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Joe glanced up, his expression unreadable behind the bushy beard. “You could have turned me into sushi, you know.”
Maya didn’t bother to point out that the glass had been far more likely to turnherinto sushi considering very few shards had fallen onto the sidewalk. Instead she marched across the room to grab a muffin from one of the glass coolers. Then, whirling on her heel, she marched back to Joe and shoved it in his hand.
“Here.”
Joe peered down at the treat. “What’s this for?”
“A going-away present.”
“Humph.” With surprisingly delicate fingers, Joe peeled away the liner before he shoved the entire muffin into his mouth. He chewed and chewed, smacking loudly. At last he swallowed and loudly burped. “Tastes like goat piss.”
Maya clicked her tongue. She tried to be patient with the older man. She didn’t know his story or why he was a regular on that particular street, and she wasn’t going to judge him for his choices. At the moment, however, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone. Not even Joe.
“Go away,” she demanded.
A strange pressure abruptly spread around Maya, like the g-force of a jet as it screamed toward the heavens. A grunt was wrenched from her throat as the air was shoved from her lungs, her heart struggling to beat. She fell to her knees, her muscles straining against the pulverizing weight.
There was a sense of movement, and suddenly Joe was bending down to stare at her with eyes that glowed with a green fire so deep and ancient she felt as if she was being sucked into a bottomless vortex.
“The world doesn’t rest on your shoulders, Maya Rosen. This isn’t your battle.” Joe’s lips didn’t move, but the voice pounded through her mind. “Prepare for what is to come.”
Profoundly disturbed, Maya tilted back her head, grimly refusing to turn away from the searing green gaze.
“What?”
In the blink of an eye the power had disappeared, as if someone had flipped a switch. A ripple of magic flowed around her. This time soft and infinitely protective. Maya shuddered, staring at Joe, who was again on the sidewalk, peering through the shattered window.
“I said it tastes like goat’s piss.”
Chapter 13
It took longer than Peri expected to arrive at her destination. The narrow roads that snaked through the jagged foothills would abruptly halt at a dead end, forcing her to double back in search of a new route. To make things even more difficult, the towering pine trees blocked her view. She didn’t know what was coming around the next curve, let alone be able to scan the hills for any sign of civilization.
Dinnertime came and went by the time she managed to navigate the spiderweb of roads and at last reach a high stone fence that stretched the length of the road.
This had to be the place, Peri decided, turning her car into the short drive that ended at a massive wooden gate.
Hmm. Now what? She could climb over the wall, but she didn’t want to start off the meeting as a trespasser. Sneaking into someone’s house tended to give the wrong impression. Plus she might need the truck for a quick getaway. Okay, there was nothing quick about the ancient truck, but it was marginally faster than walking.
She was debating her limited options when there was a whisper of magic and the gate began to topple backward. Peri made a sound of surprise. Not only at the fact this was all happening way too easily, but at the realization it wasn’t a gate, it was a drawbridge.
With wide eyes she watched as it thumped against a cobblestone pathway, bridging a narrow moat.
Who had a drawbridge?
Cautiously driving over the wooden planks, Peri soon discovered exactlywhythere was a drawbridge. Nestled in theshallow valley below her was a sprawling castle that might have been plucked from a glade in Ireland and deposited in the foothills of the Rockies.
The main house was constructed in a perfect square with mullioned windows and a slate tiled roof. There were two wings spreading from the central building like a curtain wall, ending with impressive round towers that would make Rapunzel proud.
Tia either expected to fight off an extended siege or she had a queen fetish. Peri was betting on the queen-wannabe theory.
Grimacing as the truck rattled down the cobblestone drive, Peri at last came to a halt in front of the main house. She was switching off the engine when one of the humongous steel doors was pulled open to reveal a large man. He had to be a guard, Peri decided as she grabbed her satchel and exited the truck. He had the shoulders of a linebacker, bulging muscles that threatened to burst through his too-tight T-shirt and a melon head that was shaved until it gleamed in the fading sunlight.
As she neared she could see the faintest red aura flickering around him. Demon blood, but so weak he would have been at the low end of the social ladder in any Gyre. Almost as low as a human.
Was that why he left? Or had he been lured away by Tia’s wealth? His demon blood would make him stronger than any run-of-the-mill mortal. He was also a good foot taller than most people, allowing him to loom over Peri as she climbed the steps to stand directly in front of him.
“I’m Peri Sanguis.” She flashed her best smile, inwardly wondering if this was the bastard who’d been recklessly spraying bullets in her direction last night. “I’m here to see Tia.”
