Path of Cinders (Alternate Routes Book 9)

by Chapel Byrne

  “I actually agree.” He smiled at her. “It’s hard to have one of our good conversations during a week like this. Unless we wanted to give up sleep or sex.”

  “No need to suggest crazy stuff,” she joked. Stifling a yawn, she asked, “Okay, what are we up to tonight?”

  “Rock show. One that’s a little off the beaten path, because they’re supposed to be some kind of hidden gem. Which really means driving a little farther out, walking through poorly lit lots, and then cramming into just as large a crowd of people as usual. But in a venue with lighting and sound system that aren’t as good.” He rolled his eyes.

  “But I could get away with those comfy boots? The ones that look cool but will suck less than heels for a girl who’s been on her feet all day?” she asked hopefully.

  “Absolutely. You should definitely do that.” He steered the car toward her apartment. “This is one of those shows where dressing to impress means looking carefully casual and a little rebellious.”

  She laughed, “So, it’s an eyeliner night for you, huh?”

  Shane chuckled. “You’re starting to get the hang of this.” After a pause he said, “Oh! And you’ll be pleased to know that the band don’t like talking after shows, so I’ll just be having coffee with them tomorrow. We can head home earlier than usual. And with less of my charm being deployed.”

  Lina sighed contentedly. “That sounds like just the break I need tonight. We’ve still got another week of this to go.”

  As Shane had predicted, the venue was located a little outside town in a poorly lit area. He had also been right about the quality of the venue, which was a shame, because the band were okay. Maybe a little too impressed by themselves, but Lina found that easier to let go of given she wouldn’t have to hang out with them.

  After the show, she and Shane walked back to the car, chatting about the band, the venue, and the crowd. She didn’t even register the sound of footsteps gaining on them until someone knocked her aside from behind.

  She hit the pavement with her knees and then her hands, managing to keep her face from getting scraped up. She could hear the sound of a scuffle as she scrambled to her feet.

  A person in black, someone with an unusual aura that she’d seen before somewhere, seemed to be attacking Shane with a sword. Shane ducked and dodged, managing to get in under the blade and land some punches.

  With a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, Shane tossed the car keys at Lina, then immediately threw a ball of fire at the attacker. Lina was keeping her eyes on the keys, so she caught them, but that meant she only saw out of the corner of her eye that the attacker seemed to have dodged the fire.

  Shane barked, “Go! I’ll be right behind you.”

  Lina wasn’t sure she believed him, so she hesitated.

  He shouted, “Go!”

  She ran toward the car, looking over her shoulders, trying to place the aura. She’d seen so many over the last week. This festival seemed to have brought out a lot of interesting people.

  She clicked to unlock the doors, but hesitated. Should she take the driver’s seat? She looked back and saw Shane land a blast. The attacker didn’t catch fire but did stumble backward and fall, which was enough for Shane to turn and run.

  He called, “Put the keys in the ignition. I’ll drive.”

  She watched him close the distance between them, but saw the attacker quickly standing back up and springing toward them.

  “Get in!” Shane shouted urgently.

  They both jumped in, and Shane peeled out before the attacker could hit the car with his sword.

  Lina’s heart was racing and she was definitely freaking out, she could feel it. As she tried to carefully breathe and get herself together, she watched Shane. He seemed, if not casual, far less worried than the situation seemed to warrant.

  When her throat opened up enough for her to talk, she asked, “What was that? How can you already be calm?”

  Grimly, Shane shook his head. “I’m not calm. I’m just less surprised than you.”

  “You knew this would happen?” Lina tried not to shriek.

  “Not really. But…That guy is…He used to be a co-worker, but now he’s a maniac who, apparently, is out to do some damage to those of us still with the company. I’d heard about it, but I hadn’t heard he was in Austin.” His nostrils flared and the fire under his skin seemed to do the same for a moment.

  Pulling out her phone, Lina said, “I’ll call 911.”

  “It won’t help.” Shane’s jaw was tight.

