Knead to Know

by Liz Schulte

By the time I left my store, it was nearly three. My tired feet wanted to go home and binge on random television shows, but Holden was right. I had to eat.

  I walked down the mostly empty streets toward a nightclub named Xavier that was popular among the jinn, racking my brain for anything that would make me more tempting to evildoers. Jinn were off limits. Holden was their leader and frowned on me snacking on them. But at least they were easy to find. I hoped their presence would attract other darker elements to the area. I stopped at a twenty-four hour convenience store along the way and picked up a bottle of tequila. Alcohol had ceased to affect me, but that was okay, I was never much of a drinker anyway. The liquor burned my throat on the way down. It wasn’t an altogether bad feeling so I took another swig. Then I dumped some on my hand and flicked it on myself.

  There was a dark, scary looking alley a few blocks from the club that seemed made for evildoing. Six months ago, I wouldn’t have even walked on this street alone. Now, not only was I on it, I was actually hoping to be attacked. Life was weird. I stumbled into the darkness, making sure to bump loudly into some trashcans and giggle to myself. I looked like an idiot, no doubt, but the moment I heard footsteps, I knew it had worked.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” a deep male voice said.

  I couldn’t see the man, only the glowing red end of his cigarette as he took a long drag. I ran my hands through my hair in a way I hoped was sexier than it felt. I took another gulp of tequila. “I’m looking for…” I trailed off and giggled. This was so demeaning. “I forget.”

  “Maggie?” The man came close enough I could see him. Shit. It was Phoenix, Holden’s henchman.

  “Damn it,” I said. “What does a girl have to do to get attacked?”

  He took another deep inhale from his smoke before tossing it on the ground and grinding it out with his shoe. “You want to be attacked?” His hooded, intense stare cut right through the darkness.

  “That’s littering,” I said, before I could stop myself. Obviously, the man running all of the jinn in Chicago didn’t care about littering. But he should have. Just like me, he’d have to live in this world forever.

  He didn’t give the cigarette butt a second glance as he came into my space. His sharp cheekbones were made more severe by the lack of light. “Why?”

  I blinked. The vampire energy roared to life beneath my skin and the bottle of tequila shattered in my hand, soaking the side of my leg. “Because it’s paper and whatever the filter is made out of, assuming you smoke filtered cigarettes—”

  He smiled and shook his head. “Why do you want me to attack you?”

  “Oh.” Thank God it was dark because I was most definitely blushing. “I don’t. I didn’t. I just wanted someone to attack me. Not you in particular. A girl’s gotta eat.”

  He laughed. “You came looking for a demon.”

  “Yeah, or whatever. I’m not in a position to be choosey. I figured if it attacked me, then it has it coming.”

  “I see.” His eyes continued to drill into me keeping my heart beating fast. “Perhaps we could come to an arrangement.” He raised an eyebrow and offered me a cigarette from his squished pack.

  I shook my head and he slipped the pack into his pocket. “What sort of arrangement?”

  He ran his finger down the cleft of my chin. “A mutually beneficial one.”

  The way he said “mutually beneficial” made it sound entirely illicit and therefore all the hotter. Holden wouldn’t approve, but the offer was tempting. Of course it was. He was jinni. That’s what they did. They tempted you to do things you would otherwise know better than to do. “Think I’m going to have to pass.” I stepped around Phoenix, back to square one.

  He caught my sleeve. “The only thing you’ll find around here is jinn. You can’t hunt them.”

  “I know. I’m not.” His grip tightened. “I didn’t know where else to look. I know the rules.”

  He smelled like leather and something that I couldn’t place, but was alluring. He shifted closer to me. “Do you always follow the rules?” His voice was soft and velvety as it ran over my skin.

  My mouth went dry. “Mostly.”

  “Pity.” He brushed his lips against mine, lightly at first, but long enough my instincts kicked in and I siphoned off some of his darkness. Not a lot, just enough to whet my appetite. I pressed my lips harder against his, taking deeper, longer pulls until he wrenched away. His eyes stayed closed as he held me an arm’s distance away.

