Golden Girl by Sarah Zettel Read Free Book Online Page A

idea what kind of creature you’ve just tried to save.”
    She screamed, and she and Rougarou were gone. Whatever bubble of quiet she’d been holding us in burst and all the city night noises came flooding back. The world was almost normal again, with Jack holding my hand and this giant stranger who’d just saved our lives looking solemnly down at us both.

5

He’s Comin’ Back to Call Me
    “Who are you?” Jack whispered finally.
    “My name is Paul Robeson.”
    “Paul Robeson!” Now it was my eyes trying to pop out. “You sing on the radio! You’re one of my mama’s favorites!” I remembered sitting with Mama in the Imperial’s parlor and listening to the deep voice rolling out of the radio, so strong it felt like it could sweep away all the troubles the Kansas dust storms had rolled in. This wasn’t dance music or blues. This was what they called spirituals: deep, serious, slow, beautiful music. I’d never heard anything else like it.
    “You’ll have to thank your mama for me.” Mr. Robeson smiled, charming and easy. My cheeks heated up.
    Jack remembered to hand Mr. Robeson back his shirt. “Thank you,” he said as he took it. Lines of sweat ran down Mr. Robeson’s face and chest, and he was breathing hard. But if he was hurt, he wasn’t letting on any. He just buttonedhis shirt and pulled his suspenders up as though he did this kind of thing every day. For all I knew, he did. I’d’ve believed anything about this man right then. “Now, I’ve got a question for you, young lady,” he said as he finished tucking his shirttail in. “Did I hear your name was Callie LeRoux?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    He bent down and looked at me close and hard. I didn’t know what he was looking for, and I tried not to squirm, but it wasn’t easy. I’d lost my hat somewhere and torn my gloves, and my stuffed brassiere was a lopsided mess. I really didn’t want anybody looking at me right now, let alone somebody this famous who’d just saved my life and Jack’s. “I knew a piano player back in Harlem who went by the name of LeRoux,” he said finally. “Any chance you might be related?”
    There are words that root you to the spot. Jack’s eyes went round. It felt like a long time before either one of us could remember we spoke English. “My papa was a piano player,” I croaked.
    “Thought so. You look a bit like him.”
    Was it possible? I still couldn’t get my head around the idea that this man knew about the fairies. Could he really have met my papa? A sick, horrible feeling crawled through me, because I’d had people try to trap me like this before, and I did not want Mr. Robeson to be another trap. I didn’t think I could stand it if he was.
    But he didn’t say anything more about my papa. “Let’s get you two out of here before Amerda comes back with reinforcements.”
    Mr. Robeson strode off back toward the prison and New York City. Jack and I looked at each other, each of us trying to see if the other had a better idea. Neither of us did, so we followed him.
    I’ll tell you what, that man had some long legs. Even Jack had to trot to keep up with him. I’d gotten my breath back, and at least some of my brains, enough to start wondering about what I’d heard go by between him and Amerda.
    “How come the Seelies know you, Mr. Robeson?”
    His face went hard. “They made me an offer to come sing for them sometime back, and I turned it down.”
    “You turned them down?” squawked Jack. Nobody turned the fairies down. They could make all your wishes come true, or at least make you think they had come true. All the fame and fortune Ruth Markham thought she was getting for handing over Ivy Bright? She’d have it. She might not live very long after she got it, but she would have it.
    “You get around a little, you find out that people who offer you the whole world usually want everything you’ve got in return. I gave up believing that kind of promise a long time ago.” The anger in those softly