After the long and icky week I’ve had, I finally have the energy to do some editing. This excerpt is what editing I’ve done. But, it will finish chapter six of Society of Night and Lies.
Going through all of these posts to put them in my file, I noticed some discontinuity. That will be fixed soon. For now, enjoy this final portion of Chapter Six. Looks like Sabrina may be suspecting something about her friend, Reyna.
The way things were looking; it would be a while before she could feel the touch of her husband’s hands on her fur. The soft sigh, though barely heard by anyone, was interrupted by a familiar laugh. One eye, then the other opened to see Reyna standing there beside her table with her arms crossed and the quirk of a grin teasing at her muzzle. A smile slowly crawled across Sabrina’s muzzle as she motioned to the seat across from her with a nod of her head then chuckled softly. “You’re late.”
“Sorry, Ree, I was detained by Felix. He was trying to follow me.” She said while she took a seat and beckoned the waitress over. “A cherry soda and some fries, please.” She said to the rabbit waitress then, after she was out of earshot, she spoke to Sabrina. “He’s very worried about you. If you don’t talk to him soon, he is going to come looking for you.”
Sighing, Sabrina nodded. “I can’t contact him right now. It is far too dangerous. If anyone from the society were to find out about him…” If she wasn’t worried before, she was definitely worried now. “Dean is already dogging my tail to see what he can find out. I won’t be surprised if he already suspects I faked Jason’s death.”
Green eyes went wide at the mention of the wolf’s name, and then Reyna leaned across the table and asked in a conspiratorial whisper, “Dean’s involved?” Then settling back into her seat, she continued. “Just great. We’re gonna to have to work fast to make sure he doesn’t discover the truth.”
“I know. Trust me, I know.” Sabrina rolled her eyes. “I could poison him and it all now, but…”
“But what?” Reyna inquired while she eyed her friend curiously.
Sabrina shook her head and sighed. ”He probably already expects that AND everyone would know who did it. From what I understand, I was the only one who specialized in poisons.”
“Ah, I see,” Reyna said as she slowly nodded. ”You’re not the only one… I mean anyone could have studied as well just not… as much as what you did.” She suddenly looked nervous after cutting her initial comment short.
Sabrina almost missed that sudden switch and the flash of expression in her friend’s eyes. Eyeing her casually, she nodded and leaned back in her seat to watch her more carefully while they talked. ”I also learned that he has some extra pull with Gerin. The old yote isn’t young anymore. He needs to train someone to take over when he retires.” If he manages to retire Sabrina thought to herself.
Suddenly, a sly grin appeared on the Rey’s muzzle, and then she chuckled. “He does. Does he? That just might work in your favor, Sabrina.”
Curious, she asked her friend, “Oh? What do you have in mind, Rey?” The ridge above her eye lifted as an ear swiveled back. Though it had been still until now, her tail started to curl slowly along the side of the booth.
“Think Ree. If we sabotage his reputation, make him look real bad in front of the others and Gerin…” she suggested, leaving the rest hanging to be picked up by the suddenly churning thoughts of her friend. Something in her voice hinted that she knew more than she admitted.
Catching on, Sabrina’s eyes went wide for a moment as her lips formed an ‘O’ shape. A guarded smile formed though her eyes showed more darkness simmering in their depths. “I see-ee-ee. That won’t be easy to do, but it could be fun. If we play our cards right, Gerin’ll order him killed after kicking him out. I like it. I like it.”
“I see the gears spinning now.” Reyna giggled while she leaned on the table again and casually cupped her jaw in her hands. “So, tell me, Ree, how are we going to accomplish that?”
With eyes sparkling with mischief, Sabrina smiled and leaned a little closer to her friend. “A very good question, my dear, but one I’ll enjoy setting up.” Then, her expression changed to one more serious as she settled back in her seat. “First, we have to see about keeping a certain fox from being killed. To do that, I need that background check you, and Felix, did for me.”
Perking her ears, Reyna sat up and cocked her head to one side then asked, “Why did you want to me to dig around so much on this one person?” While she was curious, fear was welling up inside.
Sabrina saw something, in her friend’s eyes that seemed to confirm a few suspicions. Until she had actual proof, she couldn’t do anything. Gauging her words carefully, she spoke, “Nothing you need to be concerned with, Rey. Let’s just say I need to make sure of a few things before I go another step.”
*Gulp* Reyna could only stare at Sabrina wondering what the feline woman knew. Slowly, she nodded and relaxed, accepting the fact that her friend is being paranoid and nothing more. “I still say you’re crazy, Sab.” Reaching into her jacket, she pulls out a manilla envelope and drops it on the table between them.
“Never claimed to be anything else,” she said. A smirk curled across her muzzle as she picked up the packet then spent a minute peering at the contents; even pulling out random papers before tucking it under her arm. ”Very good. Definitely worth the wait.”
Reyna let out a huge breath and slumped in her seat. It looked as though she had been worried about the contents. ”Anything else you need?” She meant to be sarcastic, but quelled the feeling when she looked her friend in the eye.
Sabrina considered, pretending to think hard on the question. ”Oh, I think there is something you can look up for me. It’ll be easy this time.”
Suddenly sitting up, Reyna’s eyes widened and her ears drooped. ”Why am I afraid to ask what this one will be?”
Without answering, Sabrina stood and dropped a few bills on the table to tip the waitress. Along with those bills, she dropped a white envelope. ”Everything you need to know is in there, Rey.”
The envelope was quickly snatched up. Reyna pulled the paper out and read it then glanced at the back. It was the letter that brought Sabrina to New Urbania. ”I don’t understand. This is the note you were given last week.”
Eyeing her friend, Sabrina nodded. ”I know. You know where Shyleah lived. We both know who D is. You have two days to figure out how he found her.”
“Two days?” She sounded incredulous and her eyes quickly filled with worry. Slowly, as she looked up at her, the vixen shook her head. “This’ll take more than two days to do.”
“That’s all the time you have, Rey. Not a minute longer.” Her voice sounded dark with a harsh edge behind the calm words. “I know you can do it. I’ve seen you do it before for others.” Something in her tone said she wasn’t going to expect less. “Two days. That’s all you have, Rey, and not a second longer.”
As she turned to leave, Rey lifted her hand to detain her a moment longer. She couldn’t find the words to speak. Her confidence in her skill was being put to the test. There was a shine to the feline’s eyes that said she wasn’t going to be very forgiving if her trusted friend didn’t come through for her.
“We’ll meet here in two days.” Sabrina reminded her. By the time she stepped out into the cold rainy morning, the sky had already started lightening towards day. With a sigh, she looked up at the clouds then pulled her hood up and headed toward the motorcycle. How she hated the rain.
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