"Hey there, hero," Ruby greeted him, pressing her middle into his and grasping his armored gauntlets so tightly she wondered if he could feel it through the metal of his suit.
"Hello yourself," Stardust answered, flipping up the visor on his helmet.
"So did you save the city?" she whispered, drawing her face closer to his and feeling a tad bereft his lips were still out of reach inside his helmet.
Stardust chuckled. "Alas, no," he said, inclining his head toward her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "False alarm."
"Oh, that’s too bad," Ruby said back, adding an obviously flirty pout to her words.
"Oh, yes," Stardust concurred, playing along, "I’m terribly disappointed, and in need of some consolation."
Ruby’s eyebrows raised at the comment. This was the most forward Jaccob had ever been with her, and she was intrigued by his sudden brazenness. Equally intriguing were all the places her magically enhanced imagination was taking her. She’d never really considered sex in the Stardust suit before, and now it was all she could manage to think about. The tension in Ruby’s fingers increased as she gripped the arms of Stardust’s suit, her fantasies suddenly spinning madly to a point she was having trouble concentrating on the present.
"Teach me to fly," she whispered suddenly, unable to control the urge to say what was on her mind. She had only accessed a fraction of the magic of the Eye of Africa, but she was quaking with it--maddeningly aroused, daring, and needful. Ruby didn’t know if this was a state native to the Eye or some wildness within herself somehow being magnified, but whatever it was, it felt good. There was no drug, no cocktail, no prior magic that had ever felt like this, and she was going to keep chasing this dragon until she had it by the tail.
Stardust was looking at her; he seemed intrigued. And there was a mischief in his eyes Ruby wasn’t sure she’d seen before. What she was sure of was that she liked it. There was no way to know if he was being caught up in her magic or if this was just some natural manifestation of the progression of their relationship coupled with residual adrenaline from having not saved the city. But whatever its origin, when Ruby’s feet left the ground, she was giddy with it. It was not a feeling she was used to. It was a unique joy that came, she supposed, from the coupling of powerful and overwhelming magic with the company of someone she was genuinely fond of. Ruby wasn’t in the habit of liking other people, and the utter foreign-ness of this feeling only served to add to the enjoyment of the moment.
Stardust had her around her waist. His grip was firm beneath her ribs, and she held tightly to his arms around his biceps. As they rose higher and higher above the deck of the terrace, Ruby was stunned by the level of trust she felt. She knew he wouldn’t let her fall. Although they were a mere few meters off the marble of the terrace, Ruby was acutely aware of the fact that a moment’s journey to her right would put them fifty stories above the bustle of downtown. It was a thrilling realization, and Ruby’s whole body shuddered with the danger of it, even though her rational brain was sure she was completely safe.
Ruby couldn’t help herself but to grin up at Stardust as they rose higher and began to move to her left. She guessed he was planning to take them up the half-story and land them on the helipad.
But he paused after a moment. He looked down at Ruby, then his eyes darted to Starcom Tower before landing back on her face. If he was thinking about inviting her over--about flying her to his place to ravish her in his own surroundings--that was an idea she could get behind.
"What are you thinking?" she asked him softly, making sure her tone was equal parts eagerness and intrigue.
"I want to show you the city," he said.
Not exactly what she’d been hoping for, but nothing she couldn’t go along with. "I’ve seen the city," she replied.
Stardust shook his head. "Not the way I see it." He pulled her closer, wrapping one arm snugly around her waist and letting go with the other. He made a series of gestures with his free hand and then looked down and waggled his eyebrows at Ruby. She had no idea what was going on. That situation was remedied in moments, however, when she recognized a sound coming from the direction of Starcom Tower, growing ever louder as it approached.
