vegas.
When she was done, Lupe said, "Nilsson and everybody are trying to find Thierry. It may take a little while, though. See, he just stopped off for a few minutes on Saturday, and then he disappeared again.
But meanwhile, this house is pretty well protected. And all of us will fight for you-I mean, fight to the death, if we have to. So it's safer than most other places."
Hannah felt a roiling in her stomach. She didn't understand. Lupe made it sound as if they were in some castle getting ready for a siege. "Safe from... ?"
Lupe looked surprised. "From her-Maya," she said, as if it should be obvious.
Hannah had a sinking feeling. I should have known, she thought. But all she said was, "So you think I'm still in danger from her."
Lupe's eyebrows shot up. She said mildly, "Well, sure. She's going to try to kill you. And she's awfully good at killing."
Especially me, Hannah thought. But she was too tired to be much afraid. Trusting to Lupe and Nilsson and the rest of Thierry's household, she fell asleep "that night as soon as her head touched the pillow.
She woke up to see sunshine. It was reflecting off the bedroom walls, which were painted a softly burnished gold. Weird but beautiful, Hannah thought, looking dreamily around at ebony furniture and decorative tribal masks. Then she remembered where she was and jumped out of bed.
She found clean clothes-her size-lying on an elaborately carved chest. She had just finished pulling them on when Lupe knocked on the door.
"Lupe, have they-"
Lupe shook her silvery-brown head. "They haven't found him yet."
Hannah sighed, then smiled, trying not to look too disappointed.
Lupe made a sympathetic face. "I know. While you wait, though, you might like to meet some people."
She grinned. "They're sort of special people, and it's a secret that they're even here. But I talked to them last night, and they all decided that it would be okay. They all want to meet you."
Hannah was curious. "Special people? Are they humans or... uh... ?"
Lupe grinned even more widely. "They're both. That's why they're special." As she talked, she was leading Hannah downstairs and through miles of hallway. "They did something for me," she said, not smiling now, but serious. "They saved my life and my mom's life. See, I'm not a purebred werewolf. My dad was human."
Hannah looked at her, startled.
"Yeah. And that's against the laws of the Night World. You can't fall in love with a human, much less marry them. The other werewolves came one night and killed my dad. They would have killed my mom and me, too, but Thierry got us out of the city and hid us. That's why I'd do anything for him. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him... and Circle Daybreak."
She had paused by the door of a room located toward the back of the house. Now, she opened the door, gave Hannah a funny little nod and a wink, and said, "You go meet them. I think you'll like each other. You're their type."
Hannah wasn't sure what this meant. She felt shy as she stepped over the threshold and looked around the room.
It was a den, smaller than the front living room, and more cozy, with furniture in warm ochers and burnt siennas. A breakfast buffet was set out on a long sideboard made of golden pine. It smelled good, but Hannah didn't have time to look at it. As soon as she came in the room, every head turned and she found a dozen people staring at her.
Young people. All around her age. Normal-type teenagers, except that a surprising number of them were extremely good-looking.
Behind her, the door closed firmly. Hannah felt more and more as if she'd just walked out on stage and forgotten her lines.
Then one of the girls sitting on an ottoman jumped up and ran to her. "You're Hana, aren't you?" she said warmly. "Hannah. Yes."
"I can't believe I'm really meeting you! This is so exciting. Thierry's told us all about you." She put a gentle hand on Hannah's arm. "Hannah, this is Circle Daybreak. And my name is Thea Harman."
She was almost as tall as Hannah was, and the yellow hair spilling over her shoulders was a few shades darker than Hannah's. Her eyes were brown and soft and somehow wise.
"Hi, Thea." Somehow Hannah felt instinctively at ease with this girl. "Lupe was telling me about Circle Daybreak, but I didn't exactly understand."
"It started as a sort of witch organization," Thea said. "A witch circle. But it's not just for witches. It's for humans and vampires and werewolves and shapeshifters... and, well, anybody who wants to help Night People and humans get along. Come and meet the others and we'll try to explain."