  It took everything I had not to lunge at him and finish what I’d started. I’d never begun feeding and not pulled every last ounce of the dark soul from its body. My appetite was insatiable and greedy.

  When Phoenix finally opened his eyes faint traces of blue flames danced in them. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

  He released me, but my legs couldn’t function. The hunger wouldn’t allow me to walk away and he wasn’t moving either.

  “I should probably go,” I said because if I wasn’t going to leave, the least I could do was fill the silence.

  His lighter clicked to life as he lit his next cigarette. “It doesn’t look like you want to.”

  “No, I do.” I forced myself to take two steps back and managed to tear my eyes off him. He was lucky. Had it been longer since my last feed, I wasn’t sure I could have walked away from him. Not feeling like this. “Have a good night.” My words, though soft, rang out through the darkness.

  “It’s already looking better,” he said just as softly. “Good luck with the bakery.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. How did he know? Holden must have mentioned it, though I couldn’t picture how or why it would come up in their conversation. “For the record, what sort of deal were you offering?”

  “You need a supplier and someone like you would be greatly beneficial to a person in my position.”

  Ah—but making a deal with him would be a bad decision no matter how much it simplified my life. “Holden wouldn’t like it.”

  “Holden doesn’t have to know.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “See you around.”

  “You can count on it.”

  I spent the rest of the night traipsing all over the city looking for any being evil enough to feed me, but there was no one, especially now that my taste buds knew exactly who they wanted. Just before sunrise I headed home.

  The crisp fall air caressed my skin as I walked. Carved pumpkins were already starting to show up on people’s stoops and the leaves were vibrant shades of gold and red. Fall was my favorite time of year. Just like me, it fell somewhere in between blooming full of life and lying still in a peaceful slumber.

  I unlocked the door to my silent house. Maybe I should get a cat. Or dog. Any animal that would be happy to see me when I got home would be an improvement over what I had now. How did animals react to vampires? Maybe I’d get a fish.

  If I wanted to make it to the bakery by seven to meet Garret (which I felt I had to, given what he witnessed yesterday) I just had time to shower and change. When I was dressed in jeans, a plain gray T-shirt, and a white blazer, I sat down for a moment in the living room. I looked at the text messages I’d been avoiding. There were fifteen messages from my human friends. Gia inviting me to a happy hour. Jaime wanting to know who my hair stylist was. And most of the rest were from Izzy, the first real friend I made in Chicago. Her messages started with, “Why are you avoiding me? Did something happen? Are you mad?” and evolved to, “I’m really worried about you.”

  I bit my lip and locked the screen. Not yet. Not until I figured out what to say to them. This whole experience gave me a new understanding of Baker and his actions. Lying to me was wrong, but explaining this world was impossible without changing an unwitting person’s life. However, it didn’t absolve him. He knew what he was and what I was before we met. He made the choice to start a relationship with me and changed the course of my life without my consent. And yet . . . I still loved him. Feelings that intense don’t just go away overnight, ev
en if he did.

  Garret came back to mind. I also knew what I was before I met him, and yet I endangered him yesterday without even meaning to. How was any of this supposed to work? How was I supposed to explain to my friends that while I loved all the happy hours, girl talk, date recaps, and details of their lives, I simply wasn’t part of their world anymore? Even if I could tell them what I was—and I couldn’t—they would never understand. I had to find a way to tell them that I would always want to be their friend, but I had changed. I couldn’t be like I used to be.

  I strolled to the store in the soft morning sunlight, consciously slowing my pace, energy buzzing beneath my skin. That small taste of Phoenix had only made my hunger worse. I had to eat today. No matter what. Maybe I’d call Corbin, the only vampire I actually knew. Maybe he’d give me an idea of where to find a demon. Or Femi, a bounty hunter, surely she could help. Neither of them had to be neutral.

  I put coffee on as soon as I walked through the door to the shop, so I could enjoy the delicious aroma. Then I placed two mugs on the island, unlocked the front door, and waited for Boone. Today I’d figure out what his deal was—or, at the very least, I’d figure it out before he finished working for me.

  Ducking back into the kitchen, I started on a new batch of cupcakes I’d been thinking about all night while I wasn’t finding demons. I planned to call them the Dark Side. Basically, they were rich, moist chocolate cake with a shot of fudge in the center and salted caramel frosting.

