Chapter 40 An Invitation to Dinner
Chapter forty
An Invitation to Dinner
"Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo." - H. G. Wells
“Just don’t drink the Kool-Aid,” was Giselle’s advice when Hailey told her about dinner with Cobon. That and wear sneakers—in case she needed to run.
Hailey folded that into her larger strategy, which was to push the whole affair out of her mind and focus on anything and everything else. The pettier the better.
Asher arrived right on time as usual, looking forty shades of hot as usual, but wearing a rather unusual, troubled, slightly guilty expression when Hailey invited him in.
He kissed her cheek and then took her hand in his, slowly bringing it to his mouth and gently grazing his lips across her knuckles.
Her breath hitched.
Such a small gesture, and yet it sent a buzzing, tickling comfort down her arm through her heart and all the way into her stomach.
She looked up at him. It felt good, safe in Asher’s presence—most of the time—and he wanted her to be with him. It was never a secret; and he’d never humiliated her for enjoying his attention. He always wanted her next to him.
Except when he wants you dead, her subconscious reminded. Fin never wanted you dead… Well, maybe he did now.
She dropped her gaze, pressing her lips together as she caged another wayward synapse.
When she lifted her eyes, she could see that Asher was itching to tell her something, and she hoped it was something about Uncle Dale’s bag.
“What is it, Asher?” she asked after he led her out.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said to me yesterday. About laughing.”
Hailey straightened up. Really? She was desperate to hear more, but Fin’s stupid voice rang inside her head. You can’t have love without laughter. She hit her mental mute button.
“In fact, it turns out, it’s one of the reasons I search for Kiya.
” He shook his head, looking baffled. “She embraced her…emotions.” He said the word carefully and without disgust, which made Hailey raise her eyebrows.
“You see, she wasn’t mad, yet she laughed and loved.
” He looked down at her with confusion and—what was that?
Pleading?—etched in his eyes. “I wish to be like that, and I regret destroying her.”
“Maybe she avoided insanity, because she embraced her emotions.”
“I arrived at the same conclusion.”
That explained the passionate kissing. Her heart fluttered, and she couldn’t stop her smile. When she looked up at Asher, he was smiling too.
It was sweet. For the first time, he actually seemed…young, almost carefree. Without the weight of the Aether on his shoulders, he looked like just another college student.
“So, where are we going?” she asked.
“Pittsburgh.”
Pittsburgh? And Uncle Pix was in Ireland, dammit.
“How are we getting there?” It was already after noon. No way they’d make dinner on the East Coast. “You’re not gonna throw me, are you?”
Asher flashed a fragile smile. “We’ll melt.”
Hailey nodded once then looked to Asher. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m taking a risk. The others might see us.” He tilted his head down at her, one eyebrow raised.
“…so, not via Luftzeug?”
“No, Hailey. Not via Luftzeug.” He was leading her into the White Forest, and she felt perfectly safe. Not even a carnivorous tree had the wood to challenge Asher.
Hailey tried and failed to stifle a giggle at her private joke. It was her nerves making her goofy, she knew it, but if she didn’t laugh, she’d have to cry. She was scared to death of Cobon.
Asher stopped walking and studied her closely. “Have I said something…funny?”
Oh, no. This was too stupid to share.
“No, Asher, I just had a fleeting thought…about the trees…” And wood—oh, God! Please don’t ask me to share. “So, is melting like being whipped?” Oh, no! This was worse! She could feel her whole head burning up.
Asher’s lip twitched.
Was he amused? Fine time to embrace humor. She shook a lock of hair loose and did her best to hide behind it as she stared at her boots.
“Actually, I don’t know what to call it. I’m going to pull you through the energies. I heard it in a song once, and it seemed appropriate. It will feel like the world has stopped, like time has stopped.”
Hailey’s eyes went wide.
“It doesn’t hurt, so don’t be afraid.”
Spinning her around so she faced him, Asher wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. “Ready?” he breathed into her ear, which sent a pleasant shiver down her arms.
“Let’s get this over with,” she whispered, resting her head against his warm chest.
“Melting” felt a lot like being suspended above a movie stuck on fast-forward. The world did stop and drop out from under them. Then it spun in a blur, halted and slammed into their feet.
Cobon’s residence sprawled before them, over twenty acres of snow-covered gardens and tailored-to-look-natural forest, with a modern barn situated next to a frozen lake in the distance. His house looked more like a palace and stood on a hill overlooking the Ohio River.
