Previously in The Hunt for Lilywhite:
Returning from Mama Silva’s lesson in blood magic, the Hunter encounters some well meaning parishioners in the gardens of San Clemente and must assume the identity of Father Teodoro once again. As he accepts the food they’ve brought, Maddalena appears with news.
Catch up on previous episodes of Series 1 and Series 2 here.
As the front door to the parish house slams behind him, the Hunter sets down the lunch bag, drops the glamour of Father Teodoro and rounds on Maddalena in a white fury.
“What part of ‘give me your guy’s information and stay put at LeeLee’s’ did you not understand?” he snaps. “I’ve got enough shit to take care of without having to look out for you.”
Backed against the cool beige wall, Maddalena clutches the box of pies to her chest. The Hunter’s lean pale face is inches from her own, his eyes hard as amethyst, and her heart beats a little faster. A lot faster.
“I thought you needed help!” she stammers. “So I found Mose. Like you wanted.”
“The cops are still looking for you.” The Hunter plants a hand on the wall beside her head. “Others could be too. Why the fuck didn’t you do what I told you?”
Maddalena lifts her chin. “Because I thought you’d kill Mose. Find out what he knows and then — bam!” On a deep breath, she plows on. “Wait - what others?”
The Hunter frowns. “I don’t know who sent Marcus, or how the Directorate was able to warn me. He screwed up. The next one may not. And if any of them knows you’re mucked up in this, you’ll just be —” He shrugs.
“Collateral damage.”
The Hunter’s T shirt is soaked with sweat, but all she smells is a whiff of something woodsy and green. Maddalena’s stomach tightens with the memory of Paco Guero pinning her to that alley wall, and she thinks she’s going to be sick.
“I’m sorry, OK? You said I could help you, so I thought —”
On an exasperated breath, the Hunter steps away. “So you’ve helped. Good job. Now give me the address and go back to LeeLee’s. Maybe get on a bus or something. I’ll even cover a ticket. But you are done with this now.”
“No I’m not.” Maddalena doesn’t know where that came from, but she stands up a little straighter. “I’m meeting Mose this evening. I think he has something useful to tell me.”
“Lord fucking Sun,” the Hunter says. “OK. I’ll take it from here. When and where?”
Maddalena shakes her head. “Nope. I’m not saying. It’s me he wants to meet.” The pie box smells of warm fruit and sugar, and Maddalena clutches it closer for comfort.
The Hunter runs a hand through his hair. “Swear to — look. I cannot let you do that. For a lot of reasons. One more time. Where are you meeting him? And when?”
He could force the information from her in a heartbeat, then silence her for good. Maddalena’s mind races through the scenarios of a dozen spy movies. But he’s not. Swallowing hard, she lifts her chin.
“He’s my friend. Or he was once. He wouldn’t talk to you.”
The Hunter’s mouth tightens. “Oh, he would. One way or another.”
In spite of the morning heat, cold twitches across Maddalena’s shoulders. But she meets the Hunter’s eyes squarely.
“I saw what happened the other night and I didn’t run. You helped me with the cops and then you told me the truth. You brought me into this, so don’t get pissy now.”
As the snark leaves her lips, Maddalena cringes. Talking to an otherworld black op like he’s your bratty brother?
She waits to die. But that makes the Hunter laugh. “Yeah, I guess I did. All right. But keep your phone on you. And call me the minute you’re done. Understand?”
Sliding away from him, Maddalena eases the pie box down on the coffee table. “I can take care of myself. You know that.”
“Oh come on,” the Hunter says. “That was some stupid Earthsider being an asshole. This is a whole other thing. I’m twisting the rules into pretzels just dealing with you people. Do you think I can let you get hurt?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “Hurting people is your job, isn’t it?”
“Sometimes,” the Hunter tells her. “A lot of the time. But not you, not now. I’d have to fill out a pile of paperwork.”
He reaches for the box. “Call LeeLee, tell her you’re staying here today. There’s the couch; I’m going to have a shower.” He offers Maddalena a weary, crooked smile. “Want a piece of that pie first, though?”
Morning sun fills the windows of the parish house when the Hunter steps barefoot into the living room. He’s showered and dressed for the weather in a clean T shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, and he wants nothing more than to sleep. But he’s got some things to do first.
Maddalena’s curled sleeping on the couch, phone in hand. Crossing to the dining room table holding his Otherside tools, the Hunter quietly opens the little box of bugs. They’re tiny things, no bigger than actual bugs, and they’ll stick anywhere they’re placed, listening and transmitting back to their source. Taking one silver dot from the box, he places it carefully on the back of Maddalena’s phone. She never stirs.
Then he sits down at the table, pops in a pair of earbuds and, bracing himself, opens a laptop. It’s time to dip into the fevered cesspool of Lilywhite’s daily podcast.
Read next: Episode Ten
Behind the Scenes:
Readers of traditional tales and much modern fantasy know the typical profile of the faerie kind, or elves if you’re a Tolkien fan: arrogant, detached and often overbearing. In the universe of the Moon Road, they’re the Sunborn Sidhe, the dominant race in the wealthy, sophisticated Ruby Court of the Three Domains.
Those well worn tropes account for their behavior toward the other peoples on the Otherside of the Moon Road. And also for some of the Hunter’s discomfort on the Earthside, where technical difficulties and unexpected intrigues have mucked up his mission and forced him to spend far more time with the locals than he’d like.
Culture shock is a thing.
Till next time —
JM
Thank you so much! I've had to do a lot of dialogue in this thing and I'm never sure if it works. Funny, this started out as the Hunter's story but actually it seems to have more of an ensemble cast, with Maddalena co-starring.
Excellent dialogue. I loved their back-and-forth.
I've grown to like Maddalena more and more with every chapter. She's got a heroic streak.