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THREE
I couldn’t get drunk enough at this party.
There were far too many women eager to compliment me based on either my looks or my father, and I wasn’t interested either way. Their comments wouldn’t be worth anything if they had found out what Iactuallydid full-time. Damning the souls of spiritual creatures didn’t add me to anyone’s Most Desirable Bachelors list.
I needed some air.
The house had a balcony, so I made my way to it. When I walked out, however, I wasn’t expecting to see a man and woman standing on the balcony ledge, ready to jump.
The man turned toward me, his aura a mix of pride and enchantment. His face, on the other hand, was dark and twisted, childish and too smug for its own good.
“Is she yours, mate?” he asked.
It took me a moment to realize that he was holding Esmeralda, whose aura was completely black with fear.
“I’m going to borrow her for a bit,” the man continued, his hand over Esmeralda’s mouth. “I hope you don’t mind.”
They dropped off the side.
I rushed to the edge, hearing Esmeralda scream as they plunged into the darkness below. Her scream brought about the interest of a few others close to the balcony, and they ran over to see what was happening.
“Who was that?” one of them asked.
“Did someone just commit suicide?”
“Someone call the police!”
I winced at their annoying banter in my ears. I took off my jacket, handing it to one of the women standing next to me.
“Hold this for a moment, please,” I said.
I climbed over the side and down the wall. There were a few noisy cries as I did so, but I didn’t pay much attention to what they were saying. They certainly had enough energy to talk, but not enough energy to do anything about the situation. Typical.
Halfway down the side of the house, I dropped down and hit the streets, taking off in the direction I saw them go.
I didn’t know these streets like I knew the streets back home. It wasn’t often that my men even had a chance to come to this city, and if we did, we kept to the slums. Ironically, the poor paid more than the rich for our products. Probably because the rich actually knew the worth of their money. The poor were still foolish enough to think they could buy happiness. The rich had already bought happiness and realized it was a scam.
There were too many winding streets in this city. I had to climb up another house and stand on the roof just to get a better look.
Where was our little thief?
Adjusting my eyes to the shadows, I looked over the city and tried to scan for him. It took quite a few minutes, but in time I found an abnormally thick shadow heading toward the docks.
Pirates?
Well, this was complicated.
***
“Sit down, sir,” the handmaid, Lina, said to Simon. “Think of that heart of yours.”
Esmeralda’s father was completely red from his forehead to his fingertips. His aura was a fierce black-and-red mix, but it flickered from strong to nearly invisible. He was fighting with his illness and his emotions at the same time.
I didn’t say anything as Lina held his hand and tried to soothe him. The way she patted his hand reminded me of someone from a lifetime ago—the young priestess who had freed me of my demon.
But she was gone now. Same as my mother. And same as my demon.
I tried to shove the memory down.
