Page 14 of Kick the Candle (Knight Games 2)
A Rough Night at the Office
"I sentence you to ten years in Monk's Hill cemetery." I pressed the tip of Nightshade's razor-sharp, bone blade into the vampire's neck, drawing the tiniest drop of blood. What once was a labored process was now something I could do as easily as breathing. Unlike sorting human souls, judging supernaturals only required the offender's own sacrifice, not mine. I watched his eyes grow wide before he poofed to the confines of the graveyard.
Ten years was a light sentence, but honestly, this time the victim asked for it. Literally.
"What have you done to him?" the brunette sorority girl screamed in my face, turning in circles as if I'd performed a magic trick with smoke and mirrors.
I pulled a tissue from the pocket of my long wool coat and mopped the blood from her neck. "Um, you must know he was a vampire. You were attacked. You're safe now."
"I know he was a vampire. Why do you think I come here?" She pointed at the door to Mill Wheel.
Stupid Twilight. These young girls actually wanted to be vamp fodder. "He could have killed you," I stated firmly.
She popped her hip out and placed her hand on it. "Or turned me," she said wistfully. She grinned like the thought warmed her soul.
I slapped my forehead in frustration.
Rick placed an arm around the girl's shoulders and turned her body to face him. Their eyes locked. "Vampires don't exist. You are going to collect your things and go straight home. Forget this ever happened."
Her face blanked for a moment. She smiled. "I've gotta go home. Nice to meet you." She disappeared through the door, leaving us alone in the alley.
"Nice," I said. Rick could channel the powers of the baddies we faced, which meant he could compel people, just like a vampire.
"I hate to do it. Taking away someone's free will is against everything I believe in."
I shook my head. "You had no choice. She needed it, she really did. Her free will was going to get her dead or turned."
He nodded and reached for my hand. "We have more work to do."
Next stop was Maison des Etoiles. We arrived minutes before midnight and found a shadowed place behind a dumpster to stake out the alley. The temperature had dropped. A chill breeze made me shiver. Thoughtfully, Rick wrapped his arms around me. I was dressed in a pair of stretchy black wool blend pants, boots with heels I'd enchanted to be comfortable (thank you Book of Light) and a gray sweater that was more librarian than soul sorter. I'd wrapped it all up in a black wool overcoat that could have been described as badass if it weren't for the J. Peterman embroidered pockets and cuffs. Still, it was cold when the wind blew, so I appreciated Rick's physical closeness for more than the immediate pleasure of his touch.
"What does Maison des Etoiles mean?" I asked Rick.
"Mansion of the stars. The fae here have a close relationship to the celestial."
"Like they're into astrology or something?"
He licked his lips and hummed like he was thinking. "Fae are born from and attach to natural things. For example, the forest fae who dwell behind my house are tied metaphysically to the trees. With a steady breath, they can make a sapling grow. Kill the tree; kill the fae. Maison's fae are tied to the stars, the moon, the planets and so forth. It's said that they came from the heavens originally."
I had no idea there were forest fae behind Rick's house. I wondered what they looked like. I wondered if any of them had ever come onto Rick. My stomach twisted. Why did I do this to myself? I shook away the uninvited thought and tried to concentrate on my work.
Every day as the witch was a learning experience. Rick said these fae were celestial. I tried to imagine the implications of such a thing. Did they change with the course of the moon? If the forest fae could make a plant grow with a steady breath, what could celestial fae do?
"Have you noticed that there's no snow in this alley? It's been snowing since early evening and, before we left, it was already accumulating in your yard. What happened to the snow?"
Rick didn't have to answer my question. Just then, a woman exited the Maison and click-clacked her way into the circle of light cast by the lamppost near the door. Her strappy silver stiletto heels made her legs look impossibly long, and her shimmering blue dress gave her dark red hair a purplish tint. Stunning.
With a deep cleansing breath, she tossed her head back and spread her arms wide, heart raised to the stars. Two gossamer wings unfurled from her back, stretching and flapping. Instantly, a wave of tropical heat blew through the alley, warming the skin of my face and sending a trickle of joy through me.
"Oh," I whispered. I pulled out my phone and started recording. "For my new database."
Rick brought his lips to my ear. "Shhh."
I was afraid to blink, that I might miss the beauty of the fae's connection with her roots. The air around her shimmered as if the stars were sprinkling her with their magic.
"Hello, Stella." A man moved into the alleyway, bald, with unusually large dark eyes and a tight mouth. Something about the duster he wore bothered me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I reached for Nightshade. Rick placed a hand over mine. I paused.
Stella's wings retracted so quickly even I questioned whether they'd been there. She turned to face the man. "I'm sorry, sir, but as I mentioned inside, it's my break. If you want a girl, you need to go in the front door. Someone else will be provided for you." Her silvery voice chimed like a bell against his dark presence.