  “But someone just tried to kill you, baby! We can’t just let him get away with that. He’ll try again!” She was worried and confused. Her fingers hovered over the phone’s screen.

  “He’s coming after me because of my fire.” He said it flatly.

  Lina put her phone down. “Okay. Can you, like, say more?”

  Shane concentrated on the road a moment before he answered. “The fire is a genetic thing. And my company tends to hire…relatives. And…this guy would probably agree with you about the uses of fire. But, where you’re willing to just let me be me, he’s decided that it means I’m a plague on humanity and should be destroyed.”

  “That’s…That’s kind of intense. Uh…Do you have a plan for this? Some way to stay alive and shake him? Because, just so we’re clear, you doing some kind of vigilante killing thing is totally not going to work for me.” She folded her arms. “Like, a different solution is necessary or…I just…Yeah…”

  They were quiet a while, lost in their own thoughts. Lina was trying to think of non-lethal solutions. Then she remembered Grey.

  “Uh, baby, are there other people from your company or other relatives in Austin?”

  Suspiciously, he said, “Not that I’m aware of. Why?”

  “I don’t suppose your guy is named Grey?” She cringed a little, feeling guilty for not mentioning Grey before.

  Shane got very still. “How did you know that?”

  She cleared her throat. “Uh, at the opening party? When I went down to dance? There was a guy named Grey who chatted with me, and, uh, one of his eyes was like your eyes.”

  “What color was the other? Was it grey? Like his name?” There was anger in his voice.

  “Yeah. And I didn’t mention it because I didn’t think it was important. Definitely not as important as talking out why I was mad at you.” Softly she added, “Sorry.”

  “He used to joke that his name was proof that he had the wrong color eyes.” Shane snorted with disgust. “I guess he’s taking care of that now.”

  “Wait, he used to have two yellow eyes?”

  He sighed. “He did. But some things we do change us physically. And I guess that’s true for him.”

  Lina stared out at the night, letting her brain sort things out. She had an idea. “Uh, this is probably stupid, but…”

  Kindly, Shane said, “I doubt it’s stupid. What’s up?”

  “Well, if he thinks you’re a bad guy, why don’t you just prove you aren’t?” Her tone made it clear she definitely didn’t think her idea was good.

  “Interesting. Go on,” he prompted.

  “Okay, and, like, don’t take this the wrong way. Remember that, like, I’m hanging out with you because I like you. A lot. Not just because we made a deal to trade fire practice for being arm candy. Like, you are hot and, when we can really talk, you’re awesome. And…Yeah…So, with that in mind…I mean, I get how, to a crazy brain, your whole slick work persona could seem evil.” She paused, trying to gauge whether she’d offended him.

  He let out a short laugh. “I’m following you, though I blame TV for making my charm seem bad.”

  “Okay, so, what if you do good things? I mean, it doesn’t even have to ruin you for business. Celebrities do charities and stuff, right? So, like, let’s do volunteer stuff. If you think you can safely be in public.” Lina pressed back into her seat, waiting for the rejection.

  “You mean serve up food in soup kitchens and hope that proves
I’m not evil?” His tone was unreadable.

  “I mean, if nothing else, how can he kill you for being evil while you’re scooping up food for a homeless guy?” She shrugged. “I literally have no idea what you should do. Besides that one idea there. Which is stupid.”

  “It’s a basic good PR move, really. If you have an image problem where people think you’re horrible, you take an action that’s meant to prove otherwise. So, not stupid.”

  “But, is it safe?” she asked.

  “My other options are to hide and hope he goes away, which he won’t, or to hunt him down, which would mean I’d lose you. So, okay, let’s find volunteer things to do.” He chuckled. “I guess you get to exert your good girl influence on me after all. But…” He took a deep breath. “Lina, if he attacks me, I’m going to defend myself. I’m not going to pull punches.”

  They were in his driveway, but he didn’t pull into the garage. He turned to look at her. “But maybe you’re safer not hanging out while I sort this out.”

