by Donna Grant
“Yikes. Good point,” she said and wrinkled her nose. “Come meet him. You can decide if we ask him to do this or not.”
Dubhan nodded. “Where is he?”
“He’s always near the library, trying to hustle people.”
“Fun,” Dubhan said in a dry tone.
Kyra laughed. “He’s quite good, actually. You’ll like him.”
“It’s nearly dawn. Let’s go have a look at some of the other places you were talking about before we find your fellow.”
She didn’t even get a chance to reply before he teleported them to the village. Obviously, he had no interest in getting on her motorbike, which was too bad because she was sure he’d like the speed.
“Where to?” Dubhan asked.
The streets were just beginning to come alive. She wondered why Dubhan had landed them near the pub where he’d confronted her, but she soon realized that he was veiled, and since he had hold of her hand, so was she.
“I like this,” she said, looking at him.
He grinned but put his finger to his lips. She inwardly grimaced. She’d never stayed veiled long enough to realize that while others might not be able to see them, they could hear them. Actually, she wasn’t sure if any other Fae outside of the Reapers knew that since the Fae couldn’t hold a veil for long at all.
Dubhan nudged her. Kyra turned and began walking. He fell in step with her, their fingers laced as they strolled down the street. It was nice to have him beside her. For a little while, she could pretend that they were a couple out and about for a stroll.
Then they reached the church. Dubhan frowned, but she pulled him after her as she entered through a door in the back and went down several flights of stairs. They explored the underground until he was satisfied that there was nothing out of the ordinary there.
After that, they checked a building on the outskirts of the village that was being renovated—a set of flats, and a hidden room upstairs in a pub.
And yet, they still found nothing.
Kyra was more than disappointed. She’d really hoped that Dubhan would discover something that would help him find Xaneth.
“I’m not the only one searching,” he told her when no one was near enough to hear. “There are others looking for Xaneth, as well.”
She glanced at him. “That’s good, but this realm is rather large, as you know. How many Reapers are there?”
He shrugged. “Not enough, apparently.”
Kyra chuckled at his sarcasm but realized he hadn’t answered the question. She didn’t press, though. “I’m sorry there was nothing.”
“Actually, the fact there wasn’t anything here was something. We can now mark this village off and move on to the next.”
Kyra wondered if she’d get to go with Dubhan when he left. They hadn’t spoken of the future, and she wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Or even if she should.
The more she thought about it, the more she thought that it was better if she just accepted whatever time she had with Dubhan. It could be ten hours, ten days, ten months, or ten centuries.
“Let’s go find your mortal,” Dubhan said.
Kyra could hardly contain her excitement. She wanted to know what was in the bookstore, and she hoped Dubhan liked the youth enough to let him go in. Kyra had enough money to make it worth the mortal’s time.
“You’re frowning again.”
She glanced at Dubhan and smoothed her brow. “I was just thinking that the young man won’t have a clue as to what we’re looking for. He could stare right at it and not realize we need to know about it.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Humans carry their mobile phones everywhere. He could use it to record the store so we could look at it at our leisure.”
“That’s brilliant.”
Dubhan beamed before using glamour to hide his red eyes and the silver in his hair. “Thanks.”
She wondered how many people had told him he’d done good in his life. Knowing how he had been brought up, she suspected that number was very low.
Her thoughts halted as they reached the library, and she found the mortal lounging on the steps, rolling a cigarette.
Chapter Thirteen
“I knew you’d be back,” said the young human to Kyra with a cocky smile before raking his hands through his short, blond hair.
Dubhan had seen many sides of mortals. The young, he noticed, were more confident and assertive than the older generations. He suspected that it was because the young hadn’t yet realized what they had at stake—or what could be taken from them.
Kyra didn’t return the youth’s smile. Instead, she cut her silver eyes to the boy and replied, “What makes you think I’m here for you.”
