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He swallowed hard, and I could see the lines of strain etched into his face. “Let’s just say I’ve fallen out of favor with certain... fiery entities.”
“Fiery, right,” I muttered. “Well, Cairo, you’ve officially piqued my interest—and trust me, that’s not always a good thing. But if you’re going to haunt my doorstep, you better spill more than just your name. Otherwise, I can’t promise you’ll like how this hunt ends.”
“Time is a luxury I don’t possess,” he replied, the faintest shimmer of his previous illusion flickering at the edges of his figure. “Just know that I am being pursued, and it’s imperative that I remain concealed.”
“Concealed, pursued, haunted,” I ticked off on my fingers with mock-thoughtfulness. “Sounds like my typical Tuesday. But seriously, even if you’ve got the King of Hell’s book club after you, I need specifics.”
Cairo opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by the jarring ring of my cell phone. With an apologetic shrug but a firecracker curiosity burning in my chest, I snatched up the phone.
“Sorry pal, duty calls. And duty has a way of torching my to-do list.”
5 - 6
Suddenly, Cairo’s demeanor shifted. His shoulders tensed, and he took a step back, gaze darting. It was as if invisible hounds had caught his scent. He seemed to think he’d lingered too long.
“Stay low,” I advised, my voice dropping to a whisper as I followed his line of sight. “If you’re hiding from the big bads, my office is the last place they’ll look. Too many bad Yelp reviews.”
Cairo opened his mouth to speak, but trailed off, his attention snagged by some unseen alarm. His form wavered, like heat rising off asphalt.
Bolting from his half-faded stance, Cairo made a break for the door. “Hey, wait!” I called out, but it was too late. Whatever Cairo was running from, it was clear he wasn’t sticking around for small talk or pleasantries.
He burst through the back door into the alley with me just a whisper behind. But as I reached the threshold, cursing the summer swelter, I caught only the tail end of his illusion—a shimmer, a distortion in the air, like the mirages that danced on the horizon of hot asphalt on Texas roads.
“Should’ve known better than to chase a ghost,” I said to the empty air. A hot breeze caressed my face, and a bead of sweat trickled down my temple.
Fuck, it was hot.
“Great, Tessa,” I muttered to myself, “now you’re sweating over a guy who can poof into thin air. Real smooth.”
Just as I was about to push off from the wall, the familiar jingle of my cell phone cut through the silence. Pulling it out of my jeans pocket, I glanced at the caller ID. Elijah. I swiped to answer.
“Hey, perfect timing. Got any cold beer at your place? Because I’m about two seconds from melting into a puddle right here.”
“You need to get over here now. It’s Helen—she’s okay, but something weird’s going on,” Elijah’s voice crackled with urgency.
“Define ‘weird,’ because in our world, that could range from possessed kitchen appliances to a poltergeist with a penchant for opera.”
“Just... come quick. It’s hard to explain, but it’s not good.” His words sent a shiver down my spine despite the heat.
“I’m on my way. Keep your pants on... or whatever it is you do when I’m not around.”
I ended the call and shoved the phone back into my pocket. Cairo would have to wait; Elijah and Helen needed me. And let’s be real, ‘strange’ was becoming my middle name—after ‘trouble’ and before ‘why-the-hell-not.’
With one last glance at the empty street, I made a mental note to add ‘find mysterious vanishing dude’ to my ever-growing to-do list.
* * *
I skidded into the parking lot of Elijah’s complex. The scent of charred chlorine hit me before I even stepped out of the car. Smoke curled into the simmering sky, and my heart did a somersault. Following the gray haze, I hustled across the lot.
The pool area was in chaos; residents stood clustered together, pointing and gaping at the spectacle before them. I shouldered through the crowd, ignoring the annoyed murmurs as I finally laid eyes on the main event: fountains ablaze, water dancing with flames. Elijah and Helen huddled together by a patio table.
“Looks like someone spiked the pool with a bit too much firewater,” I said, coming up beside them. I shot Elijah a look that asked, ‘What the hell?’
He shrugged, his ‘stoned philosopher’ facade cracking into genuine worry. “Dude, I thought it was a prank at first, but then all of them just... whoosh.”
“Great. Fire-fountaining is now a thing.”
“Uh, Tessa?” Helen’s usually confident voice trembled. “This isn’t normal, right?”
