Dragons gift the protect.., p.6
Dragon's Gift: The Protector Complete Series: Books 1 - 5, page 6
part #0 of Dragon's Gift: The Protector Complete Series Series
They blinked, looking identical. Dang it. Another test. Or trap.
I licked my lips and concentrated. It was never smart to pick the wrong one.
What had the old woman said? Make sure your intentions are pure?
“I just want to ask questions.” I held up the candy. “And I have Chuckles.”
The cats just stared at me. So I conjured two more packs of Chuckles and thought really hard about just asking questions and leaving not so much as a dusty footprint on her front doormat.
Eventually, the stairs in front of me shimmered. One disappeared, along with its cat, which had clearly been an illusion.
In their place was nothing but a thirty-foot drop and more broken ribs.
I heaved out a sigh. “So I passed?”
“Meerow.”
“That sounds more like ‘don’t screw this up’ than ‘well done.’”
“Meerow.”
Yep, that was cat for ‘don’t screw this up.’
He turned and led the way farther up. I followed. The stairs terminated at a door. One single eye was painted on the surface, with eyelashes made of knives. Yikes.
But the windows on either side of the door had window boxes full of geraniums. Quite the contrast.
I kinda liked this lady already.
I raised my hand to knock, but the door swung open before I could. Tom raced in, joining two other cats on a red rug in the middle of the floor. All were identical.
A woman stepped out from behind the door. There was something odd about her. An air that I couldn’t quite place.
“Chuckles?” Her voice was creaky and old, but she didn’t look a day over sixty. And a well-put-together sixty at that. She had wild auburn hair streaked with white and was dressed like a fortune-teller from a movie. Full skirts of many colors and golden chains.
The house behind her was brightly decorated as well, with plush fabrics and velvets that made it look like a sultan’s pleasure den in the Middle East.
“Hi.” I held out one of the packages of Chuckles.
She took it with a hand tipped with red talons, then laughed, low in her throat.
“Oh my gods, did you just chuckle?” I asked.
Her dark brows dropped low over her green eyes. “That was a terrible pun.”
I shrugged. “I’m the worst. So sue me.”
“Wouldn’t bother. You’re broke.” Her gaze snapped to the collar around my neck. “And in trouble, from the looks of it.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re the walking dead.”
“Uh, no.”
“That collar says otherwise. Vampire quarry.”
I swallowed hard. “That’s why I have questions. Can I come in?”
She stepped back. “I’ll be expecting more Chuckles.”
“You’ll get them.” Magic prickled against my skin as I entered. “Protection charm?”
“Of course.” She gestured to the plush emerald couch. “Seat?”
“Thanks.” I sat and she brought over a tray of tea. I eyed it warily, smiling but not drinking when she handed me a glass.
“Smart,” she said.
“Thanks.” I pointed to the massive window seat at the front of the house. It’d look right down on the street. “So you like to watch?”
“Of course. Who doesn’t?”
“You have a point.” Even I liked to spy out my shop window and see what folks were up to. “I have questions about a murder that happened here a couple of hours ago.”
“I didn’t see the murder, but I saw the cleanup. Vampire Court took care of it.”
Disappointment streaked through me. I sank back into the plush couch, suddenly exhausted. I wasn’t sure how many more Chuckles I’d be able to conjure at this point. “Were there many of them?”
“Eight.” She shuddered. “Powerful, creepy folks.”
“I’m trying to find the murderer. Did you overhear anything from the vampires?”
“Nope.”
“Do you know anything about the victim? His name was Marin Olerafort.” That was what they’d ask on the TV shows. Find the murderer by learning about the victim.
I so had the hang of this.
The woman held out a hand.
I passed over a package of Chuckles. She tucked it into her impressive cleavage.
“Careful, those could melt in there. Get sticky.”
“Maybe that’s how I like it.” She grinned, revealing a mouth of gold teeth.
I winced. Know when you’re beat. This lady could out-gross me anyway. She would take this victory.
“You do you.” I leaned forward. “What can you tell me about Marin?”
Please know something.
“He worked with vampires. And he liked to visit the woman who lived down the road to the left. Apartment 1B.”
“How often?”
“Often enough that you should pay her a visit.” She held out a hand, gaze expectant.
I passed the last pack of Chuckles over. She tucked it into her cleavage. Okay.
“Is that all you know?”
“About this Marin fellow, yes.”
“Thanks.” I stood. “Looks like I’m off to find 1B.”
“No, you’re not.”
I stiffened, then tilted my head at her, hoping to give off the look of an angry bird of prey. Not sure I quite nailed it. “I’m not?”
“No. You can’t find 1B. It’s hidden.”
Shit. “Can you help me?”
“For more Chuckles, of course.”
I sighed, then called on my magic. A few more packs and I’d be drained. I was good at finding things because of my dragon sense, but I didn’t want to risk relying on that alone, since it didn’t always work unless I had good info about what I was hunting.
And I really needed to find 1B.
I conjured two more packs of Chuckles and handed them over.
She took them, shoved them down the hatch of her bra, then smiled serenely. “You need to seek the everliving vine. It blooms blood red and pricks like a knife.”
