Man Made Boy (24 page)

“What’s going on…?” said Claire, her eyes narrowing.

“Please,” he said, his arm bobbing up and down, still pointing toward the chairs.

We sat down. I looked at Claire. She looked back at me and shrugged.

“Okay, kids,” said Mozart. “So we’ve got a bit of a dilemma here. I’m supposed to bring Boy here back to New York where his parents and Ruthven are waiting for him. Problem is, he doesn’t want to go. He’s not done seeing the world and I can’t say I blame him. But I don’t feel right cutting him loose all on his own. And even if I
was
okay with it, his dad would grind me into dog meat the second I told him that’s what I’d done.”

“Would he really?” Claire asked me.

“I don’t think so….” I said. “I mean, he did some pretty bad things early on, but that was, like, two hundred years ago. He’s mellowed out a lot since then. Uh, mostly.”

“So,” said Adam, picking up the story. “Here I am with Claire. She’s a spirited young woman with an enormous amount of potential. Potential that will never be reached if she spends her life taking care of me. So I propose that the two of you travel together.”

“Wait, what?” I said.

“Adam, that’s daft,” said Claire. “Underdog here just said he’s going back to New York. If I leave, who’s going to wind you up?”

“Um, yes,” said Adam. “About that…” Then he fell silent.

“What?” said Claire, her tone ominously low.

“Claire, my dear, you have been wonderful, and I am so grateful that Allen found you and brought you into our lives. You’ve been the only thing that’s made these months since his death bearable. But I think I’d like to wind down for a while.”

“What do you mean
wind down
?” she asked. “For how long?”

“Perhaps forever. I would ask that you dismantle me, but I’m utterly petrified that I’d still retain a sense of identity in bits and pieces. So I ask that you just leave me here and lock the door behind you. Perhaps some day, in a strange future world, another human like Allen will come upon me and wake me from my slumber. Or perhaps not. Either way, I am tired now, and so very old. I want nothing more than to simply…stop.”

Claire stood up, her fists clenched, her dark eyes glittering in the harsh fluorescence. “You can’t…How could you…?”

“I’m sorry, Claire. I know this is hard for you. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since he died. But I felt I couldn’t leave you alone. You and Boy have a lot in common. And you both desperately
need a friend. Perhaps you can help each other find what the other is looking for.”

“So that’s it, then?” she asked through clenched teeth. “You’re just throwing me away?”

“Be reasonable, Claire. This is no life for you. Are you happy here, living in a crumbling-down building, taking care of a crumbling-down machine?”

“What’s happiness got to do with anything?” she asked.

“And that is precisely my point. There
is
happiness out there for you, somewhere. I know you don’t believe it, but
I
do. You’re going to have to trust me on this one. Will you trust me?”

She stared down at her sneakers, ratty white running shoes. Her face was set in a grimace, the jaw muscle twitching. A lock of her straight black hair fell in her eyes and she impatiently pushed it back.

“Okay,” she said. “But let’s be clear. I’m doing this for you. Not for me.”

“Come here, my dear.” Both his arms jerked up, his fingers clacking as his hands opened and closed.

“No.” She stared at her sneakers.

“Come, come, come!” He flopped his arms up and down. He tilted his head to the side and bounced his eyebrows up and down in time with his arms. It looked ridiculous.

“Oh, bollocks…” she muttered, her voice cracking. “You are such a fucker.” Then she melted into his stiff embrace, pressing her soft flesh cheek against his wooden one.

“Good-bye, Claire,” he said, his rectangular mouth hardly moving. “I love you.”

A single tear slid down her cheek and soaked into the dry wood of his face. She stood up and took a big, ragged breath. Then she seemed to suddenly remember that Mozart and I were
still there. She glared at both of us. “If either of you pricks says anything about this, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

“Claire,” said Adam. “I have one final request. We’ve said our good-byes. But I would also like to say good-bye to Sophie.”

