Unawakened

by R. J. Blain

  “I’m not a doll.”

  “You’re not a doll. Think of it as a game, Alexa. You need to prove you’re better than them, so you have to dress better than them, look better than them, do everything better than them. They think you’re just an overachieving fringe rat. No, don’t glare at me, darling. We both know it’s true.”

  “Mommy,” Colby grumbled.

  I loved my roommate. The scorn in its tone appeased me far more than Rob’s words. While I knew he was right, pretending I was entitled to flit through the same shops and social circles of the elite unnerved me.

  It didn’t feel real.

  Then again, little did in a world filled with dae.

  “I’ll show you just how beautiful you are,” Rob swore, pulling me along with him as we headed down Baltimore’s main shopping venue for the wealthy and entitled.

  I had no idea why Rob had decided my silence was a challenge, but I arched a brow and wondered when he had abandoned his common sense and put blinders on. “You’re crazy.”

  Snorting, Rob dragged me into a glass-fronted store featuring feminine mannequins clad in gowns suitable for a ballroom.

  Before the Dawn of Dae, shopping had been perilous enough; every little scrap of money I managed to gather somehow slipped out of my hands, leaving me with barely enough to feed myself. My awareness of value hadn’t changed all that much, despite Rob’s attempts to integrate me with elite society.

  The first price tag I saw dangling from a leather coat was sufficient to feed me for four or five years. Rob didn’t give me enough time to gawk, pulling me straight to the counter.

  The blond-haired woman looked human enough, which worried me even more than the fact I was shopping in a district I was technically banned from. I couldn’t smell any sulfur, which hopefully eliminated her as a fire breather. I tensed, and Rob untangled his arm from mine, sliding his hand over my back to nudge me forward.

  “We’re looking for formal attire,” Rob announced.

  Sky blue eyes looked Rob over before turning to me. A chill ran through me at the intensity of the woman’s stare. “Occasion?”

  The temperature dropped several degrees the instant the question left the woman’s lips. My eyes widened.

  Dae with an affinity with fire were common. Ice, on the other hand, was about as rare as a double rainbow on a sunny day without a scrap of cloud in sight.

  I wondered which one of us was odder: her for her cold powers, or me for my lack of powers.

  Maybe I’d check the police database to satisfy my curiosity.

  Rob didn’t seem to notice or care what the woman’s powers were, flashing his best smile at the other dae. “Show her she’s beautiful.” Taking out his wallet, Rob placed a card on the counter. “I will require a matching suit for every outfit we acquire for her.”

  Taking up the card, the woman tapped it against a sensor embedded in the counter. The only sign of her surprise was the slight widening of her eyes. “Yes, sir. Please come this way.”

  This way proved to lead to a door located at the back of the store, and after checking to make certain there were no other customers, she waved us inside. Instead of clothing on display, an elevator waited. Like every other shop in the area, it was part of a skyscraper complex. Instead of up, as I expected, the elevator headed several floors down. When the doors opened, the murmur of conversation warned me of the presence of a lot of people, dae as far as I could tell.

  Self-preservation dictated avoiding as many dae as possible, and I tensed.

  “Perlissa will aid you with your selections. She will find you,” the woman said before retreating back into the elevator. My one route of escape closed with a swish and a ding, leaving me alone with Rob.

  My mouth dropped open at the sight of a cavernous space filled with dae, clothes, and every accessory I might ever need. Jewels glimmered in the bright lights, and the pleasant scent of leather oil teased my nose. Someone had decided the twenty foot ceiling meant a second layer of shopping could be installed; a wealth of clothing and other goods hung from the ceiling, and winged dae flitted through the selection, leaving the ground floor for those without the ability of flight.

  Not all werewolves had pink wings, and a rainbow of feathers drew my eye.

  It was among the werewolves and jeweled dragons I caught a glimpse of my first angel. She hovered at the end of a clothing rack, searching through dresses. Her pale skirts swirled around her legs. Her wings fluttered, not beating nearly enough to keep her aloft, though she defied gravity all the same. Liquid gold swirled in the shape of feathers, and golden light radiated from her equally liquid hair.

