by KJ Baker
Chapter 10
RAVEN
“You want sugar in your coffee, sir?”
I turned to the large, red-faced serving woman distractedly. “What?”
“I asked if you wanted sugar in your coffee.”
“Oh. Sure.”
She added the said sugar to the coffee cups, then piled the cheeseburgers and fries onto the plastic tray. I tossed a few bills on the counter. Turning, I caught sight of Asha. She was sitting in our booth by the window with the photos —which she’d printed out at the local library—spread out on the table along with a load of books she’d borrowed. A writing pad rested on her knee and a pencil was stuck behind one ear. A look of intense concentration wrinkled her forehead as she studied one of the books, and the sunlight streaming through the window caught the golden glints in her otherwise red hair, making them shine like spun gold.
Everything she did mesmerized me, from the way she pursed her lips when she was thinking, to the unconscious way she brushed strands of hair behind her ear.
A surge of desire shot straight to my groin. Fates help me, I needed to get control of this. Each moment I spent with her made me want her more, and that was hugely dangerous for both of us.
I took a deep breath, did my best to calm my raging desire, and walked over to our booth, sliding onto the seat opposite and pushing the tray of food onto the table.
Asha didn’t even glance up from her study of the maps and photographs. The documents made little sense to me. The Atlas of Thoth seemed to be a series of star charts and calculations and although the mystics of the Spire would no doubt be able to make sense of it, such things fell outside my expertise. I knew how to fight. That was about it.
I pushed the tray towards her. “Cheeseburger and fries, as requested.”
“Thanks.” She reached out absently and popped a couple of fries into her mouth, then cocked her head as something in one of the photos caught her eye. She scribbled in her pad.
Around us, the diner was busy and the smell of greasy food filled the air. We’d driven for a long time, leaving the town and the cops behind us until I judged it safe to stop for something to eat. Even so, I found myself looking around, watching the customers warily. Shezl might be dead, but Taviel was still out there somewhere, hunting for the very thing that Asha had in front of her. Which meant Asha was in danger.
Nothing will harm her while I breathe, I thought. Nothing.
She growled under her breath and pushed the book away with an expression of disgust. “This is giving me a headache!” She grabbed one of the cheeseburgers and began munching on it as though suddenly ravenous. I said nothing, waiting for her to gather her thoughts.
She finished the cheeseburger, crumpled the wrapper and tossed it back onto the tray. Her eyes met mine. “Well?” she asked. “Did you find anything?”
She was referring to a circuit of the diner I’d made before I ordered the food. “Nothing,” I replied, shaking my head. “I couldn’t sense Taviel. He doesn’t know we’re here.”
Asha let out a long breath. “Well, that’s something at least. But he still has the Orb of Tir. We’ll have to face him eventually.”
I will have to face him eventually, I thought. There is no way I’m letting you anywhere near him. Not after what happened at the museum.
“Yes,” I replied. “But not until we’ve figured out where the portal will open. That way we’ll be one step ahead of him, for once.”
Asha held my gaze, and I knew she was thinking about our argument on the hilltop. I had been stupid to suggest leaving her behind. Did I really expect her to go back to her old life? Did I really expect to be able to go back to mine? After what had happened between us?
“Asha, we need to talk—”
She cut me off with a sharp gesture. “The sooner we get this figured out, the sooner we can get out of here.”
She leaned over the photograph of the atlas and propped her chin on her hand as she studied it. “Let’s think this through logically. The atlas is full of constellations, which seem to correspond to the locations of the portals. However, most of the constellations listed are in the southern hemisphere and not visible in the sky this far north.”
She took the pen from behind her ear and began tapping it on the table as she thought. “So if we are to find a portal, it has to be one that corresponds with a constellation we can see in the northern hemisphere at this time of year.” Her expression brightened. “And I think we can find that out from this book here.” She pulled one of the books she’d borrowed from the library over and leafed through it until she found the page she was after. She began running her finger down it.
