3. Chace #2
He rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“I’m not exactly sure. What I see in you is similar to something I’ve seen twice in my life.
Once, a very long time ago, and again briefly during Bogart’s last visit, when the kid was in tow.
But even then, either time, I wasn’t sure what it was.
It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. ”
The twittering bell system chimed, calling Aoes to the pub below.
In five long strides, I stepped to the window and glanced out to the street below. Two palace guards on horseback stood beside two riderless steeds. The missing men likely awaited Aoes downstairs.
“It’s them.” I stepped away from the window.
He released a sigh. “In that case, you might want to disappear…being that you’re so paranoid about pretty much everything. And just in case….”
He flashed a rather wicked, challenging grin, then he turned and stalked down the stairs.
I would wait to think further on any of Aoes’s words.
If the guards were here to collect Raven’s belongings, as suggested in the courier message, I needed to secure anything that identified her reaper status before they gained access to her room.
Would have done so sooner, except Aoes hadn’t given me a moment alone.
Packing my stuff or Aldine’s made sense because I needed to move, and Aldine was dead.
On the other hand, taking any of her belongings while in Aoes’s presence would have likely raised questions I preferred not to deal with, much less answer.
Broadcasting my intentions to the pub manager was not on my to-do lists. Quite the opposite, actually.
Slipping the Killian cloak around myself—the gift from Aldine that had aided me in my escape from the underground prison—I adjusted the cape to make sure every inch of my body was covered in the invisibility magic, then I pulled the Killian key from my thigh pocket and let myself into Raven’s room.
Unlike Aldine, she had not unpacked and appeared to be living out of her messy duffel bag. Her reaper’s handbook lay beneath her pillow—careless—along with the crow clicker I’d witnessed her use.
I collected both and quickly scanned the contents of her bag. A small notebook, a change of daily reaper wear, comfortable sleeping attire, and—my breath stalled—lacy underthings.
My touch lingered a fraction of a second too long on those underthings, sliding the fabric between my fingers.
I couldn’t stop myself from envisioning her in the soft items beneath my caress.
Does she really wear these things underneath her reaper gear?
With a jolt, I shoved the bag away and shut down all thought. I refused, absolutely refused, to allow my mind to continue wandering in the direction those skimpy apparel items attempted to push me.
Snatching the notebook to investigate later, I turned away from the bag and back toward the room. I suspected the space held nothing more worthy of discovery. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop me from checking every nook and cranny. Certainty over conjecture every day of the week.
At the sound of approaching footfalls on the steps and proceeding hall, I verified the Killian cloak’s magic completely covered me, and then I waited beside the door.
When Aoes unlocked the entry and ushered the guards inside, I slipped free and silently made my way downstairs. Took refuge in the storage closet.
If the message had been truthful, and the palace men had only come to collect Raven’s things, then I should be safe from discovery in my present location. I could think of no reason anyone other than Aoes or Earl would step through the door I sat facing.
And if I were wrong, if the message turned out to be false, a secret, hidden door to the underground tunnels stood at my back.
In the room beyond, the pub was eerily quiet.
Yet from the upper level, even at my current location, I could hear Aoes chattering on, louder than necessary, to the men as they moved through Raven’s room.
I could only assume his volume was for my benefit, for which I was thankful.
He was helping me track the palace men’s movement through the establishment.
Since Raven didn’t have much, they shouldn’t take long to collect her stuff and go. Unless they spared the time to search all the rooms, mine and Aldine’s included.
A noise from the other side of the wall had me instantly rigid. Aoes and the guards were still upstairs, so…maybe Earl? An oversized rat? Or someone whom I had been previously unaware of? I listened intently for any further sounds to help identify the source.
“They have no plans to visit this room. You should be safe.”
I jerked away from the voice, searching every shadow and finding nothing. Until…
A guy appeared out of nowhere. Moments ago, the space was open, empty, and now, the male stood in the center, demanding attention.
He wore a cloak very similar to the one Aldine had given me.
The one enchanted with powerful invisibility magic.
When the stranger tossed back the hood of his cape, he revealed midnight black hair and bronze skin. Physical traits of most reapers.
The Killian, then.
Why did he smell like a witch, layered with the aroma of herbs?
I lifted my chin. “Have you come to claim my soul?”
“No.” The Killian pinned me with a lifeless stare. “I’ve been watching you since Finnian gave his life to save you.”
“Who?”
He had to be talking about Aldine. I had not known our elder’s first name until my captor used it, and Finnian was not the name spoken.
Only, as far as I was aware, Aldine was the only one who had ever sacrificed anything for me.
He had given the ultimate of sacrifices—his life.
Now he would never sacrifice a single thing, ever again.
“Do you mean Liam?”
“Liam Finnian Aldine. But he was always Finnian to me.” The Killian’s scrutinizing gaze swept over me from head to toe. “You’re an interesting piece of work.”
I wasn’t surprised to find a sharp tongue hidden behind the reaper’s tight lips. And since I couldn’t tell if the words were spoken as a compliment or an insult, I chose not to respond. Instead, I remained still as stone, refusing to shift my gaze from the Killian for even a blink.
The thunder of footsteps reverberated through the open space, their impacts shuddering the floor beneath my feet, marking the movement of the palace guards through the pub. Aoes’s muffled words followed the exiting guards straight out the front door.
The Killian grabbed the sides of his cloak, preparing to shift the hood back into place over his head, and paused before pulling it into position. “Your instinct to remain hidden is a good one. Allow me to show you a place that may fit your needs rather well.”
“Why should I trust you?” I narrowed a scrutinizing gaze on the reaper of reapers.
The Killian lifted the hood into place, settling it slightly back from his face.
“You can trust me because you haven’t many other options.
At least, not on this matter. And you may find…
at some point…you’ll even desire my help.
” His gaze roved over me, momentarily pausing on the center of my chest, before lifting to my eyes.
“Come with me, or don’t. The choice is yours. ”
He stepped past me, disappearing through the closed, blocked door hiding the stairs to the underground tunnel.
Did the Killian cloak allow him to walk through walls? I glanced down at myself. Could the one I wore allow the same? I hummed, unwilling to presently try and fail.
I hesitated for a moment, maybe five, staring at the place where the Killian had vanished, then I pulled away the shelving, revealing the steps descending into the tunnels. The direction in which he had vanished.
Thanatos help him is this is some sort of trap…
Without a glance back, I stepped into the darkness.