Chapter 6 All That Glitters
ALL THAT GLITTERS
Kat
What in the hells am I thinking?
Well, gold.
And a lot of it, if Azrion Zizreni could be trusted, which was still dubious, but Kat had trusted far worse for far less.
I’m doing this for Kaly, she reminded herself as she looked both ways at the crossroad.
A left would take her to Brew’d Awakening, and a right would…
shit, she had no idea. If only she’d swiped Brioni’s map instead of just giving it a covert glance and trusting her memory, though bringing along the delivery woman herself might have been better.
Sure, they would have stopped to greet every passing demon, but having a guide who also did all the talking was probably better than pretending she knew where she was going with her hood hanging in her eyes.
Even if Kat had the nerve, though, it wasn’t possible.
The qapian and the delivery cart were where they belonged that evening, but Bri wasn’t.
She was probably out having fun with someone who had a matching vigor for life and desire to actually live it—areas Kat was severely lacking in, so she always declined Brioni’s invitations.
On Brioni’s concurrent situation, Kat was wrong—very wrong, in fact, because coming face-to-pincers with a six-legged Dreadmoor beast was no fun at all, a thing on which Kat and Bri would certainly agree.
But all Kat did know in that moment was where a right turn would take her, so she could only continue on. Rather unfair of her memory really, to not offer a proverbial seam ripper, but alternative routes stuck in her mind as well as dull pins in silk.
Heck was always busy at moonset, but it was much nicer to observe from Kat’s hiding spot in the willow-like tree that hung over the post’s side entry with only her needle and thread for company.
She’d never planned to be out in those crowds, but of course Azrion had chosen Heck’s most hectic time for their first “date.”
Kat’s stomach flipped over, and she shrank into an alley to catch her breath ahead of time—she wasn’t out of it yet, but she would be if she kept thinking about that word: date.
She’d never been on one of those before.
Life hadn’t exactly lent itself to romantic outings let alone meeting anyone nice enough to risk going somewhere alone with.
Azrion might have actually been the nicest person who had ever given her a second look, and he wasn’t even a person, strictly speaking, not to mention the nice part was still up for debate.
But this wasn’t a date. This was a clandestine meeting. A scheming session. A means to a coin-filled end. She took a deep breath of that familiarity and stepped back into the road. Do what it takes, and take what’s due—that was what she and Kalypso always did, and this would be no different.
Heck also wasn’t so different from Ankerick if Kat squinted.
She was rarely awake during the day, so sunlessness was the standard, and her sister never let them stay in one place too long, so strangeness wasn’t really all that strange either.
Kat wanted to believe the constant moving had been out of necessity rather than Kaly’s aversion to stability.
Her sister was actually working through that aversion with a spiky purple demon of her own, but Kat hadn’t spoken to her since their fight.
Instead, she imagined showing Kaly how nice planting a garden could be when one was still around for its harvest. Sure, the leaves would be funny colors here and the fruits even funnier shapes, but Alamar’s mash recipe with those vegetables that looked like a trout’s mouth but tasted better than potatoes wouldn’t hurt when convincing Kaly that Heck was the right place for them both.
And the coin she was going to get from this Azrion demon would ensure she could do exactly that.
Brew’d Awakening’s street wasn’t much like Ankerick though, not the parts Kat was used to anyway.
It was brightly lit with colored lanterns, magic swirling within the glass globes.
Kat wasn’t sure if she was supposed to feel it, but there was a sizzle in the air, a spark of life she’d never experienced before waking up in the demon city.
She kept expecting it to go away, but it hadn’t yet, and she was beginning to think she might not want it to.
She walked along the residential side of the road, glancing between groups of passing demons and the occasional cart to read the shop signs across the way.
Her anxiety should have spiked when she found Brew’d Awakening, but when faced with a giant wooden teapot teetering over the cafe’s entry and a swirl of presumably magical steam wafting from its spout, Kat’s face cracked into an impulsive smile. It was actually cute.
Her hood slipped off as she raised her chin.
