Leandras looked up at her with a slice of bacon lifted halfway to his mouth. “I’m sorry?”
“And the washing machine’s upstairs. How’d you fix your clothes?”
‘Wow. Forget suspicious. Now you’re just paranoid.’
The bacon disappeared into the fae’s mouth with hardly a sound, and he chewed slowly, staring at her the whole time.
Just to mess with her, she knew.
He slipped one of the paper towels out from under the plate and used it to wipe the grease from his fingers. “It’s an illusion, which I’m sure you’ve already considered. I find it distasteful not to present myself professionally.”
“As a fry cook?”
The corner of his mouth twitched into a thin smile. “Fine. I can agree with you there. We’re far past the point of mere professionalism. I don’t enjoy looking dirty and battered and beaten up. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
For a moment, Jessica stared right back at him. Why did she even care so much about all the tiny details and whatever idiosyncrasies this fae carried with him?
Oh, yeah. Because he was staying in her bank for the next four and a half days. And because he’d put his life in her hands last night without giving her the full story.
“You used the rest of your magic for an illusion.”
She probably would have felt better about the whole thing if he’d slurped loudly at his coffee when he raised it to his lips, but even that was perfect. Polite. Soundless. It made her want to scream.
Leandras finally set his mug down on the desk and nodded. “Not the rest of it. A small, simple illusion is a drop in the bucket. I was under the impression that the topics of our forthcoming conversations would revolve around what you don’t already know.”
“You’re right.” Jessica pulled out the rolling desk chair and sat, cradling her coffee in both hands, then jerked her head toward the armchair behind her—which still rested beside the mound of spilled artifacts and magical materials she hadn’t yet gotten around to cleaning up off the floor. That could wait. “Take a seat, then. And we’ll talk about what I don’t already know.”
She refused to look at him but felt his smirk aimed in her direction just the same.
Leandras’ fingers twitched toward the armchair, and the whole thing lifted half an inch off the floor to glide effortlessly toward him. A few upturned vials rolled from the bottom of the disturbed mess, but the chair itself settled soundlessly at the side of the desk, and the fae grabbed his coffee again before slowly lowering himself into his seat.
At least they had an entire wooden desk between them for this first conversation.
He sipped primly at his coffee again, staring at her over the rim of his mug with a glint of amusement behind his luminous fae eyes. Amusement and maybe something else. Jessica didn’t really want to know.
“Well?”
“Well.” She shrugged. “You’re gonna tell me about the Gateway.”
“Indeed. As promised.” He took another slice of bacon and gently slid the plate an inch toward her. “I do recommend eating something, at the very least. Unless you’ve recovered all your strength overnight. In which case, I’d have to tell you the bacon is delicious and pairs surprisingly well with the dark roast from your pantry.”
“I’m not hungry.”
It took a monstrous amount of willpower to stare at Leandras’ mockingly pursed lips and not look down at the bacon.
‘Oh, get off your high horse already and eat. Even I can tell it’s delicious.’
As if he could hear the bank’s voice in her head, Leandras raised an eyebrow in what was either encouragement or doubt.
Jessica’s stomach betrayed her with a growl her unwanted guest probably could’ve heard if she’d been upstairs. So she caved and snatched up two pieces of bacon before slumping back down in the rolling chair. “Thanks.”
“You provided the food. I’m happy to do my part.” He ate more bacon, washed it down with the most impossibly delicate sip of coffee again, and sat back in the armchair. “Speaking of which, where would you like to start?”
‘Maybe you should start with opening up shop, huh? Seven o’clock on the dot and all that.’
She pointed at the front door, and the yellow light blooming at her fingertip echoed around the bolt lock sliding back into place with a thunk as the Closed sign flipped itself around to Open against the window. “Start at the beginning.”
Leandras glanced briefly at the swinging Open sign and raised his eyebrows. “That’s an exceptionally large amount of history to cover. I’m not sure I’m the right magical for that kind of illuminating account—”
“You know what I mean.” She shot him a warning look, and he rewarded her with a close-lipped smile. Yeah, this guy was milking this whole thing for all its worth. And despite how much she didn’t appreciate being locked into this stalemate of an agreement, Jessica couldn’t help a small smile in return. “Start with telling me what the Gateway actually is.”
“Ah. Yes.” Leandras tipped his head back and blinked at the ceiling. “What is the Gateway?”
‘Okay, now this I gotta hear.’
You don’t already know?
‘Of course I know. Mostly. But hey, it’s always good to get a second opinion.’
Only when the fae finally started talking did Jessica bite into the bacon. No way in hell would she tell him it was actually better than she’d expected.
“I’m sure you’ve already put a few of the pieces together on your own,” Leandras started. “The Gateway, plain and simple, is a doorway to another world.”
“Yep.” She swallowed and sipped her coffee. “I put that one together. Your world.”
“Indeed.”
“And I’m assuming it has a name.”
Leandras slowly licked his lips, as if it took all his willpower not to meet her sarcasm with a dose of his own. “Xahar’áhsh.”
