unreliable flash of information every now and then.
Leena sat quietly on the sofa in the living room reading a copy of
“So?” Leena asked, glancing over at her.
“So what?”
“How did it go last night?” She waggled her eyebrows.
Why was she waggling her eyebrows?
Two weeks ago, Eden had allowed a small black cat to have some shelter one cold, rainy night. That black cat turned out to be a shapeshifter hiding from people she said wanted to kill her. After being possessed by Darrak, Eden gave off some otherworldly vibes that Others were able to sense. Because of this, Leena assumed Eden could protect her and wouldn’t take no for an answer when she tried to get rid of her.
Whether or not Eden could protect her was one thing. However, they’d come to an agreement. In return for temporarily living there, Leena watched over Eden — she was extremely distrustful of Darrak and demons in general, and her presence helped ease Eden’s mind a little bit when it came to him. Besides, there wasn’t much of a chance for forbidden romance with a third party lurking about in the small apartment.
Not that she needed a chaperone for that. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t keep her hands off Darrak. Dreams were not indicative of reality.
“Well?” Leena prompted after a moment passed.
“Uh, it went okay last night,” Eden said, still disappointed they hadn’t talked to the wizard’s assistant. But Darrak had been right to leave. She didn’t want to meet any of his old demonic friends if she could help it. An unpleasant chill ran down her spine. “Could have been better, I suppose, but it was a start.”
“And is there anything you want to tell. . anyone?” Leena’s head bobbed in Darrak’s direction. He stood with his back braced against the fridge, eating his breakfast, watching their conversation carefully.
Eden glanced at the egg-loving demon. “Uh. . like what?”
“You know,” Leena said pointedly. “About where you were going late last night?”
“Late last night? What are you—?”
“Gosh, would you look at the time?” Darrak interrupted, dumping his empty plate into the sink. “Eden, we really should go. Andy said he wanted to talk to you first thing this morning, remember? He used the word
“Right.” Eden shook her head, trying to clear the early morning fog. Normally she was much more alert than this. “Hang on. I have to have my orange juice first.”
Her morning rituals were important to her. She might not be in the mood for eggs, but she had to have her vitamin C. She quickly poured a glass and downed it in one gulp.
Darrak eyed her. “Beat the threat of scurvy for another day?”
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” She glanced at the shapeshifter. “I’ll talk to you later, Leena.”
“Just remember that torch we talked about,” Leena said meaningfully, with a sideways glare at Darrak. “It needs to be extinguished ASAP. Trust me, it’ll make it easier on everyone involved.”
What in the hell was she talking about? Had she been smoking some catnip this morning?
Best to play along or they’d never get out of there. “Right. Extinguish the torch. I’m totally on it.”
Eden grabbed her purse and headed for the door, which Darrak now held open.
“Leena,” he said dryly. “A pleasure as always.”
“Bite me, demon.”
“Is that an invitation?”
She morphed into her cat form, turned her back on him, and padded into Eden’s bedroom.
Eden rolled her eyes. The two despised each other, but they hid it so well.
When Darrak closed the door behind them, she turned to him. “What torch was she talking about?”
“No idea. You seriously need to get rid of her.” His expression soured. “I think she has fleas. And she’s a trouble-maker.”
“Takes one to know one.”
“I don’t have fleas.”
A glance down the hall showed that her new neighbor was leaving his apartment at the same time. He fumbled and dropped a ring of keys on the floor as well as a bag of something. Were those marbles?
They scattered in all directions. He swore under his breath.
Adjusting her purse strap, Eden knelt down and gathered up the small, colorful glass spheres that rolled toward her.
“This is embarrassing,” the neighbor said. He was tall and attractive with wire-frame glasses perched over light brown eyes. He wore a blue suit and tie that managed to look more casual than businessy. He raked a hand through his short, shaggy brown hair.
“What’s embarrassing about marbles?” Eden asked, smiling. “I used to play with them when I was. . well, I was ten at the time, but I’m not here to judge.”
“They’re actually not
“So every student who answers a question. .”
“Wins a shiny marble. You’ve got it.” He grinned.
“Welcome to the building. You just moved in, right?”
“Two days ago.” He finished scooping the escaping marbles back into the little cloth bag he held, then extended his hand. “I’m Lucas Campbell.”
She shook his hand. “Eden Riley. And this is. . uh, Darrak.”
“Charmed, I’m sure,” Darrak said, sounding bored. “Eden? Shall we go now?”
“Nice meeting you, Lucas,” she said.
“Yeah, you, too. I’m having a meet and greet in my apartment soon. Just a small thing. A couple bottles of wine and friendly neighborhood chat. Would the two of you be interested in coming?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Just let me know when.”
“I’ll do that.” He glanced at his watch. “Got to get going. I’m late.”
“Us, too.”
They rode down in the elevator together. Lucas was right, these days people kept to themselves, apart from awkward small talk. But Eden wasn’t opposed to the idea of being more friendly with a neighbor. You never knew when you’d need to borrow a cup of sugar. Or ask them to ignore screaming and/or gunfire coming from within one’s apartment walls.
One or the other.
They parted ways outside, and Eden and Darrak drove to Triple-A Investigations, a small, one-room private investigation office on the outskirts of Toronto. It was right next door to the Hot Stuff cafe.
Eden owned half the business because her mother had left it to her in her will. Caroline Riley hadn’t been a fabulous and attentive mother, but she’d been a great gambler and had soundly beaten Andy McCoy — now Eden’s partner — in a poker game to win part ownership in the agency. Eden had resisted working there because being a private investigator didn’t appeal to her at all. She didn’t have any experience in that line of work — after all, her last job had been as a telephone tarot card reader and occasional—
Recently, however, she’d started taking this opportunity more seriously. She wanted to help others if she could. Helping others made her happy. It was a totally selfish motivation, really.
And if she could get paid for it, too, then all the better.
“You seem chipper this morning,” Darrak commented as she pulled into her parking spot outside the office and shifted into park.
She pulled down her visor mirror to double-check her makeup. “I’m feeling strangely optimistic today. We came close last night.”
“Closer than you even realize.”
“Do you think it’s safe to go back tonight, or will your friend still be there?”
Darrak hesitated. “I think it’ll be fine.”
