by K V Deal
“Fine. Let's see how I feel then.” She tossed her head and stormed towards the door.
“Charlie! Damn it! Come on, Rachel!” Axle ran after her with Rachel behind him. Rachel stopped in the doorway and looked back for a moment. She had changed back to her normal form. She looked at me with an unreadable expression, then followed the other two out, shutting the door behind them.
I let out a breath and felt the tension drain out. I shook my head. That had been a bad situation. No doubt about it.
That was the point when I realized Carah and I were alone.
I mean I didn’t mind being alone with her, I really liked hanging out with her. No, the problem was—
“Jake?” Carah was looking around the room in concern. “Shouldn’t there be about thirty or so people up here?”
“Yup,” I said grimly. “We may have a problem.”
“Oh. Just great.” Carah drew her sword out again. “Can’t we catch just one break?”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Chapter 8
Carah and I sat on one of the two large couches that were arranged like an equal sign leading to the front of the large oak desk. A silly setup as far as I was concerned, but hey, not my room. I looked at the desk. It was one of the ones that were built to impress—a lot of surface area to pile stuff.
Not that there was a lot of on it right now. In fact, it glistened as if it had just been oiled. That would explain that smell in the air. A mix of cleaning solution with something flowery. Honestly, the combination was making my stomach turn slightly. I turned away from the desk hoping that would lessen the smell.
My shifting caused Carah to slip closer to me as the couch’s single-piece leather seat cushion was pulled down by my weight.
“Oops,” she said, grinning as she moved with the slip to make sure our hips bumped.
I focused on the floor to ceiling bookcases that made up the wall on far side of the room. I could feel a heat growing in my cheeks that told me I was blushing.
“That is way too easy,” she said. I could hear the amusement in her voice. “Guess that makes it a good thing you blush cute.”
“Carah, we should try to be professional...”
“Oh, give me a break! Cyrus isn't even here yet.” Her grin took on a mischievous twist. “You know, I don't think I’ve ever asked you. Have you ever—”
The door slammed open.
Thank God! I don't know what Carah was going to ask, but it was going to be really embarrassing. I just knew it.
Cyrus was already striding into the room by the time I looked over. I still don't know how a man, made head-to-toe of stone, could move so quietly. My eyes flicked up to glance at his head. The bandage was still on the place he had been brained by Edward, right next to the word ‘Emet’ that seemed to be dyed into the stone across his forehead.
He looked at the two of us and raised an eyebrow. “Please. Don't let me interrupt.”
“Nothing is happening!” The words almost threw themselves out of my mouth in their rush to get out.
Carah started to giggle, a hand pressed over her mouth.
I was pretty sure I was now blushing even harder than I had been before.
“I am glad to see you’re amused,” Cyrus said as he walked across the room and around the desk. He sat down and laced his fingers on the desk. “Axle and Charlie have already been here. They reported on the attack and the fight. As I understand it, your mission is on a two-day hiatus. What brings you two here?”
Carah and I looked at each other for a moment.
“They were already here and talked to you about all that? When? How did they have time for that?” Carah said, startled.
“Did they tell you the rest of the guards for the dungeon had vanished too?” I asked.
Cyrus had been about to respond to Carah, but as soon as my words got out, he stopped and snapped his head around to look at me. “What?”
“That’s why we came here, boss,” Carah said. “It wasn't until the others left, and we started to calm down, that we realized they were all gone. Everything in the room was cleaned up too as if it had all been taken with them.”
Cyrus dropped a hand to the desk and began to drum his fingers. “Everything?”
“The room was as bare as the first day we went in there,” Carah said.
Cyrus leapt up out of his chair and began to pace behind the desk. He walked in silence for a moment before slowing to a stop. He ran his hand along his stone hair. “I truly wish that Gloria was here. She was much better at working out puzzles such as this.” He turned to us. “I will have some people look into it. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.” He walked back to his chair and sunk into it, making the thing creak in protest at his weight.
It was a dismissal, and we both knew it. I stood up and offered a hand to Carah.
“Why, thank you.” She smiled up at me and let me help her up.
We stepped out of the office into the white-washed hallway, and I quietly closed the door behind us.
“So…can I see your new place?” That mischievous grin was back.
I ran it through in my mind. I had told her I would let her see it when I finally got it. Also, she was still out hunting for a place that she liked and could afford so this might help her out there as well.
Both good reasons. I wasn’t just doing this to get her to smile at me again. Nope.
“Sure,” I said, grinning back at her.
“Well then, lead the way!”
As we walked out of the building past a pair of guards in full plate armor, I couldn’t help but eye them. Where had Cyrus found all this armor? Anything other than leather was pretty rare right now. And matching armor like what these guys had? And what the people at the dungeon were wearing? It was almost unheard of.
My thoughts were interrupted, as I heard a voice screaming.
The hell?
Glancing around, I saw another group of armored soldiers dragging a man kicking and screaming into a different entrance.
“What?” I blinked.
“Must be one of the Chosen,” one of the guards said nonchalantly. “They've been bringing in a lot lately.”
