“They were dashing because they were eager to drink their fill and leave the corpses for the beasts of the field,” he said with a smirk. “Turning someone is more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Most of the time?”
“All of the time. There are many complications with keeping a body alive after death. Additionally, the average vampire requires a significant amount of blood to stay alive, and even more to use their magic. For many, their entire lives become consumed with survival. It’s one reason I use to convince vampires to turn vegan. I can genetically engineer plant blood to be more sustaining, although I can’t recreate all the effects of human or animal blood.”
“That’s hot. At the same time, I know vegans who try that whole ‘you’ll live longer and not kill living things’ argument on me. But I still like beef.”
“Touché.”
We crept silently through the residential area, staying in the pools of darkness away from streetlights and house lights. Finally, Cendric stopped at the back door of a house. It must have been a blood-scent thing because the place looked just as mansion-from-a-box as the rest, complete with ornate half-columns, deep blue paneling, and random gables.
He leaned in close to whisper my ear. It seemed to be a favorite trick of his, and I didn’t mind one bit. “This one. Vampires live here, but the scent of blood is drastically faded. I don’t think they’ve been home for weeks.”
“Awesome. Let’s do this.”
“Wait.” He grabbed me. “What about alarm systems?”
“In a gated community? Doesn’t make sense.” I shouldered past him.
“Allis…” The vampire called after me, warning in his voice.
“Relax, Cid. I can sense the existence of extrasensory and regular security detection fields.” I knelt by the door knob and pulled out a few bobby pins that had somehow managed to stay in my hair. One of the rare good things about messy waves. “You know, I never understood why I could sense magical bits, but now, with a whole world of molecules pinging at me to save or destroy them…” I began fiddling with the lock. The bobby pins were a little old-fashioned for modern locks—unless you were a magic-user who could funnel magic through them and make it plink its way into the right places. “I guess that answered itself.”
Although with the curse-mark gone, this was even more fun. What should have been laborious, poking away with tiny jolts of magic until I hit the right one section, had turned into a game, because I could see through the atoms that made up everything. I didn’t even have to try to play nice. If a tumbler irritated me, I could simply push it out of the way. If a magnetic security strip annoyed me? Disengage it.
A chuckle rose in my throat. I could gut the whole lock from the inside out. Wouldn’t that be fun? My magic latched on to the idea, pulsing and weaving through the lock, transforming it into whatever I wanted. Or nothing. It could be nothing at all.
Nothing could be as beautiful as anything. Nothing meant silence.
The Jinn magic shot from my fingers, taking over in a burst of freedom from the captivity I’d placed it in. Merry and mad and completely untamable. Rushing out of me in an irresistible force.
A moment later, the entire door dissolved into gray ash.
Cendric cleared his throat. “Well, I suppose that works.”
“Yeah. Got bored of dealing with the lock.”
Something small and metallic hopped away into the bushes.
“What was that?”
I gave him my best innocent expression. “Looked like a bunny.”
“It had no pulse.”
“A very special pulse-less bunny. Limited edition. Let’s get going, Cid.”
As we walked through the house, my mind raced. Where the crap had the bunny idea come from? I didn’t even remember thinking of it. Maybe some part of my brain had, but I thought of a million weird things all the time. Was my magic suddenly going to start transmuting my thoughts into objects?
I shuddered. Not a comforting thought. With a scowl, I shoved the Jinn magic back behind my mental shield. Almost all of it, anyway. I felt like the damn stuff was mocking me, daring me to control it after so long under the curse-mark’s detention.
“Allis, did the absurd amount of throw pillows do something to you?”
“Nooo…” I blinked. I stood in a cavernous living room, complete with a baby grand in the corner, fancy rugs on the hardwood floor, and yes, a delicately-made sofa with a ridiculous number of brown velvet pillows.
One of them moved, as if it had legs. Had I given a throw pillow legs? What was wrong with my brain?
“Then direct your attention here instead of glaring at them.”
