Chapter Twenty
I was right. The cone-like structures around us were houses. Remy said that we were in a residential area of Orion called Chimney Spires. He set me down behind the back of the nearest conical house, where the shadows were the darkest.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting us clothes,” he replied. “While I do that, see if you can walk yet.”
He was smart to look for clothes. I was still only wearing my pajama bottoms and ripped-up, bloody tank top.
Remy was even worse. His torso was covered in so much dried blood that it resembled a rust-colored shirt at first glance.
With blood and soot also darkening his face, he looked like murder incarnate.
He hadn’t had nearly this much blood on him the last time I saw him. He’d said that Ellie was safe. Considering his state, the same must not hold true for her kidnappers.
I shuddered. Remy could kill without getting a drop spilled on him, as he’d proved with Travis. He must have deliberately gotten close enough to have Ellie’s kidnappers’ blood soak him.
And this was the man I was ragingly attracted to. Maybe the Beast’s “corruptive” influence hadn’t passed me by after all.
I took a few steps to test my legs while Remy disappeared around another cone-shaped house.
The only lights out here came from the houses’ small, box-shaped windows, but that didn’t stretch far.
That was good for maintaining a low profile, but not so great for practicing walking.
It was either risk tripping in the darkness, or risk being seen by whoever lived in this neighborhood by getting too close to one of the houses.
I chose the darkness, and tried not to think about the monster-sized snake not far from here. Remy hadn’t seemed worried about it coming after us. In fact, he’d said his grisly patchwork of rocks and Travis parts would “hold” her. Maybe Remy had sealed that patch up with magic, too. One could hope.
I managed to walk a few steps both downhill and uphill. No mega snakes, no getting seen by the neighbors. I tried to jog next. Either the ground was too uneven, or I wasn’t steady enough on my legs. I fell, gritting my teeth.
Let’s try that again, a little more carefully this time.
A few short, successful jogs later, my thoughts went back to Remy.
He’d come for me when he realized Travis had kidnapped me.
He’d also shared his power with me, giving me unbelievable control over the Beast, and he’d done all this when he could have just killed me.
Then he’d have the Beast’s power for himself, adding to his jaw-dropping abilities.
And yet, he hadn’t. Instead, he’d repeatedly protected me.
I just violated our truce by coming after you myself.
A spark glowed within me that I couldn’t put out. Yes, Remy was dangerous. Yes, his aura was bloodred from violence, but I understood its bright streaks now. And I wanted him in a way that frightened me more than the man himself did.
“Here.”
Remy’s voice made me jump. He was back.
I hurried over, tripped on a rock, and almost fell, but Remy’s hand on my arm steadied me. He was already right here. Wow, he could move fast.
“I’m good,” I said, brushing his hand off.
A man-sized shadow passed in front of one of the cone-shaped structures nearest to us. Remy tensed.
“We can’t linger. Put this on.”
He handed me a long woolen cloak that was either black or dark gray.
In this dim light, I couldn’t tell. It was stiff from at least one layer of dirt, but it worked as both clothes and a disguise.
It was so long it fell past my feet, and the hood drooped until it covered all my forehead and part of my face.
Remy donned a similar cloak, only with his height, it didn’t even reach his feet. In better lighting, I’d be able to see that he had on modern black shoes instead of whatever footwear the people around here wore.
“If anyone stops us, let me do the talking,” Remy said.
I nodded.
He held out his hand. “Come.”
I didn’t know what would happen in this strange, savage land.
Maybe the worst was behind us. Maybe it wasn’t.
Either way, I took Remy’s hand, marveling that I could now do that without worrying that the Beast’s claws would shoot out.
I finally had the control I’d always wanted.
Maybe I could finally get a real life, too.
I wasn’t sure, but if we made it out of here, I intended to find out.
I learned that Orion had several sections, with its main city acting as an island version of home base in the middle.
Remy said we were lucky that Travis brought me to the southern half of Orion even though it had the snake-god Manasa territory in it.
Apparently, in the northern half, we had a much greater chance of being spotted because it contained The Claw and Fang marketplace, a shipping area called Hoard Port, and another residential neighborhood called River Reeds.
Even more ominous, those places were bordered by a huge, lawless section nicknamed The Screaming Mountains because of all the people who got waylaid and murdered there.
