by Martha Carr
“And then what?”
Ember shrugged. “And then some kind of alarm goes off. I’m guessing a few bright, flashing lights, maybe a warning pop or two. Couldn’t figure out how to make it send alerts to my phone.”
“Very funny. It’s not like we have anywhere to go until he gets back, right?”
“Seriously? We were out in the woods just a few hours ago. Forget the whole ceremony part. We were also ambushed.”
Cheyenne lifted a finger toward her friend. “Unsuccessfully.”
“Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. If you hadn’t given me this spellbook, I’d be binge-watching some new show like nobody’s business right now.”
“Glad I was able to provide you with a constructive distraction.”
Ember chuckled and snatched the remote off the coffee table. “Yeah, well, now I’m too distracted thinking about our impending chat with Matthew. He really does seem like such a—”
“If you call him a nice guy again today, I’ll end up blasting holes first and asking questions later.” Cheyenne slowly turned her head to shoot her friend a deadpan stare.
“A friendly person.” Ember wrinkled her nose at the halfling and raised the remote toward the entry table beside the front door. The mechanism exposed their giant flatscreen TV with a soft hum. “So now I need a distraction from that distraction. You have any preferences?”
“Dinner.” Cheyenne pushed herself out of the recliner and headed toward the kitchen.
Ember laughed and stared intently at the TV, flicking through her bingeing options. “I think we might be running a little low on groceries.”
“We haven’t even been here a week.”
“And no one would believe the amount of food a drow halfling puts away just by looking at her.”
Opening the fridge, Cheyenne said, “We have pickles.”
“Have at it.”
“Or delivery.”
Ember grinned and snatched her water glass to down the rest of it. “Now you’re talking my language.”
* * *
Forty minutes later, in the middle of an Orphan Black episode Ember swore up and down Cheyenne would be really into, a bright yellow light flashed to the right of the front door. Cheyenne stared at the wall. “Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“A light.”
A shrieking wail blasted through their apartment. Cheyenne reacted and slipped immediately into drow form, her black hair changing instantly into stark white as her skin went from Goth-girl pale to drow-halfling gray.
Ember jumped in her chair and clamped both hands over her ears. “What the hell is that?”
“You’re the one who cast the alarm spell!”
“Shit.” Ember leaned far over the side of her chair and rifled through the pages of spells until she found the one she wanted. She scanned the page as the wailing grew even louder.
Cheyenne scrunched up her face. “Turn it off, Em!”
“I’m trying. Shut up.” Ember’s fingers moved in the laid out pattern for deactivating the alarm, which cut off abruptly.
Breathing heavily in the sudden silence, the halfling looked at her friend and cocked her head. “Looks like the middle finger means something else altogether to the O’gúleesh who wrote these spells, huh?”
“No, this is just for you.” Ember blinked. “Quit yelling at me.”
Cheyenne rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh. “There was no other way for you to hear me.”
A sharp knock came at the front door, and the halfling leaped to her feet.
“You think he heard the alarm?” Ember asked, forgetting all about flipping the bird as Cheyenne headed for the door. She slid the thin silver bracelet onto her wrist and looked like just another regular human in seconds.
“The whole building probably heard it. But why the hell would he knock on our door?” Cheyenne peered through the peephole into the hallway and groaned, slipping right back out of her drow form again. “Because it’s not Matthew.”
“What?” Ember sat back in her chair. “Who the hell is it?”
Unlocking the deadbolt and the lock in the doorknob, the halfling turned over her shoulder and muttered, “Pizza guy.”
“Jesus Christ.” The fae deflated in her chair and cracked up laughing as Cheyenne slowly opened the door.
“Right on time.”
The kid standing in the hallway in front of their apartment stared at the maniacally laughing Ember. “Delivery for Cheyenne.”
“Yep. Hold on.” She lunged for her backpack sitting on the floor beside the couch and pulled a ten-dollar bill out of her wallet, handing it to the kid.
He stared at it. “You already paid.”