The word rolled off his tongue like an exotic incantation, but Jessica couldn’t help herself. “Gesundheit.”
“Will we be enjoying frequent interruptions of this juvenile humor?” He settled his gaze on her once more, and his head twitched to the side like a curious tick. “Or would you prefer to make the best use of the time we have?”
Jessica cleared her throat and shifted in the rolling desk chair, trying to wipe the smirk off her face. “Just had to get it out of my system. I’m good now. Carry on.”
The bank burst out laughing in her head, and she batted her eyelashes furiously to keep herself from screaming at it to shut up so she could listen.
“There are other doorways between worlds,” Leandras continued. “Most of them have either been forgotten or destroyed, and while the Gateway inside this establishment is not the only one in existence, it is most certainly the most important.”
“That’s a good start. Why?”
The fae dipped his head so he could run a finger along his eyebrow without having to lift his elbow from the armrest. “I suppose a history lesson may be the only effective way to paint this clearly enough for you. In a nutshell, Jessica, that portal you have sequestered away on the second floor was the first doorway between that world and this one. The origin of all magic on Earth, including those of us who possess it in our own blood.”
Jessica frowned at him. “Then that had to be…what? Centuries ago?”
“Try millennia.”
“Wait, so you’re telling me the source of magic on this planet is inside a bank in Golden, Colorado?” She scoffed and shook her head. “I’m having a hard time buying that one.”
“Well, that’s something you’ll have to reconcile on your own time.” The deferring nod he gave her might have looked like politely agreeing to disagree, if anyone else had seen it. To Jessica, it just looked like an insult. “Of course, as you know, this town, this state, this entire country have not always had their current names. The bedrock on which we now stand—or sit, if you prefer—has seen countless civilizations living and coexisting and figh
ting to survive upon it. Many of them human, yes. Some of them not.”
“Why here?” Jessica sat back in her chair and finally let herself get comfortable. “Why open up the first doorway between worlds at the foot of the Rockies?”
“As far as I understand it, the best explanation is that it was simply where the cards of fate fell. Those in my world who dedicated their lives to the study of other life forms and other universes beyond their own limited knowledge, other realms, finally found what they were looking for. And the Gateway was opened.”
“But now it’s closed.”
‘Oh, for crying out loud. Will you just let the guy talk?’
He’s just drawing it out for effect. I’m encouraging him.
‘Look at the guy, Jessica. You’re pissing him off.’
Leandras stared at her, expressionless, unblinking, and unmoving.
Okay, fine.
She crammed the second piece of bacon in her mouth and gestured with grease-covered fingers for the fae to continue.
His tight smile and the next dip of his head made him look like he was about to run away screaming, binding or no binding. “Yes. I’ll get to that part. Eventually.”
Jessica buried her face in her coffee mug.
“I won’t bore you with the historical accounts of magicals from the other world crossing through the Gateway. But for quite some time, our presence here went unnoticed. Intentionally. And we learned about this world and all it had to offer. Specifically the energetic life force of this planet and the universe in which it endlessly circles a single star. I suppose the next milestone of that history that even remotely applies to our conversation is when the Dalu’Rázj came to power. And with it came the Age of—”
The metal crow hanging over the bank’s front door burst to life with a metallic screech and let out its telltale warning caw.
Jessica and Leandras both looked up at the door, where the shadowy silhouette of the bank’s first client of the day approached the frosted-glass pane with a limping gait.
“Seriously?”
Chapter Eleven
Right when things were getting good, another customer was here to interrupt all Jessica’s plans. Of course. Because that was what happened at Winthrop & Dirledge, wasn’t it?
Leandras inhaled sharply. “To be continued, then.”
“Yeah.” Jessica pushed herself out of the desk chair. “And you need to—”
A blur of silver and white raced past her, fluttering her hair around her face before the charred door to the office closed with a soft click. Blinking rapidly, she turned to stare at the door and slowly sipped her coffee.
Did you know he could move that fast?
‘Well I do now.’
Trying to recover from the shock of seeing a fae dart across the lobby faster than she could see, Jessica took her place behind the desk. A second later, the front door opened with the clacking jingle of the bell tied to the metal crow’s foot, and an incredibly tall, thin, gaunt-looking man stepped inside. He actually had to duck in order to get through the doorway, and when he straightened again, Jessica expected him to topple forward.
‘Holy crap. What is he, like, eight feet tall?’
Or wearing stilts.
“Good morning.” The magical’s voice was startlingly deep for how thin and gangly he was. He ducked beneath the first beam crossing the ceiling, though he wasn’t in any danger of clotheslining himself on those. When his intensely blue eyes settled on Jessica, he frowned. “I’m looking for the owner of this establishment.”
“Yep. And you found her. What can I help you with?”
Tall and Creepy glanced at the plate of bacon beside Leandras’ coffee mug still on the desk, then looked pointedly at the mug in Jessica’s hands. “I prefer to speak to the owner. Alone.”
“Fine by me.” Trying to play it cool, Jessica reached for Leandras’ coffee and took a long drink. She almost spit it out again but managed to force it down; black and ridiculously strong wasn’t her style at all. “I’m the owner, and I’m alone. Or at least I was before you stepped inside.”