  I’d just retrieved two eggs and a carton of buttermilk from the cooler and started back to the counter when the side door flew open, catching my foot and pitching me forward.

  I fell against the island, slamming into the mugs I’d just placed there They shattered beneath my palm. Pain shot up my arm. Shards of porcelain protruded from the top of my hand. I plucked them out as fast as I could, hoping whoever was at the door didn’t see.

  “Jesus, are you okay?” Garret rushed toward me as my dripping blood slowed and started retreating back inside.

  “Garret. You’re here.” I snapped my hand behind my back and away from him.

  He pulled my arm toward him, towel ready to wrap it, but it was already healed. His fingers stalled where I should have been hurt. Shaking his head, he studied my other hand, then the bloody countertop. “It’s not possible,” he said softly. “How are you okay?”

  I yanked my hand away from him and held it in my other hand. “It’s just a scratch.” I ran my thumbnail across my palm hard enough to cut it, then flashed it at him. “The cup exploded. It looked much worse than it is.” I took the towel and wrapped it around my hand. “I’m fine, really. A Band-Aid and I’ll be good as new.”

  He shook his head again, still frowning. “The red eyes...” His eyes stayed locked on the towel. “And instant healing.” He started to back away.

  I forced a chuckle. “I had an allergy attack and a scratch. Have you been getting enough sleep?”

  “Then let me see your hand again.”

  It was already healed beneath the towel. I knew it and he thought he knew it too. “Why?”

  “Show it to me.”

  “No,” I said. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but this is getting weird. I think you should go.”

  Garret looked at the bloody counter again and snapped a picture of it before leaving. The door slammed behind him.

  “Shit.” I probably could have caught him, but what would that prove? I didn’t need this right now. I rubbed my hands over my face. Garret was definitely going to be a problem. And why wouldn’t he be? There was blood and coffee all over the place—not to mention the bloody chunks of glass I’d pulled out of my hand.

  “Maggie?” Boone stepped into the kitchen. He slowly took in the chaos. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” I removed the completely bloodless towel from my hand and tossed it over the mess. “Don’t come in here. There’s glass everywhere.”

  His eyes trailed to the door. “He’s going to tell,” Boone blurted out. “The guy who was here. This isn’t over. He’ll be back.”

  I blinked and my mouth fell open. “He’s going to tell what?”

  His jaw tightened, squinting off into space. “I don’t know. Something about you.”

  Perfect. “How do you know?”

  Even before I finished my sentence, I could see him closing off. I hated secrets. I hated them so much. “Are you part of the Abyss?”

  “The what?” He shook his head like he didn’t have time for my nonsense. “If you’ll trust me, I can help you. I know how this sounds, but I think I’m supposed to help you.”

  I bit the inside of my lip. I wanted to trust him. I needed at least one person I could talk to about this crap that I wouldn’t feel like I was inconveniencing. “Who did you meet with in the alley?”

  He pulled back slightly. “When? I haven’t had any meetings. Are you in some sort of trouble, Maggie?”

  Was it too much to ask that one person in my life didn’t feel the need to hide things from me? I had enough of that for a lifetime when I was with Baker. I should have turned Boone down right then and there on the “trust him” bit, but I couldn’t get past the fact that he had read my mind. Whether or not Boone actually knew anything about the Abyss didn’t matter. He had a gift and I had a problem. “Why would you help me with anything? You don’t even know me.”

  He stepped closer. “I don’t know, but right now it’s the only thing that feels right. I met you for a reason.”

  It wasn’t enough. There had to be a better motivation than a mere feeling. I simply had too much to lose. Besides, he didn’t know about the Abyss and I couldn’t explain it to him. I had to take care of this problem on my own. “You are helping me. You’re making sure I can open on time. This is just a misunderstanding.” I looked at the bloody mess. “I’ll be fine. Where I need you the most is out there.” I pointed toward the door, drawing a line in the metaphorical sand between us. I didn’t need another friend who I couldn’t talk to.

  Boone nodded once and went back to the front without another word about it.

  Chapter 4