“And that’s your tip.” Cheyenne held her hands out for the pizza, and Ember cracked up all over again. “Come on, man. Don’t hold my dinner hostage.”
“Sorry. Right. Sorry.” The kid slid the steaming pizza box out of the sleeve in his arms and handed it over. “Thanks for the tip.”
“Thanks for the pizza.” Cheyenne shut the door before he’d had the chance to step away and turned around to stare at Ember. “The pizza guy.”
“The pizza guy!” The fae howled with laughter, slapping her thigh. “And we were…you were so…”
“Yeah, you too.” Laughing, Cheyenne took the box to the coffee table and cleared away the scattered papers with one hand. “Guy probably thought I’m in here as your caretaker, the way you’re losing it right now.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Ember barked another laugh, clapped both hands over her mouth, and snorted back her laughter while the halfling opened their dinner.
“Wanna work on lowering the volume a little?”
“On the TV? It’s not that loud.”
“On the alarm.”
Ember whipped her head up to meet Cheyenne’s gaze. “The alarm!” She burst out laughing all over again.
Chuckling, Cheyenne slid the pizza box two inches away from her friend and shook her head. “This is worse than you drinking that fae whatever-it-was at the Empty Barrel.”
“What?” Ember let out a mocking gasp. “We haven’t opened a bottle of anything since we moved in.”
“No, you were too busy opening all those boxes.” The halfling pulled out a slice of drooping pizza and nudged the box toward Ember now that the fae seemed to have pulled herself together again.
“We haven’t officially moved in without opening a bottle and toasting to the place.”
“Please. We’ve already eaten everything but the pickles, you were attacked in your sleep, and a band of O’gúleesh rebels built wards around the place. I’d say it’s official.”
Smacking her lips, Ember reached for a slice. “Now you’re splitting hairs. And there’s no way this is worse than me drinking in Peridosh, whatever you’re trying to imply with that one.”
“I’m implying that maybe fae get drunk off their magic. Ever think of that?”
Ember froze with a bulging mouthful of pizza and frowned. Then she shrugged, grabbed the remote out of her lap, and turned up the volume.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
By the second time Ember’s tripwire spell went off, she’d adjusted the noise level to match the volume of the action sequence playing out on the TV. When the flashing yellow light raced across the wall and the front door again, both magicals sat up straighter, anticipating the blaring shriek that came next.
“Good work.” Cheyenne gazed around the living room and slowly rose from her chair. “Sounds like another siren in this car chase that’s been going on way too long.”
Ember deactivated the alarm with a quick flick of her wrist and swallowed her last bite of pizza. “That’s the point of a car chase in every movie. They go on way too long.”
The halfling reached the front door and peered through the peephole again. “It’s him.”
“Matthew?”
“Yep. Just closed his door.”
Ember snatched the wadded-up paper towel off the c
ouch and wiped her hands, then brushed the pizza crumbs off her lap and from around her mouth. “Crap.”
“You missed a spot.”
“What?” Ember wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, sucked off the extra red sauce, then looked down and groaned. “Great. Grease stains all over my pants.”
“I seriously doubt Matthew’s gonna be focused on your grease stains, Em.”
“But I can go change really fast.”
“Hey, I will grab that wheelchair and push you all the way to his apartment if I have to.”
“You could try.” Rolling her eyes, Ember ignored the mess on her clothes and wheeled away from the coffee table to head toward the door after grabbing her new bracelet. “Don’t forget, halfling, I have magic too now.”
“Uh-huh.” Cheyenne quickly gathered the printed stack of Matthew Thomas’ dirty little secrets, then grabbed the remnant of the war machine from the recliner and headed for the door. She glanced at the clock over the stove and frowned. “Who stays in meetings ‘til nine o’clock at night?”
“You don’t know he was in a meeting.” Ember opened the front door as much as she could before having to wheel herself out of the way for the rest of it. “You stay out way past nine some nights.”
