by Jaime Rush
Thirteen. She remembered a gnawing hunger deep in her belly and vivid dreams filled with colors and longing and…dragons. That’s when the damned rash had popped up, too. Different than what she heard other girls her age going through. Not that she was around many with whom she could compare notes.
She hadn’t wanted to kiss boys—or girls—or wear makeup or go shopping. She wanted something she couldn’t define. Drinking, partying, working her ass off, nothing sated it.
Cyntag brushed her bangs from her forehead, his thumb grazing the skin near her burn. “The orb did this?” She nodded, and anger shimmered over his face. “Unacceptable.”
“I thought so.”
He’d said it as though the attack on her was a personal affront to him. Like he owns you.
“Right now you’re like a baby chick fallen prematurely from the nest, without feathers developed enough to fly from danger or any way to fight enemies. Unable to even see them. You might get a glimpse now and then, but that won’t be enough.”
“You’re saying I have powers?” Could her disbelief be more clear? “Can I make one of those orb-lightning-bolt things?”
Another twitch of a smile. “Sorry, no. However, you are much more magnificent than mere magick.”
“I’m magnificent. Yeah.” She couldn’t help but glance down at herself. “Fine, how do I get…what’d you call it? Awakened?” Let’s play along.
“Considering the circumstances, only I can awaken your powers.”
Did his arrogance know no bounds? Dumb question, Ruby. “What do I have to give you for that?”
“You assume there’s a price?”
“There’s always a price.” She could see that he had one, too.
He stepped closer, again breaching boundaries. She wouldn’t move away. If only she didn’t have to look up at him. Even though she was five foot eight, he was way taller. His heat reached out, beckoning her. She stiffened her stance. The dragon tattoo eyed her, but no, she did not see it move.
He waited until she drew her gaze back to his face. “The price is that once you see, you can never go back to being blind. Once you know, you can never forget. Once you experience your true nature, you can never ignore it.”
“Ignore what?”
He released a breath. “We’d better start with the small stuff.”
The Book of the Hidden
The Dragon Prince stood before Garnet as a man now, though she knew the dark beast lurked inside him. His hair was so black that it was nearly blue where shafts of sunlight fell upon it. Eyes just as black, eternal wells where shadows dwelled beyond her ken. In the days since she’d come here, she had watched intruders try to storm his stone castle high on a mountaintop, watched him and his army of Dragons knock them back. Had they been her people come to rescue her? She did not know.
He had summoned her to a room of colorful marble and glittering chandeliers for their first real meeting. The kind of sitting area where one entertained important guests.
He sat like a king in a tall-backed chair of rich tapestry and carved wood. “Welcome to my castle, Princess. I hope you find it to your liking, as you will dwell forever more with me.”
“You cannot keep me here as a prisoner.” But he could. She saw in his eyes that he could do whatever he wished. “Why? Why did you save me, only to enslave me?”
“Your destiny lies with me. When you come of age, you will become my wife.”
He turned into a Dragon and approached her. She stood tall and strong even as her knees quivered. He opened his mouth and released a dark mist that enveloped her. She tried not to breathe, sensing the magick in it. The spell.
Finally her lungs burst, and she sucked in the mist. She felt it slide down her throat and change her very cells. Like the New Year’s fireworks, flashes of images blinded her. Dragons, small and large, bright and dark, filled her mind.
“What have you done to me?” she screamed, trying to push away the images.
“You are mine, and so you must become Dragon like me. You’ll have time to embrace your magick, to see the wonder of what you now are.”
She felt it inside her, the coiling energy of something foreign and dangerous. “You are evil! I will never be your wife, never!”
She ran, but there was no escape. This castle, like herself, was a jewel set in the middle of treacherous thorns. So she went back to the only sanctuary she knew: her chambers. She hurried to the window, far above the ground, and let the sun warm her cheeks while the breeze chilled the tracks of her tears.
A flutter made her eyes open. “Opal!”
