Shaw burst into laughter.
Lux frowned, dropping her hand.
“Do you think I’m so easily bought? I don’t need your money.” He strode to the door, unlatching it and throwing it open. “Nowgo.”
“Fine. I will.” Lux looped the purse around her arm. “Afteryou tell me what you think you know.”
Exasperated, Shaw ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it tousled to one side. “Think? I have record of it.”
“You do? May I see it?”
“No, you may not.”
“Why are you so difficult? I’ve already explained my limitations. If he has lived this long, it’s not merely because of me.”
“Not merely, maybe. Though he should have stayed dead several times over now.”
“So should you.”
Shaw’s lips thinned, his jaw hardening until he spun on his heel and strode down the dark hall. Lux debated for a second more before she ran after him.
His apartment seemed comprised of nothing but crumbling brick and warped wood. Lux eyed the bowed ceiling with unease. But it was clean, and it smelled of cinnamon and tea leaves; two things she’d always thought of as warm. Turning up the lamp on his bedside table, he caught sight of her trailing in his wake.
“Turn around.”
She huffed but did as commanded. His bedroom was smaller than hers and even less decorated. Odd splotches of color marked the old wood; she frowned over their possible purpose. The scrape and slide of something being unearthed went on behind her for some time until Lux again felt warmth at her back. She braved to turn without his order and was rewarded.
He handed her a limp journal, frayed along its edges.
“My great-great grandfather’s. He worked for the mayor for a time, and when that old cretin’s ambitions delved into the unnatural, he started taking note. According to this,” Shaw tapped his finger against the scarred cover, “he will be celebrating his two hundred and twenty-seventh birthday this year.”
Lux’s jaw dropped. “How?”
“My guess? Lifeblood. Whatever else could it be?”
“You know of its uses?” A stone dropped in her stomach. “How could anyone do something so despicable? Draining another’s lifeblood is sick, inhumane, andunforgivable.”
Shaw visibly twitched before his eyes shuttered. Prying the book from her fingers, his opposite hand gripped her wrist. From there, he led her from his bedroom with sure, silent steps. Lux stumbled, too flabbergasted that he’d the audacity to touch her again and unsure what she’d said now to upset him. If anything, she’dagreedwith him.
Before he could push her out of his home entirely, she spun. “Why do you slit their eyes?”
Shaw blinked his own. “Because they don’t deserve to see the afterlife. Even if it is Hell.”
And just like that Lux was left standing in the alley, a worn door an inch from her nose.
Chapter eight
Her stomach rumbled andLux pressed a hand to it, the heavy purse still dangling from her wrist. She felt like a fool for her overconfidence in Shaw’s wish for money. Maybe she’d become jaded after all, following her experiences with the elite sprawled out like fat cats within Ghadra’s walls.
Crossing over into the wealthier side of town, Lux decided to brave an eatery and its crowd. She needed more time. More time to deliberate over her aunt’s mysterious whereabouts in addition to the mayor’s guzzling of drained lifeblood, and she didn’t feel she could do that in Riselda’s presence.
She scanned the streets. It was midweek. The Markets slowed, and it appeared if she must eat a meal surrounded by people, today was a good day for it. A carriage ambled past, and Lux moved further against the cold buildings, her eyes locked on the least threatening café that came to mind: The Blooming Begonia.
The painted sign swung in the breeze, an aged bell tinkling with enthusiastic peals. Though the sound grated, she still moved to claim one of the few outside tables. The sunlight peeking through clouds every few minutes was worth the risk of worsening her headache. Sliding onto the iron chair, she eased back, allowing the rays to bathe her cheeks.
“Afternoon! Need a menu?”
Lux opened her eyes as the sun ducked behind another grey cloud. “Yes, thank you.” Outstretched fingers met, and Lux held the handwritten menu to eye level as the flower-splashed pattern of the woman’s skirt hovered for a minute more.