  Her eyes were large, larger than any human’s, but her radiance drowned away their color. She was light personified, and Rob sighed at my side.

  “Hers is a sad dream,” he murmured, taking hold of my hand.

  I gawked at the regret in Rob’s tone, wondering how he could pity someone so far above me. As though sensing my thoughts, the dae turned to me, and the corners of his mouth quirked into a smile. He said nothing, and I wondered what thoughts lingered behind his bright eyes.

  “What do you mean?” I demanded.

  Instead of answering, Rob pulled me down one of the aisles, glancing over the assortment of dresses, gowns, and other attire. “I’ll explain later. While I’d love to be out with you all night long, it’s a talk better for home.”

  Home had never meant much to me; apartments were places to sleep, and in the fringe, they never lasted long. When Rob said it, there was an inflection in his voice that meant so much more than a place to rest. It wasn’t just his home.

  It was ours.

  “Mommy?”

  I blinked down at my roommate, wondering at the worry in its tone. “Colby?”

  Rob nudged me with his elbow. “You were staring off into the sunset, darling. I’ll pay far more than a penny for your thoughts when we’re home. First, we have clothing to buy.”

  Rob procured the assistance of six dae to help him buy me clothes, and my mouth hung open as shock settled in and refused to let go.

  Did I really need the help of six dae, Colby, and Rob to buy clothes? Apparently, I did.

  Perlissa was a pegasus, and her wings were made of silvered glass. She fanned her feathers, and my reflection gawked back at me.

  My mostly naked reflection, which was drawing far, far too much attention from the other elite browsing the store. My face burned, and I wanted to make a run for the exit. My slack-jawed image with wide eyes and red face matched the bright red lace lingerie Rob had insisted I wear.

  Rob handed my bejeweled gown to one of the helpers. “Be careful with it. It’s one of a kind.”

  “Just like your lady,” the pegasus replied, and the tinkle of wind chimes accented her words. “She wears red well.”

  “She wears everything well.”

  Rob was the master of smooth deliveries. I had to give him that much credit. With so many elite staring at me, I couldn’t force myself to stammer a single word in protest or reply.

  I could scale a skyscraper, shoot a gun, read, calculate, and scheme, but in the limelight of elite dae fashionistas, I was at such a loss of what to do. I froze, turning my stare to Rob for help.

  Ignoring my silent plea for a quick escape, Rob conferred with the pegasus before turning to the racks. He said a few clipped words in a different language.

  The dae scattered, leaving us alone in the aisle.

  In view of the entire store, Rob ran his hands over my shoulders and arms, tugging me to him with a sly smile on his lips. I blushed as his hands slipped around to my back and skimmed over my skin. With a triumphant huff, he pulled something off the back of my neck.

  He held a skin-colored disc between his fingers. “There you are, you little snot. Colby, check her over for others.”

  Before I could do more than gasp, my roommate shimmied up my leg. A shudder ran through me. Rob covered my mouth with his to smother my squeal at the wet, gooey sensation.


  Beating Rob’s chest did nothing to stop either of the dae from having their way. Without Rob’s intervention, my screams would have echoed through the room.

  Cold macaroni and cheese up the spine should have classified as a cruel and unusual punishment. Only when my roommate had finished his search did Rob release me. I whimpered, grabbing hold of his suit jacket to stay standing still. “That was horrible.”

  “Sorry, darling. You were bugged again.”

  “I thought you wanted me to be bugged.”

  Rob dangled the still intact disc in my face. “This one is fine. Colby’s just helping me get rid of the extras. They’ll reassign the ones on your gown to a few dae to drive the owners of the primary sensor absolutely insane.”

  “You planned this?”

  “Alexa, Alexa. Haven’t you learned yet? I plan everything. So, where do you want it?”

  “How about nowhere?”

