by Shona Husk
Emily edged back until she could stand without being seen. Then she walked away and left them to it. She’d do some research and see if she could find out some more about the woman. Leira wasn’t a common name.
Or if she waited a few days, Julian might lead her to the fluff’s door.
* * * *
Despite the nice not a date at the beach—and it had ended up being a nice morning, they’d even gotten coffee afterward—Leira was still seeing nothing but smoke and flames in her future.
Surely taking a step forward and learning about her magic should prevent that?
Where did Julian fit in?
They had booked in another get-together, and he had smiled at her and kissed her cheek when they’d parted. She’d been so tempted to turn her head and catch his lips to see if there was something more there. There might be, and she wanted to take the time to find out.
It was so different meeting a guy outside of a club. The expectations were totally different. There had been less groping, and less drunken kisses, which wasn’t all bad.
The shop door chimed as she went in for her shift.
Saba looked up and smiled, but it was strained. “How are you?”
“Fine.” Leira tossed her bag behind the counter.
“I can tell.”
Leira glared at her sister. Had Saba done a reading without her permission? If so, that was so rude. No, Saba wouldn’t have done that. Saba stuck to the rules.
“Julian is the man from my reading, isn’t he?” Saba raised her eyebrows.
“You knew.”
Saba shook her head, her messy bun sliding farther out. “I thought he might be. I don’t know why and it didn’t really matter, as he was in Sydney and I hadn’t seen him in years. I thought I could’ve been wrong. And then he came back.”
“Maybe you were wrong. I expected more…” She was not going to say sparks. “Chemistry.”
“There’s none? Maybe the vision wasn’t about your love life but your magical life?”
Leira frowned. “No, because I’ve checked to see if it was still going to happen and it was always the same. He’s the one.” She paused. “Or at least he was.”
“What do you mean? Did you go out with him already? Is he horrid?”
“No, he’s perfectly lovely.” She’d had fun and she did want to see him again. Maybe she did need to kiss him. She’d never taken things this slow before. Maybe that was part of the problem. “We talked magic and… And that was all.” Maybe he didn’t like her, but he had in her vision, her old vision. A woman who was obviously on her lunch break from an office came into the store and started browsing the oracle cards. Leira lowered her voice. “The vision has changed.”
“Changed how?” Saba was watching her closely. “It shouldn’t matter, if it’s meant to—”
“I know, but it has. All I see now is thick black smoke.”
“Hi, which cards are better? Traditional tarot or oracle?” The woman was holding two different boxes of cards. One had fairies panted in soft pastel and the other was a good bit darker. This woman didn’t know what she wanted.
Leira knew that feeling. It was unsettling after knowing for so many years what was supposed to happen to suddenly have no idea.
“It doesn’t really matter. You need to pick something with artwork that speaks to you, as it is the artwork that will unlock your subconscious.” Saba smiled her customer service smile. Her voice was perfectly pitched to get a sale.
The woman looked at the picture on the front of each box and then went with the less threatening fairies. If she’d known that she was talking to the people who had inspired the fairy myths, she might have picked the darker cards. There was nothing delicate about the Albah. And they certainly didn’t have wings, although some air users could fly—or at least levitate. It was something that Saba had decided to start trying under Quinn’s guidance.
Saba rung up the total and the woman threw in a couple of crystals at the last minute before paying and happily heading back to work.
“I have about five minutes before my first client comes in. Did you want me to look?” Saba indicated to her reading room.
“No, but I need to work out how to fix it. I don’t want whatever is coming my way.” The thick black smoke was starting to haunt her dreams and she didn’t know how to escape.
“Change what you are doing,” Saba said as though it should be a simple problem to solve.
“I did. I went out with him. That should’ve been it, you know, back on track even if there were no trains involved.” She didn’t know what else to do at the moment.
Saba had her lips pressed tightly together, then sighed. “Does he know?”
“He doesn’t want to know anything about his future.”
“Oh. One of them.”
“Yeah.” Even Dale had come around to the idea of getting to see glimpses of the future could be a good thing, and Dale was human. Julian should have been just a little curious. She was curious and so very tempted to have a quick look on his behalf.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Stop using magic?” That way she couldn’t start any fatal fires. She had no idea. She hadn’t expected going to the stupid Albah crisis meeting would make her life take such a dramatic turn. Something must have been said, or had happened to do this, and it had to be more than meeting Julian at the wrong time.
Or was that it. She’d met him too soon.
“What if…” She trailed off as a middle-aged man entered the shop. He looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.
Her sister sprang into action. This was obviously her first client of the day. Saba loved doing readings for the skeptical and wary.
The man’s timing had been perfect, just as she had realized that it might be something as simple as timing. Did that mean Julian had someone?
She did not want to be the other woman.
That would be her first question for him next time—it was not the kind of thing one asked via text. It was, however, the kind of thing she was quite comfortable looking for online. She was sure that he’d have some kind of social media presence even if it was just for work, and maybe there’d be a clue in there.
