by E G Bateman
He moved her mug and sat on the wooden table in front of her. “Lexi, I have to ask this. Did you do anything to Alicia? Anything magical?”
The memory of the fight resurfaced and she put her hands over her face and shook her head. “I almost pulverized her but no, nothing magical. Why?”
“We’re keeping her sedated because she had aggression issues. When she initially woke, she threw her mom across the room so hard, it would have killed a normal person. Luckily, her mom was able to translocate out. Then, she punched her way through a metal door. She was feral. When I scanned her body, the density of her bones had doubled. That can’t suddenly happen by itself.”
Lexi felt the accusation in the air. She leveled her gaze at him. “I said I didn’t do anything like that. Scott and I have only been matched for a few months. I’m still learning.”
Bryan held a hand up. “That’s fine, I believe you. I merely need to look harder for an answer, that’s all.” He sighed and looked at her. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Lexi-Loo.”
She looked away, feeling awkward. “I thought you were dead so I doubt you’re as surprised as I am.” She looked back at him. “Why did they take you away?”
He shrugged. “New Orleans is a melting pot of supernaturals. It’s a huge community.” He made a gun with his fingers and pretended to blow smoke off the imaginary barrel. “I guess they needed their best man.” He gave her a lop-sided grin.
And their best woman.
Bryan stood. “I need to get back. Scott knows how to contact me if you need me.” He vanished.
Lexi looked up and scowled at the others, who all seemed to watch her with pity in their eyes. She hated it. “So, what’s next for us? I can’t sit around waiting to hear from him.”
“A break, then. A real one this time.” Dolores patted her on the shoulder.
She shook her head. “I’d rather get back to work if it’s all the same.”
The woman sighed and it appeared that was the response she’d expected. “As you wish. I’ve had a job come in and I was going to give it to someone local to the area but honestly, there aren’t many supernaturals near this one. It’s in Las Vegas. A lucky talisman has been stolen.”
Dick spun in his seat. “Stolen? Magical items are protected in Las Vegas. The only way to steal them would be with magic, which is impossible with the wards in place.”
Dolores nodded her agreement. “I don’t understand it either. Many magical items are in Las Vegas for that precise reason.”
Lexi drained her mug and stood. “Surely it would have been taken out of town immediately. Even if it were somehow stolen, I can’t imagine how it could be used in Vegas.”
Her boss took the mug from her. “I think you’re right. If it really is gone, I hope Scott can follow it.”
Dick asked the question she had intended to ask next. “Why haven’t they called the local Kindred unit in for this?”
“One of the staff members at the museum is a supe,” the fae explained. “An old friend who works as a historian. He did call Kindred yesterday morning when it was found to be missing, and they told him to keep looking for it. They think it’s more likely someone at the museum has mislaid it. He knows that’s not the case, freaked out, and called me.”
Scott’s brow wrinkled. “Why would a supe work somewhere they can’t use all their abilities?”
Dolores continued to speak as she put the mugs and glasses into the kitchen. “He likes the dry heat.”
Lexi had the feeling that wasn’t the real reason, but it was none of their business. She watched as Marcel woke, yawned and stretched, and padded to Dick.
The vampire scratched the puppy’s head absently. “Are Kindred sure the wards are all still in place?”
Dolores returned to the room. “They insist that no magic has been or could be performed in Las Vegas except by license.”
Lexi turned to the fae. “Why is there even a Kindred unit in Las Vegas if it’s so locked down?”
The woman laughed. “Because they perform twice a night on the Strip, dear.”
“That figures.” She stood. “At least I’ll know who the local Kindred mages are. It’ll be fairly easy to avoid people whose faces are plastered all over the billboards.”
“So we’re going. Marvelous! I wonder if Celine’s performing. I’ll give her a call while I walk Marcel.” Dick stood and took the lead from the table. “Marcel, walkies.”
He attached the lead while the puppy wagged his stumpy tail. When he opened the door, the sudden loud cacophony of traffic sounds made Lexi jump. He turned to them. “Toodle-pip.” Marcel scrambled to get through the door and Dick followed before he closed it behind them.
The room returned to silence. After a moment, she flopped like a sullen teen and rolled her eyes. “Does he have to come?”
Dolores’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Don’t you want him on the team?”
Lexi tutted. “No… Yes… He’s so annoying.”
The fae patted her cheek. “You can be annoying too, dear.”
She exhaled sharply. “That’s what he says. Okay, fine, but only because I’ve grown attached to Marcel.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Lexi sat at the table next to Scott. He’d barely said a word and she placed her hand palm-up on the table beside his. He continued to stare ahead with worry lines across his forehead. After a moment, he stood and walked through the French doors at the back of the room and onto a porch.
Dolores stood behind the girl’s chair and put her hands on her shoulders. “Give him time. He knows Bryan was your intended blood match and whatever feelings you have for him, Scott can feel that. He’s confused.”
“I know.” She walked to the window and opened the blinds. It was dark but she could see a row of lights from homes dotted along the shores of a lake. The gleam from an almost full but waning moon reflected on the water. Scott walked along a small boardwalk. “I don’t know what to tell him. He’s not the only one who’s confused, but it’s not like we’re a couple or anything.”
