Chapter 5
Cyntag opened his office door, leaned out, and yelled, “Allander!”
He held it open for several seconds, watching her for some reason—probably to make sure she didn’t dash out—and then closed it.
“What does that mean?” Probably some Spanish word meaning Bring the knives; we have dinner.
“This would be much easier if you trusted me,” he said, moving up beside her.
She leaned away, narrowing her eyes. “What would be easier?”
He released a resigned breath. “Exactly.” Then he pulled her against his body, one arm across her chest, the other on her forehead.
She jerked, but his hold was as tight as a locked seat belt.
A seat belt with muscles. “Let me go! You want me to trust you, then you grab…” The rest of her words disintegrated as she stared at…
she had no idea what it was, only that it hadn’t been there a moment before: a creature only two and a half feet tall, skin burnished red with a pointy face and black hair as wild as a flame.
It perched on the corner of the desk looking at her.
Cyntag continued to grip her, though it wasn’t necessary. She’d stopped struggling.
“What… is it?”
“That’s Allander. He’s a salamander.”
“Doesn’t look like any newt I’ve ever seen.”
“Not an amphibian-type salamander. He’s a fire spirit. An Elemental. Didn’t Moncrief include them in his stories?”
“He had fire, water, earth, and spirit faeries and elves.” Anything else she remembered fled her mind as she stared at Allander, a creature nothing like any in the book.
The creature lifted his lip in a snarl, revealing cat-like teeth.
“They don’t like being stared at,” Cyntag murmured, guiding her to the mirror. Her gaze zeroed in on him first, his sharp features and then his dark eyes… except they weren’t dark. An ember like the flame atop a candle flickered in their depths, exactly what she thought she’d glimpsed.
“Your eyes…” Hypnotizing, tugging at some deep part of herself…
“Look at yourself, Ruby.”
The sound of her name, blanketed in the richness of his voice, shuddered through her. She pulled her gaze to her reflection and gasped. “My…” A flame dancing in an unseen breeze, in her eyes.
Movement at Cyntag’s shoulder caught her attention. The dragon—the friggin’ dragon tattoo—ran its tongue across its upper lip.
Overwhelmed, she pushed away and turned to face him.
No embers in his eyes, no moving tattoo, and no whatever-the-hell that thing was sitting on his desk.
She searched her reflection. Just her hazel eyes, wide and unsettled.
She didn’t even think about it, just reached out and ran her fingers over his tattoo.
His skin was warm but otherwise felt normal.
You’re touching him.
Yes. Soft, smooth skin. Hard muscles.
She blinked and jerked her hand back. “What did you do to me?” She ran to the desk and patted the place where the creature sat. Nothing.
“I lifted the Veil so that, through me, you could see the Hidden. It’s all here; you just can’t see, as I explained.
” He ran his hand down her arm, twining his fingers with hers, and stretched her hand toward the empty space.
Except it wasn’t empty, because she felt the skinny arm of the creature.
Parchment skin, short, coarse hairs. “Now you can feel it.”
He released her, and she pulled her hand back. She stared at her tingling fingers as she rubbed them together, then at the desk. “It’s still there, right this second?”
“Allander, light the candle… please. They don’t speak, but they insist on respect. It’s not always reciprocated, but Allander has been with me for many years. We have an understanding.” He nodded for her to look at the candle, because her attention was riveted on him.
When she turned, the flame came to life.
He leaned back against the edge of the desk. “Have you ever seen something in the corner of your eye, only to look and find nothing there? Or heard a sound somewhere in your home but couldn’t find the source? How about the ubiquitous missing sock or keys that aren’t where you left them?”
He tilted his head toward the invisible being.
“Elementals, usually. They’re in the non-physical plane all over the world, but we can see and touch them because of our own otherworldly essence.
Some are mischievous, others a nuisance, and a few dangerous.
A lot of what’s considered poltergeist activity is either their doing, demons, or Deuces. ”
She reached back to the beginning of what he’d just said.
Something in the corner of her eye? “Sometimes I see shadows move among the parts in my resto yard, but I can never find what causes them.” No, no, no, this couldn’t be real.
“I figured they were feral cats. I sort of attract them.” She focused on his last word, remembering it from Mon’s stories. “Deuces who make orbs?”
“Most can make orbs of some kind, some more deadly than others. I need to find out if there’s a select group of Deuces who can make the kind of orb you saw. That will help us narrow down who could have sent it.”
“Us?”
“You and I have a lot of work to do before someone comes after you again.”