The dove landed on the sill, stepping onto Garnet’s finger as easily as before. It rubbed its cheek against her palm, the heartwarming gesture it had done from the first time it landed on her hand. “I must not be too much a monster if you still come to me.” She nuzzled the bird. “Or have you come to remind me of who I really am?”
Chapter 5
Cyntag opened the door, leaned out, and yelled, “Allander!”
He held it open for several seconds, watching her for some reason—probably to make sure she didn’t dash out—and then closed it.
“What does that mean?” Probably some Spanish word meaning Bring the knives; we have dinner.
“This would be much easier if you trusted me,” he said, moving up beside her.
She leaned away, narrowing her eyes. “What would be easier?”
He released a resigned breath. “Exactly.” Then he pulled her against his hard body, one arm across her chest, the other on her forehead.
She jerked, but his hold was as tight as a locked seat belt. A seat belt with muscles. “Let me go! You want me to trust you, then you grab…” The rest of her words disintegrated as she stared at…she had no idea what it was, only that it hadn’t been there a moment before: a creature only two and a half feet tall, skin burnished red with a pointy face and black hair as wild as a flame. It perched on the corner of the desk.
Cyntag continued to grip her, though it wasn’t necessary. She’d stopped struggling.
“What…is it?”
“That’s Allander. He’s a salamander.”
“Doesn’t look like any newt I’ve ever seen.”
“Not an amphibian-type salamander. He’s a fire spirit. An Elemental. Didn’t Moncrief include them in his stories?”
“He had fire, water, earth, and spirit faeries and elves.” Anything else she remembered fled her mind as she stared at Allander.
The creature lifted his lip in a snarl, revealing cat-like teeth.
“They don’t like being stared at,” Cyntag murmured, guiding her to the mirror. Her gaze zeroed in on him first, his sharp features and then his dark eyes…except they weren’t dark. An ember like the flame atop a candle flickered in their depths, just what she thought she’d glimpsed.
“Your eyes…” Hypnotizing, tugging at some deep part of herself…
“Look at yourself, Ruby.”
The sound of her name, blanketed in the richness of his voice, shuddered through her. She pulled her gaze to her reflection and gasped. “My…” A flame dancing in an unseen breeze, in her eyes.
Movement at Cyntag’s shoulder caught her attention. The dragon—the friggin’ dragon tattoo—ran its tongue across its upper lip.
Overwhelmed, she pushed away and turned to face him. No embers in his eyes, no moving tattoo, and no whatever-the-hell that thing was sitting on his desk. She searched her reflection. Just her hazel eyes, wide and unsettled. She didn’t even think about it, just reached out and ran her fingers over his tattoo. His skin was warm but otherwise felt normal.
You’re touching him.
Yes. Soft, smooth skin. Hard muscles.
She blinked and jerked her hand back. “What did you do to me?” She ran to the desk and patted the place where the creature sat. Nothing.
“I lifted the Veil so that, through me, you could see the Hidden. It’s all here; you just can’t see, as I explained.” He ran his hand down her arm, twining hi
s fingers with hers, and stretched her hand toward the empty space. Except it wasn’t empty, because she felt the skinny arm of the creature. Parchment skin, short, coarse hairs. “Now you can feel it.”
He released her, and she pulled her hand back. She stared at her tingling fingers as she rubbed them together, then at the desk. “It’s still there, right this second?”
“Allander, light the candle…please. They don’t speak, but they insist on respect. It’s not always reciprocated, but Allander has been with me for many years. We have an understanding.” He nodded for her to look at the candle, because her attention was riveted on him. The flame came to life.
He leaned back against the edge of the desk. “Have you ever seen something in the corner of your eye, only to look and find nothing there? Or heard a sound somewhere in your home but couldn’t find the source? How about the ubiquitous missing sock or keys that aren’t where you left them?”