“Seriously, don’t make a habit out of comparing me to the wrong people.” Cheyenne pulled the door shut behind her as she followed Ember into the hall.
“I’m just saying.”
“Yeah, I know. I get it. We have no idea what he’s been up to, and that’s the point. That’s why we’re doing this, right?”
Ember scanned the hall’s ceiling and shrugged.
“Oh, nice. Make it super-obvious that we’re on to his hidden-camera trick.”
“Cheyenne, we’re at his front door.” Ember stopped and knocked on said door. “He’s gonna find out what we know anyway.”
“I know he’s gonna find out,” the halfling hissed. “But it’ll work better for us if he’s surprised.”
The door opened quickly, and their tall, broad-shouldered neighbor grinned down at them. “Hey, Ember.”
The fae girl cleared her throat and forced herself to smile back up at him. “Hi.”
“And Cheyenne. You’re both standing outside my front door.” Matthew chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. “Everything okay?”
“We’re fine,” Ember replied quickly. “All good. How are you?”
He glanced from Ember to Cheyenne’s scowling face and back again. “I’m a little surprised, honestly.”
Ember raised her eyebrows at the halfling, and Cheyenne pretended not to notice. “We were hoping you had a few minutes to talk about some stuff.”
“Oh. Well, yeah. You sure everything’s okay?” Matthew glanced at his shiny wristwatch and raised his eyebrows. “It’s kinda late.”
“Thought we’d run a few things by the security expert,” Cheyenne muttered, staring him down. “You know. For safety reasons.”
“Uh-oh.” Matthew leaned against the doorframe. “You get yourself into some kinda trouble?”
“Did I get myself in trouble?” Cheyenne gestured past him into his living room. “No. I’m not in trouble. But if I was, I wouldn’t wanna stand here in the middle of the hallway talking to you about it.”
“We’re the only people who live on this floor.”
“Can we come in, or what?”
Ember batted Cheyenne’s arm, while the halfling made a poor attempt at hiding the stack of papers and the piece of O’gúl war machine behind her back. “We just wanted to talk to an expert. Just to see what we’re dealing with here and whether this is something we should be concerned about.”
Cheyenne cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at their neighbor. Okay, she’s nailing it right on the head with that one.
Matthew’s smile softened, and he shot Cheyenne one more quick glance before spinning away from the door and gesturing with a wide sweep of his arm. “Come on in. I stay up pretty late anyway. You guys want coffee? This espresso machine is better than anything you can get downtown.”
“Sounds great.”
Cheyenne cleared her throat. “No, we’re good, thanks. Just here to talk.”
“Okay. I’m just gonna make myself a latte. Ember? You want one?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
“Cheyenne?” The halfling stared expressionlessly at him until he shrugged and turned slowly toward the kitchen. “Have a seat if you want. Won’t even take me five minutes.”
As he disappeared around the corner of his oddly shaped apartment, which was built into the corner wedge of the building, Cheyenne looked at Ember and raised her eyebrows. “Yes, thanks?”
“He has an espresso machine.”
“I heard what he said.”
“If nothing else, I’m gonna get a good cup of coffee out of this. He let us inside. Just chill.”
Pressing her lips together and shaking her head, Cheyenne stepped out of their neighbor’s entryway and entered the living room. The place was decorated in clean lines of dark and light gray with splashes of yellow, royal blue, and bright red in artwork, pillows, and even a streak of red running down the center of a dark-gray coffee table. Like a kindergarten classroom for tech moguls.
The roar and harsh rush of the espresso machine came from the other side of the apartment, and Cheyenne studied Matthew Thomas’ home like it was just another abandoned warehouse with boobytraps.
“You’re looking suspicious right now,” Ember muttered as she wheeled past the halfling.
“Oh, really? Can’t imagine why.”
“You’re not a big believer in ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ are you?”
“We already covered that this is the proof, Em.” Cheyenne waved the stack of papers in front of her before shoving them behind her back again. A quick glance toward the kitchen didn’t show her any sign of Matthew. At least if he’s watching us, he won’t be able to hear a thing.
