The ultimatum had the desired effect. “Fine!”
“Good girl. Now go have a seat. This will take a bit, and I don’t want you peering at me with those doe eyes.”
Muttering beneath her breath, the girl abandoned Lux to her desired solitude.Elevenhours.One more and the soul brought back would be tortured beyond repair, a shell of what it once was, volatile and deadly.
She pressed her thumbs to the boy’s fixed pupils, stilling her shaking hands. The fire poker suddenly seemed too far away.
The girl had better not be wrong.
Everything about him wassowarm.Warm brown hair above warmer tawny eyes, and golden skin.
He sat up slowly, turning to dangle long legs over the table. Staring at the wooden floor beneath, he breathed deep—once, twice—before lifting irises like liquid copper.
“Hello, Necromancer. I wondered how long until we would meet.”
Even his voice was warm;it dripped over her like honey. His hand moved across his bare chest, but all evidence of death vanished with the incantation. Instead, intact muscles bunched and moved beneath the gesture, and Lux couldn’t help but track the progress. He wasn’t much older than her, she decided.
Her throat grew parched. She cleared it.
“Original introduction.”
“Yes, well…” His fingers rubbed the line of his shoulder as he studied her. “I remember your voice.”
She huffed at the reminder. “Your sister is persistent in her attempts at saving you. I turned her away the first time. You were bleeding out all over my doorstep.”
“… You can’t be serious. And you didn’t think to offer a child help?”
“She’s twelve. I don’t see how it should become my problem that you chose her door to collapse in front of.”
“Pardon me for not wishing to die alone.” A tick worked its way into his jaw, his stare making ribbons of her skin, but Lux couldn’t be bothered. Dealing with the dying was not—and never would be—in her job description.
His glower swept the room now, briefly assessing the stocked shelves and the crock in the corner, before landing on his bare knees. “Revival calls for this, does it?”
It’s just skin, you imbecile. A paltry suit over a skeleton. That’s all.Never mind that this particular suit was muscled and smooth and probably one of the more attractive sets she’d encountered. Lux shook herself. She’d never blushed before a revived body before; she wouldn’t this time, either.
“Unfortunately,” she said and meant it.
“Where are my clothes?”
At his question, she gestured to the stool near the door. He followed the movement, and then eyed her, waiting. She stared back.
“May I have them?” he asked.
“In a moment.” His eyes widened, but she pushed on. “I have a few indelicate questions for you.”
“Do you often interrogate your patients?”
“You aren’t my patient. I’m not a physician. And yes, I do, if necessary.” She didn’t add that it had never been necessary before. Her paste-dried fingers tightened on her skirt. “What do you know of the two murders that occurred last night?”
His lips fused.
Shoving from the table, he stood and scanned her length with obvious disdain before stepping toward her. Lux didn’t have anywhere to go with her back already pressed against the counter. She told herself later she wouldn’t have stepped back anyway.
“Thank you for your services.”
Turning, he swiped up his clothing, and Lux couldn’t hold her incredulous laugh.
“You’re not leaving until you answer me. I won’t be responsible for releasing a murderer onto the streets.”