He tilted his head toward the invisible being. “Elementals, usually. They’re in the non-physical plane all over the world, but we can see and touch them because of our own otherworldly essence. Some are mischievous, others a nuisance, and a few dangerous. A lot of what’s considered poltergeist activity is either their doing, demons, or Deuces.”
Something in the corner of her eye? “Sometimes I see shadows move among the parts in my resto yard, but I can never find what causes them.” No, no, no, this couldn’t be real. She focused on his last word, remembering it from Mon’s stories. “Deuces who make orbs?”
“Most can make orbs of some kind, some more deadly than others. I need to find out if there’s a select group of Deuces who can make the kind of orb you saw. That will help us narrow down who could have sent it, at least a little.”
“Us?”
“You and I have a lot of work to do before someone comes after you again.”
“Like hell I’m working, or doing anything else, with you. I need fresh air.” She grabbed at the candle, snuffing out the flame and sniffing the black wax. “You’ve got some kind of hallucinogenic substance in here. Or somewhere.”
“Those weren’t hallucinations, Ruby.”
“Stop saying my name like…that.” She reached for the door, amazed when she turned the knob and stepped into the hallway without his hand clamping onto her. She didn’t dare look back. Everything he’d told her, everything she’d seen, bounced around in her head like a hundred rubber balls.
Glesenda watched her stalk past with a puzzled expression. Outside, sunlight beckoned, and people walked past the studio, nice, normal people.
Don’t turn around. Just keep going.
Cyn watched the girl walk so fast down the sidewalk that her ass swished provocatively back and forth. He had sensed Ruby, or at least sensed the presence of an unknown Crescent, in his studio. That she’d ducked out of sight when he looked up fired his instincts. He’d followed her scent to his office. Her accusation about Moncrief’s murder shocked the hell out of him. He pulled on the shirt he’d grabbed in his office and slid into his shoes.
Glesenda followed his gaze. “Who is she? There was something odd about her. I thought I saw a flicker in her eyes, and then it wasn’t there. I was about to mention the Dragon training room but stopped myself.” The flame in her eyes danced. “If she’s a troublemaker, I can take care of her.”
He shot her a derisive look. “Pull back your fangs, woman.”
She hmphed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fuddy-duddy. Don’t worry, I won’t eat your little friend. Wouldn’t want to risk your wrath.” She studied him for a moment. “Your eyes are flickering something fierce. Been a long time since I’ve seen them do that. And over a girl who dresses like…I’m not even sure how to categorize her style. Grunge? Thrift store?”
He watched Ruby cross the street, or try to, between cars. “I’m not attracted to her.” Though she had an intriguing mouth, with her upper lip a bit wider than her lower lip, wide jaw line, and strong chin. The sass that came out of her mouth was more interesting than annoying, for the most part. She would learn to respect him. “You’re going to see a lot of her. She’s a new Crescent.”
“New, at her age?”
“Long story. I expect you to help her however you can. She’s got a hell of an adjustment period coming.”
Glesenda’s eyes widened. “You mean she doesn’t know—”
“She has no idea.”
Ruby glanced back, blinking when she saw him at the door watching her. She gave him a look that probably equaled the finger and got into her dark blue truck. He pushed the door open before Glesenda could grill him further. The flow of traffic forced Ruby to wait before pulling out of her spot.
She also had no idea that a demon sat in the passenger seat of her truck. Whoever had sent the orb was wasting no time in trying to take her out. His Dragon clawed at him, its protective instinct pushing to Catalyze.
You know better. Not in public.
He ran to his ’57 T-bird as Ruby peeled away from the curb. The demon turned to him, its red eyes flaring, its lip curling with victory. A humanoid demon, it took the shape of a person, but with brown skin and ears that pointed up like horns.
Hell. The damned thing was gloating. Cyn despised the humanoids only second to harbingers. He pulled into traffic as the truck moved out of sight. He tried to pull around the cars between him and Ruby, but traffic gave him no break.