“Why else would you be at the library?” His dark brown gaze raked up and down Kyra. “You don’t seem the type who needs books. Especially when you have Muscles with you.” Mike tipped his head at Dubhan.
Dubhan decided it was time he intervened. “My name is Dubhan. I gather you have a name?”
The youth turned his gaze to Dubhan and shrugged. “Maybe. Why should I give it to you?”
“We have a job we’re considering you for. Kyra thinks you’d be perfect for it. Me? I’m not convinced.”
The young man grinned and nodded as he glanced at Kyra. “You should trust her. She can spot a good one.”
Kyra rolled her eyes. “And you’re so humble.”
The mortal shrugged. “In this world, if you don’t make your stand and give yourself the pats on the back, no one else will.”
Dubhan liked the human. Kyra was right, he would be the perfect person to go into the bookstore.
“Well?” the youth asked as he looked between them. “I’m your man.”
Kyra snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t even know what we want you to do.”
“I won’t kill or hurt anyone. Other than that, I consider each job on the merits provided.”
Dubhan noted how skinny the mortal was. “When was the last time you ate?”
The mortal suddenly didn’t want to talk. He shrugged and looked away. “I ate.”
Dubhan eyed the youth. He suspected that the mortal hadn’t had an easy childhood, but that could be said for many humans. “Why do you sit out here on these steps instead of finding a job?”
“I’m looking for a job, but it isn’t easy when you haven’t finished schooling. I’ve got street smarts, and that’s what I use to my advantage,” the young man stated, raising his chin, defiance in his dark eyes.
Dubhan didn’t say anything as he met Kyra’s gaze before nodding toward a nearby café.
Kyra turned to the youth. “We’re going to have some breakfast. If you’d care to learn about our job offer, you’re welcome to join us.”
Neither of them looked back as they turned and walked to the restaurant. They had barely gotten a table when the mortal arrived, his fingers thrust into the front pockets of his jeans. Dubhan held out his hand to one of the other two vacant chairs, and the youth sat.
“My friends call me Mike.”
“Nice to meet you, Mike,” Dubhan said. “Order whatever you want.”
Kyra met Mike’s gaze. “However much you want, and whatever you want.”
“Why are you two being so nice?” Mike asked skeptically.
Dubhan shrugged and looked at the menu. “It’s good to have a healthy dose of mistrust for people.”
“I can’t tell you how many times people have tried to fek me over.” He glanced at Kyra. “Sorry. Screwed me over.”
She didn’t bat an eye—or look up from the menu—when she said, “That’s fekking horrible.”
Dubhan hid his smile when Mike sat back, becoming more comfortable. He had yet to figure the mortal out. Was the youth giving them a load of shite to make them feel sorry for him? It was a possibility. Mike could be telling the truth, but Dubhan suspected that most of what fell from the human’s lips was lies as he did his best to keep food in his belly and a roof over his head.
&nb
sp; “This is a small village. I bet you know most everyone,” Dubhan said.
Mike shrugged one shoulder. “Tourists stand out. It makes them easy targets.”
“What about me?” Kyra said.
His dark gaze slid to her. “You intrigued me. You weren’t a local, but you weren’t a tourist either. I’m not sure why you’re here. Maybe visiting friends. You aren’t like any other.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you what I was,” she said with a grin.
Dubhan narrowed his eyes at Mike as the human’s stare grew intense. Some mortals knew of the Fae. There weren’t many, but those that did, knew of his kind because they had some type of interaction with the Fae, whether it be just talking, or sex. The only reason Mike and everyone else wasn’t currently falling all over Kyra or Dubhan was because they’d made sure to mask the very thing that drew mortals to them like moths to a flame.
“Try me,” Mike urged.
Dubhan met Kyra’s gaze. He wouldn’t tell the mortal what they were, but he also wasn’t going to tell Kyra what to do. If she wanted Mike to know that she was Fae, then that was her choice.
