Kylie hesitated to ask, but she needed to know, so she just did it. "Did she say anything about the bird stalking me?"

"Stalking you?"

"Yeah, it was flying around me today, but I wasn't so sure it wasn't just some fluke. But then it came to my window earlier today and tapped on it."

Burnett's eyes widened a little in surprise, and then his inscrutable expression slammed down again. "Are you sure it's the same bird?"

"No, but it's too much of a coincidence not to be, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," he said. "Did you feel any kind of threat from the bird? Like you did with the eagle and the deer?"

"No, nothing. It was all peaceful and serene."

"Good." He stared down at his hands as if he had something else to say and it wasn't going to be easy. "Look, about the FRU library..."

"What about it?" she asked, immediately feeling nervous.

"I don't want you to think I was lying earlier. I wasn't. However, considering that I work for the FRU, I'm only allowed to say so much."

"So you did lie to me?" she asked.

"No." He tightened his lips as if frustrated. "I told you as much as I could. The truth is that there are some books there I'm not allowed to see."

She felt suddenly cold, the kind of a chill that came from being afraid of where their conversation was headed. Of being afraid to discover the truth about herself.

"There are books about ... others like me, aren't there?" she asked. "Others who don't know what they are."

He hesitated again and laced his fingers together in a tight ball. "I don't even know what all is there, but if they were there, I doubt very seriously that I could obtain permission to allow you to read them."

"Why?"

"The FRU considers ninety percent of what they have collected as classified."

Frustration built in her chest. "What's the big secret? I mean, the key to understanding what I am could be in that library. And you're locking me out-it's so frustrating. It's like you're deliberately trying to keep me in the dark about my powers, my identity."

"You're not being kept in the dark, and the key to understanding what you are is much more likely to be elsewhere-here in the outside world-than in that library. There's a lot of classified information at stake, but there's nothing we're trying to hide from you."

"It sure as hell feels that way," she said. "Tell me the truth, please. Do you know what I am?"

"No," he said again, and her instincts told her he wasn't lying. "Look," he said. "The only reason I brought this up is that I don't want you to stop trusting me. I'm as perplexed by you as ... well, as you are."

Kylie slumped in her chair, resigned to the fact that he wouldn't, and maybe even couldn't, give her anything more. "Fine."

He nodded and then looked around the dining hall. "You think we might convince everyone not to tell Holiday about this disaster?"

Kylie looked up at the singed wood, which had been marked by the dragon's breath and Clark's fireballs. "It might be difficult."

He looked around and frowned. "I guess so. But damn, I wanted to prove to her that I could run the show without screwing up."

"You didn't screw up," Kylie said. "All's well that ends well. No one's hurt."

He let out a deep gulp of air. "I got myself turned into a kangaroo."

Kylie couldn't help but snicker. Then Burnett laughed. Kylie couldn't swear by it, but she thought it was the first time she'd ever heard him do that. "Holiday is going to enjoy that one, isn't she?"

Kylie continued to grin. "Oh, yeah. Can I be the one to tell her?"

"Afraid not." Then he flashed her what she could have sworn was a smile. "If it involves making her laugh, I'll keep that pleasure for myself."

She studied him for a few moments, again feeling his devotion to Holiday. Thinking of devotion and Burnett, she decided to ask another question that had been pulling at her mind. "You and Perry have a history, right?"

He paused for a second and then said, "Sort of. Why?"

"The way you two relate to each other."

He nodded but didn't offer any details.

"It was through the foster program, right?" she asked. "Were you like a caseworker or something there at one time?"

Burnett's expression stayed stoic. "He told you about the foster program?"

"Yeah."

Burnett nodded. "Yes. We crossed paths through the program."

He didn't seem eager to share anything else about his past, so Kylie decided to drop it, or at least drop part of it. "Perry's not going to get in too much trouble for this, is he?" She frowned. "I mean, I was the one that sort of caused it. He was leaving and I stopped him."

Burnett arched a brow. "Truth be told, he behaved extremely well ... considering." He looked around again. "You wouldn't believe the kind of messes I've had to clean up because of him."

Kylie imagined Burnett coming to the aid of a younger Perry-a Perry who had no one because his parents abandoned him. Her doubts about Burnett and trusting him practically vanished. Without thinking, she said, "You know, you aren't near as badass as you pretend to be."

Burnett frowned as if he didn't like being considered anything but bad. "I wouldn't bet on it," he said. "Just ask Holiday." He stood up. "Come on, I'll walk you to your cabin. I need to go deal with Clark before it gets any later."