Chapter 9 #2
With a long sigh, Clint relaxed his shoulders and turned toward Luke.
His brown eyes had the lightest worry-line creases.
“You aren’t like other vampires I’ve met.
There’s something different about your very nature.
You shouldn’t have been able to cross my threshold.
You shouldn’t have such a keen sense of smell about magic.
And before, when you were in the kitchen with the journal, I swear you were beginning to glow, just the slightest bit.
You’re special, Luke. That means my spell might not even work, or it might work extremely well. ”
“The fact that you don’t even know how weird you are is part of your charm,” Price had said.
That Price had noticed something different about Luke and said nothing over the course of their working and romantic relationships bothered him.
He wasn’t that different from other vampires, was he?
He’d been among his own kind enough to know they had the same impulses and powers that he had.
I’ve seen at least one of them cross a threshold they hadn’t been invited through before. Haven’t I? He couldn’t think of when.
As much as he wanted to insist that he was normal for an undead bloodsucking creature of the night, he was having trouble focusing with the bizarre crawling sensation that continued to creep outward from the kitchen.
It came in a gentle push, like a hundred hairs dancing across his skin.
That was what had felt so wrong when he’d walked into the apartment.
But Clint was acting as if his only concern was talking Luke into his dangerous spell.
“You don’t feel it, do you?” Luke whispered.
“Feel what?”
“Something doesn’t belong. It’s … unnatural. Hold on.” Luke went into the kitchen. He moved his hand through the air, seeking the direction the hairlike creeps were strongest. One of the cabinets was the source, and he opened it.
Four containers of herbs and mushrooms sat on the bottom shelf. Each thing was delicate, twisted, and ash gray, as if touching it would cause it to collapse.
A numbness dropped over Luke like a curtain covering a stage. Thinking, emotions—all of it was beyond the heavy fabric. He reached toward one jar.
The roots of the mushrooms reached back toward him.
Suddenly, a bloom of fire burst over the cabinet. The brightness of the light and the intensity of the heat drove Luke back against the far wall. He brought his hands up to defend his face, but the flames remained on the cabinet.
Clint put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. He had the tip of his staff pointed at the cabinet and one of the runes glowed with the same bright orange light that the flames had. “Are you all right?”
“What the hell was that?” Luke put his hand over his nose. The smell of melting plastic was overpowering, and he gagged. “Fucking hell. Warn a guy before blowing up something a few inches from his face!”
“I tried,” Clint replied. “You were in a trance.”
“I thought you had to eat mushrooms to start tripping on them,” Luke said.
“Magic has its own rules.” Gently, Clint turned Luke to look at him. “How do you feel?”
“Clearheaded. Roasting them destroyed their effect.” Luke put his hand on top of Clint’s.
He wished he could let Clint keep his hand there, but he couldn’t allow himself to rely on him.
No one ever stuck around if he was needy, and he wanted to pretend he had a chance at seeing Clint after their deal was over.
Slowly, he pulled Clint’s hand from his shoulder.
He squeezed his hand once before releasing him. “Why weren’t you swept under by them?”
“For the same reason you have a hard time reading my emotions. I have the equivalent of four-inch-thick steel mental walls,” Clint replied.
“Ah. Well, they were the source of the extremely creepy vibe I couldn’t shake,” Luke said.
Clint frowned at the cabinet. He gestured with his staff, and the flames immediately went out.
The plastic containers were lumps on the scorched remains of the cabinet shelves.
“I don’t see any remnants of them. Damn.
I wish I’d known what they were. Oz has been trifling with magic beyond his abilities.
But we don’t have the time to go through all of his research. ”
“Kind of obvious it’s all about trying to get into your tower, right?” Luke asked.
“Perhaps.” Clint set the end of his staff on the floor and swept his gaze back to Luke. “Are you willing to do the spell?”
“The connect-to-the-person-you-drank-from spell?”
“That would be the one.”
With the mushrooms gone, Luke no longer felt the numbness that had been inching its way through him since he’d walked through the apartment door.
Maybe before. Maybe that was why I couldn’t pick the lock.
He kept his gaze focused on Clint’s. His thirst was picking up again.
The telltale signs of his throat drying out while the sound of Clint’s heartbeat grew more noticeable meant he was nearing the edge of his control.
What Clint proposed was a trick Luke had never been a part of. Clint had even said he wasn’t sure what the spell might do, considering Luke’s “weird” nature.
But if he said no, then they were stuck without a clue. If they didn’t get the box back, Clint wouldn’t have to uphold his end of the deal and get Luke out of trouble with Dawnshadow. But giving and giving and giving wasn’t fair.
“What do I get?” Luke asked.
“Excuse me?” Clint blinked.
“You want to potentially screw with my head and use my body and spirit to get a bead on this thief. And you want me to trust that’s the sort of spell you’re doing on me,” Luke replied.
Clint straightened his shoulders. “I’m not the one who—”
“Broke in, blah blah.” Luke squared up to him, not caring that Clint had several inches on him and at least a hundred pounds. “But you are a guardian of light and protector of life, and I’m a vampire. Pretty much the antithesis of your little titles there.”
For a moment, Clint closed his lips so tightly they disappeared in his short beard.
Luke was certain he’d pressed the wrong button.
Any other time, he would have caved and said whatever he thought Clint wanted to hear.
But Clint kept shoving Luke off-balance and demanding more trust of him.
Meanwhile, he did so little to deserve Luke’s.
So Luke chose not to play nice. Not to coddle or cajole or flirt. He let the unease and exhaustion building in his heart out in a cold, flat expression.
“I consider vampires a form of life,” Clint said quietly.
He had a comforting tone, one that almost caused Luke to relax.
He was as firm as ever, but the fairness in his voice spoke to a deeper set of morals that resonated throughout him.
“Different from humans and most mortal creatures, but you are living. And starlight and moonlight are types of light as well.”
Luke remained still as a gravestone. He didn’t know what to say. As much as he wanted to believe Clint, he had to stand up for himself. If I cave, I’ll always cave to him. He has to meet me.
“I don’t blame you for hesitating,” Clint continued. “You’re right. I am asking you to risk your well-being. What would you want in exchange?”
“Your blood,” Luke replied. “I’ve been testing my endurance and need a few sips, especially if you want me to be of any use in reclaiming the box.”
Clint blanched and took a step backward.
Of course the mage would balk. Luke hadn’t expected him to eagerly accept the deal, but Clint’s reaction hardened a piece of Luke’s heart.
In the course of his long life, Luke had taken far more from others than he’d given, but he’d had the decency to feel guilty about it.
Either Clint believed what he was asking for was part of a hero’s quest and undeserving of sacrifice on his part, or he didn’t hold Luke in any esteem despite his efforts to be a good ally.
Luke narrowed his eyes. “I am trusting you with my life. I deserve the same from you in return. At least for this night.” He closed the distance to peer up into Clint’s eyes. “So are you going to agree, or are we going to blunder around this city and hope we run into the cult?”