I backpedaled to the open doorway, waiting until she opened her eyes before I stepped in.
“Good morning.”
She squinted at me, then gestured me to her side. “I could use some of that bounce right now.”
“Bounce?” I eased closer, keeping myself and my purse well clear of the table. I wasn’t a complete klutz, but I didn’t want to take any chances with vials set up like fragile dominoes.
“Perky morning cheer. You’ve got it in spades.”
“It’s date day.” I tried not to picture Alex topless, but the image refused to be ignored. Only six hours and eleven minutes.
“Honey, I can’t wait until you finally jump his bones.” She fanned herself. “I’m getting dizzy off your horny fumes.”
“Excuse me for getting a little excited.”
“Excited? Don’t try to lie to an empath. That’s lust, plain and simple. I felt you coming from the parking lot.”
I blushed. She had to be exaggerating. “Fine. I’m lusty. But it’s Dr. Love. Even his name sounds sexy.”
“So does Dr. Bigdick.”
“Hmm, that doesn’t have quite the same ring. Dr. Love is a name you could marry into.”
“Madison Love? It sounds like a Playboy bunny’s name.”
“A happily married Playboy bunny’s name, and better than Madison Bigdick.”
Rose snorted. “It can’t be just a name thing. How long’s it been?”
“Since I’ve had a date? Not long.”
Rose let one sculpted eyebrow call me on my lie.
“Okay, okay. Maybe it’s been a while.”
Rose crossed her arms.
“Fine. It’s been a long time. Ages. Forever. I can’t even remember what a penis looks like.”
Rose burst out laughing, and I grinned.
“Hang on. This is good stuff.” She set down the vial she’d been holding, then picked up the next one and closed her eyes. I waited, curiosity growing. Rose cracked an eye to glare at me. “No fidgeting.”
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure we stay in business another season. Now hush.”
I closed my mouth. What was that supposed to mean?
Rose sighed. “Think about that date or get out of the room. Anticipation and lust I can work with; curiosity is just mucking things up.”
I frowned.
“Irritation doesn’t work for me, either. Shoo.” Rose waved a hand at me without opening her eyes. I backed carefully out of the room, waiting until safely outside the glass before sticking my tongue out at her. She smiled without looking.
“That’s a load of carob chips, and you know it!” Mr. Pitt bellowed from his office. I ducked into my cubicle. The blinds on the glass front of Mr. Pitt’s office were drawn, making it impossible to see who received his reaming. For once, it wasn’t me.
“Of course Isabel would prefer—” Pause. “This is damn high and—” Pause. No other voices came from his office. He was on the phone. “Don’t quote me the rules, Liam,” Mr. Pitt shouted. “Fine. No, that won’t work— Fine. Tonight.”
The bang of the phone slamming into the cradle made me jump, and I dropped into my chair.
“MadiSON!” Mr. Pitt bellowed.
Oh joy. What have I done now?
2
Your Ignorance Is Their Power
“Yes, Mr. Pitt?” I paused in the doorway of his office. While he was Mr. Pitt to me, my boss’s nameplate said Brad Pitt, a grossly unfair coincidence given my boss’s fleshy red lips, protruding hazel eyes, and a shiny bald crown rimmed with a nest of short gray hair. About the only thing he had in common with the actor who had been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive was his age.
At this moment, his face glowed a shade usually seen on the skin of beets. I had a fleeting concern for his blood pressure, and a more lasting concern for myself. Please don’t let him have heard I was terrorizing hotel guests and staff. Let his irritation be focused on a new horribly evil creature that has taken a liking to our region.
I crossed my fingers behind my back.
“Sit.”
Of the two leather chairs across from his desk, I chose the one closest to the door and perched on the edge, rehearsing an apology.
Mr. Pitt stared at the laminated map of our region on his wall, his jaw clenching and relaxing. The hotel and a few other areas were marked with red dots. Trouble was brewing in our region. So long as it didn’t interfere with tonight’s date, I’d be happy with a change of scenery. The hotel cleanup was gratifying but repetitive.