Carah went quiet after that for some reason. It took me a while to get her talking again.
Twenty minutes later, we were walking along the small street that lead to my plot of land. The walls that edged both sides of the road were made of the same tan Ohio sandstone that my old house had been.
“I get where you’re coming from. No more cars and nobody’s seen any horses or anything. But you really think we can domesticate those lizards? Salamanders are pretty vicious....” Carah had her hands behind her head and was looking at the single cloud slowly crawling across the blue sky.
I strode along next to her, the claws on my toes tapping out an excited rhythm on the tan cobblestones. “But if we could?”
She nodded thoughtfully. “It would be helpful...”
“And we might have just found a way!” I continued excitedly as we passed another of those flimsy looking iron gates that seemed so popular on this street. “Those eggs remember? If we can raise them from birth, that might be our first step forward!” I was waving my arms about enthusiastically.
“Maybe...” She hesitated. “I get you’re into this, but domesticating animals isn’t that simple. Sure, there’s a chance, but it could take generations to get right.”
I know she was just trying to be rational about it, but it hurt that she wasn't as excited as I was.
Thankfully, we arrived at my gate right then.
Unlike those other gates, this one could actually stand up to a siege if it needed to. It was heavy and about two feet taller than my nine feet plus. For Carah, that made it almost twice her height. Iron banding crossed its heavy oak planking in a grid-like pattern adding to the feeling of security it gave off. The thing was about half-a-foot thick too, with hinges actually set into the wall for added strength.
“Oh wow...” Carah breathed as I st
opped at the gate. “This one’s yours?”
“Yup.” I grinned at her then pulled the set of copper keys out of my ring and flipped to one. I unlocked the gate and had to give it a heavy push to get it moving.
“Damn! This thing is thick!” She gave the door an experimental push. “I'm not sure I could even open it!“
“It does take a little muscle,” I admitted, “but it's not too hard for me.”
“Braggart.“ Carah stuck out a cheerful tongue at me.
Never noticed before that it was pointed at the tip. Huh.
“Show me around?” she asked.
That was when I realized I had just been standing there holding the door. “Oh… Uh, sure.” I gestured her inside.
Once we were inside, I shut the door and reached over to pull a thick bar down across the door.
Carah raised an eyebrow at me. “What? Do you think I’m gonna run away?”
“Sorry…” I grabbed the bar and started to slide it back again.
“Jake!” she laughed. “I was just teasing you. Leave it.”
“Ah! Right…” My laugh was way more self-conscious then hers. I rubbed the back of my head.
“So?” she said, gesturing away from the door.
I was just starting to realize that this…might be a date. I really hadn’t been expecting that, but the way she was acting? It was starting to hit me that this was more than her usual instinct-driven flirting.
Rather than stick my foot farther into my mouth, I turned and led the way.
Here the yard, if that’s what you wanted to call it, was really just a rocky hill made of the same gray stone as the interior of the house, though there was no polish to it out here. The hill sloped up to about half my height. It was surrounded on all four sides by an annoying sandstone wall that took away from the feel of the place, but that was part of the price that needed to be paid for security.
“I like the warmth,” Carah said cheerfully.
I glanced back at her in surprise. I mean, that had been one of the reasons that I had liked the exterior of this place. It really was one big sunning rock, and, as much as I hated being called it, I was somewhat lizard-like in that I really did love a nice warm place to curl up. I just hadn’t expected anyone else to feel that way.
I guess it must have shown on my face. “What? I like a warm place too. Probably has to do with what I am.” She shrugged. “The rocky part is kinda nice too, but I wouldn't mind some grass.” The path we walked along was just a strip of rock that had been cleared and smoothed to make walking a little more pleasant as it wound around the hill.
Carah gasped as we crested the hill to see the far side of the property. By this time, we were about half way up the hill, and the view over the rear wall was stunning in the late afternoon light. The harbor city stretched out in the distance, its forest of buildings jutting out of the lake. The sunlight danced across the water and sent brilliant beams of light across the city. I had to grab her arm to prevent her from walking into the small stream that came out of my house and ran down the yard toward the harbor. Her attention was fully focused on the view ahead of her.
“Holy shit! This is…wow! How much did you have to pay to get a view like this!” Carah finally tore her eyes away from the view to look at me.
“A lot.” It felt bad to name the price. Kinda like bragging.
“Oh, come on! You gotta tell me how much I have to pay to get a view like this!”
I hesitated.
“Pleeeease…” she wheedled.
There is no way I could’ve said no to that face. “Ten gold.”
“Ten?” She looked shocked. “That’s more than my entire savings!”
I looked at the ground. That reaction was exactly why I didn’t—
“Guess that’s just an incentive to visit more often.” She reached out to put a hand on my arm, and I looked up to see her smiling at me. “You won’t mind if I visit a bit? Right?”
“I…uh…nope. Don't mind at all.”
Annnd, I sound like a dolt. Yay.
“Good! Can I see the inside now?”
“Inside! Right. Let me just grab the key.” I fumbled with the keys.
I felt a hand touch my back about halfway up, as Carah stepped up beside me.