To the west of that? Two Dragon Lair sections, where trespassers were frequently eaten.
Yeah, I didn’t want to visit any of those places.
Here in Chimney Spires, the neighborhood looked like a cross between modern suburbia and Middle Earth.
Condo-like structures dotted it, their styles strikingly contemporary.
The streets were inlaid flat stones, and they had a form of sidewalks, too.
We were on one now, keeping our heads down as we walked through the maze of condos.
There were no streetlights, but it wasn’t hard to see.
In addition to the lights coming from the condos, there were also pale blue orbs that emanated a soft glow, making me glad for our cloaks.
Without them, we’d stand out like a sore thumb, and considering we just passed a group of young men with antlers on their heads, that was saying something.
Those men weren’t the only unusual things here.
Everywhere I looked, there were large domes between the streets and the sidewalks.
They looked like giant conch shells with their swirling designs and pale colors.
Most were taller than me, with mini arched openings in the lower front of each of them.
If they were this land’s version of art deco, I wasn’t judging.
Chicago had a huge steel bean as one of the city’s main pieces of artwork. …
One of those huge shells suddenly zoomed by us, using the street the way a car would. I caught a glimpse of a beige, squishy face with two long antennae before I could only stare at the back of it due to its speed. Seats were positioned on its shelled exterior, with two people occupying them.
“Was that a giant speeding snail?” I whispered.
Remy’s hood was pulled low, covering most of his face, but I saw his lips curl. “That’s not how they’re referred to here, but yes.”
I gave a closer look at the stationary shells we passed. Each had markings in the back that could be “car doors” over the interior seats. I bent close to one of the front arches of a large dome near me, trying to see if I could spot something inside it.
“Raine,” Remy said, low.
I snapped back into step alongside him. Yes, we were on a timetable, so I couldn’t peek under that shell’s hood to see if it housed a huge snail. Plus, for all I knew, the snail might not like getting disturbed.
Remy took us to the back end of the condos.
There were no sidewalks here, and the ground was mossy.
It was also flatter. The city’s outermost river was only a hundred yards away.
The continuous sound of water should have been soothing since one of my favorite options on my phone was “waterfall,” but now all I could do was wonder what sort of creatures might be in the water.
We approached a condo set off by itself at the end of a cul-de-sac, if one could call this section that. The condo was two stories, and the door was made out of knives welded together—a not-so-subtle warning about the dangerousness of its occupant.
Remy drew me close, whispering, “I’ll knock, but when the door opens, you speak, and only say the words I tell you.”
Sounded weird, but whatever. “Okay.”
Remy whispered the words.
I almost slapped him. “You can’t be serious!”
“I’m deadly serious.” His hard expression matched his tone. “Say it exactly like I told you, Raine.”
If he hadn’t just given me unimaginable power and broken a truce to rescue me, I’d tell him right where to go. But …
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth.
Remy rapped on the door. The knives made a pleasant chiming sound. A tall, thickly muscled Black man opened it.
I had to tilt my head up to meet his dark silver eyes. He had a full beard, close-cut black hair, and his sleeveless tunic showed off skin the color of deep oak. The fabric might have been cotton, while his pants looked like soft brown leather.
Remy lowered his hood, revealing his face.
I was about to speak when the man shouted, “Hearth-mate! Break the seal on the aged cask. We’re drinking it.”
“Why?” a smooth, contralto voice called out from inside.
“Because this fool might get me killed, and I want to drink it before I die,” the man called back.
Remy nudged me.
I gritted my teeth again, but said, “Remington Byrne requests your presence in his lands. Please come at once. I, his servant, will accompany you and see to your needs.”
The big stranger finally looked at me. And laughed. “Get four glasses, Hearth-mate,” he called over his shoulder. “This bitty thing will need every drop for what’s in store for her.”
“Oh, hell no,” I muttered.
Remy’s hand landed on my shoulder.
I bit back what I’d been about to say. This had to be code for something. Remy wouldn’t have come to get me just to indenture me to some rando, no matter how this sounded.
“How do you respond?” I asked instead.
Another belly laugh boomed out from the man. Then he swept out his hand. “Come inside, servant of Remington, and bring your fellow servant with you.”
Remy swept past me. The stranger clapped Remy on the back as he passed him.
I forced a smile. “Thank you,” I said, going inside also. “And I probably will have that drink.”