It was that StarBoard gizmo Jaccob had been tinkering with the first time he’d come over. The hovering platform had clearly been upgraded since that day. It looked sleeker, more put-together, and less likely to sputter out than the original had. With a metallic powder-coated finish and making much less noise than Ruby remembered, she actually couldn’t be sure if this was the same StarBoard, or a new-and-improved model based on the earlier engineering. Either way, when it stopped in front of her and Stardust gestured for her to climb aboard, Ruby saw no reason not to. With Stardust’s arm firmly around her waist, she stepped across thin air and onto the shining disc. She kept one hand on his arm while she took hold of the handlebars with the other, surprised at how solid the thing felt beneath her. She’d expected it to give a little when she stepped aboard, but the device had compensated for her weight instantly, without so much as a wobble.
Ruby had ridden a skateboard once. Once. In seventh grade, she’d entertained the notion of becoming what the kids in her school referred to as a "skater chick" because the "skater boys" in the grade above hers were by and large the most attractive in her sphere. This reminded her a lot of that. The board was similar in size and shape to the skateboard she’d tried, and it moved with her as she leaned and bobbled, getting her bearings on the hovering craft like she would on a set of too-loose skate trucks. But she wasn’t worried. Stardust had her. He wouldn’t let her fall.
Once Ruby was standing solidly on the StarBoard’s platform, he moved to hover directly behind her, making sure to take her left hand in his before letting go of her waist with his right. He reached for her right hand then, taking hold of it where it gripped the StarBoard’s silver handlebars before he began to ease the two of them forward. It took Ruby a moment to acclimate to the change; moving about on the StarBoard was not the same as standing still upon it. But very soon, she was able to relax and trust that she wasn’t going to fall. The learning curve on the board was easy, and by the time Stardust steered them away from the building, Ruby was far more excited than she was nervous.
He flew her over the balcony railing and once around the Ruby Tower. Her building looked gorgeous from up here; the spire lit up in red, and the art-deco style windows glowing softly with the emergency lights. Even the stripe of darkness that was the forty-sixth floor seemed to work with the aesthetic. If they went no place else tonight, Ruby would be forever grateful for the chance to see her own exquisite building from such an exceptional angle.
"This is amazing!" she called out.
The sound of Jaccob’s laughter met her ears before he answered. "I’m just getting started!"
Ruby caught herself actually giggling at the thought. Giggling! She wasn’t sure she’d ever truly giggled before in her life. But then again, she’d also never flown before with the benefit of neither airplane nor helicopter. Perhaps the two were connected.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Keeping a tight hold on Ruby’s hands, Stardust steered them away from the gleaming towers of Starcom Center and farther into the heart of downtown. Ruby had always enjoyed the view of the city’s lights from above, but there was something particularly awe-inspiring about seeing it from this height and in this way. They flew across the city, admired the marquee lights of the theatre district, then followed the river along its length as it snaked through the city to the coast. By the time they reached the shore, Ruby was comfortable enough with the StarBoard that when Stardust asked if she’d like to fly faster, she didn’t hesitate before shouting "Yes!" in reply.
He swooped them upward, taking them higher and higher into the sky as they ventured farther and farther offshore.
Ruby’s gaze was forced upward as they rose, flying so quickly out over the ocean until the brightness of the stars all but completely eclipsed the glow from the
city behind them. The feeling was electric, indescribable, the speed and the stars and the magic combining to make Ruby’s head spin. It was hypnotic, the way the stars streaked and danced before her eyes, affected as her experience was by the heady magic that hadn’t even begun to dim despite her distance from the object that had birthed it. She hadn’t felt this way in ages. She hadn’t felt this magical and unsinkable since ...
Since the night she’d lost her powers to begin with. It had been more than six months ago now; half a year she’d gone without any magic to call her own. It had happened during her Christmas party--the night she was introducing her opulent new building to the City’s cultural elite. She had set up a piece of ritual magic the likes of which she was pretty well convinced had never been attempted. The ritual had been targeting belief, using iconography from every faith Ruby knew or guessed could be in the room that night. Had she succeeded in her machinations, Ruby would have gained influence over all the evening’s guests, even the supernaturally powered ones. The ritual would have given her the kind of influence that can only be attained by the use of dark magic.
