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I cocked my head. “You’re blushing.” I’d never seen Smoky blush before, and I rather liked it. Then it hit me. “You feel uncomfortable kissing me because I don’t look like myself!”
He glowered. “No—I just…”
“Dude, she’s totally right.” Vanzir snickered, quickly sobering as Smoky whirled on him.
“You have something to say, demon?” Smoky might think he hadn’t fully forgiven Vanzir, but the truth was, after Hyto had stolen me away, Smoky had never fully forgiven himself, even though we all told him it wasn’t his fault. He blamed his temper for leading to the disaster that had followed.
Vanzir shook his head and held up his hands. “Peace, dude. I’m not saying a word. Nothing.”
“Enough. It’s time to book.” I picked up my purse—another loaner from Nerissa—and headed toward the door.
Smoky stopped me. He pulled me into his arms and leaned down, brushing my lips with his own. “Whatever you look like, wherever you are, you’re my love. That’s all that matters.”
And with that, we were off.
Chapter 17
The Greenbelt Park District Community Center was as ratty as I’d been warned. I stood outside the double doors, steeling my courage. I was Morning Glory…Morning Glory…and I was alone, and worried, and lonely. Sucking in a deep breath, I pushed open the door and walked in.
The room was large, the walls a pale brick. I scoped out the exits—right where they showed on the map. And the men’s and women’s bathrooms, too. Two sets of double doors against the back wall should lead to a hallway running parallel with the event hall, as well as the other event rooms and offices, and two more exits.
The room wasn’t full, exactly, but there were at least fifteen people milling around, and I could tell they weren’t already members of the Aleksais Psychic Network because they all looked rather confused and unsure, just like I was supposed to feel.
A table to one side held snacks—chips, cookies, several pitchers of neon pink juice. Staring at it, I remembered Iris’s warning and decided to leave the food and drink alone.
A group of chairs were set up in a semicircle, with a table and a chair in front. Three high stools sat behind the table. And a banner hung over one set of the double doors leading to the hallways that read: WELCOME TO THE ALEKSAIS PSYCHIC NETWORK. JOIN US!
As I made my way over to the chairs, a figure came through the other set of double doors, and I stopped cold. Halcon Davis, and he had three people with him who weren’t people at all, but Tregarts. I could smell a Tregart demon a mile away. But rather than looking like bikers, they looked like hunky Fabio types. And that was when it dawned on me that every one of the people who had shown up were women. I didn’t see a single man around, except for Halcon and his glam-groupies.
That made sense. Among the FBH population, more women were likely to seek out others when they had questions about their psychic abilities, and men still weren’t encouraged to explore that side of themselves. There had been very few men during the assault on the spirit demon egg yesterday, and they’d died just as quickly as the women. But overall, the group of victims had been mostly female.
I made my way over to them, smiling hesitantly. I couldn’t appear too confident. I needed to convince Halcon that I was searching for something to give my life meaning. I needed to become a victim, and that wasn’t an easy act for me. Even with Hyto, I had kept hold of my dignity. I hadn’t let him beat down my soul, even though he’d beaten my body. Now I had to mute myself, muffle my natural inclinations.
I stood on the edge of the group, checking out their energy. Some were bored, looking for something to do. A few seemed to have some sort of power, and a couple of them were just difficult to read. I edged back, trying to look interested, but standing apart so Halcon would notice me. I turned on my glamour but was cautious about how much I unmasked, because if they sensed I was using it, they’d suspect something. The Fae who had come here had probably not bothered to cloak up, but they’d been genuinely interested.
I summoned energy from the Moon Mother. After a moment, when I felt the power build, I glanced over at Halcon. He was staring in my direction. Forcing a wide-eyed, slightly confused look onto my face, I flashed him a tentative smile. And that was when I saw it. Hanging around his neck was a smoky quartz pendant, and it radiated an energy that made me want to run up to him, to be his friend at all costs.
The eighth spirit seal. Motherfucking son of a bitch. Halcon was wearing the eighth spirit seal. And the damned thing was emanating some sort of charm energy that worked on Fae as well as mortals. Holy crap, so that was how he persuaded people to leave their families and to give him all their money. And that was how he had lived so long.
He conferred with his bodyguard groupies and then headed in the group’s direction, but I knew he was focused on me. Nervous now, not wanting to get caught in the trap of his bewitchment, I stepped forward, just a half step, but enough for my body language to say hello.
Halcon looked so much like his picture that it was hard to believe he was almost two hundred years old.
“Welcome, ladies. Welcome to the Aleksais Psychic Network. This is a recruitment meeting, so we’ll be joined by some of our regular members in a bit. Meanwhile, would you like some refreshments before we get started? That will give me a chance to say hello to each of you and get an idea why you’re here.”
This wasn’t the way he usually ran things. I could tell by the startled looks on the Tregarts’ faces. They were eyeing each other, as if trying to figure out what to do.
As we allowed him to herd us to the buffet of chips and desserts, I left just enough room beside me. Halcon took advantage. He slipped in between me and the nearest guest.
“Hello, I’m Halcon Davis. And you are…?” He held out his hand.
Grateful the rune was implanted in my left hand, I offered him my right, making sure my grip wasn’t too firm. A wave of revulsion ran over me and I shivered, wanting to back away. Even the spirit seal couldn’t mask the slimy, grasping energy of his aura. It made my skin crawl.
“My name is Morning Glory.” I gave him a gracious smile. “I’m so excited to be here. I’ve been…” I let my voice drift off.
“Yes, my dear?” He pressed a little closer, his gaze never leaving my face, as his fingers lingered over the tips of my own.
I gave an apologetic little shrug. “I’m just…I’ve been alone for a while and there’s no one to talk to…”
