Chapter 2
Lyra did not have some fancy exotic car with thousands of horsepower, but she had something just as helpful: determination.
And a smidgeon of pissed-offedness at how he was trying to cut her out of this expedition.
Plus, every time Archer inadvertently forced her to run a red light just to keep up, she risked being pulled over and completely losing him.
Not to mention the ticket she’d get. Three red lights later, with a big helping of luck, she followed him into an apartment complex.
He parked and launched out of the car. She did the same, catching sight of him as he lunged up the stairs to the second floor.
He knocked on a dark blue door and, when no one answered, inserted a key and went inside.
She ran up the remaining steps and to the door.
The doorknob turned, and she carefully pushed it open a few inches.
Drawn blinds cast the small living area into shadow with bars of dim light across the brown carpet.
No sign of Archer. She stepped inside and carefully closed the door.
The sound of footsteps sent her ducking into the bathroom.
She contorted herself to go around the shower curtain so as not to move it, settling against the cool tile wall.
This was perfect. After Archer left, she would take a good look around.
He walked past, and she held her breath.
His footsteps paused, and in an annoyed voice, he said, “Come out, Dragon Girl.”
With a chagrined smile, she stepped out of the bathroom to find that Archer’s expression matched his voice. “My name is Lyra.”
He filled the hallway, his features cast into shadow. “Right now you’re a trespasser. I told you I would contact you.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t listen very well.”
“Clearly. You have to leave now.”
“Still not listening.”
Lyra back-stepped toward the bedroom and reached the doorway when his hand clamped on her shoulder. But the sight in front of her snared all of her attention. Glittering dust covered the dark wood in the shape of wings, as though someone incinerated the Caido but left his tattoo behind.
“That can’t be good.” She turned to Archer. “Does this mean he’s…dead?”
He pulled his hand away from her. “You’re smart to be fearful.”
“How can you tell I’m afraid?”
“I feel it.” He stepped away from her, as though fear had a pungent smell. “This is not something you should be involved in.”
“Jeremy did something to my father. I’m going to find out what.”
Archer rubbed his hand over his mouth, shaking his head. “Jeremy wouldn’t hurt your father without provocation.”
“My father wouldn’t have provoked him.” Lyra pointed at the feather outline. “Who can do this? Another Caido, I imagine.”
“A powerful and dark one. Which makes this a bad situation for a Dragon in particular.”
“Why?”
“You’re a yellow Dragon, yes?”
“Citrine, technically. Dragon deities love gemstones.”
“Emotional. Impulsive. Two good reasons right there for you to stay away from this situation.”
“But those are good traits.” Well, mostly.
He was shaking his head, though not one hair moved. “Those are bad traits when dealing with Caidos because we are neither emotional nor impulsive.”
“See what a great team we’d make, balancing each other? We have a common goal—finding someone we care about. Their disappearances are connected. It makes sense to work together.”
He gestured to the wings. “Whoever did that would not hesitate to incinerate you.”
“Watch it, or I’ll think you care about my safety.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “You will complicate my investigation, and if you’re killed, I will have to deal with your remains.”
Ooh, he was a tough one. “Okay, then, here’s the deal.
I’m not your responsibility, so my remains will not be your concern.
Nor can you stop me.” She fisted her hand at her chest. “Maybe Caidos can’t love or care, but I do.
I love my pop, and I can’t sit by and wait for the generosity of your updates. ”
He took subtle steps backward as she spoke. “Unwise. But as you say, you are not my responsibility.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me look around for clues?” Which she did as she slowly headed toward the door.
“No.”
Her gaze strayed to two coffee mugs at the table, and her nose picked up the scent of cinnamon.
She sidestepped Archer and lifted the mug to her nose.
“This is what my pop drinks, coffee with a dash of cinnamon and cayenne. How did they get here when their cars are at my pop’s place?
Wait, you guys can teleport from one place to another, can’t you? ”
“It’s called ‘Leaping.’ Jeremy probably brought him here when things got ugly at your father’s.”
Fear rippled through her as she imagined those wings on the floor. “Then they disappeared from here.”
Lyra noticed that whenever she felt strong emotion, Archer backed away.
Wonder what that was about? Well, no matter; she had more important things to do, like investigating several pictures taped to the fridge’s stainless-steel doors.