An hour later and after wrapping up the late lunch break rush through the shop, she had nothing on him. It appeared Julian was completely single.
At least he wasn’t married.
Was there a way to fix the timing issue? Perhaps she could put him off and stall their next date. Non-date. It wasn’t a date when they spent the whole time talking magic or reading his dead mother’s diaries.
The first of which he’d loaned her. He trusted her that much. She’d asked him three times if he was sure. They were one of the few things he had of his mother’s after all and she didn’t want to accidentally lose or destroy them. That would be just her luck. He’d insisted, pressing it into her hand. He’d made some comment about having to see her again to get it back. She’d thought he was being funny. Maybe he’d been serious and was making sure there was a reason for them to get together again. Her lips curved. She couldn’t imagine women knocking him back—unless he had some horrible habit that hadn’t been revealed yet.
She ran her finger over the leather spine of the book. Julian’s protective wards were almost warm beneath the tips of her fingers. A little bit of his magic was now bundled up with his mother’s words on how to use fire. His mother had such neat handwriting. She’d even made a note in the front of the diary about two other fire-using women that she knew of. Both had been old twenty-four years ago. Both were dead now. That had been the first thing Leira had checked.
She was on her own. And she didn’t have long to fix her future.
Chapter 6
Julian tossed his keys on the counter. They slid right off the other side to the kitchen floor. “Damn it.”
For a moment, he considered leaving them there. The train had been delayed and all he wanted to do was get chang
ed and go downstairs to use the pool on the ground floor of the apartment block. He wanted half an hour alone thinking only of his breathing.
He’d need his keys to get out again. He stalked around the counter, into the kitchen to pick up his keys, and as he did, something caught his eye. He didn’t bother turning on another light. Fire formed in his hand. There were things all over his kitchen floor. Shiny metal things. He glanced down to see if where he was standing was clear.
It was, by a couple of inches. Not nearly enough.
It was almost as if someone had been hoping he’d get home in the dark, kick off his shoes—which he had done—and walk in his socks into the kitchen, where iron tacks were waiting to be stood on. He swallowed hard and didn’t move. If his keys hadn’t slid off the counter, he’d have come back up after swimming and walked right into the trap.
It wouldn’t kill him, not immediately, but it would weaken his magic. Iron nails were a typical Guardian of Adam threat. They liked the dramatic. They liked the Albah to know they were coming so that the Albah being hunted would call for help and thus damn others to the same fate.
Being a male of his kind, he had wondered if he was ever going to get a threat. Guess he didn’t need to waste any more time wondering.
Carefully, he picked up his keys.
He didn’t want to involve other Albah, but at the same time Dad was a cop and they had a human cop on their side too. There had to be clues. Forensics had to be on his side. The Guardians couldn’t hide from modern technology.
Without taking another step, he pulled out his phone. His father answered after three rings. “Make it quick.”
“Iron nails on my kitchen floor.” How was that for quick? He could almost hear his father come to a complete stop.
“That isn’t funny, Jules.”
“I’m wearing socks. I missed one by about an inch. So, I’m not laughing about it yet.” He hadn’t checked the rest of his house. For all he knew the Guardian was still here lying in wait. He turned slowly to look around the apartment. He was almost certain he was alone.
“Leave the apartment now. I’ll send a unit over.”
“Can I grab some things?”
“No. Leave now.”
Julian inspected every step he took. Fire in one hand to light the way, and phone and keys in the other. “And where am I supposed to go?”
“If only you had a car.” It was a line his father had said more than once.
Julian didn’t take the bait. He’d got a car eventually. “I can catch a train to your place. After I’ve met the uniforms. Are we going to call it a weird home invasion?”
“You don’t call it anything. Just that you got home and found it. Someone has broken in, maybe played a prank.” His dad managed to make it sound less threatening than it was. But then he was probably still at work and there’d be other cops there who would be listening. “A car is on its way. They’ll take some prints, ask some questions.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve seen some cop TV shows.”
“So you have no idea.”
He’d known that would wind his father up.
“Nothing will happen. It will just be a piece of paperwork,” his father said.
“Then why bother?” He could put on some shoes, sweep them up, and get on with his night. He’d check the bed, change the sheets, check every inch of the sofa before he sat down. Was he ever going to feel safe in his home again?
Footsteps and then a door closed before his father spoke again. “Because it becomes a pattern, and if enough get logged before a murder happens, then maybe we can start getting a clearer picture. We have to use technology to our advantage. You can be damn sure they are using it to theirs. I have a debriefing to run. Call me when you get to my place, or get Kirin to pick you up.”
“If it’s all the same, I might stay at a hotel. I don’t want to point anyone in your direction.”
His father paused. Then exhaled loudly. “Okay. That might be for the best. They might be watching, but I would rather have you home.”
“I know.” His father had been hurt when Julian had chosen to study over east. Like his older half-brother, Finley, he’d just needed space and time away. He’d grown up in the shadow of his mother’s death. At eighteen he’d wanted to move on and be someone else.