Kyra eyed Mike for a long moment before she crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward. “All right. I’ll tell you.”
They were interrupted by the waitress. Kyra and Dubhan chose their meals, each getting a large plate. When it came time for Mike to order, the youth didn’t hesitate to do the same.
“I’m waiting,” Mike said when they were alone once more.
Kyra’s smile disappeared. “It’s not a glamorous story. The truth is that I’m after an ex-boyfriend who ran off with quite a bit of my money. We’ve,” she said, nodding to Dubhan, “tracked him here to a bookstore. However, he knows us, and we can’t go in to make sure he’s there so I can confront him.”
“That’s what you need me for?” Mike asked as he rested an arm on the table.
Dubhan nodded as he looked around the café just to be safe. “We’d like you to video your arrival and interactions with anyone there, but also try to get a view of everything in the store.”
“It’s not just the ex-lover you’re after, is it?” Mike said with a knowing smile.
Dubhan jerked his chin to Kyra. “She’s after the ex. I’m after something else.”
“Makes sense.” Mike drew in a breath and released it. “All of this sounds easy enough. What type of payment are we talking about?”
“What do you want to be paid?” Kyra asked.
Mike’s dark eyes narrowed. “No one asks what I’d like.”
“We are.” Dubhan waited for the human to come up with a figure.
It didn’t take Mike long. “Two grand.”
“Five hundred,” Kyra countered.
The human shook his head, smiling. “Fifteen hundred.”
Kyra blew out a breath and leaned back, pausing. Then she said, “A thousand.”
“Deal,” Mike stated and held out his hand.
After they’d shook, Mike put his hand out in front of Dubhan. Instead of shaking it, Dubhan said, “We’ve not come to terms.”
The youth blinked, his hand falling to the table. “What?”
“You and Kyra agreed on what she would pay you to look for her ex. I also need information, and I’m willing to pay for it.”
Mike shook his head, suddenly wary. “There’s a catch.”
“No catch,” Dubhan assured him. “You want the money or not?”
“I’ll get you what you want, but for the thousand that was agreed upon.”
Dubhan smiled and held out his hand. “Deal.”
They shook just as the food was brought out. The rest of the meal was spent listening to Mike talk about his plans for the future, part of which was opening his own barbershop. It seemed he had a talent with scissors, and that’s how he made most of his money.
When the meal was done, Mike said, “I’m guessing you want me to do this today?”
“It would be nice,” Dubhan said.
Kyra quickly added, “You could go into the bookstore to look for books on how to start your own business.”
“Hmm. That’s not a bad idea,” Mike said.
Dubhan paid for the meal as Kyra gave Mike the address as well as some spending money and told him to meet them back at the café in an hour. The mortal agreed and walked out.
“I told you that you’d like him,” Kyra said with a smile.
Dubhan chuckled. “He’s certainly a character.”
She licked her lips, the grin gone. “He could be walking into danger. These are the Others. Or at a minimum, those associated with them.”
“Chances are, he knows exactly who owns that bookstore.”
“Why didn’t you ask him?”
“I want to hear what he has to say when he gets back,” Dubhan said. “Mike sits on those steps every day, and while he trims hair, what he really does is observe. You heard him. He can easily pick out the locals from the tourists.”
Kyra drummed her fingers on the table. “Good point.”
“Let’s go.”
“Where?” she asked with a frown.
Dubhan held out his hand as he got to his feet. “We might not be able to enter the bookstore, but I sure want to see what Mike is doing.”
Kyra jumped up at his words. They joined hands and walked from the café. It was easy for Dubhan to spot Mike up ahead, but they didn’t follow too closely. He pulled Kyra into an alley and waited to make sure no one was around before he raised his veil. Then they returned to the sidewalk and caught up with Mike.
The mortal was stopped a couple of times by people asking about booking a haircut, confirming that part of his story hadn’t been a lie. In no time, Mike reached the bookstore. He pulled out his phone and started the video as he strode up to the door, but right before his hand touched the knob, he paused for just a second. It was enough that both Dubhan and Kyra noticed.