They were taken at a nightclub, three pictures of two men posing together and one with them flanking a woman with long blond hair and striking features, each man kissing one of her cheeks.
She pointed to the man with a muscular-but-wiry build. “This is Jeremy?”
“Yes.”
He was muscular, with dark blond hair. And laughing. She glanced at Archer, whom she couldn’t imagine in full-out laughter.
She turned back to study the other man. Crescent magick features, like the flames in a Dragon’s eyes or the mist in a Deuce’s eyes, were indistinguishable in pictures. “Who’s the redhead?”
Archer paused, as though he were considering answering. Finally he said, “That’s his boyfriend, Marik.”
“Boyfriend? That’s not very common among Caidos, is it? I mean, having a lover.”
“No.”
Whenever Lyra did see a Caido, they were often alone. “Do you have his number?”
“No.”
She studied Marik’s fuller face, searching for clues as to his personality. “Could he be a psycho who would cause two men to disappear?”
“I only met him once. He seemed nice enough, not that outward appearances matter much. But more importantly, he loves Jeremy.”
What would it be like to love a Caido? The idea was oddly intriguing. Fire and ice. She thought of a clip she’d seen on television where lava flowed onto the snowy ground in Russia, sending steam gushing up. “Who’s the woman?”
“I only know her first name, Kye. She’s apparently some kind of sexual Deuce.”
“What’s that, a hooker? Were they into something weird?”
“According to Jeremy, she’s a sex therapist, somebody Marik knows.”
“So is Marik a Deuce, too?” Whoa. She’d never heard of a Caido hooking up with a Deuce or a Dragon.
Disapproval reflected on Archer’s face. “Jeremy foolishly put himself in a situation where he consorts with Crescents. And he fell in love with one.”
“Oh, so he doesn’t disdain us like the rest of you do?”
“Curiously, no.”
Well, that was enlightening. “I know it’s frowned upon when the different classes of Crescents hook up, but…
wait, it’s more of a ‘gods forbid a Caido would fall for a lower class of Crescent’ thing, isn’t it?
Oh, and you don’t consider yourselves Crescents—at least that’s what I’ve heard.
But guess what? We lump you right in with all of us bastard offspring of gods.
” Neither Deuces nor Dragons liked each other much, but they weren’t quite as elitist as Caidos.
Archer’s jaw ticked. She was annoying him. Good. Mr. Stoneface could use some annoyance in his life.
And more…
She squelched the desire to make him smile instead, or even get him so pissed off that he’d grab her by the shoulders and—
He said, “Don’t judge what you don’t understand.”
She gazed up at him, tilting her head. “You could help me understand.”
Uh, where were these breathy words coming from? Oh, the Thrall. She had to stop looking into those eyes, at that chiseled face at odds with his lush mouth. She turned back to the pictures, trying to figure out if this scenario played into her father’s disappearance.
“Marik’s wearing a different outfit in each picture, which means these were taken on separate nights. Which means they hang out there a lot. Where are they?”
“Witch’s Brew.”
She tapped her mouth as that sank in. “A Caido who hangs out at a Deuce nightclub. Interesting.”
“It’s too bad you can’t get into that club. It’s Deuce only.”
“But you’re going, aren’t you?”
He shook his head. “I’d no sooner go to a place like that than visit the Everglades.”
But he would go there, she was sure, and question Kye. Look for Marik.
She started to turn away. “Okay, I’m leaving.”
He gave her a skeptical look. “Just like that?”
“Yep. You don’t want to figure this out together, which is what intelligent people with a common and urgent goal would do. Fine. You’re obviously repulsed by me, so I will investigate on my own.”
“Repulsed?” He looked genuinely puzzled, even though he clearly wanted nothing to do with her. Which hurt a tiny little bit. “I’m not repulsed by you.”
She waited for him to elaborate just a bit, then put her hand over her heart. “Wow, that just warms my heart.” Despite her sarcasm, it did soften the tight knot in her chest. Not repulsed. It was something anyway. “Well…good luck then, finding your brother.”
He nodded. “Good luck finding your father.”
She held his gaze for a moment, not enough for the Thrall to set in, then headed out the door.
What in the heck was she going to wear to a Deuce nightclub?