“Alone at last.” His voice was a deep base that wasn’t far off the growling tone used by slightly pissed off shifters. His smile was eerie, like the Cheshire cat. He held a crushed up baseball cap against his hip that the goblin leaped at.
“Gip did good, yes, give to Gip.” I watched him turn his attention down towards the goblin, letting the hat fall from his grip.
“Yes, as I promised Gip. Take it and go.” Gip retrieved his hat, put it onto his fat, little head and ran in a fast clip for the fire escape. The man took a step toward me.
“Oh no you don’t, you just stay right where you are!” I pointed emphatically at the spot where he had just been. “Just who the heck are you?” I looked from side to side. I’d walked into a trap. God damn it, how could I be so careless?
“My name is Rin, Cassandra.” I glared at him and made a waffling motion between us.
“We are not on a first name basis.” He took another step towards me still smiling.
“Yes we are.” He took in my appearance from head to toe. “I have watched you slumber.” I didn’t need any more confirmation. My stalker wasn’t just your regular nut job. He was a murdering, dark magic wielding nut job.
“I’m not going to ask why. I’m just going to assume that it has something to do with stupid.” Rin smiled brightly at me. There were only two kinds of people who smiled like that in my experience, and if we’d been in a car showroom I might have believed he was trying to sell me something. You’d didn’t want to meet the other kind of person that smiled like that, even in a brightly lit car show room.
“You didn’t like my gifts?” His voice sounded puzzled but he kept smiling. I was fast coming to the conclusion that he was nuttier than a fruit cake, and I was trapped on the roof with him between me and my most obvious exit.
“You should have stuck to flowers. Poison candy sends the wrong kind of message.” As Rin took a step towards me again, I took a step back and had nowhere to go but towards the edge of the other side of the roof. I didn’t know if Hamilton had heard me, so I couldn’t trust that any kind of help was coming my way. I needed a weapon. I looked for something discarded, a piece of pipe or something. Going magic against magic could be explosive, and physically he had it all over me. He followed my roving eyes and halted his step towards me.
“You are not flattered by my attention, princess?” I locked eyes with him and tried ascertaining whether what he said was a nickname for women or an actual title. He smiled. “You have no idea who you are, do you? What men will do to have you?” My eyes finally landed on a loose piece of piping. I gripped it in both hands.
“You’ve set the bar high with a couple of dead people.”
“Oh I didn’t kill them for you. That was for my employer,” he said smiling. His eyes roamed over my body and made me shiver in loathing, but at least I could check something off my list: one confession, check. “I would kill for you if you asked it of me.” He advanced on me again, and I raised the pipe prepared to strike him.
“Yet I tell you to stay where you are and you ignore me.”
I analyzed him for attack. I could smash his arm or his femur, and with my strength I could probably break it. If I smashed it down on his head or the back of his neck it would probably disable him enough for me to get around him and onto the fire escape. Rin muttered something under his breath, waving his hand. The pipe was torn from my hands, the metal grazing the inside of my palms and making my fingers raw. It spiraled through the air, far out of my reach. I drew a line in the air between us.
“Ignis.” The line in the sand I drew became a line of fire between us. Barring his way, I held up my hands in a sustaining gesture while I tried to think. I needed a better plan that this. I had to pull myself together. Each of his victims had a symbol on their skin, meaning he touched them to feed the magic into them. I could, under no circumstances, let him touch me. I had to assume that was his goal as he wouldn’t stop moving forward. I extended my fingers up to make the flames burn higher. I’d been subconsciously continuing my steps back and it stung when my calf hit the brick edge of the roof. I looked back over my shoulder. I had nowhere else to go. I was trapped, my wall of flame the only thing keeping us apart. That was until he walked right through it. Rin walked through the fire like it was nothing, smiling triumphantly as if passing some test. I shook my head losing concentration as the fire petered out to absolutely nothing.
“How? Who are you?”
His eyes flashed and there was something serpentine about them. The dark color flashed with red.