He’d left her diaries and his old life here.
Coming back, all he’d wanted to do was reconnect. Meeting Leira had given him an excuse to pull the diaries and get to know his mother through them. He was the same age as she was when she died. He was sure that his father knew that already.
“I hope I didn’t bring it with me from Sydney.”
“I doubt it. The timeline is wrong. You’ve been back six months.”
If he’d stayed in Sydney, no other Albah would have been at risk. He’d been the only one there. If he’d been attacked over there, he’d have been truly on his own. He was glad he had family he could call on, who weren’t on the other side of the country. He was glad he’d come home.
“I’ll call you later.” He hung up.
In the lobby, he put on his shoes and waited for the cops. They turned up forty minutes later. Which wasn’t bad, considering this wasn’t a real emergency. By the time he’d shown them his place and the tacks on the kitchen floor he knew exactly what they were thinking.
“So you’ve just split up with your girlfriend?” one of the cops said, a look on his face that suggested this was all her fault.
Emily hadn’t really been a girlfriend. They hadn’t really gone on dates. They had only ever gotten together for one reason and sometimes it was as though she didn’t really like him. Sometimes he felt the same way. In the end the sex hadn’t been good enough to continue.
“Yes.” It was easier to agree that she had been his girlfriend. “But she never had a key.”
And she knew nothing about the Albah. She wouldn’t know the meaning behind the tacks. If she was a Guardian, he’d have been dead inside of a week. They had been together for nearly four months.
“Are you sure? There’s no sign of forced entry and nothing of value is missing.”
Julian knew that. And he knew the cops were just doing their job. To them this was a dumb prank. To him it was the promise of death. He couldn’t say that, though. It was hard to believe his father had thought this was a good idea. So far it seemed like a waste of time for everyone.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I moved in five months ago and I haven’t given the key to anyone except my brother.”
“Would he do something like this?”
Julian wanted to laugh. “No. He’s not a prankster. Plus he’s been camping all weekend.” He’d gotten back yesterday, or was it today?
He wouldn’t have said Emily was a prankster either. She was taking the breakup far better than he’d thought she would. Unless she wasn’t. Was it possible that she’d found something online about the Albah? Was the internet going to make life more dangerous as people discovered who they were again? He didn’t want to believe that there were people out there determined to expose the Albah. If the Guardians did that, there would be more trouble than the Albah could handle. A couple of hunters was one thing, but when anyone could try their hand at Albah hunting the world would become a scary place.
The cops looked at each other. “Well, we’ll write it up. But really there’s nothing we can do.”
“Breaking and entering without theft or violence doesn’t rate highly, I know. But I don’t want this to be a regular occurrence.” What if whoever had done it came back and he was home? Staying at a hotel was looking like a really good idea.
“We are taking this seriously. If something else unusual happens, don’t hesitate to call. We’ll have a word with your ex too.” He checked his notes. “Emily Fergus. Maybe once her travel visa runs out, you won’t have any more trouble.” The man smiled.
This was all a joke to them. No doubt they’d have a laugh at the station about the man who was fr
eaked out by some tacks on the kitchen floor. If they’d been brass, he wouldn’t have been concerned. Well, he’d have still been worried about who had been in his place but the meaning wouldn’t have been the same.
“Thanks.” He really hoped he didn’t have to call them again. And he would stay at a hotel for a couple of nights just to be careful.
When they left, he quickly packed a bag and put the rest of his mother’s diaries in the bottom. Leira had the first one. If it was a Guardian, surely they’d have taken them. It wasn’t as though they had been hidden or even locked away. They were as valuable to the Guardians as they were him and Leira. The secrets of Albah fire magic written down, wouldn’t they want that?
As he walked to the train station in the dark he’d never felt more vulnerable. He refused to glance over his shoulder or search for someone in the shadows. He would not start acting like prey.
Unlike the Albah, whose blond hair and folded ears made them stand out to those who were looking, the Guardians of Adam could be anyone.
But Emily? No, she could have killed him in his sleep a dozen times over. She wasn’t a Guardian.
Chapter 7
Leira sipped her vodka and orange juice, and tried to pay attention to the conversation that Amy and Bree were having about their respective boyfriends—who had not been invited out with them tonight. Which made a nice change as it meant that the guys hadn’t brought a single friend to be her partner for the evening. She didn’t like being the fifth wheel or being set up.
Some of the guys she’d been introduced had been perfectly delightful and they’d had a few months of fun. Some had not.
Amy was trying to decide the best way to celebrate her one-year anniversary.
“Dinner, then put on a private show.” Bree giggled.
“He could put on the show.” Leira knew that Amy’s boyfriend would never do anything like that. But if a guy couldn’t have a bit of fun in the bedroom, then there was no point. Besides what was more romantic than lying on the bed eating chocolate and sipping champagne while watching a man get slowly undressed?