“God damn it, Adam!” said Claire. “It’s
my
turn this week. It’ll take me
days
to get rid of her again. It’s going to cock up
everything
.”

“I know, Claire. And I know how much you hate giving up the control. But if it weren’t for her, we would never have met. Please, I just want to say good-bye.”

She stared him down for a moment. “Fine. I guess it’s only fair.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then she opened her eyes again. “I’m not dressed for this.”

“I took the liberty of packing a set of clothes for her.” He pointed to a duffel bag on a nearby crate.

“You’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this, haven’t you?” she said. “Oh,
Dampfmensch
, you really are a right bastard sometimes.”

His rectangular mouth opened slightly and his eyebrows raised. And even though the corners of his mouth couldn’t move, it was still somehow clear that he was grinning.

Claire closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. When she let it out, she started shaking, then convulsing. It looked painful. She dropped to her knees and started a low groan. Her hair grew long and curly and changed to a light brown. Her skin got paler, and little freckles appeared on her nose and cheeks. Then her entire facial structure shifted from strong and chiseled to soft and heart shaped. Her clothes started to get noticeably baggy because she was shrinking. Then her groan slowly rose in pitch. But as it rose, the tone also changed to something fuller, richer until I realized that she was laughing now.

Suddenly, she jumped to her feet. In a voice about a half octave higher than Claire’s, she sang out, “Ta-da!”

She stretched out her arms wide and beamed at us. Then her jeans, which were way too big for her, fell down around her ankles. It took her a second to realize it, then she bent down and snatched them up.

“Bugger!” she said. “’Scuse me while I change, lads.” She shuffled over and grabbed the duffel bag, then darted behind the crate.

“And that,” said Adam, “is Sophie Jekyll, making her usual dramatic entrance.”

“Lies, Adam!” she called from behind the crate. “Usually, I don’t flash people on my entrance.”

“No,” he agreed. “But I liked it. Adds a touch of the risqué, don’t you think?”

“Maybe,” she called. “If I had been wearing some
cute
panties, not these grandma knickers that Claire loves so much.” A pair of plain white panties came sailing up over the crate to land on the floor in front of us.

“This just got real interesting, kid,” said Mozart, and gave me a nudge.

“I hope you like the outfit I selected for you,” Adam said. “Teen fashions are in such a constant state of flux, I’m afraid I never can keep up.”

“Are you joking?” Sophie stepped out from behind the crate wearing a pair of skinny jeans, leather boots, and a tight sweater. “Adam, you’re the only person I trust to dress me.” She sighed and went over to him. She reached out her hands and cupped his wooden face. “What am I going to do without you? Claire is heartbroken, you know.”

“I know,” said Adam. “I told her I was sorry.”

Sophie shrugged, picking a piece of lint off his tweed jacket. “She’ll get over it. And while she’s pouting, it’ll give me a little more time on the outside.”

Adam raised a single eyebrow. “Don’t get greedy, Sophie. You two have been…sharing so well lately.”

“I know, I know,” said Sophie, rolling her eyes. “I’ll let her out when it’s her turn, don’t worry.”

“Promise,” he said, his voice stern.

“Yes, okay, fine! Now, what’s this about you ending it all?”

“Please…don’t make me go through this…whole thing again, Sophie.”

“No, of course not, silly.” She patted the top of his head. “But for once, Claire and I agree. This is complete and utter bollocks.”

“I think…” he said. “I think you’re going to have…a marvelous time.”

“You’re winding down,” she said, her voice a little subdued. “How’s about one last twist?”

He shook his head, his movements even jerkier than before. “No, this is…best. I’d rather run down…while looking at your…lovely face.”

“Adam, you’re the sweetest old gay uncle a girl could ever hope to have. I’m going to miss you something awful.” She gave him a hug and he patted her back jerkily.

“Boy,” he said, his voice sounding even thinner and more metallic. “Don’t let these girls…push you around…too much.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“But also…don’t ever…leave them behind…. They’ve been left behind…too many times…already.”

