“What’s going on? Where are we?”
All I got was a tip of his head and a shrug of his shoulder. “You can’t figure it out?”
I looked around at the place that still resembled Xest but wasn’t quite Xest.
“Are we in hell?” I whispered. “Did you take me to hell and not tell me? And you wonder why I think you’re a horrible person.”
“It’s not hell. Next level up,” he said, smiling, because only Hawk would be amused in purgatory.
“I’ll never look at these streets the same.”
“It’s not just Xest. This place is everywhere, even Salem. It’s simply a different dimension.” He looked at me as if he was surprised I hadn’t figured that out.
Growing up, there were certain things I thought I’d want to know if given the chance, like heaven and hell, UFOs and aliens. This was something I could’ve done without knowing.
“What if they try to keep one of us? I mean, I’m not pointing fingers or anything, but is this safe?”
The lunatic laughed. “There’s a pact in place for these types of events. Can’t keep up unless we die naturally. And not sure they’d want me anyway, but thank you for the concern.”
“What if this pact doesn’t pertain to me because I’m not from Xest?”
“Just don’t let go of my hand,” he said.
Seriously? I was a handhold away from possibly getting stuck here? I clenched his hand tight enough that I might’ve broken a finger or two.
“You think maybe you could’ve added some of these details when I asked where the appointment was?”
“Would you have come?” he asked.
“G—” Probably not the time to use his name and draw attention to myself. “Definitely not.”
“Then it’s good I didn’t tell you. The person we have an appointment with wanted to meet you, and they might have something that will work on the wall.”
“I’m so not happy with you right now.”
“It’s purgatory. You’ll blend better.”
A man with slicked-back hair and eyes that glowed red appeared in the distance. He was sitting at a desk made of slabs of rough stone in a place that I would’ve called the square on a normal day.
“Is that…” Keeping a firm hold of Hawk’s hand, I tugged him in the other direction.
“That’s not him. He’s booked a decade out.”
Okay, so not the devil—only a lower-level cleric, maybe? He probably couldn’t hijack me to hell. Hawk tugged me forward with him, and I fell into step.
“Hawk, I presume?”
Hawk nodded.
The cleric gave him a once-over before turning his attention to me, where it lingered much longer. “And the witch,” he said, putting his elbow on his desk, his fingers forming a steeple. He smiled wide enough to show off black, pointy fangs.
My fingers dug into Hawk’s hand.
“Do you have it?” Hawk asked.
The cleric reached down, lifted a metal bucket, and placed it on top of his desk. “It’ll refill as needed.”
Hawk stepped forward and took the pail.
“There’ll be a debt,” the cleric said, smiling my way again.
“The introduction already paid for that,” Hawk said, stepping in front of me.
“Had to try.” The cleric shrugged and then leaned around Hawk to look at me in a way that made my stomach turn. “You are definitely on our radar, witch.”
There was a strange intonation to the way he said witch, as if he were implying I might be something else.
“Is there anything you’d like to share?” Hawk asked the cleric, never one to let an implication die quietly.
“Nothing at all. Absolutely nothing. We’ll be watching. We have a vested interest in how this works out. Whatever this thing is, we can’t have it leaking over into our dimension, so we’ll expect you to handle it. Otherwise, we might be forced to get involved.”
“Stick to your own territory. I’m handling it,” Hawk said.
The cleric looked at me again. “It was very nice to meet you, Tippi. I’m sure you’ll be offering plenty of entertainment for us.”
We walked back in the direction we’d come, but I didn’t speak or unclench his hand until the sun was shining again.
“Don’t ever take me there again. Why did he even want to meet me? Guess you didn’t feel that was important to tell me either?”
“I didn’t know. That’s why I brought you. I was trying to find out.”
I pointed to the bucket. “What is that stuff?”
“They use it to reinforce the boundaries between their dimensions and keep certain undesirables locked away. We’re going to see if it works on your wall.”
27
“Why am I doing this alone?” I asked, as I smeared the black, tar-like substance over the fissures in the wall. Every handful felt like it had tiny worms squirming around in it, and no matter how much I used, it kept replenishing. Logically, that was a good thing, and I reminded myself of that every scoop.
“It’s your wall. It’ll adhere better if applied by you.” Hawk leaned on the wall beside me as he watched. “Saw Gregor leaving the office today.”
I glanced around, knowing I couldn’t up and leave. I was held hostage by black goop from another dimension, and this conversation wasn’t going anywhere good. He’d probably start prying about how things were going with Gregor. Then I’d feel compelled to make something up just to not prove him right. I grabbed a big handful of goop, slopping it on as if I were too preoccupied by my work to talk.
“I’m surprised you’re letting this continue,” he said, as if amusing himself. “You like a little sizzle. Gregor doesn’t sizzle. He’s like flat marsh water that smells a little rotten.”
“And let me guess, you’re all bubbly?” I splattered half the black goop on the ground. Shit.
“I was talking about Gregor.”