He took the chance on a small gap, passing one car at the cost of a blaring horn. The demon watched him, its hand on the back of the bench seat like it was Ruby’s date. It couldn’t materialize, bound by the same rule as Crescents: never reveal your presence to Mundanes. It could, however, kill her right there, depending on how much evidence and chaos it was willing to cause. Demons weren’t known to be subtle. Those rare cases of spontaneous combustion and one-car accidents? Usually demons.
“Damn it.” His Dragon strained now.
Cyn thought about pounding his horn to get her attention, but she’d likely drive away faster. He passed another car, narrowly missing a collision with an oncoming garbage truck. Now he was one car behind hers.
The demon leaned close to Ruby’s neck, flicking its long pointed tongue toward her skin. She brushed at her neck, glancing over but obviously seeing nothing of the menace sitting right next to her. All the while it looked at him.
He thought she might go to her restoration yard. He knew where that was. Despite reluctantly agreeing to Moncrief’s plan, he’d checked on the girl from time to time to see if the spell had broken yet.
The demon waved its long fingers as Ruby cleared a traffic light. The light skipped from green to red, making the driver in front of him slam on his brakes. Cyn’s bumper tapped the rear of the car, but he was already looking for a way around. Ruby’s truck turned right one block ahead. Short of running down people on the sidewalk, Cyn could do nothing but wait. He gripped the steering wheel so hard it began to crack.
He had to get to Ruby. The moment the demon had her alone, it would all be over.
Chapter 6
Sed, the demon, followed Ruby into a building that was identified as a library. She asked the person behind the desk where she could look up old newspaper articles, then followed his directions toward the back.
The place was not very busy. He searched for Crescents, who would be able to see him. A Deuce was checking out. Sed ducked behind the aisle as the man left. A handful of Mundanes. Easy to dispense with.
That was what had gotten him into trouble in the first place, relegated to a prison on the Dark Side. He had been sprung to carry out a task, the kind he most enjoyed.
The object of his task took a seat in the back of the building, the perfect location. If he could get rid of the rest of the inhabitants, he would be done and allowed to play as his reward.
Mundanes couldn’t see him, but they could feel him. Sed moved up close to one male who was reading at a table. Mmm, would love to eat him, torment him. All he was allowed to do was send him a feeling of drea
d.
The man shivered and looked around. He closed his book and left. Several others were just as easily dispensed with. Some took the time to check out, while the more sensitive ones left their stacks of books behind.
Now, the workers. Sed made two of them violently ill by flooding them with negative energy. They staggered out, sure there must have been something toxic in the coffee they had shared. One became unaccountably angry and stormed out. Which left the man who appeared to be in charge, and who was accountably angry that his entire staff was gone. He did not respond to the demon’s emotional blasts because he already held anger and hopelessness.
He reached for the phone and looked at a list of names and numbers. Before he could call replacements, the demon reached into the man’s chest and squeezed his heart. He gasped, shock on his face.
The demon inhaled his pain. Die, Mundane. Die by my hand, and no one will know any better.
The man dropped to his knees and collapsed, claimed by the heart attack. Sed ran to the door and locked it just as someone approached with a stack of books. The woman tried the door, peered in, and then dropped the books into the metal bin. The demon thought about sliding his hand out of the rotating bin and grabbing her. How amusing it would be to see her expression of horror.
Alas, he had to follow the rules if he hoped to gain freedom. He flicked off the light switches at the front and made his way to his target. The one he could torment.
Ruby’s brain was literally buzzing. Hah, I knew he put some funky drug in the air.
Except that didn’t explain the killer orb. That was no hallucination, nor was Mon’s death. And she didn’t feel high or dizzy or otherwise altered. Her rash was flaring big-time though.
She’d barely taken time to enjoy the smell of the books, a scent she found oddly comforting, on her way to the bulky machines at the back of the building. Why had she never thought to look at the old newspaper stories dating back to the time of the boating accident?
