“I’m sure you’re curious, and you think you want to know, but understanding will rock your faith in an organization you believe in.” Jim adjusted his hands on the steering wheel.
“We both understand The Society isn’t perfect. It has serious flaws, but overall it serves a good purpose.” My feelings about The Society had changed over the years, but not my faith in Levi. He was a good king.
“It does serve a good purpose, but it also has its own agenda.” Jim’s face darkened.
“I know Robert has made many mistakes.” I’d learned too much about the former king over the past few years. He’d been hiding many secrets.
“And I am sure his son has too.”
“We all make mistakes,” Hailey swung her arms at her sides.
“Yes.” Jim nodded. “And we all have secrets.”
“So what happened?” Hailey rested her hand on the headrest of my seat. “Tell us.”
“Robert didn’t like my suggestion that many of the creatures we believed were extinct may have been alive and well.” Jim turned onto a highway. “It didn’t serve his purposes.”
“Because some of those creatures might have challenged his power?” I suggested.
Jim nodded.
That much made sense. “But why did you run? Why not just stop trying to convince him?”
Jim laughed dryly. “You’ve never been on the wrong side of an organization like The Society. You wouldn’t understand.”
“You really believed Robert would come after you?” I had a hard time believing Robert would exert his energy on something like that.
“As I said before, this isn’t a conversation you really want to have. So the conversation is over.” Then as if nothing had transpired he started humming some song I’d never heard before. I wanted to ask more questions, but it didn’t seem appropriate. All we’d do was make him mad. Still, I couldn’t stop the nagging feeling that this was important. What were the chances that my uncle happened to research the very creatures that the love of my life became? I didn’t believe in coincidences, and if I wasn’t already worried sick about Daisy, I would have spent more mental power thinking about it, but I couldn’t take the risk of losing the one lead we had.
Hailey stopped asking too. She wasn’t the type to sit back silently, but my guess was she was thinking the same thing I was. We’d have a lot to talk about the next time we were alone.
I looked out the window as we drove through the quiet city. We were finally moving toward finding a way to help Daisy, but she still seemed so far away. I hoped wherever she was, she was doing okay.
Jim drove down an alleyway I was nearly positive wasn’t designed for cars. Like everything else he did, it didn’t quite surprise me. Jim parked right in front of the back entrance of a red-brick building with an industrial feel and turned off the car. “We’re here.”
“That didn’t take long.” Hailey opened her door.
After a brief moment of hesitation as I wondered about the intelligence of letting my sister tag along on these shenanigans, I got out too. Hailey was tough. She’d be fine, and I’d be around to protect her.
We followed Jim up two concrete steps. He knocked on the tall metal door. At first nothing happened, but then the door slowly opened.
A girl with bright yellow pigtails that matched the yellow cotton dress she wore stepped through the door way. She propped the door open with a milk crate. She frowned at Jim. “You back again?” Her pigtails made her look young, but she had to have been at least in her mid-twenties.
“Yeah. Afraid so.” He turned to Hailey and me. “But I brought my niece and nephew.”
“You have a niece and nephew?” The girl looked us over. “When did that happen?”
“I think Owen’s over a quarter-century old now, so it’s been awhile.”
The girl shook her head. “I mean since when have they been around? I’ve never seen you with them.” She glanced between us.
Hailey pushed passed Jim and held out her hand. “Hailey Kaye.”
“Hi Hailey, I’m Amber.” The girl smiled broadly revealing rows of sharp jagged teeth. “And what’s his name?” She grinned at me.
“I’m Owen.” I reached out my hand to her, trying to ignore her teeth and the way her eyes swept over me like a piece of meat. I wasn’t interested in anything having to do with her, or her teeth.
She gave me a firm handshake. “Pleasure to meet you. What brings you to our humble abode?”
“Abode? This is a house?” Hailey pointed through the doorway.
“It’s a figure of speech.” Amber rolled her eyes. “She didn’t get your brains, did she?” Amber nodded at Jim.
“You didn’t just say that.” Hailey put a hand on her hip.
I put a hand on Hailey’s arm to calm her. “Listen, we’ve had a long night.”
“Hailey’s as sharp as they come.” Jim laughed. “Sorry, Amber. No offense.”
Amber ran her tongue over her teeth, eliciting blood. “No offense taken.”
“Mind if we head inside? I’m looking for Jonathan.” Jim glanced into the darkness inside the doorway of the bar.
“He’s in there somewhere. Be my guest.” She looked at me. “But what’s your story?”
“My story?” I put a hand to my chest.
“Yes. Yours. Single. Taken?”
“Oh.” Amber went right to the point. “Taken.”
“Too bad.” She walked around me in a circle. “I’d be careful. Those nymphs love their Pterons.”
“There are nymphs inside?” Hailey’s voice lilted.
“There are always a few here.” Jim gave her an understanding look. Nymphs hung all over men, and were generally rude to women. Hailey had reason to dislike the creatures.
“Great. This outing just got even more fun.” Hailey crossed an arm over her chest.
“My brother’s inside if you’re bored.” Amber nodded to Hailey. “And into Jackals.”