But Arsho, her oddly yet wrongly perceptive building manager, had somehow been insulated thanks to the practice of a faith Ruby hadn’t thought to include. They had realized something--although they hadn’t been aware of exactly what--had been targeting the guests. And Arsho, in a misguided attempt at helping things, had interrupted the ritual, going so far as to pull the fire alarm so sprinklers put out the candles that were helping to anchor the magic.
It had been the worst night of Ruby’s life, and a hardscrabble journey back to some semblance of wellness ever since. She did her best not to think about that, and instead to revel in the ecstasy of the return of that feeling of brilliance and release this moment was bringing. She was feeling magic in every cell of her body, and it felt divine. She was well on her way to possessing this unequaled power for herself and that, coupled with the incredible sensation of flight, was enough to keep her spirits up.
"Close your eyes," Stardust said into her ear as he slowed them to a stop. They were sky high and far out to sea, and she had no idea what he had in store for her next.
Ruby giggled again, but nodded her head as she complied with his request. She held her breath as she felt herself being slowly spun in place.
"Open them," he said when they were still.
Ruby was sure Stardust could feel her gasp when she caught sight of the city in the distance.
They were at least a kilometer up in the sky, and probably twice that distance out to sea. Cobalt City shone on the horizon, the dim industry of the shoreline fading upward into the twinkling of the vibrant downtown just beyond. It was beautiful.
"Wow," was all Ruby could come up with to say.
"I told you," Stardust said back, but without a hint of mocking in his voice.
"That you did," she replied. He had certainly been right when he’d said she hadn’t seen the city like this before. Ruby shook her head at the magnificence of her adopted home. It was certainly breathtaking--a glittering metropolis filled with people who’d brought her fame and fortune. Far to the left of the scene, almost lost on the horizon within the amalgam of lights from downtown, Ruby could just make out the spires of hers and Jaccob’s buildings. Their whole section of downtown, christened Starcom Center after the building that had inspired the neighborhood’s ongoing renewal, was heavily under construction, the blinking warning lights atop the giant cranes adding a sequined-like quality to the whole area.
"That’s our city," she declared.
Stardust nodded. "That it is."
"Thank you for showing me this."
"My pleasure."
Ruby was so enthralled by the whole thing she wasn’t sure what to say next. It was the first time in her life she could recall having been utterly speechless. She was lost in the moment, in the mere sensation of being half a mile in the sky, far out past the harbor and hovering over the Atlantic. She had no idea how, but she was decidedly lacking any of the fear she was sure she ought to be feeling. She was so lost in these feelings, in fact, she didn’t even notice when she began to shake.
"You all right?" Stardust asked, sidling up behind her and wrapping both arms around her middle.
Ruby shrugged. "It’s cold up here," she answered honestly. It was cold. The altitude change had seen the temperature drop several degrees at least, and Ruby had been dressed for the warm summer evening. That could possibly have been the thing responsible for her trembling. She knew it could just as easily be the magic causing her quaking, but she couldn’t very well tell Stardust about that.
He started at her words. "Oh," he said, "I’m sorry about that. I forget I’m climate controlled in the suit. Come on, let’s scrub some altitude." With his arms still wrapped around her waist, he brought them quickly downward, until the air around Ruby once again felt like warm, Massachusetts summer.
She shivered again, this time almost certainly more from the magic than the ambient temperature.
"I have an idea," Stardust said then, clearly under the impression she was still chilly. He flew them scarcely two stories above the ground, where the night air was still warm and pleasant, back across the water and into the city.
He took them higher as they began to pass through town--high enough to ensure they’d miss the tops of the buildings they passed over, but not again so high as to give Ruby a chill. They sped through town, Stardust steering them both by the StarBoard’s handlebars, until they arrived on the far side of the river in Quayside. He set them down on the roof of a building Ruby was surprised to discover had picnic tables on it. Tables on the roof of a business seemed like a rather odd choice to Ruby on the surface, but in a town full of superheroes, perhaps it wasn’t even that rare. She was seeing the city from a whole new perspective tonight; it could be she was only surprised because it was her first foray onto rooftops.