“We went over this. That doesn’t prove what we wanna know.” Ember nodded at the kitchen and made her way toward the gray leather sectional taking up the corner inside the door. “Do I need to do all the talking on this one?”
Cheyenne joined her friend, casting a wary glance at the red stripe running through the coffee table, and plopped down on the couch. “If that’s our tactic, we’ll be here all night.”
“What, you think you’re the only one who can play magical sleuth with any level of efficiency?”
“Not when he’s smiling at you.”
Ember rolled her eyes. “Please.”
“Seriously, you couldn’t even turn down a latte.”
“I’m trying to act normal, Cheyenne. When obviously none of this is normal.”
The espresso machine cut off, followed by a few metallic taps and the hiss of the milk frother.
The fae sighed. “I know it’s hard for you, but just sit still and let this play out, okay? I do not want this hanging over us the whole time we live here if we’re wrong.”
“We’re not wrong.” The halfling stuffed the stack of printed paper under her thigh and peered around the living room. “He knows exactly what he’s doing. Look, it’s been five minutes already.”
“Okay. Here we go.” Matthew appeared around the corner, carrying a huge gray mug in each hand. “Sorry that took so long. I’m gonna have to take that machine apart and clean it soon. I mean, yeah, it’s amazing to be able to make my own cup of coffee like this whenever I want, but the maintenance part throws me off. I keep forgetting I’m the one who has to take care of it.”
Ember grinned at him as he handed her one mug. “I bet you could find someone to do that for you.”
Cheyenne closed her eyes in a long and exaggerated blink.
He chuckled. “Probably. But I try not to shuck a job off on other people if it’s something I can do myself, you know?”
“Huh.” Cheyenne leaned forward, propping her elbow on her thigh as she turned and raised her eyebrows at Ember. “Make
s sense.”
The fae ignored her friend’s remark and took a sip of her latte. Her eyelids fluttered. “Oh, my God. This is amazing.”
“Hey, thanks.” Matthew lifted his mug toward her and lowered himself onto the puffy, insanely comfortable-looking suede loveseat on the other side of the coffee table. “Nothing like a great cup of coffee, right?”
“You sure you’re not a secret barista?” Ember chuckled and offered her mug to Cheyenne. The halfling blinked, which was all the refusal she needed to make.
“Not as far as I know.”
“Not even in a past life, maybe?”
Matthew took a long drink of his coffee, swallowed, and sat back in the loveseat. “It’s all the espresso machine, I promise. I just push a few buttons.”
“Well, it’s working.” Ember dove into her latte again.
Cheyenne stared at her friend and waited for the fae girl to get a move on. Ember smacked her lips and closed her eyes in appreciation. Okay, enough bullshit. “What’s Combined Reality, Inc.?”
Matthew leaned forward as he swallowed his next sip and laughed in surprise. “Combined Reality, Inc.?”
“Yeah, you heard me.”
Ember glanced at them, frowning.
“It’s one of my smaller firms.” Matthew crossed one ankle over his opposite knee and grinned. “Not a lot of people know the name, honestly.”
“Because you’re trying to keep it hidden?”
Ember closed her eyes and whispered, “Seriously?”
“No, actually.” Their neighbor took another sip of his latte before setting the mug down on the tall side table next to the loveseat. “Because it’s a private company and doesn’t come up much in the public sector. How’d you hear about it?”
“I found it.” Cheyenne hefted the metal sphere in her hand and tossed it across the living room. Matthew caught it swiftly and frowned at the broken war machine. “When I was trying to figure out how that thing works.”
He turned the sphere over in his hands and shrugged. “I don’t know what this is. Sorry.”
“I’m talking about the programming inside it, Matthew.” Cheyenne leaned forward and raised her eyebrows. “The access design. You know, activating new programs and relaying simple commands. Gathering information and sending it back to a control center. And I’m not talking about syncing up with the cloud, either.”