Blind God's Bluff A Billy Fox Novel - By Richard Lee Byers Page 0,22
curvy, and had tattoos on both shoulders. Her legs were hairy. Really hairy. They got spindly as they tapered down from the backward-bending knees to the hooves.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Lord Timon told me to serve you as well as I would him,” she said. “And after a good session at the table… ”
“I get it.”
And call me a pervert, but it wasn’t the worst offer I’d ever had. The parts of her that mattered most were human, and cute.
But even though her being part goat wasn’t a turn-off, the master-slave vibe was. I was also pretty sure that a smart guy wouldn’t start humping the hobbits and trolls until he knew a whole lot more about them.
“It’s a nice offer,” I continued, “and who knows, maybe later. But for now, you can get dressed.”
“Yes, sir.” She turned, showing me the fluffy little tail at the base of her spine, and headed for the chair where she’d left her neatly hung and folded tux.
There was a room-service cart loaded with covered dishes parked beside it, and when I spotted that, I suddenly realized I was starving. My mouth watered, and my stomach gurgled. I jumped up and just about ran in that direction.
The girl heard me coming. She gave a soft cry and spun around. Her bright eyes were wide, and she covered herself with the starched white shirt in her hands.
I stopped short. “It’s all right! I promise. I just wanted to grab some breakfast.”
“I’m sorry!” she said. “I just thought… ” She trailed off like she was afraid that explaining would make me angry.
I sighed. “I get it. When you came in, you were ready to do what you thought you had to. But when I let you off the hook, it was a big relief. Then you heard me coming up fast behind you, and you thought I was going to make you go through with it after all. Maybe you even thought I like it rough.”
She nodded.
“I’m not like that.” I pulled the cart toward an antique version of the writing-table-and-chair setup you see in most hotel rooms.
“I should wait on you,” she said.
“You did. You brought the food to the room. I can take it from here.”
It turned out that, among other dishes, I had steak and eggs, eggs Benedict, a Denver omelet, and blueberry pancakes. I attacked the spread like the favorite in a competitive eating contest.
But by the time the horned girl finished dressing, I’d taken the edge off my hunger, and then I felt embarrassed. I wouldn’t blame her if she thought that, while she was part goat, I was mostly pig.
I wiped my mouth on a lacy napkin. “Do you want some of this? I can’t eat it all.”
“That’s kind of you, sir, but it wouldn’t be proper.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t. Come on. It would make me feel better about scaring you before.”
As she hauled another chair up to the table, I realized we didn’t have an extra fork. But I hadn’t gotten the spoon dirty, and she dug into the omelet and pancakes with that.
“I’m Billy,” I said.
“I know, sir. Everybody knows.”
“And you are… ?”
“A’marie.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, A’marie. And what are your people called? Your clan or whatever?”
Her face hardened. “Thank you for the food, but I have to get back to work. Please, when you’re finished, just put the cart in the hall.” She pushed back from the table.
“Please, wait. I’m sorry if that question was rude. Apparently I’m related to you ‘Old People,’ but I never knew until last night. I don’t know what’s good manners and what isn’t.”
She hesitated. “Really? You weren’t making fun of me?”
“Really.” I gave her the Cliff’s Notes version of how I’d gotten involved with Timon.
When I finished, she said, “It was fate, the two of you finding one another.”
“I don’t believe in fate. Luck, maybe. But anyway, should I not ask anybody about his race? Is that a big taboo?”
She hesitated. “No. It shows you’re a newcomer, and that might make people try to take advantage of you, but it’s not taboo. It’s just… when a satyr and a nymph have a boy baby, he’s supposed to be a satyr. When they have a girl baby, she’s supposed to be a nymph. And you see how I came out.”
“Seriously? Everybody’s fine with weird, ugly creatures like the Pharaoh, Gimble, and Murk the Talking Squid, but the way you look is a problem?”