“Yes!” she cried suddenly. She leaned over the photo of the atlas again, then glanced back at the book, cross-referencing the two. “Look at this! Only one constellation in the atlas corresponds with the list in this book. Cassiopeia. According to the book, at this time of year, it can be seen fairly low in the northeast when it gets dark but it circles the North Star and stands high above it around dawn.”
I leaned forward. “Right. So that means?”
She threw up her hands in frustration. “I don’t know. I can’t read most of this stuff. I recognize the constellations, but the start chart is also full of symbols that I don’t recognize. The scholars speculated that it’s written in cuneiform, which nobody can read.”
“Let me see.”
I took the photo of the atlas and stared at it. Asha had ringed the constellation of Cassiopeia, and next to this were two small symbols that were faded and difficult to read. Leaning forward, I studied them closely.
“Wait,” I said slowly. “No wonder it makes no sense. These symbols aren’t cuneiform or any other human language. They are an archaic form of Fae.”
Asha straightened. “Fae? Can you read it?”
“The markings are blurred but I’m pretty sure this symbol represents midnight, and this one is a number. Maybe a coordinate? I think it says thirty degrees.”
Asha stared at me. Her lips moved as she talked to herself, working things out, and her gaze was a little unfocussed. She studied the map again. “A latitude reading! It must be!” She scanned the pages in front of her. “And look! There are lists here that bear the same markings. I’ll bet they are longitude readings!”
I leaned closer. Sure enough, a second set of figures corresponded to the first. I nodded at Asha.
She grinned with excitement. “That gives us a location! We know where the portal will open! Now we just to need to figure out when!”
Her excitement was infectious but I forced myself to examine the photos with calm detachment. We were so close. Just one more piece to the puzzle...
“Wait,” I said as something caught my eye. “What’s this?” I squinted at the photograph. “See these rows of symbols? The ones that look like sunbursts?” I pointed to the symbol above one row of calculations. “There is a full sun, then next to it, two half suns and one quarter sun. I can think of only four occasions when the sun is at its strongest, it’s weakest, and somewhere in between—the solstices. The coordinate you’ve just found corresponds to the full sun.”
“Midsummer!” Asha said. “That’s when the sun is strongest—at the summer solstice. So the portal will open at these coordinates on midnight of the summer solstice. That’s two days away! We’ve found it, Raven!”
Without warning, she leaned over the table, threw her arms around my neck and kissed me on the lips. It was so unexpected that I went rigid. Then before I could stop myself, my hand reached up to cup her face and I was kissing her back. It felt good. Fates, it felt amazing. That heat was back, racing through my blood like fire. I wanted her. I wanted to take her, claim her, make her mine...
Asha broke the kiss, looking around self-consciously, and sank back into her seat. Taking a deep breath, I did the same. A pink blush had come to Asha’s cheeks, and her eyes had gone dark with something—it looked like desire.
“Asha, listen—”
Her
phone rang suddenly and Asha jumped. She pulled the phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s Gracie.” She pressed a button to accept the call and held the cell phone to her ear. “Hey, Gracie. What’s up?”
A sudden unease went through me, a tingle of premonition. And this was only confirmed when the color suddenly drained from Asha’s face.
ASHA
I knew something was wrong straightaway. Gracie is one of those people with whom a phone call is a one-sided torrent of words that washes over you like a wave. But this time she wasn’t like that. Her voice was small and nervous as she said, “Ash? Is that you?”
I put down my pen and switched my phone to the other ear. “Gracie? Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay? You sound weird.”
She didn’t answer, but I thought I heard someone else speaking in the background.
“Who’s that? Is there somebody there with you?”
“Where are you, Ash?”
“In a diner. Doing some research.”
Silence again.
“Ash? You need to come now. He says he’ll hurt me if you don’t.”
At her words, I felt as though something had punched me in the stomach. My heart began to race. “What do you mean, Gracie? Who says that? What’s going on?”
