He waited this time for a response. Finally, I shrugged. It didn’t matter to me whether he called me “kid” or some strange human nickname. I believed it was meant kindly.

“Okay, then, Wanda.” He smiled, pleased at his invention. “It’s nice to have a handle on you. Makes me feel like we’re old friends.”

He grinned that huge, cheek-stretching grin, and I couldn’t help grinning back, though my smile was more rueful than delighted. He was supposed to be my enemy. He was probably insane. And he was my friend. Not that he wouldn’t kill me if things turned out that way, but he wouldn’t like doing it. With humans, what more could you ask of a friend?

CHAPTER 22: Cracked

CHAPTER 22

Cracked

Jeb put his hands behind his head and looked up at the dark ceiling, his face thoughtful. His chatty mood had not passed.

“I’ve wondered a lot what it’s like—getting caught, you know. Saw it happen more than once, come close a few times myself. What would it be like, I wondered. Would it hurt, having something put in your head? I’ve seen it done, you know.”

My eyes widened in surprise, but he wasn’t looking at me.

“Seems like you all use some kind of anesthetic, but that’s just a guess. Nobody was screaming in agony or anything, though, so it couldn’t be too torturous.”

I wrinkled my nose. Torture. No, that was the humans’ specialty.

“Those stories you were telling the kid were real interesting.”

I stiffened and he laughed lightly. “Yeah, I was listening. Eavesdropping, I’ll admit it. I’m not sorry—it was great stuff, and you won’t talk to me the way you do with Jamie. I really got a kick out of those bats and the plants and spiders. Gives a man lots to think about. Always liked to read crazy, out-there stuff, science fiction and whatnot. Ate that stuff up. And the kid’s like me—he’s read all the books I’ve got, two, three times apiece. Must be a treat for him to get some new stories. Sure is for me. You’re a good storyteller.”

I kept my eyes down, but I felt myself softening, losing my guard a bit. Like anyone inside these emotional bodies, I was a sucker for flattery.

“Everyone here thinks you hunted us out to turn us over to the Seekers.”

The word sent a shock jolting through me. My jaw stiffened and my teeth cut my tongue. I tasted blood.

“What other reason could there be?” he went on, oblivious to my reaction or ignoring it. “But they’re just trapped in fixed notions, I think. I’m the only one with questions.… I mean, what kind of a plan was that, to wander off into the desert without any way to get back?” He chuckled. “Wandering—guess that’s your specialty, eh, Wanda?”