“What was that?” she whispered.
Dubhan lifted a shoulder in a shrug as Mike opened the door and entered.
“I’d love to be in there.”
Dubhan agreed. It was hard to wait outside and imagine what might be said or was being done in the bookstore. Minutes passed. Kyra got antsy, shifting her feet and clenching and flexing the fingers of her other hand.
“It’ll be fine,” he assured her in a whisper.
She shot him a dark look. “You don’t know that.”
“He’s searching for a book. That takes time.”
“That’s true,” she conceded begrudgingly.
Dubhan hid his smile. For all of Kyra’s happy outlook on life, she was the least patient person he knew. Odd how she had two such differing qualities. He’d learned patience before anything else. Maybe that’s why it came so easily to him.
Another twenty minutes passed before Mike exited the bookstore with a bag in hand. Dubhan noticed the mortal no longer had his phone out.
“He better have gotten a shot of that entire bookstore,” Kyra mumbled.
Dubhan was thinking the same thing as they followed Mike to the café. This time, his steps were quicker, his stride longer as if he were in a hurry. They let Mike enter the restaurant first. Dubhan made Kyra wait another five minutes in an alley before he dropped the veil and they went to meet with Mike.
Chapter Fourteen
Kyra was nervous. She hated the emotion. It sent her mind and body in all sorts of directions except the one she needed—calm.
If she and Dubhan couldn’t find Xaneth, she hoped they could at least find out something on the Others. Since her life was now on the line, she had a stake in things. Because of that, she didn’t want to ask Dubhan if he could help her find out anything about Eva. But it was her aunt. Eva had done so much for her. The least Kyra could do was ask Dubhan if he could discover anything.
When she and Dubhan approached the table where Mike sat, the mortal appeared at ease. That could mean that nothing untoward had happened to him while he was in the shop, or it could mean that
he knew exactly who was in the store and hadn’t been worried about being caught since he was also part of those associated with the Others.
Dubhan waited for her to sit before he sank into a chair. Mike stared at them, but no one spoke other than to place orders for coffee.
Finally, Dubhan asked, “Well?”
“It’s a small bookstore,” Mike said. “Very narrow, with piles and piles of books. I thought the library had a lot, but this shop has so many, there’s no way anyone could find what they want without the help of those who work there.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.
Mike added sugar and cream to his coffee and stirred it, tapping the spoon on the side before setting it on a napkin. Then he took a sip and set the cup down. “It means that I had a look around while filming as much as I could before it became apparent that there was no real order to the merchandise. At least not like other bookstores I’ve been in.”
“In other words, you had to ask for help,” Dubhan said.
Mike nodded. “Precisely. And I couldn’t exactly have my phone out for all of that. I did the best I could, but I wanted both of you to know that I couldn’t get it all.”
Kyra scooted to the end of the chair. “What did you get?”
“Enough, I hope. If not, I’ll go back,” he offered as he pulled out his mobile phone and laid it on the table. Then he hit play.
Kyra and Dubhan stared transfixed at the small screen as they watched the recording of Mike entering the store. It was as narrow and jumbled with books as he said. Most of the volumes weren’t standing up on shelves, but rather on their sides or stacked on the floor.
Mike walked the entire length and width of the store, catching almost all of it. Kyra wasn’t sure there was anything to see since it was all just books, books, and more books. She had to agree with Mike, she’d never seen so many in one small place before.
“Rewind,” Dubhan ordered.
Mike reached out and began to move the mark on the screen backwards. “How far.”
Dubhan’s gaze was narrowed. “There.”
Kyra leaned forward for a better view to try and see if she could see what had captured Dubhan’s attention. They ended up watching it three times, and on the last one, she saw it—the same symbol on the door was carved into one of the bookshelves.