“Hmmm. Okay.” I could work with that. It’d give me something to envision so my dragon sense could latch on. “That all?”
“No. There is no door. Pet a rose petal and say that Clarita sent you. And don’t startle her. She is easily spooked.”
“Perfect.” My favorite kind of person to question.
The woman chuckled and stood, then gestured me to the door. “The Chairman will lead you out.”
The big black cat who’d led me here rose from his spot on the rug, then stalked to the door. The Chairman really suited him. I waved to the woman, then followed the Chairman down the stairs and out the main door, which slammed unceremoniously behind me.
In the cold dark of the alley, my newfound clue suddenly seemed small by comparison. But I called upon my dragon sense anyway, feeding it a mental image of the everliving vine with blood red blooms and knife thorns.
It took a moment—an eternity, actually—before my dragon sense clued in. Then it tugged about my middle. Hard.
I followed it left, away from Fair Fortune Alley, headed deeper down the narrow street. The moon shined brightly upon the cobblestones that were flecked with snow. More rats streaked along to my left. Good company.
My dragon sense pulled me toward another blank brick wall. This one had no door, but it did have a thick vine crawling up the front. Blood red blooms—like roses on steroids—were nestled amongst the dagger-like thorns.
I really wanted to pick one.
That was a terrible freaking idea. Clarita had said to pet a rose petal. I ran a finger down the velvety red surface. “Clarita sent me.”
Magic shimmered on the air, and the roses dissolved, followed shortly by the thorns and the vines. A blue door appeared. 1B was painted on the surface in gold.
“Clarita?” the voice asked.
“Yes.” I strove to keep my voice calm, so as not to startle her. “She said that I could find you at the everliving vine.”
I swore I could hear the annoyed sigh from behind the door. A moment later, it opened to reveal a pretty blonde woman who looked like she ran the PTA. Her eyes were an ice blue that cut right through me, and she was thin enough that a stiff wind could blow her away.
Despite her everyday PTA appearance, there was something weird about her. Just like there had been with Clarita. But I couldn’t place it.
“What can I do for you?” Her voice was as cold as her eyes.
I sure hoped she didn’t want any Chuckles. “I’m here to ask you about the murder of Marin Olerafort. I understand that you were friends.”
Her ice eyes widened at that, and her jaw stiffened. At her side, her hand fisted until the knuckles were white. “I have no idea who you are talking about.”
“Of course you know Marin.” Shit, was I the first one to tell her that he’d died? “Wait, did you not know about his death?”
Idiot.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice wavered, but it was hard to tell if it was sadness or anger.
“You were friends with Marin. Please, help me. I need to find his killer.”
“I’m sorry. I know nothing.” She slammed the door shut. It disappeared and the everliving vine grew up from the pot on the ground.
I stepped back. “Well, shit.”
“That’s an understatement.” The deep voice sounded from behind me.
I jumped a mile into the air. I swear to fate I could see the city below me, spread out as golden lights creeping over the Oregon countryside. When I finally landed, fear sweat had broken out on my palms. Slowly, I turned.
5
The Enforcer stood on the other side of the alley, leaning against a brick wall. Though he was far too big to ever look elegant, he somehow managed it. But it was a lounging jungle cat’s I’m-about-to-eat-you elegant. His eyes pierced right through me, and he looked like he was poised to attack. His dark hair swept back from his forehead in the sexiest, most artful disarray I’d ever seen.
Omigod, had I just thought he was sexy?
I was a certifiable idiot. The kind that deserved a plaque on her wall. Or on her tombstone. Here lies the body of the idiot who was attracted to a killer vampire Enforcer. May she rest in stupidity.
“Did you think you could outrun me?” he asked.
“Kinda hoped to, at least until I found a clue that proved I was innocent.”
“Innocent? You drugged my guards.”
“But I didn’t kill them. Just like I didn’t kill Marin.”
He crossed his arms and gave me a skeptical brow raise, then glanced at the wall behind me. “You’re trying to prove your innocence?”
“You believe I’m innocent?”
“What I believe is that you are somewhere you shouldn’t be, talking to people you shouldn’t have the ability to see. Much less talk to.”
“I can talk to anyone I want.”
The corner of his mouth pulled back in something that was almost a grin but at the same time not even close. “Apparently so.”
“I’ve found a clue, though. So you have to let me go.”
“Hardly.” He stepped forward.
I backed up. My heart thundered, and sweat broke out on my palms, as if my primitive lizard brain remembered him slapping the collar on me.
“We need to get out of here,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Yes, you are.” His gaze fell to the collar. “If you want to keep that head of yours.”
“Bastard.” Of course I wanted to keep my freaking head.
“Then come on.” He held out his hand.
“I’m not holding your hand.”
“I’m transporting you, not asking you out. We can’t talk here. It’s not private.”
“My friends are here with me. I can’t just ditch them.”
“Loyal.”
“Like a postcard of a golden retriever.”
His brow quirked. “Paul Simon?”
He recognized the lyrics. I wouldn’t have pegged that. “Since I’m not a moron, yes.”
“That’s debatable. Come on. You can call your friends to let them know you’ve left.” He eyed the collar, the threat implicit.
