Destined (House of Night #9)(41)

He shook his head. "No, ma'am. I didn't mean you. I meant vampyres in general. See, my momma had a friend who'd been Marked when they were kids. They stayed in touch-used to write letters-lots of letters. They kept writing up until the day my momma died."

"I'm sorry about your mother," Lenobia said, feeling awkward. Humans lived such short lives. They could be killed so easily. Strange that she'd almost forgotten that about them. Almost.

"Thank you. It was the cancer. Took her fast. She's been gone five years now." Travis looked away toward the rising sun. "Her favorite time of day was sunrise. I like to remember her then."

"That's my favorite time of day, too," Lenobia surprised herself by saying.

"That's a nice coincidence," Travis said, turning his gaze to her and smiling. "Ma'am, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, I suppose so," Lenobia said, taken off guard more by the smile than the question request.

"Your mare called to you when I scared you."

"You didn't scare me. You startled me. There's a large difference between the two."

"You could be right, there. But as I was sayin', your mare called to you. Then you spoke and she quieted, though there's no way she could hear you from out here."

"That's not a question," Lenobia said dryly.

He raised his brows. "You're a smart lady. You know what it is I'm wonderin'."

"You want to know if Mujaji can hear my thoughts."

"I do," Travis said, studying her and nodding his head slowly.

"I'm not accustomed to talking with humans about the gifts of our Goddess."

"Nyx," Travis said. When she just stared at him he shrugged and continued, "That's your Goddess's name, isn't it?"

"It is."

"Does Nyx care if you talk to humans about her?"

Lenobia studied him closely. He didn't appear to be anything except authentically curious. "What would your mother's answer to that question be?"

"She'd say that Will ow wrote to her about Nyx a lot and the Goddess didn't seem to mind at all. 'Course Will ow and I don't write, and I haven't heard from her since she came to my momma's funeral, but then she seemed pretty healthy and definitely hadn't been smote by a goddess."

"Will ow?"

"They were children of the 1960s. My momma's given name was Rain. Are you gonna answer me or not?"

"I'll answer you if you answer me a question in turn."

"Done," he said.

"My gift from Nyx is an affinity for horses. I can't literally read their minds, just like they cannot literally read mine, but I do get images and emotions from them, especially horses I'm closely connected to like my mare Mujaji."

"And you got stuff, images and such, from Bonnie about me?"

Lenobia had to force herself not to smile at his eagerness. "I did. She loves you quite a lot. You've cared for her well. She has an interesting mind, your Percheron mare."

"She does-hardheaded sometimes, though."

Lenobia did smile then. "But never mean spirited, even when she forgets she weighs two thousand pounds and almost steps over the top of mere humans."

"Well, ma'am, I do believe Bonnie will step over the top of mere vampyres, too, if given half a chance."

"I'll remember that," she said. "And now my question. Why were you smudging?"

"Oh, you saw that? Well, ma'am, my daddy's part Muscogee, that's probably Creek Indian to you. I have a few of his habits-smudging a new place is one of them." He paused and gave a little half laugh. "And here I was thinkin' you'd ask me why I took this job."

"Bonnie already gave me that answer."

She was pleased to see his eyes widen in surprise. "You said you couldn't get thoughts from horses."

"What I got from Bonnie is that you've been traveling restlessly for some time. That tells me we're just the next stop on your life journey."

"Is she fine with it? I mean, it's not hurtin' her, right?"

A little warmth for the cowboy seeped into her veins and pulsed through her body. "Your mare is fine. She's happy as long as she's with you." He tilted his hat back and scratched his forehead. "Well, that's a relief. It has been hard for me to settle since my ma's death. The ranch just ain't the same without-"

Not far away from them the peaceful morning was shattered by engines and shouting.

"Well, what in the hell?"

"I have no idea, but I'm going to find out." Lenobia stood and began striding toward the sounds of chaos. She noticed Travis stayed right beside her. She glanced at him. "When Neferet interviewed you did she happen to mention some pretty rough things have happened recently at this House of Night?"

"No, ma'am," he said.

"Well, you might want to rethink accepting this job. If you're looking for peace, this is definitely the wrong place for you."

"No, ma'am," he repeated. "I've never run from a fight. Don't seek them out, neither, but when they find me I don't run."

"Too bad you cowboys don't carry six-shooters anymore," she muttered.