he is."
The proprietress and I turn just as Brandon enters the shop. He hesitates only for a second when he notices all our eyes on him before he continues in, walking as smoothly as his brother had last night when he walked from the shadows. There's an edge to his smile as he turns it on the proprietress.
She stiffens next to me and then takes a few steps back from us as he walks up, stopping just by my shoulder. The same smile is still one her lips, but I get the sense that instead of using it as a weapon, now she is using it as a defense.
"I was just showing them some of my books. They seemed interested."
I turn slightly to look up at Brandon. It's clear that the way he has let me see him is different from the way others see him. I would find it impossible to believe that he'd ever be cruel, but still the proprietress is cautious and I have to wonder how much of that is him and how much of that is the effect of his brother. Maybe that's what Maria had meant when she said it was "complicated." Maybe that's why he didn't tell me. At least I hope. Because the last thing I want is for Brandon to be the sort of man a human like me would normally fear.
"Figures I find the two of you here." Brandon looks from me to Maria before he sees the books and looks back at me. "Did you want some? You can pick a couple out. Vic owes me, right Vic?"
The proprietress agrees with a nod of her head. "Yes. That is true."
For the first time I see the two possibilities. Either the face value or the hidden threat, and it sends a chill down my spine that I refuse to react to. I hand over the first book I'd been looking at and put the other book down. Brandon takes the book then picks out a couple of toiletries that look handmade-- soap in a bag, a toothbrush in sealed paper, and a hair brush.
"I think I've got everything you'll need, right?"
He doesn't mention the trip to Henri's, so I don't either. I just nod. These were all things I was borrowing from him for the past week except for the toothbrush. I'd just been using my finger all week.
Brandon shows the items to her and she gives another nod though she doesn't take it down. The items go into a small bag that he hands over to me to carry and then we make our way out.
As we walk out into the busy street, Brandon asks Maria if she told Vic about my relation to him.
"Of course I didn't. Though she almost slipped and told Vic herself." Maria glares at me, halfway in jest, but mostly serious. "After I said not to."
I shrug, "But haven't you already told some people?"
Both Brandon and Maria look at me, but she's the one who answers. She leans in and speaks low in my ear. "Only people that he trusts. Last thing we need is anyone broadcasting that Brandon has a weakness."
That gives me a jolt, but Maria hardly seems to notice it, and if Brandon can read my thoughts, he doesn't say a word about it. He just keeps looking straight ahead, leading us through the crowd.
Twelve
Brandon is the one to suggest it. “You have to see the Edge of the World. I'm sure you've never seen anything like it.”
Just the mention of it makes me nervous, but I can only nod and follow him. Maria parts from us to head back towards the bar, and for a second I almost wish she wouldn't. I don't want her to leave me alone with Brandon. It's a thought I disperse right away like smoke. He doesn't need to hear it. Not when he is trying his best to connect with me, sharing the information he thinks I need to know, all the while still trying to protect me. I can't be an easy person for him to be around either.
We walk through town together. From the older more solid looking buildings in the center to the smaller houses that look as if they were put together with just stone and wood. The difference between the buildings in town and the buildings on the edge of town is huge and for a moment, I think that's what he wants me to see, but we keep