  “So, I just don’t see you until one of you is dead or until he, like, presents you with a certificate that proclaims you’re a good guy?” She rolled her eyes. “No. Pull into the garage.”

  As he complied and parked, she said, “Listen, this is weird and scary and I don’t get it. But I…I would be your actual girlfriend now, if you wanted. I…You annoy me and I still mostly want to punch you in the face when you’re being your work self, but I…” She looked out her window and weakly finished, “I like you.”

  He reached over and took her by the chin, pulling her gently around to face him. “I like you too. It’s fair to say that I burn for you.” The fire in his eyes surged and he gave her a wolfish smile. “You want to be my girlfriend?”

  “Only if you’ll be my boyfriend,” she laughed.

  “I could probably manage that.” He smiled at her, but it was sad. “I just need you to be alive to do that. Would you…Would you consider maybe just spending some alone time the next day or two?” Quickly he added, “During which I will sort out possible volunteering things and try to stay safe and not kill anyone.”

  “When I’m worried about your safety, it’s not an ideal time to not see me,” she noted.

  “I’ll text. We’ll talk. I just want you safe if he’s going to go all out on his attacks.” He searched her face for agreement.

  “Could it start in the morning? I…I don’t know if I could sleep alone tonight,” she admitted, feeling ashamed for being nervous when he seemed so calm.

  “Of course. I’m evil, but not heartless enough to turn away my girlfriend.” He gave her a sly smile that broadened as she blushed.

  CHAPTER 8

  Lina was glad that she had already been scheduled to work a double shift. Nothing like being stuck at work all day, especially during the rushes that seemed to come with festivals and other events, to distract her from the fact that she was staying away from Shane today. It wasn’t that she felt some kind of need to see him every day, but she liked having the option. And, when her last shift was almost done and one of the other girls got sick, Lina happily took over the late shift. It shouldn’t be as busy, but it would be a few more hours of distraction.

  The late shift was barebones, just one cook, one bartender, and one server. It was mostly there to make the restaurant bar an option for people after their shows. It was generally a really quiet shift. Perfect for being kind to co-workers by getting some stuff prepped for whoever did the first shift of the next day. Perfect for sneaking drinks and bites with co-workers. Perfect for texting your friends.

  She knew, from texts, that Shane had been lining up some immediate options for doing volunteer work. He’d also had a rather trying lunch with the band from the night before. They’d been pretentious and egotistical, but, of course, he’d made a good impression and even gotten them to loosen up a little. As Lina worked late shift, Shane was catching a show and drinking with them.

  “Hey, I’m going to grab a smoke while nobody’s here,” the bartender said.

  Lina nodded and went back to looking at the volunteer stuff Shane had sent her on her phone. Someone came in, so she slipped the phone back into her pocket, not even waiting to look up as she started to say, “Hi, what can I…” She took a step back as she recognized the man sitting at the bar. She managed to say, “Grey,” before her throat closed up with fear.

  Now that she knew he had the same background as Shane, she could see that he had the same charm. It was creepy. This guy had tried to kill Shane the night before, but here he sat, calm. Smiling. Looking normal. Looking a lot like the many talent scouts and reps in town for the festival.

  Instinctively, she grabbed the little knife they used to cut up limes and lemons and held it in front of her. It might not be much, but she had to do something. And, until her throat loosened up, she couldn’t even call for help. She swallowed and breathed carefully, willing the fear away.

  Grey’s smile didn’t change. He said, “Hi, Lina. So, I guess you know it was me.”

  She nodded, watching him warily.

  “You won’t need the knife. I’m not here to attack you.” His tone was so casual that he could have been saying, “You won’t need the knife. You can just cut the food with a fork.”

  When she didn’t put the knife down, he shrugged like it really didn’t matter.

  He tilted his head and examined her face a few moments before he said, “I’m really just here to decide what to do about you, to see if you and I can work something out.”

  The ridiculousness of that opened Lina’s throat, and she snapped. “What you should do about me is go away. Leave us alone.”

