Chapter 9 #2
Jinx sits her fluffy cat butt on my account ledgers, eyes half lowered in exasperation.
I cross to my desk, my eyes darting back to the open doorway. I can’t risk moving the silk curtains in case it alerts Lucas to our conversation. What’s a little more magically draining telepathy when it’s for the greater good? Let’s go talk in the loft.
Jinx’s ears flatten, pupils slitting. Clearly, she disagrees.
I sigh harshly and squat down before my familiar. My voice is barely a whisper. “I don’t want to be overheard.”
Jinx blinks lazily, her ears swiveling to the side.
I sigh. I have only one shot to make my case to Jinx, or the shifter will ignore me.
It’s a miracle that she listened and came out in the first place.
I give the doorway one last nervous look.
“We found something that could force the spider back into its book form. It’s called the Amulet of Acerabus.
” I take a shuddering breath. “It’s with the Bauers.
The two of us need to go get it without,” I nod towards the main shop, “him.”
Jinx blinks. A kitty paw rises and points at the open door.
I whip around, heart in my throat. I release a hard breath when I find the doorway empty. It takes a few moments to interpret Jinx’s meaning. “You want me to involve Lucas?”
Jinx nods.
My whisper has a hint of desperation. “I can’t.”
Ears flatten.
“I’m serious.”
Eyes slit.
I huff a sigh. “Just transform and talk to me!”
Fluff flattens.
I snap. “I’ll be fine. I can handle one transformation.”
Jinx heaves a sigh. Her body morphs and it takes all my training to keep my face unchanged. The draw on my power reserves is worse than I imagined, but then again, Jinx has shifted more in the past few days than she has in years. A sharp pain slices through my chest and I grind my teeth.
Jinx crosses her patchy legs on the desk. “I’ll make this quick.” She scans me. “Before you pass out.”
I hiss, “I’m fine.”
“Whatever.” She nails me with a hard glare.
“Since you’re too panicked to think clearly, allow me to remind you of the problem with your terrible plan.
I cannot leave the shop. The heart’s pentagram requires its host to be within the bounds.
Since we share the same thread, one of us must always be within. ”
The blood drains from my face. “I can’t go alone. I can’t face them without you.”
Jinx points towards the door. “Then take him.”
“But he’s hurt.”
“So are you. You’ll have each other’s backs while you go get the amulet.”
“But…” Sickness rises in my throat. “Then I’ll have to tell him—”
A snarl harshens Jinx’s words, patchy hackles rising. “Then tell him!” I hush aggressively, but Jinx won’t be calmed. “Tell him who you are, who has the amulet, what you did—”
I scoff, fear tipping my words into defensiveness. “Are you insane? Old age decaying your mind to match your moth-eaten coat? Absolutely not. No one can know about the—” I silently mouth ‘curse’ and Jinx is less than impressed. “It’s for all our safety. Trust me. It’s better this way.”
Jinx’s eyes narrow. “Then you’re a fool. And a dead one at that.”
Before I can snap back, Jinx returns to her cat form. She elegantly hops off the desk and saunters through the room to slip out the door. I sigh harshly, exhaustion dragging my feet. I step through the doorway and come face-to-face with Lucas.
My breath leaves me, my eyes widening. Jinx wraps around his ankles before trotting away into the stacks. That backstabbing bitch.
I grit my teeth. The rising emotional discomfort within me sharpens my words like a knife. “Spying on me now?”
It’s the wrong thing to say. Lucas’ gaze hardens, his jaw flexing.
He steps forward and I step back, a shiver tingling down my spine.
I back into the room and Lucas rests his arms on the doorframe.
His muscles catch the light, his shirt tugging on his chest. It’s not fair for him to look that good when we’re about to argue.
The silence is palpable. I swallow and my hands twitch.
His voice is low. “Something you want to tell me? Perhaps the truth about the unicorn hair?”
I filter through my options rapidly. They range from lying, to running, to releasing The Arachnomicon to devour me. My silence is worse, and I can see it in Lucas’ tightening body and darkening eyes.
His fingers curl into fists, his voice rasping. “Don’t do that. Don’t fucking do that. I already know.” My breath catches and he growls, “There’s only one place in this damn city where you can get a hair, and that’s Nora. And if you bought it from Nora, then you had to make a deal with Dimitar.”
My eyes flare. “Lucas—”
“How much? Tell me.”
I weigh the pros and cons of letting Lucas believe what he wants about the hair. It could get me out of telling him about my past and the curse.
I make my decision. “I had no choice,” I rasp.
“You had a choice!” His anger makes me jump. “You didn’t have to make a deal with that monster.”