“You got it, Mr. Raven Vampire, Sir.” I turned toward Cendric. He clutched several ice packs filled with something dark red. Blood.
“Must be vampires here, yes?”
“I knew that already. There is also this.” He held up something scaly and stiff. “Raw fish.”
I blinked. “Vampires can eat? I mean, you said you could, but normal ones?”
“Yes, they can, but it’s not medically necessary—a side effect of dark magic. Unspoken often have odd appetites. Although those who use plant blood or other alternative remedies tend to reacquire a taste for human foods.”
“Like I said: too many plants and everyone wants a steak.”
Cendric sighed. Then he shot me a worried look. “Are you hungry?”
I held his stare. “Maybe. Not for anything weirder than steak or pierogies.” I was so not dealing with his concern right now. I already felt like enough of a freak. “So these aren’t normal vampires either.”
“No. And the blood traces around the house are enough for me to detect some kind of water elf. Possibly naiads or mers.”
“Naiads aren’t shifters though. They’re related to elementals, and elementals can’t be turned.”
“Neither can shifters.” Cendric’s brow furrowed. “We need to visit Linus.”
He strode through another doorway. I followed him into a kitchen gleaming with expensive appliances and highly polished teak wood. A marble-topped island cut through the middle of the room. Cendric stood on one side of it, turned partially away from me, his face distant with thought. I rested my elbows on the other. “Who’s Linus?”
“A friend. Of a sort. He has a shop on the edge of the Hollows, in the Warehouse District.”
The Hollows. The unofficial Fae center of Pittsburgh. The Warehouse District was where the Fae who were too crazy to fit in with normal Fae camped out. I’d gone to the Warehouse District a few times with Theiya and Jack on missions. A pang of regret shot through me. There would be no more missions. Jack had suspended me. And even if she un-suspended me, the fury that lay beneath my regret didn’t bode well for working with the kitsune.
The vampire turned to face me again. “You might be able to get some new shoes while we’re there.”
I raised my eyebrows. “And how are we getting there?”
“You’re teleporting us.”
“Me? Absolutely not.”
Cendric breathed out through his teeth, which looked sharper than normal. “The only other option is very unpleasant.”
“It won’t be pleasant if I teleport us into a wall!” Or if I transformed us into some kind of animal. I clenched my hands. My brain, without my control, turned a doorknob into what is probably a fully-functioning rabbit, because of some scattered thought.
And then there were the maniacal chuckles. They were me, but a wilder, more open side of me. A side that dared to try anything, just to see what would happen, and scorned any consequences.
You can always undo them.
You can do whatever you want…
Until it got someone killed.
No way was I trusting myself to teleport Cendric. Even if I succeeded, my Jinn magic would get stronger. Might even take over. I wasn’t ready for that. For crying out loud, I’d just gotten the magic!
He leaned over the center island, his hands covering mi
ne. “Allis. You can’t keep running and hiding.”
“Watch me, Cid. Been doing it my entire life.”
Compassion warred with anger on his face. The warmth of his blood rushing through my veins grew stronger as he leaned closer, centering me entirely on him. He filled my field of vision, his gray eyes obstructing everything else. Our blood seemed to mingle even though we stood separated by the island. My will weakened.
My breath grew shallow as I stared up at him, a small part of me certain that I would do whatever he asked of me in that moment.
Anything.
He was a part of my world now. But how could he be, if there wasn’t a mate bond? Surely Cendric would have declared one if it existed. All shifters had a code about that sort of thing.
The vampire shook his head, pulling back a little. “There’s no time for this. I warned you.”
“Warned me about what?”
He slapped a golden coin between my hand and his.
“Baile!”
The world exploded in a nauseating swirl of colors and dry soil that coated my skin and filled my mouth.
Suffocating my screams.
Chapter 13
The air smelled of spray paint and spoiled cocktail mixer, with a side of sawdust. Not a combo I ever wanted to inhale in my immortal life. But there it was, shoved up my nose. At least it wasn’t dirt.