“Like hell I’m working, or doing anything else, with you. I need fresh air.” She grabbed at the candle, snuffing out the flame and sniffing the black wax. “You’ve got some kind of hallucinogenic substance in here. Or somewhere.”
“Those weren’t hallucinations, Ruby.”
“Stop saying my name like… that.” She reached for the door, amazed when she turned the knob and stepped into the hallway without his hand clamping onto her. She didn’t dare look back. Everything he’d told her, everything she’d seen, bounced around in her head like a hundred rubber balls.
Glesenda watched her stalk past with a puzzled expression. Outside, sunlight beckoned, and people walked past the studio, nice, normal people.
Don’t turn around. Just keep going.
* * *
Cyn watched the girl walk so fast down the sidewalk that her ass swished provocatively back and forth.
He had sensed Ruby, or at least sensed the presence of an unknown Crescent, in his studio.
That she’d ducked out of sight when he looked at the window fired his instincts.
He’d followed her scent to his office. Her accusation about Moncrief’s murder shocked the hell out of him.
He pulled on the shirt he’d grabbed in his office and slid into his shoes.
Glesenda followed his gaze. “Who is she? There was something odd about her. I thought I saw a flicker in her eyes, and then it wasn’t there. I was about to mention the Dragon training room but stopped myself.” The flame in her eyes danced. “If she’s a troublemaker, I can take care of her.”
He shot her a derisive look. “Pull back your fangs, woman.”
She hmphed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fuddy-duddy. Don’t worry, I won’t eat your little friend.
Wouldn’t want to risk your wrath.” She studied him for a moment.
“Your eyes are flickering something fierce. Been a long time since I’ve seen them do that.
And over a girl who dresses like… I’m not even sure how to categorize her style. Thrift store?”
“More like restoration yard.” He watched Ruby cross the street, or try to, between cars.
“I’m not attracted to her.” Though she had an intriguing mouth, with her upper lip a bit wider than her lower lip, wide jaw line, and strong chin.
The sass that came out of her mouth was more interesting than annoying, for the most part.
She would learn to respect him. “You’re going to see a lot of her. She’s a new Crescent.”
“New, at her age?”
“Long story. I expect you to help her however you can. She’s got a hell of an adjustment period coming.”
Glesenda’s eyes widened. “You mean she doesn’t know—”
“She has no idea.”
Ruby glanced back, blinking when she saw him at the door watching her. She gave him a look that probably equaled the finger and got into her dark blue truck. He pushed the door open before Glesenda could grill him further.
The flow of traffic forced Ruby to wait before pulling out of her spot.
She also had no idea that a demon sat in the passenger seat of her truck. Whoever had sent the orb was wasting no time trying to take her out. His Dragon clawed at him, its protective instinct pushing to Catalyze.
You know better. Not in public.
He ran to his ‘57 T-bird as Ruby peeled away from the curb. The demon turned to him, its red eyes flaring, its lip curling with victory. A humanoid demon, it took the shape of a person, but with brown skin and ears that pointed up like horns.
Hell. The damned thing was gloating. Cyn despised the humanoids only second to harbingers. He pulled into traffic as the truck moved out of sight. He tried to pull around the cars between him and Ruby, but traffic gave him no break.
He took the chance on a small gap, passing one car at the cost of a blaring horn.
The demon watched him, its hand on the back of the bench seat like it was Ruby’s date.
It couldn’t materialize, bound by the same rule as Crescents: never reveal your presence to Mundanes.
It could, however, kill her right there, depending on how much evidence and chaos it was willing to create.
Demons weren’t known to be subtle. Those rare cases of spontaneous combustion and one-car accidents? Usually demons.
“Damn it.” His Dragon strained now. Cyn thought about pounding his horn to get her attention, but she’d likely just drive away faster. He passed another car, narrowly missing a collision with an oncoming garbage truck. Now he was one car behind hers.
The demon leaned close to Ruby’s neck, flicking its long, pointed tongue toward her skin. She brushed at her neck, glancing over but obviously seeing nothing of the menace sitting right next to her. All the while it looked at him, eagerly taunting.
He thought she might go to her restoration yard. Despite reluctantly agreeing to Moncrief’s plan, he checked on the girl from time to time to see if the spell had broken yet.
The demon waved its long fingers as Ruby cleared a traffic light.
The light skipped from green to red, making the driver in front of him slam on his brakes.
Cyn’s bumper tapped the rear of the car, but he was already looking for a way around.
Ruby’s truck turned right one block ahead.
Short of running down people on the sidewalk, Cyn could do nothing but wait.
He gripped the steering wheel so hard it began to crack.
He had to get to Ruby. The moment the demon had her alone, it would all be over.