Tyger Tyger (6 page)

"Finn's not only named after him," Mrs. Wylltson said. "He's a descendant of Fionn himself."

Finn shrugged. "Everyone from the isles is descended from someone if you go back far enough. My da used to say there was a king or hero under every family tree."

"That's true," Mrs. Wylltson agreed.

"Am I descended from a king or a hero?" Aiden was half lying on the table.

"Neither." Mrs. Wylltson winked at her husband. "Just a ratty old wizard named Merlin."

"The Merlin?" Aiden actually sat up. "Like in the movie?" The
Sword in the Stone
had been his favorite video for weeks.

"Myrddin Wyllt, actually," Mr. Wylltson replied. "He was a Welsh bard who saw his king slaughtered in battle. The horror turned him into a madman or a prophet, depending on whom you believe. Lived alone in the woods, talked to trees. It was a writer who turned him into Arthur's Merlin and gave him the magic. Which just goes to show that if you want to be remembered well in history, you should be kind to writers."

"That stinks," Aiden said. "I wanted him to be magic."

"It's past your bedtime, son," Mr. Wylltson said.

"Just a little longer." Aiden opened his eyes very wide. "I'm not sleepy at all. I want to talk to Finn."

"Nope," Mr. Wylltson said. "And no arguing. Finn will be here in the morning."

The doorbell rang.

"I swear, if that's Ms. Skinner..." Mrs. Wylltson marched into the front room, gripping her paintbrush like a weapon. Mr. Wylltson followed her as far as the kitchen door, then peeked around.

"It's Mrs. Santini," he said in a stage whisper.

Aiden jumped up. "Is Lennie with her?"

"Sorry, son. It's past Lennie's bedtime, too. Don't worry." He turned to Teagan. "Your mother will hold her off in the living room. I'll toss this one into bed and be right back down." He scooped Aiden up and carried him kicking and giggling from the room.

Teagan focused on finishing the last pan, then passed it to Finn. He rinsed it, and she held out a dishtowel so he could dry his hand.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you?" he asked.

"Not usually." She tossed the towel on the counter.

"Then I'm thinking you've noticed it, as well."

Teagan felt warmth flood her face as she looked away. So he'd felt them, too. The ... sparks. If this was how Abby felt around boys, it was no wonder she had a hard time studying.

Teagan turned back to Finn, but he wasn't looking at her anymore. He had leaned over to peer out the window.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing. There's something strange afoot all right. I haven't seen one
cat-sídhe
around the place all night, neither outside nor in. Not one."

He hadn't been talking about the sparks after all. Teagan blushed redder. "You haven't seen a what?"

"A
cat-sídhe.
" Finn gave her an odd look.

"What is that?"

"Like the
bean-sídhe.
They're cattish and small. They're always around Travelers' camps, or houses, always watching. Setting traps and causing trouble."

"
Bean-sídhe?
" Teagan asked. "You mean 'banshee'?"

Finn frowned. "That's what rooters call the hussy."

"Rooters?" It was like talking to someone from a different planet.

"Folk who put down roots. You've never seen a
cat-sídhe,
girl?"

"I ... don't think so. What do they look like?"

"Cat goblins that walk upright. You'd know it if you'd seen one. About two feet tall, half dead and half alive. They're some of the goblins from your da's story."

Goblins?
Finn hadn't had any time to talk to Abby, so it couldn't be a setup.

"What do these
cat-sídhe
do?" Teagan asked. "Other than walk around like zombies?"

"I've seen one squeeze the life out of a baby bird," Finn said. "Just to hear it squeak. I hate the little bastards."

Mr. Wylltson's Welsh baritone rang out from the laundry chute. Finn jumped and whirled to look at the hole in the wall.

"It's Dad." Teagan tried not to laugh. "He's singing the monsters away. You know, out from under the bed, out of the closet. That's the only way Aiden will go to sleep."

"What kind of monsters?" Finn asked.

"Imaginary ones," Teagan assured him. "Aiden has a wild imagination. He's scared of all sorts of things. Like Elvis impersonators, and the tooth fairy. He's terrified of the tooth fairy."

"Poor kid." Finn leaned back against the counter, studying her. "You have a heart for the injured, don't you? That's why you offered to help with the dishes."

