Chapter 25
They had arrived in the early afternoon, so Salem and Krys took a nap in their rooms and rested while waiting for nightfall.
The Bricks was a well-known area of Cognito that the higher authority had carved aside for the criminal element.
Other people also dwelled in that area, often ancients who wanted to separate themselves from society.
One would think visiting there in the light of day would be safer, but it was dangerous for any outsider, day or night.
Going at night so no one would see their faces seemed like the wiser option.
Salem enjoyed the sound of walking in snow.
It was one of the simple pleasures in life he never shared with anyone.
Most people liked the sound or smell of rain, others the feel of sunshine on their skin.
But Salem relished the silence of snow and the satisfying sound it made when compacted beneath a boot or between two gloves.
The streetlights cast a wide net of orange light that reflected off the snow, illuminating what must have otherwise been a dark area of town.
There were no bright shop lights, no neon signs, and no functional intersection lights.
Even most of the windows in the buildings were black.
Some were crumbled like something you would see in a war zone.
Krys stuffed his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. “I heard they have a subterranean world beneath the streets. Tunnels, dwellings, bridges, rivers, and a whole fuckload of Vampires. Tell me we’re not going down there.”
Salem avoided eye contact with a person walking past them. Once clear, he scanned the old buildings and dark alleyways. “No. It’s an apartment. It might be better if we stay quiet, don’t you think?”
Krys wiped away the snowflakes from his goatee, his black knit hat protecting his head. “I hear your honeymoon’s going well.” He gave a throaty chuckle. “Hear it every night.”
Salem chewed on that for a bit. Cleo was just down the hall, but in a pack, there was no way to shield kids from adult activities. The walls were adequately soundproofed, but noises still leaked through the doors. If Krys could hear it all the way down the hall, could she?
Krys jogged ahead of him and then turned around. “Chill out. You’re not as loud as you think. I only hear it when I use your bathroom to take a piss. Oh, Salem,” he began, speaking in the dulcet tones of a woman, “you’re my knight in shining armor. Oh, Salem, ride me like a cowboy.”
Salem pitched a snowball at him. “Consider earplugs.”
A man with a scruffy beard emerged from the alleyway and smacked into Krys.
The Vampire narrowed his black eyes and glowered at Krys. “Watch where you’re going, you eejit. Jaysus wept.”
His black trench coat flapped in the wind as he marched across the empty street. Not a second later, a black-haired woman in a leather coat put her arm around him before they disappeared into a dark alley.
Krys rubbed his shoulder and turned his gaze up to the buildings. “I don’t like the looks of this.”
A few curious residents peered at them from dark windows.
There was no hustle and bustle on these streets.
The only traces of life were the various footprints on the snow.
Salem got a knot in his stomach when he spotted a man up ahead looking in their direction as if waiting to confront them.
He pinched Krys’s coat sleeve, and they crossed the street to avoid him.
Some windows were boarded up, but light flickered from between the cracks.
Although this area of town appeared abandoned, it was teeming with life inside.
A Mage flashed by before stumbling on a hidden curb, and he face-planted in the snow.
Some distance behind them, two wolves snarled and snapped at each other.
The dregs of society lived in the Bricks.
Humans were kept out entirely, so laws didn’t exist here.
The higher authority couldn’t lock up all the criminals, but they also didn’t want them creating problems in their own districts.
This was their compromise, and from what Lucian had said, the concept was gaining popularity in other large cities.
Salem was relieved they didn’t have to deal with this in Storybook.
A body slammed onto the sidewalk in front of them. Instead of turning their gaze up to the building where the person who pushed the guy was probably watching, they stepped over him and kept moving.
Salem halted at a corner and searched the area.
“What’s the address?” Krys asked. “I can look it up on my phone.”
“Think again. This part of town isn’t on the map. Isn’t Virgil from here? Maybe he should’ve come.”
“Virgil can’t protect your ass like I can.”
Salem approached an apartment building. “You’ve met my wolf.”
“Sure. Your wolf’s pretty badass, but if you got seriously hurt because Virgil couldn’t protect you, then what?”
“This is it.”
“How do you know?”
He pointed at the skull by the door.
Krys marched up the steps. “Reminds me of our hotel.”
The apartment building didn’t have locked doors. It didn’t need them. You entered at your own risk. The dark interior was lit up by the hallway in the back where the elevators were located.