“I see.” Inhaling deeply through his nose, Tall and Creepy glanced around the lobby, and a shimmer of pale blue light flashed behind his already startlingly blue eyes. “I’ve received word of certain…changes within this establishment. And I wish to know what your plans are in dealing with said changes and moving forward.”
“Sorry.” She plastered a smile on her face and set down both mugs of coffee. “You’ll have to be a little more specific. There’s been a lot happening the last few days.”
His gaze landed on the pile of junk strewn across the floor behind her, plus the broken shelves, and then the tattered armchair positioned at the side of the desk. “Let me be frank with you, Ms.…”
“Please do.” No, she wasn’t giving her name or personal information to the real-life version of Skeleton Jack waltzing through her front door.
‘Ha. Good one. Wait, who’s Skeleton Jack—’
Not worth explaining right now. Quiet.
The tall guy looked like he’d just bitten into a lemon. “I represent an organization and its investors, all of whom are extremely interested in the wellbeing of this bank and all its assets. It would be especially beneficial for you, both financially and otherwise, if you were to cooperate with this organization and deliver any information you might have regarding a certain asset of theirs.”
“Right. Does this organization have a name?”
“It does.” He didn’t move a muscle and didn’t look anywhere near close to giving up that name.
Jessica nodded curtly. Clearly, the guy was trying to play hardball, only she had no idea what game he’d brought through the front door. “Okay, well I’ll need a little more information on the…information. Though, honestly, I deal more in tangible goods than secrets. You know, this being a bank with a vault and everything.”
She stuck her thumb over her shoulder in the general direction of the back hallway and the impossibly huge witching vault on the other side of the shelves behind her.
Tall and Creepy didn’t look away from her face. “We’re not interested in the vault’s contents but in something far more volatile. Has anyone entered this establishment in the last month or so demanding the opening of and first rights to a certain doorway?”
Jessica’s first instinct was to scrunch up her face and bottle everything deep down inside. So when the laugh she couldn’t contain burst out of her, it sounded like the croak of a dying animal. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Absolutely not.”
“No.” She tried to force her amusement back down, but a low chuckle escaped her anyway. “Of course you’re not. Listen, pretty much everyone who’s walked through that door has demanded something of me they just aren’t going to get. If you’re one of those and don’t actually have any interest in making a vault transaction, I’m gonna have to tell you the same thing I told them.”
“And what would that be?”
Jessica gestured to the front of the lobby. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
“Hmm.” Tall and Creepy took another deep breath through his nose, like someone who thought they smelled a natural-gas leak trying to figure out if it was real or just all in their head. “Have any of those magicals to whom you’re referring found reason to stay? Perhaps find shelter and aid within these…walls?”
His eerily thin nostrils flared as he studied said walls, and another flash of blue light rose behind his eyes.
“No.” Jessica’s smile faded. “No one stays in this building but me.”
I don’t like the way he’s scanning the place.
‘Tell me about it. You should probably just hand over the reins right now. If he makes a move—’
You can take over my body when it’s the last resort. Just watch him.
An uncomfortably long silence passed between them, then Jessica spread her arms. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Not f
or the time being.” The skeletal magical in a suit stepped toward the desk and towered over her, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a thick, glinting business card and set it on the rough wood. “But I highly encourage you to reach out to us if anyone does attempt to weasel their way onto the premises. Uninvited and unwelcome. No matter what it is they’re demanding.”
“Huh.” She leaned slightly over the desk and peered at the card. What a nice surprise to find she could read the small gilded font upside down—‘Fargus Kresh Representing the Hakali Hand Corporation.’ “You know, Fargus, you guys should’ve shown up weeks ago. Then I could’ve called at least once a day. Maybe twice.”
Her sarcastic admission didn’t faze Tall and Creepy. In fact, he looked completely unaffected by anything she’d said and way more focused on trying to see through the walls.
He can’t actually see through the walls, right?
‘What? Come on. How the hell am I supposed to know what you meat-bags can and can’t do?’
Very helpful.
Fargus dipped his head, casting an incredibly long shadow over the desk and Jessica and even the crooked, broken shelves behind her. The sound he emitted was less of a hum and more of a thoughtful growl. “I’ll leave you to your—”
A small thump came from the general direction of the closed office door, followed by the rattle of something spinning around and finally toppling onto the floor. Fargus hissed, his shoulders hunched as he crossed from the desk to that side of the lobby in two impossibly long strides.
Apparently, Leandras didn’t value his life nearly as much as he’d made her believe.
What is he doing in there?
‘Nothing.’
“What’s behind this door?” Fargus snarled, peering at it like a raptor deciding how to best dismantle its latest victim. His hands were now lifted at his sides, curled into apprehensive claws. And the guy’s shadow grew even longer across the floor and out across the sides of the office door, as if it had a life of its own.
“Junk,” Jessica said flatly. “You’re wasting your time.”
‘Yeah, good idea. Distract him with lies.’
The Secret Coin (Accessory to Magic Book 3) Page 10