But more than anything, she was mad at herself. She shouldn’t have allowed herself to feel anything for the man who’d been sent to protect them. He’d only been doing the job he’d been given by the Sisterhood, the governing body for nymphs, by keeping her out of the line of fire in Vegas. If that meant leading her around by her hormones, he must have thought it okay, but she should have known better.
“Look, I have to do whatever I need to keep you safe. The last few months, that meant looking into the vulture shape-shifters, Catharterians, trying to find out more about the extent of Dr. Redbird’s involvement in the organization, and to see if there is any validity to the threat she made to you and your kind. But thanks to you and your running away like your ass was on fire, now I can’t do the work that needs to be done. Instead I have to be here, babysitting you, making sure that you don’t cause any more trouble.”
“I don’t need a babysitter. I’m old enough to take care of myself.” Starling jumped in line for a taxi.
“You don’t know what you need,” he said. “Do you even have a place to stay? Or did you forget to plan that far ahead?”
She clenched her fist around the straps of her purse, which held her paperwork and wallet. “I have a plan. Thank you very much.”
“Getting a taxi to the cheapest hotel isn’t a plan.” Jasper’s eyes filled with fiery sparks as he stared at her.
“How did you know I was here?” she asked, hoping to divert his attention from her inadequacies.
“I’m allowed to have secrets.”
“Well then, why don’t you take your secrets and get moving. I need to take care of some business.”
“And what business would that be?”
“If you know so much, then you don’t need me to tell you.” Starling stepped forward in the taxi line.
She hated being treated like she was stupid. Though she was just short of nineteen, she was not a child. In fact, she’d barely had a chance to be young, thanks to the spirits and ghosts who invaded her reality. She’d been forced to grow up a long time ago.
“Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?”
She whirled on him at that remark, ready to let him have it. How dare he take that aggravated tone with her? But he just smiled. The grin was more suited to a mischievous child than to the man who had broken her heart. The humid air clung to her skin, but it wasn’t the heat that made the warmth rise in her cheeks. “If you think you deserve anything more from me after the way you treated me, you have another think coming.”
“Let me make it up to you.” His smile retreated. “I booked us both rooms not far from here.”
She thought of the meager amount of cash in her wallet, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to start forgiving Jasper just to get a free room. “No.”
“Look, I know you’re pissed. You have every right to be. But you can’t get around Savannah without me. The Catharterians are clearly already gunning for you, and I don’t think I could live with myself if I let you get hurt.”
Chapter Two
Starling’s room in the Bohemian Hotel looked out over the Savannah River as the muddy water rushed by in its push to reach the Atlantic. She was perched on the edge of the bed, looking out the window, scanning the distance.
“Are they still bothering you?” Jasper asked.
She didn’t move.
“Starling?”
“Hmm?” she asked, her attention turning to him.
“Are the spirits still bothering you?”
“No,” she said, pausing. “I’m doing good, really.”
He might have believed her if everything about her, even the way she perched on the tips of her toes like she was ready to take flight, didn’t say otherwise. Her black hair sparkled in the evening light, the color so rich it looked slightly red. For a second, he wondered if she looked red and blue when she shifted into her swan form. He could just imagine her shift. Her taking off her shirt exposing her milky, white skin; flesh begging to be touched … it had to be the same over her entire body, all the way to her nipples.
His response pressed hard against his zipper, and he forced himself to turn away. She was off-limits for a thousand reasons, but at the top of the list was the fact that it was his job to protect her. The young woman could be nothing more than another person the Sisterhood had enlisted him to save from harm. The worst thing he could possibly do was put her in danger of falling in love, not just with him, but anyone.
“Why did you come down here, Starling?” If she told him it was to follow some guy, it would be hard not to lose his mind. Then again, it would surprise him if she had come down here for some stupid reason like a guy. She seemed so much more mature than most women her age. He couldn’t be sure whether it was the way she was raised, with a mother who’d had her fair share of problems, or whether it was because Starling was a nymph, but unlike most college age women, she didn’t spend her time trying on jeans or flipping her hair while she texted away on her cell phone.
“I’m surprised you don’t know. You seem to know everything,” she answered.
“I wish I knew everything. It would make my job a hell of a lot easier.”
“You mean it gets easier than being a shadow?”
He ignored her jibe. She was angry. She had earned the right, but he didn’t have to give her the response she was gunning for. Nothing good would come of a fight.
“Are you still shifting into your swan form?”
“Not since my mother was killed.”
“If it will make you feel better to go for a fly, I can keep you from getting hurt.”
“Really? You are going to tell me that you care how I feel?” She gave him a look of disgust. “Why don’t you just leave?”
“Look, I’ll leave, but if you need me, I booked the next room.” He pointed to the right. “Don’t go anywhere without letting me know. Savannah isn’t a great place for you to be running, or flying, alone.”
“If I need a babysitter I’ll let you know.”