“You haven’t been here long enough to learn the rhythms of this region,” Mr. Pitt said. “You’ll have to take my word that there’s been unusual activity this year. Ours isn’t the only region affected. Isabel’s, Liam’s, Margaret’s, even Kathleen’s and Ron’s have been hit hard.”
I let out my breath. This wasn’t about my tactics at the hotel. Mr. Pitt had also answered one of my questions about the heated conversation I’d just overheard: Liam, fellow recipient of Mr. Pitt’s vitriol, was a warden. That made him Mr. Pitt’s counterpart of another nearby region and boss of his own illuminant enforcer. What had he done to earn Mr. Pitt’s wrath?
“Jacob’s needed this year and can’t be tied up.”
“Who is Jacob?”
“He’s the enforcer of Roseville—everything west of the freeway,” Mr. Pitt clarified when I started to protest.
“Oh.” My region’s western edge followed the line of I-80, which bisected the city. Of the two sides of Roseville, mine was the smaller by more than half.
“Roseville has the ninth largest sales of any city in California, and a majority of those are due to the Galleria,” Mr. Pitt said.
I blinked at the non sequitur. “The mall?”
“Half of Sacramento and people as far away as Colfax and Grass Valley shop there, especially this time of year. The Galleria is a large responsibility, and it takes a lot of time during the holidays.”
“The mall does?”
“Yes, Madison. The mall!” Mr. Pitt swiped a hand over his face, then gripped his armrests. “Which is why I’m assigning you to take over cito duty this year.”
My good mood took a punch to the stomach. “What is cito duty and what does it have to do with the mall?” I didn’t like how much he’d built this up. Mr. Pitt didn’t explain assignments. He delivered them like whip cracks, fast and expecting me to jump.
“Right. Of course you don’t know. The mall swarms with citos this time of year. You’ll be there to stay on top of things and prevent an outbreak.”
I skipped over the obvious question to the most important one. “Do you mean full-time?”
“Yes. It will be good for you.”
Crap. Whatever cito duty was, it was going to suck.
“What about the hotel?”
“After you finish up today, Joy and Will should be able to handle it.” Joy and Will were Illuminea, supposedly born out of lux lucis, though they looked completely human. They behaved like pacifist enforcers: Where I enjoyed killing evil creatures, the Illuminea refused to fight, and they restricted their lux lucis use to positively influencing people. I wasn’t sure how spreading goodwill was going to eliminate the hotel’s residual evil, but that wasn’t my main concern.
“And the rest of my—our—region?”
“Jacob, Rafi, and Summer will look in on things. I’ll talk with Margaret about borrowing her enforcer, too, if it comes to that.”
“Wait. You’re going to stick me in Jacob’s region doing something at the mall, which, again, is in his region, and you’re going to bring him and other enforcers in to do my job? That doesn’t sound right.”
Mr. Pitt’s jaw bounced.
“I’m sure I can do more good in my position.” Alarm bells clanged in my head. Why was I being relegated to this mall task? Why wasn’t I needed in my region, especially if there was an uncharacteristic amount of evil?
“You don’t know enough to know where you can do the most good.�
�� Mr. Pitt planted his hands on his desk and glared.
“All the more reason I should continue to work in my region.” I leaned forward. “At least let me work with these other enforcers. I’m sure I could learn a lot from them.”
“That’s out of the question.” Mr. Pitt’s expression closed.
“Why? What’s wrong with the other enforcers?”
“Nothing. It’s a warden thing. Trust me, I’ve worked long and hard to shape this region. When Doris returns, you’ll get plenty more training. For now, the mall is a good compromise. It’s important work.”
So important that Jacob couldn’t be “tied up” with it? “But—”
“Enough with the hangdog expression, Madison. Think of this as a rite of passage, something all enforcers have to do.”
“Is it?”
“Sure. Check in here Friday at five thirty to pick up spray.”
“Five thirty, as in a.m.?” I squeaked.
Mr. Pitt smiled wanly. “Considering the mall will be open from six p.m. Thanksgiving day straight through to Friday, I think I’m being generous.”
“Um, yes. Thank you.” I fidgeted in my seat, then finally asked the question I dreaded. “And citos are?”
“They’re— Ah, you have it! Everything you need to know is in the handbook.” Mr. Pitt gestured to someone in the doorway.