Perceptive,
as Dr. Max would say. Even if he did think zombie cats were stalking him.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Teagan's face went warm again. "I'm working on getting a scholarship to Cornell's vet-med school."

"So?"

"So it's the best school in the nation. Getting in is tougher than getting into med school. I have to focus. I have a plan, and a boyfriend is not a part of it."

Finn tipped his head and nodded.

"Mamieo told me once that Aunt Aileen was the prettiest child she'd ever seen. But she hasn't seen you, has she? Not since you were a baby. I'm glad you're not my blood cousin, Teagan Wylltson."

"Why?" Teagan felt foolish even as she asked it. She'd seen that look in a guy's eyes before. It meant they were never going to be friends, because he wanted...
more.
A lot more. When a guy looked at her that way, it was time to walk away.

But she couldn't walk away this time. This one was going to be living in her house. And if it felt like fireworks standing next to him, then touching him would be—

"Tea"—he leaned toward her, and Teagan took a step back—"I'm going to change that plan of yours."

Her face flashed from warm to very hot, and her knees felt ... wobbly. And Finn could tell, because he grinned.

She stomped across the kitchen and jerked open the door to the maid's stairs. "Here. If you go up this way, Mrs. Santini won't see you. She's dying to get the gossip—that's why she's here. Your room is right at the top."

"Sending me to my room, eh?" Finn laughed. "Mamieo would like you, girl. Good night, then." He grabbed his satchel and disappeared up the stairs.

I'M
going to change that plan of yours'?
He
said
that?"

"Yeah." Teagan shifted her cell phone to her other ear and leaned her head against the bus window. "Maybe you were right, Abby." She was glad she had to work early on Saturdays. She'd left the house before Finn was awake.

"I'm going to have a talk with him," Abby said.

"A talk? I thought you were bringing holy water."

"First I'll talk. Then I'll hit him with the holy water. Drogo was trying to tell me something, Tea, I swear. And Finn shows up, like, the next day."

The bus was passing St. Drogo's at that moment. What were the odds? Teagan half expected Drogo to drop his hoe and wave.

She'd woken up with the kind of headache that makes things jiggle and blur at the edges of your vision, as if your brain were just too tired to process the information sent along by your eyes. That's what she got for staying up half the night thinking about Finn. Trying to get him out of her head.

"Tea?" Abby said. "Are you there? I said Saint Drogo was trying to tell me something."

"Maybe he wanted to tell you not to run away from Father Gordon."

"Yeah, yeah," Abby said. "Saints don't go to any trouble unless it's
important.
Like, your best friend's falling for some—" Abby's voice was drowned out by a furious banging.

"What's that noise?" Teagan asked.

"Sheila's banging on the bathroom door. WHAT?"

Teagan jerked the phone away from her ear. Abby's voice was loud enough that people three seats away turned to look.

"I'M TAKING SOME PRIVATES TIME HERE!"

"Private time," Teagan explained automatically. "She means private time. The whole bus heard that," she said, putting the phone back to her ear and sinking a little lower in her seat. Public transit was becoming
way
too public lately.

"Sorry," Abby said. "We're having a sale, and I'm supposed to be on the register. See ya."

"See ya," Teagan said, but Abby had already hung up.

Teagan took a shortcut through the Primate Research House on her way to the clinic, to see if Cindy had forgiven her for shoving Dr. Max. The chimp shrieked and covered her eyes as soon as Teagan came in.

"I'm the one who should be screaming," Teagan said. "You ruined my sweater. That stain's never coming out."

Cindy shook her head and puckered her lips.

"I'm not after your Dr. Max, I promise. I have a problem of my own." The wiggles at the edges of her vision were getting worse. "It seems he's going to be around awhile. Maybe I'll bring him by so you can meet him."

Cindy peeked out between her fingers and screeched even louder. The rest of the apes decided to join in, so Teagan retreated to the clinic.

The office was empty when she got there. "Hello?" she called.

"Back here." Teagan followed Agnes's voice into the exam room.

"We've had some excitement this morning." The vet tech was wiping down the table. "Apparently a hyena ate a rubber boot two days ago."

"Buster?" Teagan asked. Buster was eight years old and would shred and swallow anything he could latch his powerful jaws on.

