Change of Heart

a male mate, who am I to argue? A reah, in whatever form, is a blessing for a semel."
    His faith was exhausting. "Whatever. Let's just go."
    The relieved smile made me smile in spite of myself.
    68
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    Crane and I were walked to the same car with the dark windows from earlier, and I was surprised at how I was treated not just by Mikhail, but by Yuri as well. I apologized for lying to him earlier.
    "I understand your reasoning," he said gently, holding open the door of the backseat. "Perhaps I would have done the same in your place."
    Once Crane and I were seated, he closed the door and slid into the driver's seat. As Yuri pulled the car away from the curb, he and Mikhail started talking. I tuned them out, lost in the sound of the hum of the tires on the road, the steady rocking of the car, and the miles of moonlit scenery that ran past my window. The drive was long, but relaxing. I had no idea anyone lived so high up on the mountain, and as we passed a glassworks, I wondered who owned it.
    "Our semel owns the glassworks," Mikhail answered my silent question.
    I nodded, and, when I looked up, noticed his worried eyes in the rearview mirror. Nice that he was concerned about me, someone he barely knew. It showed his character.
    "What's your story?" Mikhail asked, and I realized that he was talking to Crane, and not me.
    It was nice to have the focus off me, and I slouched down into my seat and closed my eyes.
    I listened as Crane talked, telling the two men all about our adventures together, the list of the jobs we had held over the past two years, the many, many women he had seduced and how one of them had even been the mate of a semel.
    69
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "How did you become the beset of a reah?" Yuri wanted to know.
    "We've been friends since first grade," Crane grinned wide.
    "We grew up together, and when Jin was exiled from our tribe, I went with him. We finished high school together, went to college together, and we've been doin' the traveling thing ever since."
    "You don't miss having a home?" Yuri asked him.
    "I do. Jin doesn't."
    "Is that true?" Mikhail looked at me in the rearview mirror.
    "What's to miss?" I yawned.
    Everyone fell silent as Crane leaned against me. After several long minutes of silence, Crane started up with a new topic of conversation. It was one of the things I found most endearing about the man, his ability to just start talking about something, anything, to fill uncomfortable silences with. I drifted in and out, listening as Crane asked the two men more questions.
    "Everybody's got, like, a Russian name around here, and then there's Logan Church. What's up with that?"
    "Logan's grandfather was Vanya Chernishoff, and he changed the name to Church."
    "Why?"
    "I'm sure there were many reasons to do so forty years ago."
    "So Logan—"
    "Logeen," Mikhail chuckled, "if you want to say it correctly."
    70
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "Whatever. Logan's family and his tribe, most are Russian?"
    "Just Logan's family, mine, Yuri's, and Andrian's, but then there are many others, like the Chings and the Browns, who don't hail from the old country."
    "I dunno," Crane said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm thinking China qualifies as a really old country."
    "Indeed."
    "Okay, so I have another question. How come Domin Thorne and Christophe Danvers are creeping around on your semel's land? Do they have permission?"
    "Logan allows both of them to come and go as they like,"
    Mikhail answered, "as long as they never bring more than five attendants with them."
    "That sounds risky to me."
    "And I would agree," Yuri said pointedly.
    Mikhail sighed deeply; it was obviously an ongoing argument. "As for the reason that both semels are suddenly around, my best guess would be Jin."
    "Jin?"
    "Yes. You've spent too much time in the company of a reah, Crane; you have no idea what it's like for the rest of us.
    A reah is a miracle, plain and simple. I cannot tell you how much I hope that Jin is my semel's mate."
    "Jin doesn't want a mate," he said irritably.
    "That is not for Jin to say."
    I loved being discussed like I wasn't there. "Could we change the subject, please?"
    71
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "Yes," Yuri told me. "Let's hear more about Crane's conquests."
    My best friend was always up to talking about that.
    As we rolled through the huge wrought iron gates, I took a deep breath. When the car stopped, everyone got out but me.
    When Crane