Page 13 of Darkness Defined

I grimaced at hearing my full name.

“For your sake, though, I strongly recommend you just call him Matt.”

“Will Mister Matt be needing special accommodations?”

“Yes, but I’ll see to them.” Vera gave me a skeptical once over before heaving a sigh and returning her focus to Jefferey. “There’s a chance he may try to bolt before I return. Caution the staff.” My scowl went unnoticed as she continued. “Other than that, please make sure he’s well looked after. I’ll be returning for him as soon as I can. There are several other stops I need to make before we can leave, and time is of the essence.”

I stared at her in open disbelief. She’d basically kidnapped me and now she was leaving? Maybe I wouldn’t have to wait the ten months after all. I could slip out the second I had an opening and that would be that. Fat chance she could find me again after I got lost in the city. Then again, that hadn’t worked out so well for me the last time.

“As you say, Miss Scry.” To my surprise, Jeffery didn’t present her with one of those key-card things, but an honest to goodness key. Fancy and everything.

She rolled her eyes at his dry response and accepted it, then led the way to the elevator. I followed her in silence, soaking in the marble floors and impressionist art decorating the walls. Even the elevator doors were fancy. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, even more curious about how someone seemingly so young could just walk into a place like this. The doors slid shut, and I turned on her.

“How old are you? Where are we? Why did he treat you like… like…”

“Like I own the place?” she finished for me, raising an eyebrow.

I deflated a bit. “Well, yeah.”

“Because I do. I own several hotels around the world. And to answer your very rude question, I’m twenty-eight. But don’t let looks fool you. My husband has been around for a millennium and only looks thirty-five.” She cocked her head to the side. “Forty on a bad day. As your powers develop and you truly embrace your demonic side, your aging will slow down dramatically. Trust me, I’m very aware that I only look twenty.”

I choked. Like being twenty-eight, magically made it more reasonable that she owned hotels around the world and had men twice her age hopping to her every whim. “Who are you?” I asked once again.

She winced. “You’ll learn that soon enough. The school I’m taking you to is actually for all kinds of supernaturals.”

Yesterday, or even eight hours ago, I’d have snorted and told her she was off her rocker. Supernaturals weren’t real. They were a story, make believe. Except, they weren’t…

“Aside from learning how to use your own powers, you’ll also learn about magical history, and that includes the history of demons.” Vera paused, appearing genuinely anxious for the first time since she’d shown up out of nowhere and carted me off. “It’s… not pretty, and you might not like me much once you know more about my role in… uh, recent events.”

“You could just tell me now.” I shrugged, because really, what did I care? I’d never met her before and she was leaving. It wasn’t like who she was had any bearing on my life.

“I could.” She stepped off the elevator and walked up to—surprise—another fancy door. A look around revealed very few extra doors, leading me to believe this had to be the suite level. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Come on in, Matt. Mi casa es su casa.”

I frowned in response to her smile and walked past her into the room. Two steps later, I stopped dead. The nicest place I’d ever been was the Hiddleston house. They’d been a nice family, but their son had taken issue to sharing his parents’ attention. I’d thought they lived in a mansion, that having my own room was the stuff of kings. It didn’t hold a candle to this place. To be fair, I’d also never been in a nice hotel, or even a not nice one for that matter, so maybe my expectations were off.

Vera brushed past my shoulder, then walked over to lean against a couch so cushy it looked like it could swallow a person whole. “You’ll have to stay here while I run the last of my errands. I apologize that I’ll be leaving you on your own for a few days, but I trust Jefferey to take care of you.” She gave the room a once over and turned back to me. “I also trust you don’t need someone holding your hand to make sure you bathe and eat something decent?”

I finally put my eyeballs back in their sockets and turned to her. “You’re really just going to leave me here?”

“Yep.” She did a double take at seeing the utter disbelief on my face. “Matt, you’re a capable young man. You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure Jefferey gets you a proper wardrobe and something for dinner.”

“I already ate.”

“Oh.” She looked at her watch. “How the time flies. Well, I’m hungry, at any rate. I’ll have something extra sent up, just in case.” She hurried toward the door.

“Don’t I get a key?” I called after her, causing her to pause in the opening.

Guilt flashed across her face. “You won’t need one.” She closed the door, and I raced over in time to hear the distinctive sound of a lock sliding home.

“Shit.” I could still feel her on the other side, as well as a growing sense of something else. I waited until the sound of retreating steps was long gone, then tried the handle. The damn thing wouldn’t turn. Rather than keep failing, I gave it up and wandered around the space.

This was certainly a suite fit for a king. It held two couches and a breakfast table, as well as several pricey looking decorative pieces. The plush beige carpet sank with each step, coating my footfalls in muffled silence. As I explored the rest of the room, I found an equally outrageous bedroom with a matching bath, each gilded to the extreme. If I could pry some of it off, I’d be set for life. But first, I had to get out of here. I glanced over at the sliding glass door.

The door slid open easily, revealing an extensive balcony complete with chairs and a small table. I stepped up to the iron railing. Overall, it was a spectacular view of downtown Omaha. The hotel wasn’t overly tall, maybe only ten stories. Looking down at the street below, I immediately nixed any thoughts of getting out that way. It wasn’t necessarily that I was afraid of heights, so much that I wanted to live. After taking a cautionary step back, I resumed taking in the sights.

I could just make out the Missouri River between some buildings, and of course, there were the parks. Despite the darkness, or perhaps because of it, the view was stunning. A noise behind me prompted me to look back inside. Room service was rolling in a cart, leaving the door wide open behind them.

Faster than seemed possible, I sprinted across the room towards freedom. The poor attendant looked a little alarmed at my frantic run, but didn’t move to stop me. Just in case, I didn’t slow down and was going full tilt when I ran into… absolutely nothing. I staggered back and reassessed the opening. It was empty. Nothing was there.