Dirt. Why the crap was there dirt?
I rubbed away traces of soil from the corners of my eyes, then blinked. I was resting on a pile of cushions in a corner of a vast, empty space about the size of a football field. Scattered around were various tables and long benches covered with piles of tools and other supplies. In one corner was a raised stage and dance floor, looking set up for a club, right down to the lighting suspended from the ceiling. In the center of the warehouse rose a circular dais at least twenty feet wide, with five steps leading up to it from every side. On top of the dais were more work benches and tables covered with chests and boxes of paraphernalia. The walls were splashed with luminescent graffiti, and the ceiling was one giant, multifaceted window, showing off the moon and the stars and the sun, all glittering together. Most of the illumination seemed to come from there.
Wait, the moon and the stars and the sun? Those didn’t belong together at the same time. As I stared up at the odd sight, the sky melded like a rainbow oil slick into new patterns and shapes.
My stomach lurched. I quickly averted my gaze to something less gut-churning—the giant pile of overstuffed cushions that held me. They were covered with various band t-shirt designs. Everything from the Rolling Stones to Nirvana to Arlo Guthrie to Kelly Clarkson.
Weirdass Fae.
I shook my head and looked around for Cendric. Instinctively, my eyes locked onto the central dais. I couldn’t see clearly enough from this distance, but somehow I knew the streak of black hair and suit was his. A rushing in my blood, a pricking in the scars on the underside of my left arm. A depth of knowing and belonging residing only in him.
Jinn flames and blood roses. There had to be something more to that bond, but that wasn’t the issue right now. The issue was needing to find the vampire and figure out what the hell had happened.
I shoved myself to my feet. “Where’d you get a suit, Cid?”
My voice echoed loudly across the warehouse. The black-haired figure said something
quietly to the person next to him, who had gleaming mahogany skin and a smile that flashed bright white.
When in doubt, get louder. It seemed to work on Fae.
“Really? Ignoring me now?” I rolled my eyes, trying to hide the panic that shivered across my skin as my Jinn magic woke up and sensed all the possibilities in this huge room, filled with building materials and oh so many tempting beats of magic imbued in every surface. All of it, rich and ripe for the testing.
Or maybe not. Maybe I would get bored and send it all crumbling to the ground. Build it all up again when the mood struck me.
Cendric was quickly making his way toward me. As he got closer, I could see that what he wore wasn’t a suit. Instead, he wore a crimson silk shirt, a brocade vest, well-fitted black pants, and boots. Oh, and another duster. Unfair that he came off looking like a gothic model while I was still in days-old jeans and a tank top that definitely had stains around the pits. I could have snapped in new clothes, but I still needed a shower.
Cendric’s concern filled me before he got close enough for me to see his expression. The usual desire to protect and keep me safe flowed from him. Some side effect of the bond? I thought back to the feeling I’d had when we’d left the mansion. That sense that if he asked for anything, I’d be hard-pressed not to give in. And I’d enjoy it—maybe even find a deep satisfaction.
What the crap?
Quick Allis. Lose the crazy. You’re still you. Nothing in there for anyone to worry about. Not even a little.
Nope.
He reached me and enfolded me in a hug before I knew what was happening. I didn’t mind getting to press my face into his shoulder. It was a great opportunity to gather myself together. His embrace already had a way of doing that, flowing cool, comforting magic over me. Maybe this was all in my head. I shrugged mentally. If I went insane, at least Cendric would find a nice padded cell for me.
We finally parted, and he gave me another relieved look.
“You’re all right,” he said.
“Seems to be that way, stranger. Glad you could tell from all the way over there. Did you have a nice telescope up there?”
He flashed a smile. “I checked on you before I walked up there. It’s only been about fifteen minutes since we arrived, but in the meantime, I was discussing matters with Linus.”
“Also getting a shower and a new wardrobe.”
