Peter shot him a curious look, and slowly the two men followed the path that Kiya had taken. “Since when?”
Gregory shrugged. “Brunettes usually have an air of mystery to them that bodes well for not losing interest after a few weeks. Have you ever heard of Gwen Byron? Full name Gwenhwyfar Byron?”
“Yes.”
Gregory stopped, startled.
“She’s the woman you saved the other day. At risk of not only your own life but your career, and quite likely mine as well,” Peter continued, giving him a dark look.
“Ah.” Gregory continued to stroll alongside his cousin. “I thought you meant that you had heard of her in an official capacity. Other than the events of two days ago.”
“No, the name doesn’t ring a bell, although we can always run it past Dalton.” He pulled out his cell phone and typed in a text to his boss. “You’re damned lucky, you know.”
“That you didn’t tell Dalton the full truth of what happened?”
“No. Well, yes, but what I meant is that the shuvani didn’t punish you for saving that Welsh girl’s life.”
“I’ve always paid my debts,” Gregory said somewhat stiffly. “That minion of Death was well rewarded for the time I took from her. Besides, she’s immortal. Yes, we have to pay for that which we take, but the shuvani only comes down hard on us when we steal from mortals. She minds less if you take time from someone who has the potential for a life measured in millennia rather than years.”
Peter held up his hand. “You don’t need to lecture me about the ways and hows of Travellers, cousin. I might not have been raised in the family, but I assure you that I am well versed in how we can be punished for thefts. Ah, here’s Dalton’s response.”
Gregory leaned over to see the text on the small phone.
No records for person with the name Gwen Byron. Are you sure it’s not an alias?
“Hmm,” Gregory said, mulling that over. “I have a pretty accurate mental lie detector, and it didn’t seem to me like she was giving me a false name.”
“It’s a bit odd that there’s no record whatsoever,” Peter said, frowning at his phone.
“But not unknown. After all, the Watch doesn’t maintain a database of all individuals in the Otherworld. It didn’t have me in it.”
“No, but you said that the lawyer had killed Gwen. The first time, before you rescued her. That would imply that she had something to do with him.”
“She isn’t Magdalena Owens. She’s not old enough, according to what Dalton told us yesterday.”
“That’s only because he found some updated records from a few months ago when there was a mix-up in an arrest of someone who was erroneously thought to be Owens. Your Gwen might be Owens wearing a glamour to look different. Younger,” Peter suggested.
Gregory shook his head. “No. I’d have known once she touched me.”
“She touched you?” Peter looked surprised. “After you saved her?”
“No, tonight. She’s here in the park.”
Both of Peter’s eyebrows rose. “That’s a bit of a curious coincidence, don’t you think?”
“How so?” Unreasonably, Gregory felt irritated by his cousin’s suspicion, and then was irritated at his irritation. He wasn’t so new to either women or the Watch that he couldn’t separate his own emotions from facts.
“She shows up two days ago when we were supposed to find the Owens woman. And now, after Owens has kidnapped a mortal, she’s here in the park at the same time.”
“There is a festival going on,” Gregory pointed out, gesturing at the people still present. “She probably lives around here. There had to be at least six or seven thousand people here tonight.”
“I’m just saying it’s a bit of a coincidence.”
His temper got the better of him, something that seldom happened. “Yes, all right, it’s a coincidence. And it’s true that Gwen is hiding something. It was quite clear that she had some motive for dragging me across the width of the park, but just because she didn’t inform me of her every concern and worry doesn’t mean she was up to something nefarious. She could have been uncomfortable about the nearness of an old lover. Or afraid of the dark. Or hell, maybe she just wanted to put her hand on my arm and that was the only way she could think of to do it! There’s any number of reasons she should be in the park on this night, and obviously keeping some secret from me! It doesn’t follow that she has anything to do with our case!”
Peter’s round, startled eyes gave Gregory pause.
“Did I just rant?” he asked.
“Yes.” Peter looked thoughtful. “Interesting. Very interesting. You don’t . . . uh . . .”
“Of course I do. She’s got a magnificent ass. But that is neither here nor there.”
“I don’t know,” Peter said as they continued forward toward the rides. “I think it’s pretty here. But I suppose your interest in the woman whose life you saved—again, I feel obligated to point out at the risk of your own life, your job, and possibly my job—being present at the park at the same time as the Owens female doesn’t necessarily mean they’re related. She dragged you across the park?”
Gregory laughed at the incredulity expressed in Peter’s last sentence. “She did. She was trying to be subtle about it, too, so I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by letting on I knew she was doing it. So I simply allowed her to pull me where she wanted me.”
Peter gave him an unreadable look, started to say something, stopped, then finally shook his head and spoke. “We haven’t known each other for long—obviously, I knew of you and the other members of Lenore Faa’s family—”
“Of which you’re one,” Gregory interrupted. Although Peter and Lenore, their grandmother, had somewhat made their peace, it was clear that Peter still didn’t feel that he was truly a member of the family. And given his past, and their uncle’s and a cousin’s actions of late, Gregory didn’t blame him one bit. But since they had started working together, he felt it important to remind Peter that he was, in fact, part of the family.
“Yes, thank you, of which I’m one.” Peter grimaced slightly before continuing. “Regardless of the length of time I’ve known you personally, I feel obliged to discuss something that could have an impact on your career.”
“What have I done wrong now?” Gregory asked wearily. Part of him couldn’t help but wonder if being a member of the Watch was going to be worth all the sacrifices he was making.
“Don’t make that face,” Peter said, pointing at him. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“I doubt that you do.”
“Then you’re fooling yourself. You’re thinking that you’re a Traveller, renowned through the centuries for your ability to manipulate time and lightning, and that it goes against your nature to deny access to both powers as you have been asked to do for the last few months.”
“I understood the rules of the Watch when I joined,” Gregory said carefully. Then he added with a wry smile, “All right, you knew what I was thinking. I only admit it because I know damned well that you think the same way. You just have better control over yourself.”
“And that’s exactly what I wanted to talk about—control. I don’t question your dedication to the job at hand, and yet despite your desires to the contrary, you let a woman you hardly know haul you all over the place. You have to ask yourself why you did that, and whether you’re allowing your emotions and desires to rule your mind. I’m sorry to say that if so, it will affect your future as an investigator for the Watch.”
Gregory was silent while he struggled with his inner self, hating to admit that his cousin was absolutely right, and yet the truth was that he did feel resentment toward the loss of his natural talents. Why was he expected to deny his true nature, when other members of the Watch were not? Oh, he was used to being persecuted for who and what he was—Travellers had always been outside of society, both mortal and immortal—but the demands placed on him by the Watch had been more onerous than he had imagined.