“Pretty rad, huh?” she said with a smirk. He didn’t miss the blush that rose to her face.
He didn’t lift his eyes, letting them trace each lightning strike jag, and lifted a hand, running his fingertips on the one that ran across her collarbone. “They’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
She put her hand on his, stopping it in its place but not moving it away.
“You said that for what Cain had did, Magnus would obliterate him,” Robin said.
Reykon glanced up to her and nodded.
She pushed his hand gently, setting it down on the table.
“Don’t.”
A moment of silence hung between them, and he saw how hard Robin was trying to put on a strong show, to appear hardened like the rest of them.
“You don’t have to be okay with this,” he whispered.
“Don’t,” she warned, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
“You’re not like us,” he pressed. “You have feelings, Robin. You’re allowed to feel.”
She put both of her hands on his face and drew him close, her breath warm and sweet and inviting. “Please, stop it.” Her eyes were pleading, and he could see exactly how terrified she was.
He nodded, and she released him. Her eyes remained on the board, shifting back and forth rapidly, looking at the pieces. After a moment, she pushed up from the table and walked into the kitchen, opening up every cupboard until she found what she was looking for.
She came back over with a bottle of rum and two mugs.
“You get to be the car,” she said, setting the drinks down and pouring a hefty serving.
She tossed him a metal piece that looked like an old racecar from the twenties, and then selected her own piece, the battleship.
Reykon held his piece in his hand and turned it, watching the light hit its silver curves. “How do we play?”
“It’s easy,” she said with a tight smile. “We’ll learn as we go.”
Lucidia
Maxine had called her back and told her that Robin was camping out with Reykon, somewhere in the greater Austin area. That was good. It meant that they were stationary, that Darian’s men hadn’t gotten to her. If they’d made it that far, then Reykon obviously had a plan to get them to Magnus without problem. It would waste time to go to Austin; not when they were really headed for Louisiana. So she’d intercept them there.
But first, supplies.
It wasn’t all that difficult to find a freed creatures’ stronghold. There were indicators, stickers, hidden messages if you knew how to read them. Luckily for her, she did.
She walked through downtown, amidst the bustling human activity. It was Thursday night, at six p.m. or so, with over three hours of light left. People milled all around, families and children, professionals, and even the occasional tourist; though why anybody would want to visit Dallas, she couldn’t fathom. Lucidia was wearing an all-black outfit, dirty, and a little torn. She hadn’t showered in a long time, and she was feeling the grime in between her toes.
But those problems could be solved by finding a safehouse. She was looking along each wall, down alleys, to places where stickers or graffiti might cluster.
She found the first marker, an ancient rune for East, and then started the labyrinthian scavenger hunt across the whole city.
At 9:32 p.m., she came up to an old brick wall in the warehouse district.
Lucidia looked at it, studying the structure, and knocking on it a couple of times. She narrowed her eyes.
This was it.
Magic leaves a sort of imprint in the air. During her training, the professors had drilled them over and over again about how to tell if an item was imbued with magic, even to the point where they could discern what the purpose of the spell was. They’d done practice drill after practice drill. She could smell concealment magic in her sleep.
And that salty, iron smell was thick on this wall.
She pulled out a small dagger and pricked her thumb, watching a small orb of deep red well up on her skin. She pressed it to the brick, and watched as the mirage shifted, turning into shadows, enveloping her and pulling her into darkness.
Reykon
“I don’t think that’s how you play,” Reykon said with a laugh. He was definitely feeling the rum now, but Robin poured him another glass.
Funny thing was, she was worse off than him.
“House rules!” she laughed. “If you land on my property, you owe me rent, and you drink.”
“If you say so…”
She took another swig, and then grinned. “If you keep arguing, you’ll have to pay another fine.”
“Right,” he said with a coy smile. “You’re worse than Stalin, Madame Mayor.”
“Not the mayor,” she sang, wagging a finger at him. “Just the banker. But I still have all the power.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Reykon said, moving his piece another three spots. “I still don’t really understand this game.”
“But it’s fun, isn’t it?” she said with sparkling eyes.
He looked into her eyes and returned her beautiful, carefree smile. “Yes.”
The door clicked, and Willow and Dag walked in. Their faces were somber, and they had a few bags of supplies, from an unmarked store.
“Everything’s ready for tomorrow,” Willow said softly.
Reykon swung his gaze back to Robin and looked at her, reading straight through her mask. She knew exactly what it meant; they were actually going to go, actually going to bring her to Magnus.
She poured herself another and invited the siblings to play monopoly with a wide, carefully constructed grin.
Lucidia
Lucidia squinted, trying to discern anything from the thick, inky shadows. Magical darkness was different than normal absence of light. Magical darkness was like being shrouded in paint.
“Show yourself!” Lucidia growled, circling in a defensive crouch.
“Who are you?” a voice boomed, from all sides.
“My name is Lucidia Draxos. I’m seeking refuge from the vampire Darian Xander.”
A series of whispers echoed out around the strange trap.
After a long pause, the darkness faded, and gave way to a large room.
The basement of the warehouse had been allocated for refugees, and Lucidia scowled, her