Oh…jeez.
She grinned at me, seeming to like my reaction.
Finally, I got the door open, really hoping that…
Something’s wrong.
My tail began to beat as my eyes flicked around the large, open front room. It seemed to be just as I had left it. The light from the door behind us showed the room still…in…
The light! Why is the light getting in here?
Where the hell was MY lamp!?
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Chapter 9
I would have torn the room apart, but there was nothing to tear. I hadn't gotten any furniture for this room yet.
It hadn't miraculously dropped down, rolled across a few feet of floor and fallen into the indoor stream. With the way that lamp kept burning no matter what happened to it, we could have seen it if even it had fallen in any way. Not that it stopped me from searching the whole river.
Carah was eyeing me with concern.
She stood in the middle of the room watching me as I rushed around the room. Her arms were crossed over her chest. “You’re sure you left it here?”
“Yes! I put it right there! I didn't want to bring it to the hospital!”
“Jake! Don't shout! It's okay. We'll find it. Come on, let’s check the rest of the rooms just in case.”
“Right.”
We tore through the house. Again, without much in the way of furniture or decorations to look behind, most everything was plainly visible.
Everything seemed just as I had left it. Nothing was out of place, and there were no clues.
“Alright...” Carah said, keeping an eye on me. “We’re out of our element here. Neither of us are trackers, so unless you got a place to start looking, we need to find somebody who can.”
There was a wave of heavy anger building up inside me. Whoever had gotten in here had made it past two heavy locked doors that I had been told could only be opened by the keys still in my hand. Obviously, that wasn't true, so the first thing to do was to go and see Danny. He and I were going to have a talk, and he wasn't going to like it. I turned and stomped my way across the polished stone floor towards the door.
“Jake?” Carah was suddenly standing in front of me. “Talk to me, big guy. I'm on your side, but I gotta know what you’re thinking.”
I took a deep breath, fighting down the urge to just push past her. “Gonna talk to Danny,” I growled.
“Danny? As in the realtor?” Her eyes flicked from side to side as she thought quickly. “You’re not going to hurt him!” she snapped.
I glowered at her. “Excuse me?”
“That wouldn't help anything! All that might happen could end with you getting thrown into a cell. We'll go see him, but let me do the talking.”
I gave her a flat stare.
“Please Jake, work with me here.”
Damn it. There’s no way I can refuse her when she asks in that pleading tone.
“Fine,” I growled. “But if he gives us trouble, I'm gonna brain him.”
“Thanks, Jake.” She grinned up at me. “And don't worry. I got this.” She reached up to pat my arm.
I nodded sharply.
Thankfully, Danny's office was nearby. It made sense. It was always was better to be near your work. For me, it meant that I didn't have a ton of time to stew. Probably for the best.
As it was, I slammed the pretty gilded door to the shop open with such force that it was almost ripped off its hinges.
“Jake! Calm down!” Carah said, grabbing my arm. “I understand. Look, let me do the talking here. Trust me.”
Annnnd for some reason, that actually helped. I don't know why. Especially since, up till now, it’s always been that, if something of mine was missing or even j
ust out of sight for too long, I couldn't calm down no matter what people said. Yet here we were. She said she’s got this, and I was able to calm down. At least for the moment.
A salesman came up to us. Everything in his body language, from the extremely worried smile on his face to his shaking leather boots, spoke of a high level of anxiety. “C-can I help you?”
“Hi!” Carah gave him a brilliant grin, not taking her hand off my arm. “My friend here made a purchase from your associate Danny? We were hoping to have a chance to talk to him about a small issue.”
“Danny?” The man closed his eyes and clenched his fists for just a moment before he caught himself. Pulling his expression into a polite smile, he looked at Carah. “I'm so very sorry. Danny is no longer a part of our firm. Perhaps I could help you?”
I blinked. “What?” I growled.
Carah gripped my arm tighter. “Well, that is a bit of a surprise. Well…I guess you could help. See, my friend here had his brand-new house broken…into...” Seeing the look on the man’s face, Carah trailed off.
“I think…” The man swallowed hard enough for me to see his Adam’s apple bob. “I think I should go get my boss.”
A few minutes and, for some reason, a cup of tea later, we sat in a small office in the back of the shop. It was well furnished—nice red carpet, tastefully decorated walls, impressive desk, plenty of light through the window—but honestly, I didn't care about any of that.
The only thing I was paying attention to was the three-foot tall man sitting behind that desk. The guy was a strange sight. He was perched on a specially designed chair that had him up at the correct height for the desk. Currently, the mouth behind his eye-catching and carefully trimmed black goatee with handlebar mustache was looking decidedly unhappy. He scrunched his eyes closed as he ran a hand through his hair.
“So...your house, which our former agent claimed was theft proof, was burglarized.”
I just glared at him. Having just explained the whole situation to him, I really didn't feel like going through it again.
“Yes.” Carah was sitting next to me, a hand still on my arm as she smiled at the manager. “And while we don't blame this firm, the item taken is something very important, and my friend here would greatly appreciate any help you could offer in getting it back.”