“I know this place,” she said, and Asher cocked his head.
“Uncle Pix used to take us driving at Christmas time to see the lights on all the big houses. This house… This was always our favorite. We’d save it for last, park on the street, and just sit in the car and gaze at it.
” She looked up at him. “This was Holly’s dream house,” she said sadly, and her heart panicked.
She stepped away. “I don’t think I can do this, Asher, I can’t breathe.
” She looked up at him, eyes wide as she stepped back again, her breath coming quicker. "I can't. I can't."
Sliding his arm around her waist, Asher pulled her close, pressing her into a tight hug, even as she panted her protest.
“Let’s just leave. Let’s just leave, Asher, right now; let’s just leave.”
“Cobon will find us tonight, Hailey,” he said gently, and he rocked her slowly in his embrace. “It’s better if we meet him here.” He pulled away, slightly, and looked her dead in the eyes. “He won’t hurt you—I promise,” he said, and she slowed her breathing.
"Okay," she resolved. "Okay, I can do this." Now, she just needed to believe it.
“Remain calm in here, Hailey,” he advised as they walked to the porch. “Do not feed into his madness. Do not enrage him.” He paused along the walk, taking her chin in his hand and planting a soft kiss on her lips.
“Ready?” he asked her, and she straightened up, nodding boldly.
“Yes, Asher. Let’s go meet the monster that killed my sister.”
Cobon opened the door ceremoniously wide as they approached.
“Ah, Asher.” Cobon bowed, looking his creepy, crusty, octogenarian self.
Asher nodded, but almost imperceptibly, and Cobon turned to Hailey.
“At last, Miss Hartley. So glad you accepted my invitation. Please, do come in.”
Dinner with two Envoys. This definitely topped the list of stupid-things-Hailey’s-done. She sighed and followed him inside.
Cobon had set only one place at his expansive stone table, and he pulled out the chair in front of that place as Asher led Hailey into the dining room.
There were four plates, each covered by a silver lid, three forks, three knives, two spoons, four glasses of different shapes and sizes, each filled with a different colored liquid and, finally, there was one napkin.
She focused on the napkin.
At least I know what that’s for, she muttered to herself.
In the presence of Cobon, the murderer, she had plenty fuel for anxiety, but in that moment, she fretted over which fork to use for which plate. She wondered if Cobon had set the table this way just to shame her.
“My dear,” he beckoned.
Hailey sat stiffly. When she did, Cobon rested his hand on her shoulder for such a quick instant, Hailey didn’t have time to shudder away before it quite suddenly disappeared.
She whipped her head around to find Asher, eyes blazing and teeth clenched, lifting Cobon in the air by his throat with one hand.
With his other hand, Asher clutched Cobon’s offending fingers in a tight fist.
“My apologies, brother,” Cobon said coolly, his voice unstrained, unworried, and his eyes reflecting genuine remorse. He actually looked and sounded repentant. Asher answered through a barely open mouth.
“I will kill any that endeavor to harm her, Cobon, and you will not touch her.”
“Agreed, dear Asher, now put me down, we’re being rude in front of Miss Hartley.”
Asher released Cobon, who straightened his shirt and smiled kindly at Hailey. “Forgive me, Miss Hartley, but I couldn’t resist touching the human that has beguiled and corrupted my oldest friend,” he said with an alarming dignity and a gentlemanly bow.
“Please, my dear. You must be famished after so long a journey,” he winked. “Eat.” He lifted a silver lid from the plate directly in front of her to reveal a small, crisp salad.
“Strangely, I seem to have lost my appetite,” she said quietly, curtly.
Eat? In the presence of this monster? Was he out of his mind?
Why, yes, Sherlock, he is, her subconscious piped in.
“Nonsense!” Cobon shouted, taking his seat at the head of the table. He sounded more wounded than angry.
Problem number one: Should she actually eat what he had prepared for her?
She looked at Asher, who stood behind the chair to her right.
He held her troubled gaze for several seconds before he pulled his chair out and sat next to her.
When he did, he placed his left hand on her thigh and squeezed it gently.
She supposed that meant she should take a polite bite.
Crap. Problem number two—which fork? She stared uncertainly at her silverware and bit her lip before picking one up, which didn’t escape Cobon’s attention.
“Dreadful etiquette, I see.”
Hailey froze with the fork lifted a few inches from her mouth. She tried her best to do what Asher had advised and remain calm, though she had an irresistible urge to stab Cobon in the eye with the wrong fork.