I turned and all thoughts ground to a standstill. Niko Demitrius stood with one shoulder resting against the doorway. He held up a tattered booklet in one hand, but I doubt I would have noticed it if Mr. Pitt hadn’t mentioned it. A few days’ acquaintance wasn’t enough time to inure me to Niko’s aura of competence paired with physical perfection, but at least I didn’t gape as I soaked in his handsome profile.
I stood and fussed unnecessarily with the hem of my sweater. The last time I’d seen Niko, I’d been a mess, strung out on adrenaline and shock after killing a demon. Even so, I’d felt like a real enforcer and basked in Niko’s respect. Yet only three days later, Niko was here to witness Mr. Pitt shuffling me aside because I wasn’t good enough to deal with the “unusual activity” in my own region. The only thing that would make this situation more embarrassing would be if Niko remembered I’d set Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” as my ring tone for him.
“As ordered, one enforcer handbook,” Niko said. Mr. Pitt scurried around his desk, and I stepped between the two leather chairs to make room for him. It was that or move closer to Niko, and my face already felt sunburned from our current proximity.
Mr. Pitt accepted the book as if it were a fragile holy object, frowning and muttering to himself. I pretended to cough, and pressed my cool fingers to my cheeks, willing the blush to fade.
I peeked at Niko again. In the office’s harsh fluorescent lights, his creamy shirt made his dark skin glow. He crossed his arms, and the movement pulled the shirt tight against his well-rounded biceps and flat pecs.
Realizing my peek had become a stare, I shifted my gaze to Niko’s face. He grinned at me, perfect white teeth gleaming.
Where was a sinkhole when I needed one?
“Everything you need to know is in here,” Mr. Pitt said. He set the book in my hands. Despite its leather binding, it weighed no more than a small paperback.
“Everything?”
“Yep. Are you feeling okay, Madison? This would be the worst possible time to get sick.” Mr. Pitt stepped close to get a good look at my flushed face. I waved him back.
“I feel fine. If that’s all, I’ll just . . .” I flapped a hand toward the door.
Mr. Pitt glanced to Niko, then back at me. His concerned expression cleared, and he rolled his eyes. “Back to work,” he agreed.
I squeezed between the back side of the leather chair and the glass wall. Niko stepped into the office to give me room to pass.
“Nice seeing you,” I mumbled. Once through the doorway, I took a deep breath to expel tension, only to inhale Niko’s delicious roasted-cinnamon scent. Rushing the few yards to my cubicle, I collapsed into my chair and closed my eyes. That could have been worse. I could have tripped. Or drooled.
After five deep breaths, my brain finally came back online. Niko was an optivus aegis, an illuminant enforcer on steroids whose territory included all of Northern California. He worked where he was most needed, which is why he’d been here when the demon had set up shop in my region. If he was still in the area, it must be due to the unwarranted levels of evil Mr. Pitt mentioned.
And, holy crap, how had I missed the fact that I was going to be stuck at the mall on Black Friday?
I flopped the handbook onto my desk, then laid my head down on top of my crossed arms. I would have guessed the mall on the largest shopping day of the year would be a hub of evil, not where Mr. Pitt would stick his least favorite—and only—enforcer to get her out of the way.
“I’ll be there,” Niko said, his voice clear as he exited Mr. Pitt’s office.
I snapped upright, smoothed my hair with one hand, and rummaged blindly in my purse. Just a busy professional here. I tried to look casual when I glanced up to say good-bye. I was pretty sure the imprint of my sweater’s weave was pressed into my forehead.
“Can I talk with you?” Niko asked.
“Of course.”
“In private?”
I wiped damp palms down my thighs. “Okay.”
Niko grabbed his leather coat from the chair in the cubicle adjoining mine and headed toward the rear exit. I followed.
The back door let out onto a small patio tucked between matching two-story office buildings. Cold wind cut through my fleece sweater and shook the bare branches of sweet gum trees spaced around the terrace. I wrapped my arms around myself. Niko shrugged into his jacket and let the door shut behind us. We had the patio-turned-wind-tunnel to ourselves.