He brought them in for a landing gently and kept hold of Ruby’s hands to help her down off the StarBoard. "I’ll be right back," he said once she was safely debarked. He gestured for her to have a seat at one of the tables before dashing off.
Ruby saw him wave a miniature salute at a pair of young women sitting at the farthest table before stepping off the edge of the roof and dropping to the ground below. She looked down at the bench in front of her--at least it looked clean. She had real trepidation about sitting on outdoor furniture in white pants. But standing around looking awkward wasn’t going to do her any better.
She shrugged and lowered herself gingerly onto the nearest of the seats, flashing as polite a smile as she could in the direction of the occupants of the far table. The two young women looked almost immediately uncomfortable, and Ruby couldn’t help but wonder what Stardust had inadvertently flown her into the middle of. She settled, facing away from the table and toward the direction in which Jaccob had left, and pulled out her Starphone in hopes she could look busy enough not to be forced into socializing.
She’d barely launched her email when Stardust returned, a pair of paper cups in his hands, and a wax paper sack dangling from a hidden hook on the arm of his suit. "Here," he said, handing Ruby one of the cups as he settled himself onto the bench beside her.
She thought about making some flirtatious, half-impressed comment about how surprised she was his gauntlets could be so gentle as to handle a pair of flimsy paper cups, but almost immediately thought better of it. He’d been far too gentle with her in the beginning--an affectation she had worked hard to remedy--she didn’t want to make him think of regressing. Instead, she just smiled and took a sip.
"Hot cocoa?" she quizzed, cocking her head to the side and hoping her frown would read as playful.
Stardust nodded.
"Is there a flask in there?" she asked as follow-up, pointing her finger up and down at the Stardust suit. Ruby had never known any grown adult to drink hot cocoa on its own, but had on occasion seen it used as the base for a cocktail. Granted, that sort of thing usually happened in
wintertime, but still.
Stardust shook his head. "Nah," he answered blithely with a shrug as he set down his cup and the bag. "It’s just that it’s way too late to drink coffee, and this place never has decaf."
Ruby couldn’t help herself but to laugh out loud. Jaccob was a Good Guy; Good Guys drink hot cocoa at midnight in July, apparently. She shrugged her shoulders and had another sip. She couldn’t believe herself, doing something so damned wholesome, and enjoying the company of someone so damned wholesome. It wasn’t like her at all. In fact, if she really drilled down on it, it wasn’t like her to even abide the company of anyone so unfalteringly good.
But, then again, she rarely could abide the company of anyone. Ruby had never had many friends. For a time, there had been a precious inner circle, but they had run into the kind of problems Ruby figured inevitable when groups of heartless, flexibly scrupulous people ganged up. The series of betrayals would have been funny if they hadn’t been so tragic. Ruby had made sure, as she always did, that she was the last one standing. Since then, the only company she’d really enjoyed for any stretch was Loki’s. He was an evil bastard, but he was at least honest about it. And she could be honest with him, too. With him, there was no playing like she was some mundane genius or polite businesslady. Loki knew what she was, and they could have a laugh anyway. Even though the majority of their dealings had been adversarial--or perhaps because of it--the god had been just about the only person whose company she didn’t on some level detest for the last several years.
Until Jaccob.
Ruby had started this whole trifling for sport. She’d been going after the feeling of conquest and the social capital that came with seducing Cobalt City’s marquee superhero and most famously married man. It had been an ambition at first, which had become a game--a dalliance. The fact that she had started to give a damn was unwelcome proof that she could still surprise herself. But as she sat there, on the roof of a donut shop, drinking hot cocoa with a man who was trying his best to lick powdered sugar off his mechanized super suit, she realized it had definitely morphed into something altogether unfamiliar.
Rites & Desires Page 19