  Sadly, he shook his head. “I might be able to do that for you, but I can’t do that for Shane. He’s evil and has to go.”

  How was he being so casual and normal as he talked about this? Lina was baffled, and she impatiently said, “Look, I hear you. I do. His flawless super charming work persona can be…a bit much.” She waved in his direction. “But it’s not like you don’t still have a veneer of that. Like, all of us who work with people have some of that, right? And, unlike you, instead of killing people, Shane’s getting into volunteer work. So, you know, who’s actually the evil one?”

  Intrigued, Grey observed, “You honestly don’t see it.” He tilted his head as if seeing her for the first time and as if he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. “For all that you see more than other people, for all that you have fire, you don’t see him, do you? And, seriously, he’s going to do volunteer stuff?”

  Starting to get angry at the hypocrisy, Lina got impatient. “Yeah, that’s right, he’s doing volunteer work And, frankly, I see him more clearly than anyone. Like, sure, he has to be all super smooth for work, but he gets real when we’re hanging out off the clock. Maybe you just never bothered to do that when you worked together. Murderer.” Her voice was scornful.

  Grey sighed. “And what about you? What are you like when you’re not at work or on his arm?” He seemed to have dropped his charm, to be boldly examining her.

  The arm she had extended with the little knife was starting to ache a bit. She folded the other arm so that it helped give some support to her knife arm while also giving her the defensive feeling of folded arms. She was getting angry. How dare this psycho judge her? “Well, I can tell you that I’m not murdering people when I’m not at work.”

  Evenly, quietly, he asked, “And what are your charm and fire for?” He leaned his elbows on the bar. “That’s a serious question, by the way.”

  “Me?” She let out a bark of laughter. “What little charm I have is for getting customers to treat me like a human and maybe tip enough. And my fire? My fire has never been for anything. It wasn’t there when I could have used it to protect myself before. Even now, I’m not sure how much good it will do me if you jump the bar before my co-worker comes back. But, if I ever get a handle on it?” And she found herself standing more confidently, because she’d gotten used to making this clear. “My fire is for
good. I’d be a superhero if I were really in shape. But, instead, my fire will be to warm people. To hold back winter. And maybe to burn down the patriarchy.” She’d become pretty fond of that last one, even if it sometimes sounded like an empty platitude. She was determined to embrace her power enough to feel like she was someone who could do that.

  Before Grey could reply, the bartender came back. “Oh, hey. What can I get you? Or did Lina already help you?”

  Grey stood up, a strange smile on his lips. “I was just stopping in to chat with Lina. Thanks.” And then he slipped out the front door, his long coat serving to make him look fashionable but also hiding his sword.

  The bartender noticed the knife and asked, “What’s up with that? You okay?”

  Lina slowly put the knife down. “If that guy comes in again, call the police. He used to work with my boyfriend and he was here to make threats.”

  “What? Should we call the cops?”

  Shaking her head, and feeling her body shaking a little as well, she said, “No. I just…I should probably text my boyfriend.”

  Lina sagged a bit, letting the counter at her back catch her, and pulled her phone back out. Quickly, she texted Shane, “Grey was here.”

  Seconds later, her phone rang. She ducked into the kitchen as she answered. “Hey.”

  “Are you okay?” She could hear a crowd in the background and unmistakable worry in Shane’s voice.

  “He just talked But…How did he find me?” She suddenly felt like she wanted to cry.

  “Baby, you’re a bright light. He could have been cruising around just trying to get a whiff of you.” The worry had shifted to anger. “Are you sure you’re not okay with me taking…aggressive action?”

  Even though he couldn’t see it, she shook her head violently. “Don’t. It will just make him believe he’s right about you.” She whispered, “It was totally eerie how normal he seemed except for, like, the words he was saying.”

  “Did he make threats?”

  “It was more that he confirmed it’s him doing the stuff to the people you work with and said, like, he’s also trying to decide what to do about me.” She swallowed hard. “Do you think he’ll kill me?”