• • •
Starling had spent the night staring out the window, watching the lights of steamboats and liners as they passed down the river. When she’d finally slipped into the lull of sleep, her dreams had been filled with images of her mother’s spirit. Each time she tried to ask her mother, Carey, about the books, her spirit would fade from view, until finally Starling had given up and just sat in silence.
The morning sun stole through the window and filled the room with its light.
Starling … Asclepius’s wraithlike voice broke the silence of her sleep-fogged mind. I’m waiting. I need your help.
“Go away,” she said aloud.
Starling… you must find the Libros Umbrarum. We need you … you must help us.
“What do you think I’m doing? Do you really think I want to go on a wild goose chase through a city where I don’t know anyone? Do you think I like being assaulted by you and your … your … ” Her anger rose as she searched for the word she needed. What could she call a group of ghosts other than a pain in her ass? “Your friends?”
I have no friends.
“Thanks to you and your kind, neither do I. Can’t you just leave me the hell alone?”
If you don’t help me, you will die …
“You can go fuck yourself.”
The ghost’s laughter echoed through her like she was nothing more than an empty vessel. Get the books. They hold the answer. If you can’t do it, we will find another, but don’t think we will go willingly.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as a wave of panic passed over her. It wasn’t the first time she had been threatened by a spirit in her life, but in the last six months, the spirits had been growing angrier. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Yes, you are.
“I don’t need you breathing down my neck. Go the fuck away.”
She unzipped her purse and grabbed her pill bottle with the GX 149. All she needed was one of the tablets Harper had prepared for her and the voices would stop, at least f
or now. She opened the orange bottle’s lid and peered inside. There were less than two dozen pills left. Taking out a white, oblong tablet, she swallowed it down.
Her phone rang and Jasper’s smiling face filled the screen. A wiggle of excitement crept up her spine as she moved to answer. There was something nice about having someone around who actually gave a shit, even if he was paid to do so. Besides Harper and Chance, there was no one else alive who seemed to give a crap.
“Hello?”
“Sleep well?” Jasper asked.
“Better than normal.” She tried to sound annoyed, but she couldn’t stop her excitement from spilling into her voice.
“You ready to get back to Vegas?”
“Absolutely not.”
Jasper sighed. “Your dad and Harper were upset that you didn’t tell them you were leaving.”
“Maybe I should’ve told them, but they would have tried to stop me, and I’m not going back, at least not yet. I have work to do.” Ever since she’d graduated from high school, she’d spent her days getting ready for this trip. The last thing she would do was go back the second she arrived.
“Are you going to tell me what exactly you are talking about?”
“If I do, you promise you won’t tell a soul?”
There was a short pause on the other end of the line. “You aren’t here to kill anyone, are you?”
She laughed. “No, that’s your job. Remember?”
“Funny,” he said, his voice steely. “Get ready. We’re heading out at ten. I already got our plane tickets.”
“I’m not going anywhere. And if you promise to not tell anyone my secret, maybe you can stay. I could use a little help—I can always use a hand with my laundry.”
“You’re hilarious,” Jasper said drily. “I’ll be over in a minute.” The phone cut off and she sat it back down on the wooden nightstand.
She slipped on her clothes, feeling her future hanging in the balance. If he decided to help her, he couldn’t assume that she owed him anything. If he helped, it had to be on his accord and regardless of the dangers. More than likely, getting the books would be easy. All she had to do was get down to the bank with the paperwork she had brought and everything would be taken care of—as long as they didn’t look too deeply into the paperwork’s authenticity.
Starling dug in her purse and pulled out the key ring she had looked at a thousand times. The safe deposit box’s key slipped to the front of the ring, and she read the words inscribed on its brass surface: Do not duplicate. First National Bank, Savannah, GA.
Grabbing her smartphone, she tapped in the first letters and her regular search popped up. Maybe this time it would find something new, something she had missed. She hit enter. Lines of purple websites flipped onto the screen, each one reading: Bank Officers Indicted for Multimillion Dollar Fraud.
Clicking on the top find, she read through the page. At the bottom: Unclaimed safe deposit boxes will be held by the acquiring institution, The Savannah Bank. She clicked through until she found the directions to the bank from the hotel.
A sense of hope crept through her, but inadequacy and doubt followed close on hope’s heels. The only thing left she hadn’t tried was prayer.
She bowed her head.
My Goddess, Epione, please help me find success. I just need something, something to help me get rid of the guilt I feel and the spirits who threaten me.
There was a knock. Starling made her way over and opened the door. Jasper leaned against the side of the wall, his arms crossed over his chest like he’d been waiting for ten minutes rather than a few seconds. She couldn’t help but notice a little splash of shaving cream at the corner of his freshly shaven jaw. She wanted to reach up and wipe away the bit of froth, but instead she did nothing. It was nice to see that even he, the shadow, was imperfect.
“So what are you up to?” he asked, barely moving a muscle. “Why would you run away from home to a place like Savannah?” He paused for a second. “This city is a spirit hotspot. Is that why you chose to come here?”
“If I had my way, I wouldn’t have anything to do with spirits, in their hotspot or out of it.” She grabbed her purse and phone and walked out of the room. “I came here because the spirits told me I had to. They’ve threatened that if I don’t get some books from a safe deposit box, they will keep coming after me.”