“He probably wonders if you regret being matched with him now you know Bryan’s still alive.”
“Bryan’s still alive and apparently, he’s my brother-in-law. I don’t think Scott has anything to worry about.” She studied their surroundings curiously. “Where exactly are we?”
“Here and there.” Dolores joined her at the window and pointed. “That’s Lake Norman. It’s about thirty miles from Charlotte.”
They watched together as the sorcerer walked to the end of the boardwalk and sat with his legs crossed. Lexi glanced at her companion. “Maybe I should talk to him and apologize.”
The fae remained focused on Scott. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’ve always felt the blood match is more curse than anything. They make you all want it so much—like you won’t be complete without the never-ending agony of an unhealing scar and the weight of someone else’s emotional crap for the rest of your life.”
She smirked. “Well, when you put it like that…” She looked at the still water and quiet woods. “How far to the nearest coffee shop?”
“If you go out that way? About five miles. Leave by the front door instead. It opens into the middle of Charlotte and there’s a Starbucks across the street.”
Lexi crossed the room and opened the front door to look out. The city sounds blasted again. It was late in the evening and the traffic was still quite heavy, but she located the Starbucks sign across the street. She turned to her companion. “Okay, so what would happen if I stepped out of here and climbed over the roof? Where would I be?”
Dolores smiled. “Good luck with that.”
With a grin, she strolled out. On the street, she turned and looked at the door she’d left through. Her gaze traced up the building from there and she had to crane her neck to follow its lines to the top. It was a skyscraper. Chuckling, she turned and headed across the street.
Fae magic is so cool.
She returned ten mi
nutes later with an iced caramel latte for herself and an iced peppermint white chocolate mocha for Scott. He was still out near the water in the dark and she wandered out to join him. As soon as she opened the door, insects buzzed in the otherwise silent world.
As she approached, she noticed that he held a little energy ball in his palm. “That’s nice.”
He glanced at her as she settled beside him. “This will be your next lesson. No more exploding voodoo stones for you.”
Lexi recalled the liquified gore that had dripped from his hair after she’d used the voodoo stone in New Orleans a few days before. It was inappropriate but she couldn’t stifle a giggle.
Scott looked sharply at her before he chuckled too. “God, that was awful.”
They both laughed.
She put the cupholder between them, pulled her latte out, and looked onto the water. “If it weren’t for those houses over there, it would be almost completely black out here.” She looked at the apartment. It was an abandoned fishing shack from the outside.
He threw the energy ball and they watched as it skipped over the water like a stone and left a trail of light before it flickered and disappeared. He picked his drink up and took a long sip of it. “So, what’s it like to have a twin sister?”
Lexi thought about it, then sighed. “I think I was happier when I thought I had a doppelgänger.”
The sorcerer turned to her. “You were looking for answers—”
“She’s not an answer. She’s a thousand more questions.”
“I’m sorry for how I reacted.” He returned his focus to the water. “It’s confusing, feeling all those emotions coming from you.”
She wasn’t sure what those emotions were herself but did know he felt insecure. Talking about it seemed unfair so she decided to divert the conversation. “That goes both ways, you know.”
“What do you mean?” He looked genuinely puzzled.
“You’ve been pining for your new fairy girlfriend since you got back from Fae.” She smirked.
Scott put his drink down. “That’s not fair. She’s not my girlfriend. She attacked me. I have to ride it out until her compulsion wears off.”
Lexi elbowed him lightly. “You mean we have to ride it out.”
He sighed, then barked a laugh. “We’re not exactly the poster kids for life after Kindred, are we?”
In response, she held her cup up. “Dude, I think we’re the only examples. To the ex-Kindred fuck-up society.”
“I think we do some good, though, don’t you?” He bumped his cup against hers.
“No. I think we do a ton of good. I think we do great.” Lexi adjusted her position so she faced him. “We’re on the run from the largest supernatural organization on the planet. Are we hiding?”
Scott gave her a lop-sided grin. “A little.”
“Well, okay, but we still kick ass.” She held her cup up and they bumped again.
Dolores opened the door of the shack. “If you two have finished congratulating yourselves, Dick’s back. Let’s get to work.”
They walked inside to find the vampire pulling cartons of Chinese food out of a bag. “I didn’t know what you all eat so I bought a selection.”
The fae looked at Lexi with her eyebrows raised in silent admonishment for her suggestion that he shouldn’t be on the team.
She smiled in response and nodded as she put her coffee cup on the table. “I’m going to wash up.”
Dolores pointed. “It’s past the kitchen.”
After the kitchen, one more door was visible along the hallway. She stepped in and washed her hands. When she joined the others at the table, she opened the box in front of her. “Orange chicken, perfect.” She looked at Dick. “Thank you.”
After dinner, Dolores cleared the cartons into the trash. “Okay, you guys, I need the table for work. Go out and get some exercise.”
Scott turned to Lexi and Dick. “Do you want to explore the town?”
The vampire looked out onto the water. “I’ll have a little quiet time at the lake. I might catch up later.”