The symmetrical building was nestled between two others, large windows on either side of the door and flower boxes overflowing with white blooms. Yellow light spilled through the panes of glass, the glow remarkably human against the green and blue lanterns illuminating the other shops.
Only a few demons milled about inside, most sitting at the round tables dotting a cozy front courtyard in pairs.
There was a single lone patron, though, a lavender-colored demon who had somehow spotted Kat despite that she was across the road, half hidden in the shadows, and wrapped in a cloak.
Azrion flashed her a grin so mirthful, she wanted to slap it off.
Well, he’d seen her, and it didn’t matter if she knew the way back because there was no turning around now.
You don’t have to scrounge anymore, she imagined being able to finally say to Kaly. And you don’t have to worry about me either.
Another deep breath, and with it came the confidence to bolt across the road. Azrion was quicker, meeting her at the opening in the low shrubbery that lined the outdoor dining area, and then the fucker bowed.
She scowled at his curling horns as heat pooled in her cheeks. “Yeah, hi. Get up.”
He straightened slowly, but of course he did, and the other patrons craned their necks to watch.
Kat kept her head bent, but she knew she wasn’t hiding her humanness without her own horns.
When Azrion offered her the crook of his arm, she skillfully evaded it, slipping between the maze of seats to the table beneath the cafe’s window he’d been sitting at alone.
A lavender hand caught the back of the chair before she could, and a body crowded in just behind her, warm and way too close. She stiffened as Azrion pulled out the seat, arms tight to her sides and shoulders pinched.
“Sit,” he said just in her ear, voice rolling down the back of her neck, and like it had some magical muscle-loosening ability, it took all of her with it.
The seat caught her as she landed, and Azrion swiftly pushed it in, launching her innards up into her throat.
When he swept around the table and slid in across from her, he was grinning from ear to ear like an absolute idiot. “I’m so glad you came, darling.”
And that squashed the weird, fluttery feeling right back to the pit of her stomach. “Why do you keep calling me—”
“Here we are!” A plump elder demon bustled over to the table, a tray balanced on one hand and the other waving excitably.
“The durock root and sytron balm blend is especially sweet this season, but I brought the spring honey anyway, and fresh cream too.” She placed a cup before each of them, a teapot in the table’s middle, and a two-tiered tray filled with breads and pastries just beside it.
“Anything else, and you just let me know, Azrion.”
He gave the demon a wink and a thank you, and she swept away as quickly as she came.
Alone again—or rather, surrounded by other couples despite being tucked away—Kat took a steadying breath.
She’d made it, but her vision was blurring and her brain was buzzing and a familiar ache was creeping in at the base of her skull, so she surveyed the spread for something other than her building panic to focus on.
The teapot had an elegant spout and intricate handle—oh, I’m not touching that or it’ll break.
It matched the tray, black clay with a scalloped edge and fine metalwork holding up the second tier—gods, is that gold?
The pastries were more art than food, iced with sugary patterns she would need fresh needles and two weeks to recreate, cut with precision into fanciful shapes—and they’re all too fucking pretty to eat.
But then she eyed the teacup. Beautiful.
It was crafted out of more of that black clay, the finish not quite glossy and painted to look like a moth had landed on its side.
She lifted the cup and examined the wings, dark and light browns with hints of reds and yellows in swirling patterns, and each individual hair depicted with such delicacy that it was either done with magic or by the dedicated hand of someone who was wholly devoted to their craft.
She ran a finger over the image, briefly hoping it would feel as soft and fuzzy as it looked, but rather than disappointment by the smoothness, Kat was delighted.
She didn’t feel a hint of magic in the cup, so that meant some demon had chosen to capture this seemingly dull creature, so unlike every colorful thing in Heck, with nothing but the love of art.
“May I?” Azrion was holding out the pot of tea, silvery brows raised and a rogue wave of that same brilliantly white hair falling between them. She stuck her arm out straight, gripping the cup’s handle so tightly she might have broken it right off.
Azrion tipped his head, eyeing her, then poured. With a wobble, Kat set the cup back on its saucer, but he’d left enough room so that the amber liquid didn’t spill. Heat radiated out of the clay into her hands, and the dull ache in her head receded.
“Honey?”