“He says you know who he is. He says you’ve got something he wants. You’re to bring it here or he’ll hurt me.” Her voice was so small and scared I wanted to cry out in anguish. “Ash? I don’t think...I don’t think he’s human. Some of the things I’ve seen him do. Oh god, Ash!”
“Don’t worry,” I said, trying to make my voice calm, despite the thundering of my heart. “He won’t hurt you, I promise. Nothing is going to happen to you. I’m coming. Just hold on.”
Raven leaned forward, his eyes flashing, and I knew he was listening to every word. “Ask her where he wants to meet.”
“My apartment,” Gracie said. “He says to come to my apartment and to be here by midnight. No tricks. Just you and Raven and the artifact.”
“Okay,” I replied, my hands suddenly shaking. “I need you to keep calm, Gracie. Do what he says until I get there. I’m going to get you out of this, I promise—”
The line suddenly went dead.
With shaking hands, I dropped the phone onto the table.
Gracie. Oh my god, Gracie.
“Well?” Raven demanded. “Where?”
His eyes blazed and he had the look of a predator about him again, all coiled fury, ready to spring.
“Her apartment,” I croaked. “He’s at her apartment. About four blocks away from my shop.”
A feral growl escaped his throat. He rose to his feet.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
His eyes met mine and the coldness in them sent a shiver down my spine. It was Raven the warrior looking at me. Raven the killer.
“You know what I’m going to do.”
“I’m coming with you.”
He shook his head. “No way.”
“Yes way! I’m not staying behind. She’s my best friend, Raven! And she’s in this mess because of me! Don’t you dare tell me that I’m staying behind!”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“I don’t care!”
His fist slammed onto the table, causing the cutlery to jump and people to turn around and look at us. “Fates take it, Asha!” he growled. “I cannot risk you getting hurt! I will not!”
He glared at me, his lilac eyes flashing. I was done with being told what to do. I was done with being weak. I glared right back at him.
“You don’t have the right to order me around. The only way you can stop me is if you tie me up somewhere. But even if you do that, I’ll only get free and follow you, anyway. I am coming with you, Raven.”
He looked like he wanted to snarl at me. His lip twitched and his eyes flashed. Then he shook his head, giving an exasperated sigh. “Why did nobody ever tell me how stubborn mortals can be?”
“You have no idea. Let’s go. We have to be there by midnight.”
I stuffed the photographs and my notes into my bag, then stood and grabbed my jacket. People were giving us surreptitious glances, alerted by Raven’s loss of temper. I didn’t care. My friend was in trouble and I had to get to her.
I scrambled out of the booth and bolted for the door.
Chapter 11
IT WAS GETTING DARK by the time we reached my home town. Driving through the streets, still busy with people walking their dogs or hanging out with friends, I was struck by how familiar yet how utterly different it seemed. It all seemed smaller somehow, as if I’d returned to a place I’d not seen since I was a kid, and yet it had only been a short time since I was here last.
It was me who had changed, not this place.
We didn’t go to my apartment or my shop, and I knew Raven was right when he said either one of those might be a trap. So we parked up three blocks over from Gracie’s apartment instead. I ran my hands down my jeans nervously, my palms slick with sweat.
“You don’t need to do this,” Raven said for what must have been the twentieth time since we left the diner. “I will go in there alone.”
I shook my head for what must also have been the twentieth time. There was no way I was going to stay behind. How could I make him understand that I had to do this? That if I didn’t, that if I sat here safe and sound whilst my friend was in danger, I would never forgive myself?
Raven was a soldier and saw things only in terms of strategy and deployment, but I couldn’t be that cold, that logical. I had to save Gracie, no matter the risk.
Raven ground his teeth. “All right. Take this then.”
He leaned forward to pull something from behind his back and held an object out to me. It was a silver knife, no bigger than my palm, housed in a leather sheath with a strap.