“Of course. Linus is an old friend, so I had spare clothes here.”
“Of course.” I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. “About that arrival. When you said unpleasant, you didn’t mention we’d be going through a scary mash-up of a rainbow and dirt six feet underground! What the crap was that about?”
The vampire had the decency to look slightly abashed. “You refused to teleport, so I opted for this route instead.”
“All of a sudden?”
“What can I say? You bring out the spontaneity in me.” As he spoke, a perplexed expression overtook his face. “Something you seem to do, more and more.”
“And technically, my road is fifteen feet underground,” put in the other figure walking over to us. I could only assume he was Linus. “Never let it be said that Linus O’Harte’s tunnels only reach six feet. Word gets around about my depth in other circumstances.” He winked. “The rainbow part was the magic, with my own personal spin. Add a little interest and color to the whole experience.”
I raised my eyebrows, taking him in. Closer up, I could see that the Fae was shirtless with glittering dark emerald jeans that fit just right and gleaming green and gold body paint all over his body. Most of it was styled as old-fashioned timepieces, with a particularly brilliant one over his left eye.
Unlike Cid, this Fae’s mind was an open book of desires and fears. Chief among his desires was gold. And fears? Losing it. Huh. A glint in his eyes told me he could sense me poking around. Retreating after that wasn’t an option. When a Fae caught you fishing around in their mind, you stared that bull down by finishing your fishing. I teased around a little more, just on the surface.
Electronica. Trance. Okay, so this Fae liked his party music as well as his gold. I put all the pieces together.
A leprechaun. A freaking six-foot-tall leprechaun.
“Well, Mister DJ Leprechaun, if that’s part of the rainbow road show, maybe you should leave the puke-inducing dirt at home.”
Linus’s full lips curved in a smile. “No one ordered you to open your mouth and swallow, sweetheart.”
“And you didn’t have to specialize in a freaking haunted house ride.”
He studied me a moment more, his green eyes flashing gol
d as coins for a second. Then he threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, she’s definitely a live one, Cendric. She’ll keep you on your toes when you’re climbing on that high horse you love.”
“You have no idea.” But Cendric laughed as well, relief showing in his eyes. Was he afraid I was going to make a bad impression? The two of them must be pretty close. The vampire shot me an apologetic look. “I didn’t know the leprechaun bridge would affect you that horribly.”
Linus grinned and shook his head, smacking the vampire on the back. “And you wouldn’t. I have special safeguards built in against Jinn trying to use it to sneak around. Bad enough being forced into the wish granter mafia. I don’t need Malda Nazari Al-Maram or her son Kiran poking in my business. Allisandra’s human blood is the only thing that let her through at all. Still, a dangerous game to play.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much my life.” I paused. The name of Kiran’s mother sent a delayed flash of pain through me. “Wait, what do you know about the Jinn?”
“The less you know, the better.” He snorted. “Although I’m also wondering why Malda hasn’t shown up here, with you flailing around that fresh magic. Her son must be covering for you.”
I crossed my arms. “Kir? I doubt it.” Although hiding me was one of his main goals during our relationship.
“I know he’s covering for you. Otherwise, you’d have been scooped up as soon as that curse-mark came off.” Linus’s face turned speculative. “I wonder why, at that? Maybe just on the outs with Malda, as usual. Maybe he wants you back before Pittsburgh’s most eligible vampire snaps you up in his beak.”
Kiran, want me back? Ridiculous The genie—the Jinn, apparently, just like his mother—had been over the moon for his new girlfriend. My face heated. Destroy the leprechaun.
Next to me Cendric cleared his throat. “Enough useless gossip, Linus. Explain these shifters and water elves who are vampires?”
The leprechaun raised his hands. “One question at a time. And before that, if Allis could get a shower and some fresh clothes, that would be ideal. You don’t smell as bad as Cendric, but you’re no rose bush. The odor disturbs my creative vibes.”
If Wishes Were Curses Page 13