"The Hyaenidae garbage disposal himself," Agnes said. "He's going to need surgery. The groundskeeper who was wearing the boot when Buster got it didn't tell anyone it had happened until Buster was down and hurting. He was afraid of getting in trouble."

"Buster took it off his foot? I'd be afraid of losing more than my job."

"He'll check the enclosure more carefully before he goes in next time, for sure—if there is a next time. Dr. Max is taking a short walkabout to calm himself before we start. I pity anyone who gets in his way today. Oh—I haven't had time to feed anybody this morning, much less clean cages."

"I'll do it."

Teagan had finished the cages and was heating the goat's milk for the tiddlywinks' breakfast when Dr. Max came in.

"Were you in the primate house?" he asked.

"Yes," Teagan said. "I came through there."

"Did you see a stray cat?"

"A cat?"

"I heard a commotion and went over there. Cindy told me you had a 'scary kitty' with you. I wondered if a stray might have gotten in."

"I don't think so," Teagan said. "I didn't see one, at any rate."

"Well, keep your eyes open," Dr. Max said. "Strays carry all kinds of diseases. I've got to scrub up. I can't observe in the primate house today, so stay a good distance from the enclosure. Ms. Hahn is still having fits."

Teagan mixed the hedgehogs' food, then tapped on their box to wake them up. They had to be hungry if they hadn't been fed yet, but they huddled together in their little ball, their black eyes blinking at her.

"What's the matter with you?" Teagan picked up Tiny Tiddly gently and offered him the eyedropper of milk. His little heart was beating like a trip hammer.

"What's wrong?" Teagan stroked him with a fingertip. "It's just me." She coaxed him into eating. The other hoglets finished their bowl of food, and she took it away. They huddled together again, trying to burrow deeper into their nest.

Dr. Max was still in surgery when she opened her locker and took out her baby chimp doll. She always felt foolish carrying it across the zoo grounds. Little girls stopped to point, and their mothers stared.

Cindy seemed to have forgotten about Dr. Max or any scary kitties. Out, she signed when she saw Teagan. Out,
please.
Cindy always asked to come out. It broke Teagan's heart. Cindy was never going to get out.

Where is your baby?
Teagan signed. The chimp shook her head.

Cindy had been stolen from the wild as an infant, sold on the black market, and raised by humans until she was too big to be a plaything dressed in human baby clothes anymore.

She was too confused to ever live in the wild. She had no chimp social skills at all and would attack other chimps if they were allowed in the same enclosure.

Dr. Max hoped that would change. He had arranged for a male chimp, Oscar, who had been raised in similar conditions, to come to the Lincoln Park Zoo as a companion and possibly a mate for Cindy. Oscar was supposed to arrive in the fall, but they would be kept far apart until Dr. Max thought Cindy was ready to meet him.

The fact that the chimp was crushing on the primate research scientist did not bode well for Oscar.

Where is your baby?
Teagan asked again.

Dr. Max thought that play therapy might help Cindy remember her few months in the wild with her mother. It might help her remember that she was a chimpanzee.

Teagan had studied hours of footage of mother chimps and their babies before they started their creative play.

Cindy ignored the question, so Teagan sat down and started searching through her doll's hair for fleas. She pretended to find one, pick it out, and pop it between her teeth. Cindy jumped up into her swing. She brought her own doll back down, and started searching it for fleas, too.

Teagan cuddled her doll. Cindy cuddled her doll for about a minute. Then she threw it on its head, jumped up to her swing, and lay down, one foot dangling over the side.

"Don't want to play today, huh?" Teagan spent the rest of the hour pretending to be a mother chimp, while Cindy peeked at her over the edge of the tire swing.

When she got back to the office, Dr. Max and Agnes were standing in the middle of the floor. Agnes cradled something in her hand.

"Is everything all right?" Teagan asked. "How'd surgery go?"

"Buster should be fine," Dr. Max said.

"Tiny Tiddly's dead," Agnes blurted out. She was holding the small body.

"He was fine just an hour ago." Teagan took him. The
wrongness
she always felt when she touched death spread through her, and then the anger. "Who did this?"

"He was in the middle of the floor," Dr. Max said.