Krys stared inside the open elevator, the flickering lights revealing a ton of graffiti and what looked like bloodstains. “Oh, fuck that. We’re taking the stairs.”
“It’s on the first floor.” Salem moved silently to the end of the hall and turned right. Once he located the apartment, he gently knocked.
“Come in!” a young woman called out.
When he wrapped his hand around the doorknob, an excruciating electrical charge made him snap his hand back. He hissed and clutched his arm.
Laughter peeled out before the door swung open.
An Asian teenager with cobalt-blue hair smiled at them.
Salem flicked his gaze down to the cartoonish pink skull on her tank top while he assessed who she might be.
A Mage couldn’t have children, so she must’ve been his apprentice who hoped to be turned one day.
It wasn’t unheard of, but that didn’t explain the electrical charge.
Salem bowed. “I’m here to see Pyro. He’s expecting me.”
Her eyebrows arched while she looked up at him. “And you are…?”
“Salem Lockwood.”
With a hand on her hip, she cast a scrutinizing gaze toward Krys. “Who’s your pet?”
“Krys.”
“Kryscross isn’t on the reservation.”
Krys narrowed his eyes at her nickname, which made her smile.
Salem peered inside, hoping his voice would carry. “If I could speak a moment with Pyro—”
“I’m Pyro.” She casually pointed at Krys. “And he’s still not on the list.”
Salem jerked his head back. “Pyro’s a man.”
“Are you only able to speak to a penis?”
Krys turned away to hide his amusement.
She twirled her hair around her finger and glowered. “Lucian didn’t mention any friend.”
The fact she knew Lucian’s name confirmed her identity. “I’m sorry. Lucian kept referring to you as a he.”
“Lucian and I have never met. He doesn’t get out much, and neither do I.
We keep in touch because I have contacts and so does he.
It’s a symbiotic relationship.” Her face scrunched when she grinned.
“We only communicate through chat windows and messages. That’s funny he thinks I’m male.
Why is that always the default assumption?
” She rose up on her tiptoes to look at Krys, who was milling around in the hall. “Is he hiding weapons?”
“Only his wolf.”
She scoffed. “That’s not a weapon to me. If you have stunners—”
“I swear we’re not armed,” Salem assured her while unzipping his jacket and pulling it open to show he wasn’t concealing. “He’s my packmate.”
Pyro laughed before gesturing for them to follow. “Is Lucian living in a pack?” She snorted and said something in what sounded like Mandarin, but it could’ve been a similar language. “He told me that’s why he left Cognito, but I don’t believe him.”
Salem appraised her luxurious apartment. Unlike the dilapidated exterior, her open floor plan begged to be in a magazine. On the right, the sleek black kitchen cabinets and oversized bar were accented with recessed lighting. Grey wood flooring ran throughout.
She abruptly turned and pointed at their feet. “Shoes off! Only animals walk into a house with their dirty feet.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Krys murmured as he unlaced his boots.
Pyro opened a panel in the kitchen that proved to be a refrigerator. “Socks too,” she added while grabbing a bottle of wine. “You people aren’t raised to respect your elders. No manners at all.”
She was his only hope, so Salem did everything she asked without complaint. Krys, on the other hand, held up one of his wet socks and flicked it hard at the pile of shoes.
Barefoot herself, Pyro padded to the far end of the room in her oversized, shredded jeans.
The two men followed, but not without noticing the open room to the left, which Lucian would’ve obsessed over. The entire left wall was a black desk, shelving, monitors, and so many computers with lights moving inside. The center of the room had a large rug and four luxurious black chairs.
Pyro turned right behind the kitchen, and they followed her into what looked like a narrow sunroom.
The windows all along the left wall and ceiling reflected a scenic forest, a golden sunset casting a warm light on the floor sofa.
Pillows were strewn about, and lanterns brought in additional light to an exquisite retreat.
Krys approached one of the windows. When he pushed his finger against it, a discoloration emanated from the screen. “That’s fucking amazing. Come do my room sometime.”
“Special screens,” she said while retrieving empty glasses from a wooden shelf in the corner.
Just to the left of the windows was a massive black cabinet with golden knobs and gilded designs etched into the wood. Oddly, the drawers were only three or four inches high.