  Rob peeled another disc off my bra. “It’s a game. First, we will demonstrate we are aware of the fact you’re bugged. Second, we will demonstrate we are willing to toy with whomever is doing it. The transmitters are useless if a lot of people are wearing them. By the time we’re done tonight, we’ll have dozens of these things floating around Baltimore. If we’re really lucky, hundreds.”

  “You call that lucky?”

  Rob smiled. “Come on. It’ll be fun. Who knows? Maybe we’ll figure out who is doing this, how, and why.”

  I sighed my surrender.

  Every time Rob requested a new outfit like some sort of voyeur on a power trip, I ended up with a selection of new discs. Rob’s cohorts carried them away as soon as Rob peeled most of them from my clothing. Colby took care of the rest, and by the time he decided we had gathered a sufficient number of them, I was the not-so-proud owner of seven new outfits meeting formal attire criteria.

  I lost count of the number of shirts, jeans, skirts, and slacks Rob had added to the pile of clothing he was purchasing just because he liked me in them. Instead of my bejeweled dress, I was wearing one of the more casual outfits Rob had insisted on buying, blending a business-appropriate blouse and sweater with a sinfully comfortable pair of matching slacks.

  “Where are we going to put them all? How are we going to even get this home? Rob, this is insanity,” I rambled, pointing at the pile of clothing the clerk was ringing up. The dae might have looked human, but the instant I caught a glimpse of his pointed teeth, I swallowed to keep from drooling.

  Rob laughed, picked another disc out of my clothes, and set it on the counter for the clerk to deal with. “We’ll go out for something to eat after we’re done here.”

  My eyes widened, and I clapped my hands over my mouth. Had I been actually drooling? “It’s that obvious?”

  The clerk glanced up from his work, arching one of his perfect brows. Picking up the discarded disc, he set it in the basket with twenty more just like it before moving the basket closer. “Will you require a reservation, sir?”

  Making a thoughtful noise, Rob plucked two more discs out of my clothing and tossed them onto the pile. “Somewhere casual.”

  There was something comforting about the fact the clerk used a traditional phone to make a call and put in the request before ringing up the rest of Rob’s purchases.

  I found a disc on the elbow of my sweater, and I peeled it off and tossed it into the basket with the others. “Gun manufacturers should take lessons from this creep,” I muttered, patting myself down. Three more discs later, I was starting to believe I’d never be free of my remote stalker.

  Rob laughed and pulled another one off my shoulder. “You do have a high discs per minute rating.”

  “You’re awfully cheerful about all of this.”

  When the clerk finally finished ringing up all the purchases, Rob handed over one of his cards. “Later.”

  While I never felt the discs make their appearance, the instant I shifted my weight in my heels, the edge of one jabbed the ball of my foot. Yelping from surprise as much as pain, I kicked off my shoe, launching it across the room. It smacked into the shop’s street-facing window before clattering to the floor. I hissed, peeling the disc out of my foot. The cut wasn’t large, but it was deep enough to bleed, splashing blood to the floor.

  In shocked fascination, I watched the red puddle grow beneath me, wondering how such a small cut could bleed so much. “Whoa.”

  Rob hissed, slapped one arm behind my back, and knocked me off balance with his foot. The instant my weight rested entirely on his arm, he grabbed my foot and pressed his thumb over the wound. The way he lifted my leg made me grateful I wasn’t wearing my dress any more, or everyone on the street would be getting a free show of the worst kind. “Now I’m angry.”

  I couldn’t help myself. Giggling, I wiggled my toes. After the brief burst of pain, my foot throbbed, but it was tolerable compared to the other injuries I had racked up in the recent past. “It appeared under my foot, and I stepped on it.”

  “This isn’t funny, Alexa.”

  My laughter bubbled out of me. “What do you think my max disc capacity is?”

  Rob groaned. “Alexa, that’s terrible.”

  “Aid kit, sir?” the clerk asked, holding out a small white box. The vampire licked his lips.

