Hands fisted, Kaspar shook. “You saw him and did nothing! You left him!”
Gaze still on Trent, I used my foot to push the door shut, and the foyer went dark. The sanctuary was bright with light, and a small movement drew my attention to Mrs. Sarong at the piano. She’d been the one playing it. Her eyebrows high in question, the woman was ready to rip out my throat and smile while doing it. Kill me to appease Constance? Sounds about right.
David stood beside her with Edden, both men looking highly capable but in completely different ways, David with his duster and hat, and Edden with his holster and gruff confidence.
“Dude, he’s right here,” I said when Kaspar drew himself up, and the high priest’s expression blanked when I lifted my cupped hand and Zack gave him a peace sign.
“Zack!” Kaspar stumbled back. Trent shifted to catch him, but the older elf rallied, staggering forward with his eyes wide and his shoulders hunched in placation. “Sa’han,” the man whispered, holding out his hands as if Zack would jump to him. “Are you all right?” His eyes flicked to mine. “You left him as a vermin while you turned back?”
My angry words choked to nothing as I flushed. I’d swallowed our easy way out.
Kaspar reached for Zack, jerking at Jenks’s wing clatter. “Hey, she got Zack free and no one died,” Jenks said as he hovered between us. “So ground yourself before I clip your wings and pix you within an inch of your life!”
Trent sidled closer. “Someone had to drive the car,” he said as his arm slipped behind me. “You did good,” he added, his obvious worry and relief going right to my core.
My eyes closed as I wrapped my free arm around his neck and leaned in, pressing our bodies together until Zack made an uncomfortable squeak and I backed up, grinning. The vampire pheromones had made me randy, and Trent’s hand lingered, pressing the small of my back with a hint of something more. “So did you, apparently,” I said, eyeing him.
Trent was always graceful, but something had shifted when he had stolen his Brimstone. His mood was darker, more mysterious. His thoughts seemed preoccupied with possibilities. A heady, lingering magic tainted his aura, electrifying. Even with his arm around me, he held himself with a sly, domineeringly confident stance. I’d seen it before on the floor of the coven’s meeting room when he showed me his daughter for the first time. Elves, apparently, were at their best when stealing stuff. Figures.
Again Kaspar reached for Zack, hesitating at Jenks’s aggressive wing clatter. Zack, though, was tired, and I reluctantly pulled from Trent. “Jenks, would you show Kaspar my spelling salt for me? There should be some spring water up there, too. Use the blue ceramic bowl. I haven’t had a chance to de-spell the crucible yet.” I turned to Kaspar, Zack still in my free hand. “You do know how to break a common transformation curse?”
Clearly frazzled, Kaspar gazed at Zack, his cupped hands extended. “Yes.”
It felt amazingly good to hold my hand to his for Zack to make the switch. The kid turned to me before Kaspar could cover him protectively, saluting me with his furry hand. He looked exhausted, ears and whiskers drooping.
“This way, your most arrogant pain in my ass.” Jenks hovered before the door to the belfry stairs, a brilliant gold dust lighting the small space. For all his crass words, he was pleased. Me too. It wasn’t over yet, but Zack was safe. Whatever was currently happening in the lower levels of the I.S., I was betting it wasn’t pleasant.
My smile faded as I thought about the two living vampires who had helped me to the surface. They’d known there would be repercussions, and they’d accepted them with no thought other than the hope that Trent would be successful and they wouldn’t be forced to choose between Constance and tricking humans into fulfilling their elders’ needs.
Tired, I slumped into Trent as Kaspar followed Jenks up the cramped staircase. “I’m so glad to see you,” I whispered in the dark foyer. “You look great. I want to hear all about it later.”
He smiled, his hand pulling me closer into him with a confident tug. “Same here. Short story is we ran into five of Constance’s men at Piscary’s. They didn’t even have it unloaded yet. It’s going out as we speak. For free,” he added, clearly pained.
“Ah, it’s good for your karma.” His lips were so close, and, giving in, I pulled him down for a quick kiss. He made a soft sound as his arm tugged me to him, and desire dove to my core, spurred by the sound of our lips parting. How fast can I get rid of those people in my front room?
“Thanks for the heads-up on the Brimstone,” he whispered. “I saw Jenks, and I thought you were in trouble.”
“I was.” Giving his hand a squeeze, I stepped from the dark into the light. Edden and David looked up and I gave them a little wave, beamed at Vivian rising from the couch, and nodded warily at Mrs. Sarong. Hodin had perched himself on a dark rafter, ignored for the most part.
“Hodin?” Trent said as we crossed the sanctuary, his lips unmoving as the crow bobbed his head in greeting. “He helped you?”
“No. He was hanging around outside.” I liked Trent’s arm at my waist, and I sighed as it slowly slid across my back and vanished. “I invited him in,” I said, hearing more in those four words than me asking Hodin if he wanted to listen. I had invited him in. He had somehow become a part of everything that made the church what it was.
Whatever that is, I mused as I looked at the snacks arranged neatly on Kisten’s pool table. The makeshift kitchen was still in operation, too, and the two couches and chairs surrounding the slate coffee table practically beckoned to me. My live-in guests, though, were gone.
“Hey, could you do something for me?” I asked softly, wondering if Sarong had scared them off, or if they were merely giving me space to do my work. I hate city-powers meetings. Someone always ends up dead.
“Coffee?” he guessed, and I groaned.
“That would be fantastic,” I said, trying to decide who I was going to say hi to first, Mrs. Sarong or Vivian. “But actually, could you call Triple S and see if their blue, size-four splat ball refills break down in the gut or pass through unbroken?”
“Security Spelling Supplies?” he said as he reached for his phone. Then he hesitated, eyes going to mine in worry. “That’s why you didn’t shift,” he all but breathed.
Wincing, I nodded, the taste of that blood-laced chocolate rising in my memory. I might never eat chocolate again, and I’d hate Constance for that if nothing else.
He gave me a last, comforting touch on my shoulder as he leaned in to whisper, “I’ll let you know.” Nodding to everyone, he retreated to a quiet corner where he snuck glances at Hodin while searching for Triple S’s website.
Mrs. Sarong rose from the piano bench in expectation, but it was Vivian I headed for, my hands outstretched. I was both happy and worried to see her.