“Your brother is a Jackal?” Hailey raised an eyebrow, probably thinking exactly what I was. How was this sharp tooth girl related to one of the tamest of the shifters?
“He’s my step-brother.”
“Oh ok.” Hailey nodded.
“But he’s like blood so play nice.” Her eyes darkened.
“I’m not interested, but thanks.” Hailey strode inside without waiting for the rest of us.
“Hey, wait up.” I caught up with her inside the dark and smoky bar. Like most paranormal bars, this one was more a biker bar than a club, although the loud electronic music didn’t fit with the austere furnishings and vintage bar that spanned the back half of the bottom floor of the place.
“What? Afraid I was going to leave you behind?” She grinned.
“Sometimes you don’t think.” I scowled. “Did you have any clue what you were walking into just now?”
She held her hands out as she gazed around the dark room. “A bar.”
“Just don’t be stupid.” Hailey’s greatest flaw was she overestimated her strength. She was arguably one of the strongest creatures in any given room, but that didn’t mean she could take on the world.
“I try not to be.”
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” Jim disappeared across the dark and crowded room. This place had a particularly late crowd. Or maybe it was early crowd.
“The nymphs already found you.” Hailey pointed to where a group of four girls giggled and pointed to me. They were all scantily clad in brightly colored dresses.
“Lovely.” I turned my back to them. “Protect me.” Nymphs were notorious for using their sexuality to get what they wanted from men—be it money, secrets, or power. They went after Pterons because Pterons generally had all of the above.
“What do you want me to do?” Hailey watched over my shoulder, and I knew she was staring at them.
“Pretend we’re together.”
“Eww.” She wrinkled up her face in disgust.
“I’d do it for you.”
“We need to get Daisy back so
you don’t ask me to play along with these stupid games.”
“It’s not a game.” I gritted my teeth. “I don’t have time for them.”
“Whatever. I’m not pretending we’re together. I have a better idea.”
“A better idea?” I raised an eyebrow. “Somehow I don’t think I want to know what it’s going to be.”
The nymphs left their table and headed over. They walked with their arms linked and stepped in perfect sync. There was something almost hypnotic about the motion, but I ignored it. I wasn’t in the mood to play their games.
“Hello, stranger.” One of the girls fixed a wide smile at me. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Obviously you haven’t met if you’re calling him a stranger.” Hailey rolled her eyes.
“You can leave us.” The girl made a shooing motion at Hailey.
“Actually I can’t.” Hailey crossed her arms.
“Why not?” Another of the girls asked.
“Because I can’t.”
The first girl frowned and then turned to me. “What are you? You scream powerful.”
“He’s a squirrel shifter, isn’t it obvious?” Hailey pointed to me. “But he can’t really shift so that’s why I’m with him. You know, for protection.”
The girls scowled. “Shut up.”
“How do you know she’s not being serious?” I didn’t particularly want to pretend my shifted form was a squirrel, but now that Hailey had started it, I needed to run with it. “Looks can be deceiving.”
“You’re trying to get rid of us.”
“If that’s the case, what are you still doing here?”
“You came in with a Pteron.”
“Did we?” Hailey wore a puzzled expression. “I didn’t know that.”
“We can make this a really enjoyable evening.” One of the nymphs ran her hand down my arm.
I pulled my arm away. “It’s morning.”
“Same thing.”
I glanced around the room, waiting for Jim to come back. “I’m sure you can find someone else to enjoy the morning with.”
“But we want you.” She ran her teeth over her bottom lip.
“No thanks. Besides, do you really want to be known for getting with a squirrel shifter?”
“You’re a Pteron.”
“Not that I mind the confusion, but no wings here.” I noticed Jim out of the corner of my eye. “We’ve got to go.” I grabbed Hailey’s hand and pulled her away from the nymphs.
“That was your great idea? A squirrel shifter?” I hissed as we made our way across the room.
“I was going to say I couldn’t leave you because you were incontinent when you got nervous, but I wasn’t sure if that was taking it too far.”
I laughed. “I would have loved to have seen their faces.”
“The fact that you aren’t furious I’d even suggest you peed yourself says everything I need to know.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you have it really bad for Daisy.” Hailey winked.
“I thought that was already established.” At least it had been established for a very long time for me.
“It was.”
Jim noticed our approach and waved us over to where he stood talking to a guy in his early thirties. He had long blond hair that fell below his shoulders, and he was dressed in a blazer that set him apart from the rest of the casually dressed crowd. “You found us.”
“You told us to wait.” Hailey tapped her toe. “I didn’t know we were supposed to be looking for you.”
“You should always be looking.” Jim pushed his glasses up on his face. “Otherwise life will pass you by.”
“Thanks for the words of wisdom.” Hailey laid on the sarcasm.
“Hailey and Owen, this is Jonathan. Jonathan, this is Hailey and Owen. My brother’s kids.” Jim abruptly changed the subject.
“Pleasure to meet you.” The blond haired man smiled mostly at Hailey.
“Same to you.” Hailey gave him a small smile.