“I am he who you will yield to!” He was cocky and arrogant, like he knew he had me beat. I was, after all, in many ways still a novice. A dark wizard like himself was seasoned. He had to be to pull off what he’d done so far. But his attitude really pissed me off. I would yield to him? Like hell I would. The anger felt good stroking my power. I thrust both my hands up and pushed that energy against his. It shoved into it hard, sending him airborne.
“No,” I screamed my defiance at him. “I will not yield.”
He hit the graveled rooftop sliding back. His progress made deep ruts and sent dust spiraling up into the air. I took a shaky step backwards and up onto the lip of the roof. He glared at me now.
“You will be mine,” he growled pulling up to his feet. “You have nowhere to go.” I took another look over my shoulder. It was a hell of a long way down. There were no people on the street, which I was thankful for. I didn’t want a crowd. I took deep, even breaths, preparing myself for what I was going to have to do. I turned back to face Rin and he could see it in my eyes, the fight in me. I didn’t know karate but I did know crazy, and I wasn’t afraid to use it. I raised my heel off the brick and gave him glare for glare.
“You can go to hell.”
Then I put my heel down on empty air, throwing myself backwards off the building.
Chapter Twelve
The first thing I noticed plummeting towards the ground was that I didn’t scream. At least the sound that erupted from my mouth wasn’t a scream. It was the cry of a bird, like a triumphant hawk. Then my face began to go numb and my vision sharpened. I could see every porous molecule of the bricks as they went rushing past me. I prayed to not hit the ground, and if I did, my nerve system would be the first thing to shut down.
My body began twisting and contorting. It hurt. My insides were rearranging themselves. I lost feeling in my fingers and saw my boots and jeans flap away freely from my body. I felt smaller, but confined as I struggled to move my arms. I was trapped by something, bound in a way it was imperative to be free from. I focused all my strength into securing that freedom, pushing at my confines till a seam ripped and I burst forth.
Instinct took over. I flapped and righted myself, pulling up away from the ground and darting for the sky. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but I was no longer heading towards becoming a greasy, little smear on the pavement. I breathed deeply and just let my body do its own thing.
Okay, I wasn’t dead. I’d just jumped off a building and I was still fine. I lowered my whole head to look down and see the buildings much smaller looking as I passed over them. I was flying? I was flying over the city just like I had in my dreams. I soared over tree tops flying in a direction that seemed familiar. I soon made out familiar landmarks and searched with my strangely keen eyes for someplace to touch down.
I found an open tower. A stone, domed roof supported by columns of red stone with a grey waist-high wall around the circumference. I turned my body to put my feet down flat, knowing that a grown woman flying over the city would be pretty noticeable. As I tried to rest on it my feet scuttled and scraped, unable to gain purchase. I skidded over the railing, landing straight on my face and chest. I lay stunned, unsure what the hell had happened. I tried using my hands to push myself up but I couldn’t feel them. I panicked, flapping my arms around, sprawled on my back. It was then that I saw my feet. Have you ever seen the foot of a bird of prey?
remember once going through
the center of town when the fair was on and there was a sectioned off area where several live birds were on display. One of the handlers had a hawk sitting on his leather gloved hand and I found myself fascinated by the creature’s feet. They looked strong. The talons at the end of the long toes could split skin into bloody ribbons. That’s what my feet looked like, a little longer and a pale orange color. I wasn’t able to maintain my balance because I tried holding onto the bar with flat feet. I wasn’t me.
It took a little time, but I managed to roll enough onto my side to get those feet up under me. I wobbled a little, flapping not arms but wings in an effort to keep from falling back down. I had turned into a bird. I began to freak out. I tried to yell, but my voice made a honking noise like a goose.
Embarrassed, I shut my beak. It was a strange sensation feeling the hard points come together, rather than the soft press of lips. But by far, the oddest thing was my brain. I still thought like a person. I was completely lucid and conscious of what was going on around me. I didn’t go bird-brained and develop a craving for worms or a desire to build a nest. I wanted, no I needed, to see myself.