“I promise,” I said.

“Wolfie…you fat…hairy…bastard.”

“Yeah, Adam,” said Mozart.

“It was…worth it…. All of it…It was…”

There was a faint click, and he stopped moving.

We stood there for a little while, just looking at him. Sophie cried quietly. Finally, Mozart took a tarp and pulled it over him.

“He hated getting dusty,” he said gruffly as he laid his hand gently on the covered form. Then he turned to us. “Now, how about a drink?”

WE WENT TO a dimly lit club back in the Strip District. Although the outside looked like a drab warehouse, the inside looked ultramodern, with lots of frosted glass surfaces and chrome fixtures. Mozart showed the guy at the door his ID. It looked like he was about to ask for ours, but then Mozart did some werewolf thing with his eyes, and the guy suddenly looked really nervous and just let us in.

Once we were safely inside, Sophie patted his hairy cheek. “You are very useful.” Then she turned toward the dance floor in the back of the club. “Now, if you lads will excuse me, I haven’t been dancing in ages.”

“Go ahead,” said Mozart. “We’ll be at the bar.”

Sophie nodded, her eyes dreamy as she walked toward the flashing lights, pounding drum and bass, and thick crowd in the back.

We sat down on a couple of padded leather stools at the glittering chrome-finished bar.

“I’ve never been in a real nightclub,” I said.

“You
do
need to get out for a while, then.” Mozart waved to the bartender, a cute human girl with a bull-ring nose piercing.
“Scotch on the rocks for me.” Then he turned to me. “What do you want?”

I shrugged. “Beer, I guess?”

“And an Iron City for him,” he told the bartender.

While the bartender got our drinks, I watched Sophie out on the dance floor. She wasn’t anywhere near as good a dancer as Liel. But there was something so free about the way she moved, like she didn’t care what anyone thought of her. Guys would try to dance with her, but she’d just glide right past, lost in her own little world. Liel danced for others. Sophie just danced for herself.

The bartender placed our drinks in front of us. As Mozart handed her some money, he said, “You know what? I think I need to get out for a while myself.”

“You’re going to travel with us?” I asked.

“Nah. Traveling alone is what I really need right now. Think I’ll hop a train tomorrow. Maybe I won’t even check which way it’s going first.”

“That’ll be cool.” I took a sip of my beer to hide my disappointment.

“Look, I know it’s going to be a little weird with those girls, always changing personalities. But they’re survivors. You’ll be all right with them. Besides, what do you need an old dog like me hanging around for, anyway? I’d just cramp your style.”

“What style?” I asked.

“Exactly. You can’t be stuck in my impressively stylish shadow. You need room to do your own thing.”

I nodded and took another sip of my beer. It still felt like he was ditching us.

He picked up his tumbler filled with ice and yellow liquid. He took a swallow, then swirled the ice in the glass. “Something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“What’s that?”

“What was up with those crazy humans attacking you and Liel back in Jersey? What were they after?”

I needed to tell someone about VI. I wasn’t sure what she would do next, but I knew she wasn’t done. She was dangerous and totally out of control.

But when I looked over at Mozart, into his sharp, gray wolf eyes, I suddenly felt so ashamed. I never should have made her in the first place. And then I screwed it up even more by pissing her off. How could I possibly explain that to Mozart without him losing all respect for me?

So I kept my mouth shut and just shrugged. “Maybe it’s like you said. Sometimes you just never know the reason for a thing.”

“Yeah…” His eyes narrowed. “I’m not your dad and it’s not my job to coddle you. You don’t want to tell me what’s going on and that you’re business. Frankly, I don’t want to know the details, anyway. But I’m going to take a shot in the dark here and say you got into some bad shit in the city, which is why you split.”

“Sort of.”

“And whatever it is you got into, it isn’t done yet.”

“Yeah.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”