He was smirking. He knew damned well he sizzled. His ego nearly floated on all his fizzy bubbles, and I wouldn’t help inflate it anymore.
I stopped mid-scoop to look him in the eye. “Well, you don’t. You’re like seltzer that’s lost all its bubbles but still thinks it’s got something over plain old well water.”
He stopped staring but was still smiling, as if even my insults amused him. I wasn’t confident enough to believe he’d given up on riling me up, but I’d let the silence hang, pretending for a few moments that the conversation was done as I tried to repair the last break.
I’d placed my other hand on the wall, trying to use both hands to press the goop in as deep as I could, when a strange feeling seeped through. I moved my hands around the area, trying to find the source.
“You picking up on something?” Hawk asked, moving close enough that his shoulder was brushing mine. At least this was about business.
“I’m picking up something weird, but I don’t understand it.” I ran my fingers over different areas until I nailed down the strongest spot, which seemed to be where the break had started. “Or why I’ve never felt it before. Maybe it’s this stuff that’s letting me sense it now?”
I’d been working on this crack longer than any of the rest, and it was the worst one of all.
Hawk moved his hand around to different places, looking more impatient with each second. “Explain it to me,” he said, when he couldn’t seem to find a spot to feel it himself.
“I don’t know how. It’s just this sense that something is off, but I can’t figure out why or how I know it. When I touch it, it’s almost like a feeling of being spun in a circle a bunch of times.”
He laid his hand over mine where it was pressed against the wall.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m trying to feel what you’re feeling.” He pressed harder against my hand.
“Can you feel it?”
“No. You’ve got me locked out so tight I’m getting nothing. You need to let me in.”
I ignored his sizzle, the one I’d insisted he didn�
�t have, and tried to keep my focus on the wall, on the feeling, so that maybe he could pick up on it somehow.
His other arm came up on my other side, so he was nearly embracing me as he laid that hand on top of my other, his heat seeping along the length of me.
“You need to try harder,” he said.
“I am.”
“If you don’t concentrate and let me in a little, we’ll be here all day,” he said, with a little more huskiness in his voice.
How was I possibly going to let him in when my entire day, from dawn to dusk, was focused on keeping him out? I’d made blocking Hawk a part-time job, and I’d been at it for months.
But did I want this wall fixed or not? Did I want to let the wall slowly crumble until this evil took over Xest? At least with this, we were on the same page. He wanted it as much as I did.
“How do I let you in?” I asked, never imagining I’d say those words, as his skin sizzled where it touched me.
“Feel my magic pulsing against you? Just let it move into you.” His jaw grazed my ear, sending little tingles through me.
Let him in. Let his pulsing energy in. Why did that not seem like a good idea on any level? Because it wasn’t for me. As far as the wall went, it was a no-brainer. I tried to let down my defenses, which meant not thinking at all. If I thought about purposely letting him in, I’d do the opposite. Even now, my body was going rigid.
He let go on one of my hands and cupped my face, turning it toward him.
“Don’t think. Just relax,” he said.
He leaned down, the scruff of his shadowed jaw grazing my cheek, and all I could smell was his woodsy scent. The fifth wind stopped as his heat enveloped me. His lips grazed mine, teasing until I closed the rest of the distance.
The purpose of the kiss was clear. This was business. It didn’t change the heat that boiled up in me, or the feelings that it dredged up with it, the need that always overcame me with his touch.
I molded into him, and we fit together seamlessly. He was throwing off massive amounts of heat that seemed to seep into me, making it even easier to relax into him, let him take whatever he wanted.
No, no, no. You don’t let him take whatever he wants.
I pulled back, scared by how fast I’d fallen again.
If he knew how startled I was, he didn’t show it. He was looking at the wall.
“The magic is missing something. It was there, but it’s being leached away in spots. That’s what’s causing the breaks.”
“Why? How?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, but hopefully the patch will work.”
“Did you feel anything else?” I asked.
“Like what?”
I stared at the wall, knowing I sensed a hatred seething out behind it, directed at me. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.”
I shifted away, instantly missing Hawk’s heat as I did. He didn’t try to stop me and let me have my space.
I grabbed another handful of goop, trying to make quick work of the last of this. I needed to get away from him, and fast. I’d get my head back together in private.
He leaned on the wall beside me again. “By the way, I thought I was flat, no sizzle?”
Clearly, he’d felt more than just the wall when I’d let him in.
“Like day-old seltzer,” I said, continuing to work even as my cheeks burned.
He crossed his arms, getting more comfortable. “I’m not sure why you keep trying to make things work with Gregor.”
“I’m not surprised you’d think that, considering the way your relationships work out.”
“My relationships?” He raised a brow.
“Belinda? That was a grand success?”
He laughed. Hawk’s laughing was almost as addictive as his kissing. It made my stomach swirl in the craziest ways. I’d have to make a point of trying not to amuse him, not that I’d meant to.
“I’m glad you find the mockery of your situation so funny.”
I tried to highlight the fact I was insulting him, and he smiled wider. Not good.