I bent my bird legs, experimentally hopping to gain height. I hopped onto the railing, curling my toes so that I didn’t fall. I looked down and felt my feathers ruffle. It was a good thing I’d never been particularly afraid of heights. I scanned slowly from left to right, looking for a reflective surface.
The best I could see was a window with a window box. I could perch on the box and use the glass like a mirror. I stretched my wings out, amazed at the span. Flapping them, I jumped. Instinct took over when I was in flight, probably a reflex so I didn’t fall. I landed on the box, unfortunately crushing the flowers under my claws. The curtains behind the glass were closed so there was enough shadow that I saw myself.
My body was a mix of peacock and swan. I had a long graceful neck where the feathers looked downy and soft. The beak was long and sharp. The same pale orange as my legs. The feathers extending from the back of my head a bit like a carnival head dress. Startlingly, my eyes still looked like my eyes. They were still the green I expected to see. Around them though, the feathers were gold, red and orange extending out in a cartoon starburst pattern with gold at the center. It looked like a flame. The same colors continued into my wings and body, but there I saw some undertones of darkest fuchsia, too. My tail was an honest to god collection of tail feathers curled down and around like wafting ribbons. Six of them ended in flat ovals like a peacocks. The plumage made flaming eyes that stared back at me. It struck me as odd that I was such a beautiful bird. I stretched my neck, looking around and experimenting how it could twist and turn. I held out my wings and admired the blend of oranges, reds and dark pinks. I remembered hearing that a swan’s wing had enough power in it to break the arm of a human. I half wondered if mine had the same kind of strength. Not that I was going to go find a human to test it on. I twisted my neck a second time and heard the jingle of metal. I looked down. Attached on its chain around my neck was still my locket and the pendant nestled against the feathers on my breast. In everything, I hadn’t thought about whether or not I was still on the other side. If I had lost my necklace, I’d have been unable to change shape and some silver suit would be peeling me up off the sidewalk with a spatula. My entire body shuddered and made all my feathers stand up strangely. I huddled down like I’d often watched birds do and wondered what to do next. I’d lost my clothes. So even if I worked out how to turn back, I would be naked. Along with my clothes, I’d lost my phone, my wallet and my keys. I couldn’t go home even if I could get into the building. I needed to find some kind of shelter where I could change back, get some clothes, and get access to a phone. I needed to call Hamilton. Rin was our murderer and my stalker. He needed to be caught. My head bobbled, weird noises escaping me from my frustration. Why hadn’t I just fought him? To hell with property damage and the explosive potential. I sighed. I hadn’t been sure I could take him. I was frightened of what losing the fight would mean. Rin was not an ordinary, dark wizard. There was something about him that struck familiar. As if I should know, but couldn’t call to mind. He certainly seemed to know something about me. The fact that he knew more about me than I did about him was unnerving, to say the least. I needed to regroup, go someplace and work out what I was going to do. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe telling him I wasn’t interested would mean an end to the pursuit. I looked up at the sky beginning to turn colors to match me. It would be full dark in little less than an hour. The temperature would drop lower and I wanted to be someplace warm and safe before then.
Dante’s. I would go to Dante’s. If I could get to Aram I would be okay. I raised my wings and flapped them, blowing dirt and plant remnants into the street below. I took off.
Dante’s Inferno is a vampire club owned and run by Aram’s brother, Jareth. It caters to those who want to hang out with, date, or be bitten by vampires. You can always tell the regulars from the tourists – those looking for a little walk on the dark side. To live that safe kind of danger like baiting a hungry dog and knowing it’ll bite you if it can, but also knowing it’s safely secured by a chain you’re just out of reach of. Women and men come to flash their necks at hungry vampires. Among sovereign vampires, that was safe. They had rules. You could meet a vampire on the street and be assured of your safety even if you doubted it at the time. We were just lucky Worcester had no black clan. They’d kill you for your blood without thinking twice about it. They saw themselves as human’s natural predator. Humans were just food to them…Happy Meals on legs.