Defensiveness flares, even though I’m lying. “And risk an imperfect hair? Fuck no.” Fury feels better than anything else creeping up. “You could’ve died.”
His hard eyes bore into me, making me shift under the intensity. Maybe this was a mistake and I should’ve listened to Jinx.
He grits his teeth, his rings flickering. “Stay here.” He shoves off the frame. “Lock the doors behind me.”
I stumble forward, snatching his forearm. “What’re you going to do?”
“I’m going to transfer your deal to me.”
“Lucas—”
“No!” The rage in his snap has me flinching, eyes going wide.
He’s breathing heavily, his eyes closed.
He hisses in a low voice, harshened by poorly restrained emotion, “You don’t understand.
Dimitar will use this to sink his claws into you.
You’ll never make enough to pay it back, and if by some miracle you do?
” His breath shudders. “He’ll find a way to keep you.
You’ll never be free of him or the Guild. ”
“Lucas—”
“Astoria.”
His use of my name silences me better than anything else he could say. Pain, fear, and darkness all swirl in his eyes. “You don’t know what he’s like. You have Jinx to protect you. You have a life that you could return to.”
My chest tightens. How wrong he is. The room blurs slightly. Exhaustion is getting the better of me. “Let’s not play the ‘who had it worst’ game. No one wins it.” This is spiraling out of control. If Lucas confronts the Amur now, with his still-healing rings…
“I didn’t make a deal with Dimitar,” I whisper.
Lucas’ eyes narrow. He doesn’t believe me, which is a shame, because this time I’m telling the truth. “Then how did you get the hair?”
I hesitate, my eyes meeting his. My heart hammers, chest tightening. He scoffs. “Aster Rosemont and the endless lies. Typical. Maybe this will be easier for you to be honest about. Tell me about the amulet.”
I go stone cold. “What?”
His lips thin, his gaze sharpening. “You recognized it. Don’t fucking lie to me. You want me to believe you didn’t deal with Dimitar? Then tell me. Where’s the amulet?” His eyes tighten, distaste harshening his words. “Does it have to do with why Valentin Bauer the Sixth was in here the other day?”
My breath leaves in a sudden rush, my fingers on his arm going limp. “You… knew?”
“Of course, I knew. He had his fucking family’s ring on his finger.” His lip curls. “Any good thief knows the Bauers and that dragon’s hoard of a personal museum they have. It’d be the heist of all heists and the acquirers are hungry to get their hands on it.”
He steps towards me and my eyes burn, looking up into his darkened gaze.
“Tell me. Did Valentin want his side piece back? Miss slumming it while bathed in luxury and riches?” He’s angry, I can see it written all over his face, but not at me.
“Why did you two end it? Did his daddy get mad when he found out? I can’t imagine Vincentius took the relationship well when his son was betrothed. ”
Perhaps it’s shock from Lucas’ assumptions of who I was, or maybe it’s spite from the belittlement of what I had, but the words slip from my numbed lips. “I was his betrothed. It was him I got the hair from.”
Silence rings. Lucas’ eyes widen, jaw going lax. I can’t breathe, my throat tight. He whispers, “Who are you?”
Shame ripples down me and all I can do is take in breaths to keep the tears from escaping. My gaze drops.
It’s the wrong thing to do. I know it the moment I hear the pain in his exhale. I prepare my words, all my reasoning, all my excuses. I prepare for the argument that I’ll meet head-on with all the anger my pain fuels, so I don’t have to feel anything else.
What I don’t prepare for are the sounds of his boots retreating.
My eyes snap up. “Where are you going?”
He reaches the three small steps to the front door without looking back or responding.
Panic throbs all-consuming within me. My magic pulses and thrums in my body. Time slows and I step, pouring my power into the dash that will shred my muscles. My body doesn’t tolerate the pour of magic into it to enhance strength and speed well. My head spins, but I don’t care.
I beat Lucas to the second step, throwing my hands out. His chest collides with my palms and air whooshes from my lungs. I pant heavily, my legs shaking.
Lucas stumbles back into the main foyer. His honey eyes go from wide in surprise to narrow in vexation. “Move.”
I match his glare. “No.”
He tries to push by me, but a barrier crackles angrily. Lucas’ breath catches before he glowers down at me. “Trapping me? Really?”
His rings splutter before glowing and he flexes his fingers. The gold threads pierce my magic like needles through my chest, and a pain-filled breath leaves me. The threads fall limp before shimmering out of existence.
Rage, or frustration, flashes across his face. He glares down at me and I drop the barrier. For now. I’m ready to throw it back up if he tries to step forward again.
A few tense moments pass before Lucas releases a frustrated breath. “Astoria!”