“You should probably break it off now if you care about him,” he said. “It’s cruel to string him along, since it’s not going to work out.”
“You have no idea whether my relationship with him will work out, so I suggest you mind your own business.” Half my goop was landing on the ground at this point, and I didn’t care. I needed to be done.
He gave a slight shrug. “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
I stopped gooping. “Care to tell me why we’re doomed for failure?”
“Do you really want to know why?”
The gleam in his eyes should’ve warned me off. But I was past that point.
“Yes, I do.”
“Because you can’t kiss me the way you do and tell me you’re into Gregor.”
“This kiss was business. And I didn’t kiss you. You kissed me.” I went back to gooping. Handling the wall repair material, literally from hell, was safer.
“Would you like to test that theory?”
He was mocking me, and it still made my insides get tingly.
“You need to stop. You only want me because you think I’m one of your toys, and you don’t like other people playing with your toys. I’m not your toy.”
He leaned in closer. “Does that mean I can’t play with you?”
Why did that shoot like a heat-seeking missile to every sexual organ in my body? I grabbed my bucket and stepped away from him.
“There will be no playing.”
“No playing at all? Because you’re right. If I can’t play with you, I’m not going to take well to others playing with you.”
“I’ll play with whomever I choose.” I dropped the bucket by his feet, ducked under his arm, and walked away. I’d hike back down alone.
28
I pulled out my notepad, skimming through the names. I still needed to get back to Zark’s and ask some of the people there. If they all said yes, I might still be short on references.
“How many do you have?” Zab asked, pulling a chair over to my desk.
“Thirty-five.” I’d numbered each name.
“We’re running out of time. We’re down to days, not weeks.” Zab sighed, leaning an elbow on the desk as he looked it over. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get more. I’m surprised at how many people hesitated to stand up as a reference when I asked.”
“I get it. They don’t want to get in the middle of a fight if they don’t have to, and it’s easier to say no to you than me.” Everyone in Xest knew if they stood up as a reference for me, they were definitively choosing a side. As someone who’d hung out in the shadows most of her life, it was completely relatable. It didn’t help matters any, but it was hard to condemn them for something I’d done myself. Staying out of the fray had been my life goal before I’d gotten to Xest.
“Still, I feel like I’m letting you down.” He tapped the page. “We should check with Bibbi and Musso. I’m sure they’ll help out.”
I shook my head, closing the book. “I don’t want to ask them yet. If they say no, it’s awkward, since I see them every day.”
“But you need the numbers,” Zab said, then yelled toward the back room, “Musso, Bibbi!”
“Zab…” I said, my words dying as the two of them walked out of the back room.
“Will you stand up as references for Tippi at her immigration appointment?” Zab asked, ignoring my glowering.
Musso squinted, as if he didn’t understand the question, and my stomach felt like it was doing a triple loop. This was what I’d been afraid of. Dammit. Now it was going to be weird here.
Musso crossed the room to stand in front of my desk. “You already asked us weeks ago. Why don’t you already have us on the list?”
“Yeah, I said yes when she still hated me,” Bibbi asked.
I turned to Zab. “I guess when you said you were sure, you really were sure.” I jabbed Zab in the arm, laughing. A sudden idea stole all the laughter. “You didn’t sa
y anything to Hawk, right?”
“I’m not an idiot. You’d kill me, and you’re getting better at magic, so you might be able to do it, thanks to me.” He smiled, polishing his nails on his shirt.
“I am, right? I mean, getting better at magic.”
“Yeah, you’ve haven’t blown anything up once. I’m even thinking maybe you could send your own newsflashes soon.”
The image of a giant dragon in the square had us both shaking our heads a couple of seconds later.
“Maybe not yet,” I said.
“Yeah, let’s wait a little longer.”
Musso came in the back room, where I was making a tea.
“You going to meet your friend tonight?” Musso asked, coming to make tea beside me.
Jeans and a snug sweater didn’t scream date. Yes, maybe I had used a little bit of lip gloss, but my lips were dry. It wasn’t for Gregor, even if I was seeing him. I needed names for my list, and looking a little a cuter wasn’t going to hurt my cause.
“I’m going to Zark’s, but not to see Gregor. Need to try to get more names. Why?”
“No reason,” he said with a shrug, in a tone that begged for a follow-up. Musso didn’t talk that much, and when he did, there was always something in his head.
“Musso, I’ve never had to drag information out of you before. Don’t make me do it now.”
Teacup in his hand, he turned to me as if contemplating his words as he eyed me up. “It’s not quite the right moment for this conversation.”
Hawk had gotten to him and now I was going to get the same evasive reasoning?
“It’s the exact right time for this conversation.”
“I don’t think this Gregor boy is right for you.”
I knew it. I didn’t say it aloud, but in my head I was screaming it from the mountaintops.
“Why is that?” I asked. Hawk was written all over this. What was he saying about Gregor?
The Nowhere Witch (Tales of Xest Book 2) Page 17