“I was just telling Jonathan you two were visiting for a few days.” Jim adjusted his backpack again. He had brought it into the bar with him for one reason or another.
“Yes, it’s been a blast visiting Uncle Jim.” Hailey held up her fist in mock excitement.
Jonathan laughed. “You don’t have to lay it on so thick. It’s nice this old guy has some company. He’s been alone for so long I’m afraid he’s going to have to regain basic social skills.”
I remembered what my dad said about how Jim wasn’t a loner by choice. “We’ll try to start visiting more often.”
“Good to hear.” Jonathan nodded. “So I understand you guys are looking to do some trading?”
I looked at Jim. It would have been nice if he’d prepped us about that.
“Yes, sure…” Hailey said warily.
“Great. Really I’m looking for an original vinyl of The Beatles’ White Album. Think you can find one for me?”
I had no clue where we were going to find one of those but Jim was mouthing ‘agree’ so I found myself nodding. “Sure.”
“Great.” Jonathan smiled. “Then we can make a deal.”
Agreeing to a deal when you a) had no clue how to find the thing you were promising and b) had no idea what you were getting out of the deal, was risky, but we were trusting Jim, so I went with it.
Jonathan held out his hand, and I accepted before Hailey could. If one of us were putting ourselves on the line, it was going to be me. “Jim, I assume you have the basic essentials with you?”
“Yes. I have the full kit.” Jim touched his backpack.
“Terrific.” Jonathan grinned. “Let’s do some Dryad hunting.”
11
Daisy
“Didn’t we take a walk already?” I glanced at the small gap in the blinds Sol had left open.
“That wasn’t a long walk.”
“It wasn’t.” But I wasn’t sure a walk was going to help anything.
“Would you prefer to stay here? Perhaps move to my bedroom?” His eyes heated just enough that his words set off the usual alarm. Desire. The last thing I needed.
“Very funny.”
“It’s not exactly a joke, although that would go completely against protocol.”
“Good thing I’m not interested then.” I crossed one arm over my chest and held my elbow.
“Good thing.” He watched me like an animal watching its prey. He was searching for weaknesses. Immortal or not, I had my fair share of those.
“So where are we walking?”
“I’m going to make coffee first.” He walked over to a coffee maker on one of the granite countertops in the kitchen that was open to the living room.
“Coffee? You need a caffeine fix?” I said to his back.
“We both do,” he called over his shoulder.
“I’m not tired.” I wished I were. Then I could fall into a dream.
“We both need caffeine.” He repeated himself.
“Why am I always surrounded by people who think they know what’s best for me?”
“I don’t know, maybe you should be asking yourself that question.”
His response wasn’t what I expected. “Who says I wasn’t?”
“You said it out loud, which implied you were asking me.”
“No it doesn’t. It could have been a rhetorical question.”
“But it wasn’t.” He ground coffee beans.
I waited for the loud grinding to finish. “How would you know?”
“I’m a Seer.” He brought the coffee pot over to the sink and turned on the tap.
“But are you seeing me?”
“I don’t know, am I?” He watched me yet still knew exactly when to turn off the water.
“Ugh.” I wasn’t in the mood for him to keep pushing questions back on me. “You’re annoying.”
He poured the water into his coffee maker.
“You actually use an old fashioned one.” I pointed to the simple black co
ffee maker.
“As compared to?”
“You seemed like the little single-use cup coffee guy.”
“Why would you think that?” He leaned back against the far counter.
“Because it’s faster.”
“I need a full pot.”
“Even when it’s just you?” From as far as I could tell he lived alone.
“Yes.” Something resembling amusement crossed his face, making me wonder for a second if he could read my thoughts.
“Well then I guess I should feel honored you want to share with me.”
He nodded. “You should.”
“Great. Glad that’s established.”
He poured the ground coffee beans into the machine. “You have a lot of allure.”
“Uh, I do?”
He turned toward me. “Normally Allures can’t use it on me.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“I know.”
“So…”
“Your appeal. It’s how you can manipulate humans. I’m not human, but the appeal is working.”
“Yeah, I seem to create more desire in people than most.”
“But I’m not human.” He leaned over the island toward me. “It shouldn’t work.”
“Maybe you just find me attractive.” Modesty had also gone out the window. Having confidence and showing it worked wonders. Too bad I hadn’t discovered that as a human.
He laughed. “I guess I’ll never know.”
“I’m sure you have worse things to worry about.”
“Who’s the guy?” He straightened up and stepped back as if repulsed.
“Which one? The one who thinks I’m his maker?” Thinking of Roland soured my mood further. His interest in me had nothing to do with me and everything to do with Taylor.
Sol shook his head. “No. The one you keep thinking about.”
I’d been right. He was reading my thoughts. Although Owen hadn’t been on my mind much, I wanted him to be. I remembered the dream, but not the way he made me feel. I wanted to remember. “He’s no one.” I had no interest in dragging Owen into my mess.
“He’s someone.”
“No one you need to know about.” I wanted to keep Owen and all my thoughts of him for myself. I’d had to give him up far too soon.
“I can find out anything I want from you.” He stepped around the counter toward me.
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