“Why didn’t you tell someone you were being threatened?”
Now there was a suggestion from someone who clearly had no contact with the spiritual world. “For starters, do you really think it would make anything better? No one can help me, so why should I complain? And what would I have told Harper or Chance? To get everything ready for this trip, I had to steal the safe deposit box keys from Harper. Then I had to forge the will and everything else the bank is going to need to get to the box. I don’t need anyone else getting into trouble trying to help me. I’m tired of everyone around me getting hurt. I’m not willing to put you at risk either.”
“Look, Starling, I’m here to keep you safe. That means if you need something, I’m in.”
“I just need to get into the bank, get the books, and get a handle on the spirits. Then everything will be okay. I don’t need you.”
“You’re not going alone.”
“You may get hurt. I told you, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt for me.”
“Then tell yourself I’m putting myself at risk for the Sisterhood.”
There was an inexplicable pain in her chest at his flippant response. “Fine.”
“It’s a damn good thing you’re a nymph,” he said, ignoring her shortness. “Or I would say you don’t have a chance in hell of getting into the bank vault.”
“What does being a nymph have to do with getting in?”
Jasper gave her a sideways glance. “Won’t you use all your, you know, feminine wiles?” He shifted uncomfortably and stood up from his position against the wall.
She snorted with laughter. “Did you really just say feminine wiles? What are you, eighty?” She walked ahead, leading the way downstairs to the lobby.
The thought of using her power for seduction made her skin crawl. Yes, it was something she could turn on and off, not some innate attraction, but with this power came problems. The only time she’d used her gift had been on a poor neighbor boy when they were fourteen. She hadn’t a clue what she was doing. She’d asked the kid to share his slice of pizza, and when he’d said “no,” a strange energy had passed over her body. The next thing she knew, he was handing her the entire box.
He’d been hard to get rid of after that day. His affections led to his showing up at her door in the middle of the night, love letters, and playlists. He’d only stopped when his family finally moved away.
She didn’t need any more stalkers. She already had more than her fair share of the dead kind.
“Where’s this bank?”
She pulled her smartphone from her purse and tapped a few buttons. “It looks like it’s only a few blocks from here.” She slid her phone back into her purse. She looked up and caught him staring at her with his earthy brown eyes. At their center was a ring of blue, so faint that if she hadn’t been in the right light, she would have missed the haunting, but sexy, mixture of colors. “I’ve been wondering, how old are you?”
She couldn’t look away from the blue oasis in the desert of his eyes.
“Twenty-three.”
A burst of energy surged up from her stomach, but she tried to ignore the feeling. She couldn’t feel anything for this … shadow. “Seriously? Huh. I would have thought you were like, thirty.”
“Thirty isn’t old, you little shit.”
“I didn’t say it was. I just meant that you look older.” She finally managed to divert her gaze. “And we’re going to have to come up with some kind of backstory if you are going to keep tagging around with me.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but I’m hoping, if everything goes right, we are going to be in and out of the ban
k and then back to your dad and Harper on the ten o’clock flight.” Jasper opened the door leading to the parking lot and waited for Starling to pass through.
She stole another glance at his enchanting eyes as she passed by. “Here’s hoping everything goes according to your plan.”
Chapter Three
The entire bank smelled like industrial strength cleansers and bullshit. Over the last few years, since going to work for the International Legislative Organization of Nymphs who called themselves the Sisterhood, Jasper had gotten really good at identifying that pungent smell of people who lied for a living. Though admittedly, ever since Ariadne Papadakis had taken on the Sisterhood leadership role, life had been a little easier—at least when he’d had to deal with the leaders.
Starling weaved past him and headed for the row of tellers waiting to take people’s money. There was only one man in the row of women, and Starling made a beeline toward him. “Excuse me?”
“Yes, ma’am, how may I help you?” the middle-aged man answered in a thick Georgian drawl.
“I need to get into my safe deposit box. It used to be housed at the First National Bank. I think it’s now here?” Starling’s voice wavered with nerves.
Jasper walked up behind her and put his hand on her lower back, appearing to comfort her. If she played it right, they would be in, out, and gone. He could go back to work trying to dig up facts about the Catharterians from the FBI files he had hacked into, and she could go back to the care of her family.
Soft warmth radiated from her where he’d placed his hand, and he pulled away. She definitely needed to get back to her family.
The older man glanced at him and smiled. “Not a problem, ma’am. Do you have your key?”
Starling rifled through her purse and pulled out a ring of mismatched keys. “Right here,” she said, lifting a little brass key.
“Great,” the man answered with a smile. “Let me take you to the bank manager.”
If they left Georgia on the ten o’clock flight, they would be back to Vegas before midnight. As soon as he got back, he could work on finding the Catharterians’ lair. He was so close to finding the location, he could almost taste it. Once he found their home base, he could get a population estimate. From there, he could figure out exactly how much danger Starling and the Sisterhood were in and how to protect them.
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