  “None for you,” I scolded, shaking my finger at the vampire. “Not unless you share, too.”

  “Alexa!” Rob blurted.

  “What? It’s only fair. Why does he get to enjoy human blood, but I can’t want his cotton candy goodness? Come on, don’t be like that, Rob.”

  The vampire had the grace to laugh. “How refreshing.”

  “Neither one of you is getting to snack on the other. Forget it.” Sighing, Rob pulled me back from the puddle, gingerly removing his thumb to check if my foot was still gushing like a fountain. When it only dripped a little, he scooped me up and sat me on the counter, taking the medical kit. “You have terrible luck, Alexa.”

  I snorted. “You’re just noticing? I thought you would have figured that out the instant you walked into my life.”

  Rob narrowed his eyes at me. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  I smirked, stuck my tongue out at him, and said nothing.

  After bandaging my foot, prying off ten new discs, and exchanging my heels for a flat pair of dress shoes, I cajoled Rob into accepting the dinner his dae accomplices had arranged. My growling stomach did most of the work, succeeding where logic failed.

  “Food?” Colby bumped against Rob’s leg, and its tone was so pitiable I laughed.

  “He hurt you,” Rob hissed, staring at my foot. The pale blue of his eyes frosted, and I was amazed his breath didn’t emerge in a cloud of frost.

  “Could have been a she. Come on, Rob. It’s not that bad. Just a little cut.”

  The vampire had done a good job of mopping up the blood, leaving no evidence of my mishap with the disc.

  “Mommy!”

  “It’s hurting you.”

  Since hiding the discomfort wasn’t going to work with Rob, I forced a smile. “I’m hungry, and if I have to go back to my apartment and sort through the random things in my cursed refrigerator, I’m going to shoot someone. That someone might be you.”

  Rob grimaced. “You win.”

  Every victory against the dae was to be savored; I held out my arm for him. “I’m so glad we could see eye to eye on this.”

  When he linked his arm with mine, my attention shifted to the back of my hand. The disc formed without sound, light, or feel on my skin, its surface a deep purple before fading to match the color of my skin. I peeled it off.

  “Purple.” I held the device up, marveling at how such a little thing could cause me so many problems.

  “You saw it.”

  “A deep purple, then it shifted colors to match my skin.”

  “Good eye.” Rob’s eyes warmed, and he hummed a few notes of a cheerful melody. “That helps.”

  “It does? How?”

  “You won’t like the answer.”
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  “There’s a lot I don’t like about the world, Rob,” I reminded him.

  “I can tell you it’s probably not Smith.”

  I wasn’t sure if I was happy about that or not. Kenneth was a known quantity, although Jacob’s existence had changed the way my drug lord boss operated. Still, despite the presence of his dae, I appreciated the familiarity of Kenneth’s treachery.

  Planning was so much easier when I understood my enemy.

  “Who, then? Why?”

  “The police, for one. No matter how smart you are, until you make the official shift to the upper castes, you’re still from the fringe in their limited way of thinking. You’re a threat. It makes sense for them to want to know what you do and where you go.”

  “That’s going to make our job a lot more difficult,” I mumbled.

  “Not as much as you think. If we have to do any more clandestine skyscraper climbing, we’ll have a problem, but we’ll figure something out.” Guiding me out of the store, Rob directed me down the street, keeping his steps short and slow so I wouldn’t have to limp too much in my effort to keep up with him.

  “No more skyscrapers,” I hissed. “Okay, so the police could be behind it. Who else?”

  While Rob controlled his anger more often than not, hatred twisted his features, and a chill swept through me. His eyes were the worst, the blue shifting to the steely gray of a sword. The muscles of his arm flexed, and he drew me closer to his side. His possessiveness should have bothered me, but I recognized the truth beneath his behavior.

  Rob worried for me, and fear burst through me.

  Purple was another color for passion, the domain of fire breathers, and there was one flame-spewer in particular who had reason to want me.

  Arthur Hasling.

  15

  “Your angel is annoyed with you.”