“Fine.” I grabbed his palm, both attracted and annoyed.
His strong hand closed around my own. A second later, I was sucked into the ether. It spit us out in the middle of the business district. The tall, darkened buildings glowered down upon us. Most busy bees had gone home for the night.
“Here?” I asked. “You got some banking to do?”
“Smart-ass.” But the look in his eyes kinda suggested that he thought I was funny.
Weird. “Give me a moment to call my friends.” I pointed to a light post about twenty feet away. “I’m going over there to do it.”
“Don’t want me eavesdropping?”
“Don’t be weird. Of course I don’t want you listening to me. I’m going to say terrible things about you.”
This time, I’d bet at least seventy-five cents that there was a grin in his gaze.
Nah, that was nuts. I wouldn’t even bet a dime.
“Fine. Be quick.”
I turned and hurried to the light post, then pressed my fingertips against the comms charm at my neck.
“Guys?” I whispered.
“Yeah?” Cass whispered back.
“I’ve been nabbed by the Enforcer.”
“Damn!” Del hissed.
“My thoughts exactly. He’s taken me back to his place in the business district.” I didn’t need to tell them exactly where to find me. If they needed to, their dragon senses would lead them right to me. “Anyway, I’ll be in touch.”
“Be safe. We’ll keep looking for clues, though we’ve had no luck yet.”
“Thanks, guys. And hey, look after Fabio, okay?”
“Of course,” Del said. “I’ll drive him like he’s my own.”
We cut the line, and I returned to the Enforcer. He lounged against a light post, doing another effortless impression of a jaguar that could take my head off.
Not so funny thing was, he could.
“What’s your name, anyway?” I asked.
“Ares.”
“Like the god of war?”
He shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”
“But not like, the Ares.”
“No, gods are myths.”
“Myths can be based on people.”
“Well, this one isn’t based on me. I’m only twenty-eight, not twenty-eight hundred. Follow me.”
He led me toward the front door of the tallest building in Magic’s Bend. It held offices as far as I knew, but there was a doorman who looked like he should be standing outside of some fancy apartment building in New York, letting Eloise in and out.
“Sir,” the doorman intoned. His face looked like every face I’d ever seen. As boring and bland as wheat bread. It was almost as if he tried to be invisible.
“Jeeves.” Ares nodded.
Jeeves held open the door, and I followed Ares into the elegant lobby. I hurried up beside him. “Are you freaking kidding me? The doorman’s name is Jeeves? Is he also a butler?”
The corner of Ares’s mouth tugged up just slightly, though his eyes remained chilly. “Just a doorman.”
“Okay, then.” I looked around at the fancy couches and potted plants. “I thought this was an office building.”
“The bottom floors are.” He pressed the button for the elevator. “The tops floors are apartments, and this is the residential entrance.”
“And we couldn’t just transport into your house?”
He tossed me an unimpressed glance. “As if I’d allow transporting into my home.”
He’d blocked it for security reasons, I guessed. Smart.
He stuck his key into a slot in the elevator, and we rode in silence up to his apartment. The doors opened onto a small, private lobby, and he used his key again to enter his apartment.
I whistled. “Fancy.”
The apartment was huge, with high ceilings and a wall of windows looking out onto Magic’s Bend. It was modern and beautiful and cold, a bit like the man himself.
I wandered toward the low gray couch. The leather looked soft as silk. It faced a massive marble fireplace.
“You should have a white bearskin rug in front of that fireplace.”
“Not my style.”
“I imagine not.” Too tacky for ol’ Ares. “You really live here?”
“Occasionally.” He strode to the open kitchen behind a half wall.
“Multiple homes, huh?” I shook my head. “I feel you. They can be a burden.”
I so did not have multiple homes, but I wasn’t above making fun of him for his.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked.
“Will it be blood?”
He glanced back at me, brows raised. “Are you offering?”
As fear dampened my palms, I regretted my joke. “Nope. And, uh, I’ll just have a water.”
He nodded.
I followed him toward the kitchen, veering off to stand at the huge dining room table set into the corner. Windows surrounded it on both sides, providing expansive views out onto the rolling lights of Magic’s Bend. The dark patch beyond had to be the sea. Though we were basically a coastal city, I didn’t go there often.
Ares joined me, passing me a glass of water. I took it, careful not to touch his hand nor look too directly at him. Not only did he scare me, his beauty kinda blinded me.
I didn’t like it. He’d be easier to trust if he were ugly.
But he wasn’t. He had the face of a guy who got everything he wanted. And what he wanted right now was to pin a murder on me.
I sipped the water to wet my parched throat. “What are we doing up here?”
“Talking about what you were doing back in Darklane. Returning to the scene of the crime? Did you want a memento?”
“Ugh, no.” I set the water on the glass table just a little too hard. Thankfully, nothing cracked. “I was there looking for clues about who actually did it so that you’d take this damned collar off me.”
“Did you find one?” he asked.
“Of course. PTA lady has one.”
“PTA lady?”
“You know, Parent Teacher Association? She looks all pressed and proper, besides the fact that there is something weird about her.”