“It’s designed to go around your wrist with the knife on the inside, hilt downwards so you can draw it easily. It’s deadly sharp, so be careful.”
I took it, strapping it around my wrist. “Thanks.”
He studied me for a long moment, seeming as if he wanted to say something. But he only nodded. “Let’s go.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and climbed out of the passenger door. We walked quickly down the street and round the corner to Gracie’s apartment block. Raven paused on the street corner, eyes narrowed as he scanned for danger. Satisfied, he nodded and we moved on.
“Where is her apartment?” he asked, staring up at the block.
“Third floor, number 306. At the back.”
“Wait here. I’ll be back in a moment.”
He jogged down the street past the apartment building and then disappeared around the back before returning to where I waited on the sidewalk.
“He’s not set any traps around the exterior,” he said. “At least nothing I could detect. Come on.”
Together we walked to the large glass door and entered the foyer. Raven ignored the elevator and headed towards the stairs instead. He moved silently, prowling like a cat, and I followed, trying to listen for danger above the thumping of my heart.
We climbed to the third floor and pushed through a door into a long, carpeted hallway. From the apartment to my right came the blaring of a TV set, from another the crying of a baby. Oh hell. This block was full of people. How many of them would get hurt if this turned nasty? I’d seen first-hand what Fae were capable of.
We padded down the hall and stopped outside Gracie’s door. Jeez, how many times had I stood outside this door holding a bottle of wine or a pizza? Now I stood here with a deadly Fae at my side and I had no idea what to expect when I walked inside.
My knees shook, but then I thought of Gracie and what Dark Hair might have done to her and anger flashed through me. My legs strengthened. My chin lifted. If that bastard had hurt my friend, I would kill him.
“Stay behind me,” Raven breathed.
He grabbed the door handle, whispered something under his breath, and the door opened with a click. S
ilently, we pushed our way inside.
I resisted the urge to call Gracie’s name. That would only give us away. We walked along the hallway on cat’s paws, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it against my ribs. We passed the kitchen to the left. It was neat, tidy, and empty. A bedroom to the right. Again, meticulously neat. There was no sound. Not even the floorboards creaked, but the silence was oppressive, like air before a thunderstorm.
We reached the end of the hall. Ahead, the living room door stood closed. Raven glanced quickly at me before pushing it open. It creaked as it swung wide, revealing the room beyond. My heart jumped in my chest and I jammed my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming.
Gracie sat on one of the hard-backed chairs that her grandmother had given her, feet flat on the floor, hands folded neatly in her lap, staring at us in wide-eyed terror.
And behind her, one hand resting on her shoulder, stood Dark Hair.
I exploded into motion, forgetting Raven’s warnings, and flung myself at Dark Hair. Raven caught me before I’d gone three paces and yanked me back.
“Let me go!” I yelled, fighting him, twisting in his grip. “Gracie!”
She didn’t move her head, but her eyes swiveled up to mine. Her voice was small and frightened as she said, “Hi, Ash.”
I sagged in Raven’s grip. Oh hell. Oh holy hell. Gracie.
Raven’s eyes were fixed on Dark Hair. Something feral gleamed in them, a barely suppressed fury. “You go too far, Taviel,” he growled. “Would you risk the wrath of the mortal realm for your ambition?”
“What does it matter?” Dark Hair replied. “Soon they will all be our slaves anyway—just like it was supposed to be.”
“The Spire will have your head for this.”
“We shall see. Where is Shezl?”
“You won’t be seeing him again.”
If his friend’s death caused him any discomfort, Dark Hair didn’t show it. Instead, he lifted his shoulder in a slight shrug. “There is collateral damage on any mission.”
He shifted his hand, and I saw that he had a thin silver blade clutched in his fist. The razor-sharp tip was pressed against a vein in Gracie’s neck. Just one tiny movement and it would open her up. Holy shit, no wonder she daren’t move.