The two young people left via the front door and walked along quiet streets for a while.
“We don’t seem to be in the middle of the action, do we?” the sorcerer said when he finally stopped. He didn’t wait for an answer but scrolled through his cell phone. “Right, let’s move this along.” He caught hold of his companion and teleported.
Lexi looked around and after a few moments, realized that they stood on the street outside a large gate. She read the sign. “Hey, a theme park.”
Scott grinned. “I’ve always wanted to visit a theme park.”
“You’ve never been to one?”
“Not as far as I know, but you know what it’s like. I could have been to ten theme parks and they might have taken it all away. I can’t believe I ever thought counseling was justified.” He looked through the iron bars of the gate before he extended his arm to her. “One more hop.”
She took his arm and he teleported them into the entertainment venue.
They walked along stalls which were all closed but which carried signs for popcorn, cotton candy, hook-a-duck, and hotdogs.
Finally, they stopped in front of a huge rollercoaster.
He gazed longingly at it. “Look at the size of it.”
Lexi pulled him. “Let’s sit in it.”
They climbed easily over the gate and up to the first car, then sat in the front and clicked the safety belts.
She shook her head. “I can’t believe you haven’t been to a theme park. That’s a tragedy. We should go to one.”
Scott put his hand on the car. His lips moved and it moved a few inches, then stopped. He looked at her. “What do you think?”
“What’s keeping you?” She grinned. “Fire this baby up.”
The car climbed the track slowly. When it reached the top, he took his hand away and it stopped.
He looked around into the distance. “We can see for miles.”
They both laughed, then fell silent. He turned to her. “I know you’re thinking about him. You can talk about him. I don’t mind.”
Lexi thought he probably did mind, but a memory had come to her in those moments and she wanted to share it. “When Bryan was with us, we must have been around twelve. We used to climb out of the attic window and sit on the roof. While we were up there, we’d play a game called What Would You Do?”
“What’s that?”
“Okay, let’s give it a go. What would you do if a shifter suddenly appeared in front of you?”
Scott’s brows drew down in thought. “It depends. Might it be Edward or Agatha?”
They knew shifters, so the game wouldn’t be as easy as it had been when they were kids. She sighed. “Say it wasn’t. For the purposes of the game, it’s a bad shifter.”
He grinned. “You’re my legacy. I’d call you.”
Lexi looked at him, her expression deadpan. “I’ve been knocked unconscious.”
“Oh, right. I’d paralyze him until you woke up. Then you could deal with him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Now you ask me one.”
The sorcerer thought for a moment. “What would you do if a dark fae suddenly appeared in front of you…with malicious intent?”
Lexi nodded. “Easy. I’d take my katana out and chop her head off.”
“Her?”
“You’re thinking of the one who attacked you, aren’t you?”
He exhaled huffily. “I guess. Although I think I could have guessed that answer.”
“My turn. What would you do if Azatoth appeared in front of you?”
Immediately, he gave her a lop-sided grin. “Run like fuck.”
What could she do but laugh? “Come on, then. You ask. Try to make it a hard one.”
Scott chewed his lip as he thought hard. “What would you do if Dick suddenly appeared in front of you and…uh, and kissed you. With tongues.”
Lexi thumped his arm and laughed. “Oh, gross. I’d break his nos
e.”
“You wouldn’t be that lucky.” Dick’s voice startled them.
“Christ almighty, you almost gave me a heart attack.” Her hand clutched her chest.
“Don’t blame me. I was on the other side of town and I suddenly appeared here as though I had been conjured.”
She twisted in her seat to look at him “You’re kidding!” She glanced at Scott, about to ask if he’d done it.
“Of course I’m kidding. I heard you two from half a mile away. Does this go?” Dick settled into the seat behind them and clicked the safety belt. “Safety first. Actually, I did once get my nose broken for kissing a woman. I’ll tell you about it sometime.”
Scott put a hand on the front of the car and it accelerated along the rails.
As the car came in toward the rear of the others, she noticed the beam from a flashlight.
“Who’s there?” a gravelly voice demanded in the darkness.
Scott grabbed Lexi and Dick and teleported to the apartment.
Seconds later, they stood outside the building. The sorcerer seemed surprised and he looked around with a frown. “I aimed for the inside.”
They stepped into Dolores’s apartment to find she’d left a note on the table for them. I’ve turned in. Bedrooms have been prepared for you. Please lock the doors before you go to bed.
Scott turned and locked the door as instructed.
Lexi looked around, “Where are we supposed to sleep? I didn’t see any bedrooms.” She looked down the hallway. It was longer than she remembered and there were now two doors she would swear she hadn’t seen before beyond the bathroom. She opened the first to find it had two beds and the second had one bed and a dog basket. Marcel was already asleep on the floor next to the basket.
She returned to the others. “There are now two bedrooms that weren’t here before.” She shook her head and chuckled.
Dick paused at the French doors. “What are you laughing at?
“I’ve been around magic my whole life, but it was mostly only used to hurt or control people. Since I’ve worked with Dolores, I’ve seen the good things it can do—and the fun things.”