“Ah!” said Ezekiel. “Your ulterior motive appears! An interrogation over the eggs and butter! Nearly seven years ago. I was almost fourteen.”
“Fourteen!” Natividad looked at him quickly. Ezekiel was leaning against the refrigerator, looking relaxed and amused and not at all offended. He was watching her steadily. Though his tone was light, there was no mockery in his eyes. She was sure he was telling the truth. It was hard to believe. “You were younger than I am!” she protested.
“There wasn’t a black wolf in Dimilioc who could take me, one on one.” Ezekiel’s voice was cool, completely matter-of-fact. “I knew that. I enjoyed it. I believe it amused Thos to have a child for his executioner, but I certainly didn’t object. I liked having the older black wolves look aside from me.”
Black dogs did like people to be afraid of them. Natividad stirred the dough together into a shaggy mass and scraped it out onto the floured counter. She didn’t say anything.
“I expect Thos also liked the idea of training a black wolf pup to be exactly the executioner he wished. He’d been Dimilioc’s executioner himself, once. He had strong ideas about the role, which he naturally passed on to me.”
“Oh,” said Natividad. She kneaded the bread dough, forcefully.
“He also undoubtedly wanted to instill the habit of obedience in a pup he thought might otherwise eventually be a rival. I imagine he also thought it desirable to separate me from other potential rivals. The Dimilioc executioner is everyone’s worst nightmare, and certainly no one’s friend.” Ezekiel paused and then added, “I didn’t understand any of this at the time, of course.”
“Oh,” said Natividad again.
“It didn’t work out very well for him in the end,” Ezekiel said, his tone bland. “Working out your frustrations, are you?”
Natividad blinked down at the bread dough, which had become nicely silky and elastic. “It’s very therapeutic,” she said austerely. “You should try it sometime. Much better than killing people.”
Ezekiel grinned, that flashing grin that was so unlike the smile he wore when he was threatening people. “Speak for yourself.” Then the grin disappeared. He pushed himself away from the refrigerator, took a step toward her. Natividad stared at him, taken by surprise. He seemed suddenly both taller and older. He said, the mockery gone from his voice, “I won’t hurt you. You know that. I won’t hurt your brother, either, if I can help it. I won’t kill him. Even if he pushes me. Which I think he will, eventually.”
“He thinks he has to… to protect me,” Natividad explained, feeling awkward and suddenly breathless. She wanted to take a step back, but she couldn’t because that would be retreating and you never retreated from black dogs. If you did, they might chase you. Of course, she sort of had the idea Ezekiel would chase her no matter what she did. She held her hands up, powdery with flour, to warn him back.
“Someone needs to protect you. Little kitten, little Pure girl, surrounded by all the big bad Dimilioc wolves.” Ezekiel reached out with slow deliberation to touch her cheek, ignoring the floury palm she put on his chest to keep him at a distance. His chest was hard with muscle under Natividad’s hand. She swallowed.
He said softly, his tone deliberately, mockingly, husky, “You had better depend on me to protect you, little kitten. Otherwise you’ll be shooting people with your mama’s gun and your brother’s silver ammunition, and we can’t have that.”
Natividad laughed. She couldn’t help it.
There was a stifled sound from the doorway, and they both turned.
Alejandro stood there, staring at them both. Natividad twitched guiltily and stepped hastily backward, though she wasn’t guilty of anything, so it wasn’t fair. Ezekiel gave a little mocking tilt of his head and smiled his slight, dangerous smile. He didn’t step back at all.
Alejandro stared at Ezekiel. After that first searing look, he didn’t glance again at Natividad.
“Well?” Ezekiel asked him softly. “There’s still plenty of time left in the day, if you want to fight me.”
Alejandro glared at him.
“I won’t hurt you too badly. Nothing your shadow can’t carry away for you.”
Alejandro took a long, slow breath. He let it out. Then he turned his head aside and lowered his gaze. Natividad felt the effort of that submissive gesture in her own body. She swallowed, wanting to apologize, although she had nothing to apologize for and anyway she didn’t dare say a word.
“It’s not your job to protect her anymore,” Ezekiel said, still very softly. There was no mockery in his tone at all, now. “When you put her into Grayson’s hands, you gave that up. It’s not your job, it’s not your right, and you can’t protect her from me anyway. Nor does she need your protection.” He paused, then said with sudden exasperation, “You’re not a child and I don’t think you’re a fool. What did you think would happen when you brought her to Dimilioc?”