Niko stalked to the edge of the patio. I followed on an invisible leash. Beyond the concrete, the hillside dropped steeply, giving us a view of the top of an office building below us and the barren branches of the tree-lined Douglas Boulevard beyond. Small evergreen shrubbery fenced the terrace. I kept my distance, having had the misfortune of seeing a spider the size of my palm in those bushes once.
A swath of leaves faded from green to brown and twirled to the ground when Niko ran his fingertips along the straight line of the nearest trimmed hedge. I blinked to Primordium. Bright midday sunlight dimmed to a subtle, directionless light, and the colors of the world washed to gray scale. Niko’s bright soul drew my eyes like a beacon. Compared to his, my soul looked as weak as melted butter. Niko’s contained the strength of an ancient tree, solid and confident. I wasn’t above a twinge of jealousy.
An arctic gust cleared my head, and I forced myself to be analytical. I’d looked at Niko in Primordium only a few times, but now I thought I detected an uncharacteristic dimness to his impressive soul.
“What’s going on?” I pulled a hand from my armpit to point at his fingers, which he’d moved to rest on a tree trunk. Lux lucis seeped from the tree into Niko, recharging his soul. Unlike the more fragile leaves of the hedge, the tree gave its energy without suffering any visible loss of life. I blinked to normal vision to avoid becoming mesmerized by the swirl of lux lucis.
“I ran into some trouble on the way here. But that’s not what I want to talk about.”
“Oh?” Shifting to the side, I used Niko’s six-foot frame to block the wind.
“The local wardens are holding an emergency strategy meeting tonight to discuss the unusual concentration of evil in this area. Many enforcers are going, and I think you should, too.”
“Tonight?” Any remaining fog of lust whisked away at his words. Fantasizing about Niko was fun, and based on my body’s reactions, I bet the man kicked off some impressive pheromones, but that was just lust. Tonight I had a chance with a man I had more than a physical attraction to. “No. I can’t. I have a date.”
Niko straightened and slid his hands into his pockets. He frowned, and for once his smoldering look had no effect on me. “Resc
hedule. Brad could really use your support.”
“I know the feeling. I’ve cleaned up the region, done my job. Where’s my support? What do I get? Cito duty, which I suspect is awful.”
“It is.”
“Thanks. No. I think I’ll keep my date.”
Niko waited, silent and patient. I glared at him.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I pictured Dr. Love’s—Alex’s—face. His smiling blue eyes with soft crinkles in the corners. His perpetually tousled brown hair that I’d been dreaming of running my hands through since we first met. His shy smile when he asked me out. Anticipation of this date had been my shining carrot dangling at the end of a grueling week.
“If this meeting’s so important, why didn’t Mr. Pitt tell me about it?”
“It’s not mandatory for enforcers to attend.”
“So I could ask Mr. Pitt about it on Friday?” Hope blossomed afresh.
“We need trained, engaged enforcers right now, ones conversant with what’s happening in and around their regions. Enforcers who put their education and region above their social calendars.”
I flinched. That was low. I did want to learn, but not at the expense of my personal happiness.
“Jacob has experience and an interest in his region. That’s why he’s being given more responsibility and you’re being put in the mall.”
I wanted to scream. I yearned for tonight’s date with a feeling akin to homesickness. It had been years since my last serious relationship, and the romantic encounters since weren’t worth noting. In Alex, I saw a potential for happiness and true connection. I didn’t want to ruin my chance before the first date.
I shifted to my toes and back down, shivering against the endless breeze. Tonight’s meeting might be a complete waste of my time. What did it matter if I was there? Apparently I’d be working in the mall, not addressing whatever evil plagued my region.
The beginning of a headache tapped against the inside of my forehead. I’d been playing catch-up since the day I’d been hired, and I wasn’t foolish enough to think I’d come close to learning all the skills needed to perform—and survive—as an enforcer. I knew I should seize every opportunity to learn, which meant attending a meeting that would give me firsthand knowledge of the current threat. Plus, who knew what else I would learn. Maybe something to counter the perpetual “you don’t know enough” argument.
A Fistful of Fire: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Madison Fox, Illuminant Enforcer Book 2) Page 2