I sat on the edge of the building just across from the club. It was early but a line was already forming of willing blood donors. I scanned the frontage looking for a way in. The main door was a no go with the bouncers in front of it. I could try the side door, but I needed to punch a number into the keypad. Even if I could have poked it in with my beak, I had no idea if my code was still valid. I hadn’t been to Dante’s in months while I tried to reconcile my feelings about my life changes with love for a vampire. I still wasn’t sure that I had come to a decision. Then someone opened one of the large windows on the upper floor. The club got very stuffy shut up all day. It was necessary for the protection of the sleeping vampires inside, and they liked to let some air in before filling it with hot, writhing bodies on the large dance floor. I spread my wings and glided towards the gap in the glass, smacking straight into the person who opened it. I beat my wings and knocked him over as I tried not to scratch him with my talons. He yelled, crawling back along the floor, and I landed on the edge of the booth to settle myself. He’d scared me as much as I had him.
“Jesus.”
No, I thought. I’m Cassandra. Nice to meet you. Of course he couldn’t hear me, so my inner monologue was free to be as snarky as it wanted. I watched him sit there catching his breath as someone came up the stairs, responding to his yell. I recognized him as CJ, one of the day guards who must have been ready to clock off for the night. He blinked at me, his jaw dropping.
“Where did that come from?” he asked the guy on the floor who was slowly recovering his composure.
“It just flew in the window as I was opening it. What is it?”
I’m a bird dumbass. Hence, the flying in through the window, I thought, stalking around the back of the booth and putting distance between CJ and myself.
“Some exotic bird. I saw something in the paper about one loose in the city. Wonder if there is a reward. We’re going to have to catch it.”
Here’s a reward for you. You are guaranteed to get your nose pecked off if you so much as try to lay one grubby, meaty hand on me. I let a cry rumble out of my throat and flapped my wings, beating them against the air, warning him off. CJ raised his hands up in front and tried to step around to the side. I watched him steadily.
“Come here sweet heart. You’re a pretty birdie, aren’t you? I won’t hurt you.”
Not me that’s gonna get hurt. Do you really think that’ll work bright eyes?
I hopped and flapped, flying over the guy on the floor and up onto one of the light fixtures.
“Well that worked. How the hell are we supposed to get it down now?” The younger man asked, getting to his feet at last. I watched CJ scratch his square chin that needed a shave.
“Isn’t there a step ladder in the coat check?”
“Yes. I’ll get it.” The younger man ran down the stairs with loud thumps on the metal while CJ continued regarding me.
Yeah, good luck with that bozo. I took a side step to the right, and then another. Then, just for my amusement, I did another step left and back shaking my tail feathers. CJ’s brows pulled together and the younger man returned with the step ladder.
“I swear,” CJ said to his companion, “this bird is mocking me.” I craned my head in their direction and wished I had a brow to arch.
Nah! You don’t say. I waited till the young man climbed up onto the ladder, trying to reach me before flying over to the one in front. They both stared after me as I settled down on that one.
“We have to get it out before any of the patrons come in,” said CJ walking down the upper level to me. I ignored him and looked for a route to the back of the club where the bedrooms were.
“I don’t care as long as I don’t have to clean up any of its business.” I grumbled and wished I could be enough bird to just drop one on his head, but my morals rallied against the idea. I stayed out of reach while they set up the ladder again and watched the door to the back. The kid nearly yanked one of my tail feathers out grabbing for me, so I turned and smashed the end of my beak into his hand. He recoiled and I tasted blood.
“Vicious. We should call animal control.”
“Jareth won’t like having to open late. Try again.” The young man cradled his hand to his chest.
“No bloody way. You do it. I’m going to first aid my hand.” I felt a tiny thrill of satisfaction watching the kid trudge off like he’d been mortally wounded. CJ wobbled getting up onto the ladder. I heard the sound of a door creak open and voices from the space beyond.
Deadly Sin (Cassandra Farbanks) Page 12
