“
Let’s kiss, Eight.” I smiled.
“What?”
He blushed again. His mouth dropped open.
I shook my head
and waved my hands. “Oh Goddess. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He searched my face
and captured my waist. “You just caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
The room spun a little. I rubbed my eyes and
struggled to get out of his hold. “I just need to go home.”
“I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”
“I can’t believe I said we should kiss.” I covered my face with my hand. “I just forced myself on you.”
“No. You didn’t.”
“Yes. I did.”
“Trust me. You didn’t.”
He pulled me back to him, moved my hands away, and pressed his lips against mine, slipping his tongue into my mouth. I sucked on it, tasted lemonade candy, and breathed in the sweet scent.
“Wow.”
I stepped back. “That’s my first kiss.”
I had my first one.
He blushed for the third time that night and combed his fingers through his damp hair. “I’m your first?”
“Yep.” I swayed to the side and almost tripped, but he caught me. “I was feeling so bad
, but I’m starting to feel better. I just have to not think about. . .some things.”
I rubbed my eyes. “Thanks for the kiss, but
I have to go.”
“Wait.” He grabbed my wrists. “Let me go with you. We could grab a slice of pizza or something.
You have to eat some food.”
“Naw. I don’t want to mess with your night.” I gestured to his friends
as they battled against the team of witches again. They’d made it to the third level which I assumed was good. Lots of snow dropped down on them, but still they twisted and hopped.
“Trust me
, Cameo. Hanging out with you would be making my dreams come true.”
“You’re so funny.” I stumbled to
ward the front doors.
“Plus, didn’t you come here to se
e me?” Eight captured my hand and we walked off together, sliding through groups of people who were cheering other gamers on.
A ring sounded. A girl screamed in glee, making me jump and hold my hand to my head as blood pounded in my ears.
“What do you mean?
I didn’t come to see you.” I waved goodbye to Susie as she rested her elbows on the glass counter full of prizes and read an opened book. “I just happen to come down to the arcade because it was raining and I didn’t feel like going home.”
“
Well I left a message with your roommates,” Eight said.
“Roommates?” I paused
a few feet from the front entrance.
“
Yeah. You’re roommates. A black vampire girl and this white bald headed mixie.”
He must be talking about
Sasha and Fin.
“What did you
r message say?” I ambled out of Fangdom, pushing through the glass double doors and using Eight’s hand for balance. My stomach twisted into pain. A pounding beat against my skull. “I need to sit down for a minute.”
“No more beer for you.” He helped me down to the
rough sidewalk outside. Cool air brushed against my skin. The noise of Fangdom dissipated into the sound of Shango District—cars honking, people chatting as they walked by, and the beating of drums from the Bembe Hall a block away as Santeria believers prayed to the gods.
I
shut my eyes, raised my knees, and rested my face on them, breathing in and out through my mouth. “What did you have to tell me?”
“You asked me to find some books on the burglary at the Vault of Enchantments
as well as any more information on the shadow stones. I discovered two more books and lots of new articles on the burglary.”
Feeling better, I eased up and stood. “Okay.
That sounds really good. Thanks for getting me all of that.”
“I
left the books at your room, but I kept the copies of the clippings with me because I was scared to leave them there.” Eight slid out a square of paper inside of a Ziploc bag and unfolded it.
“Why were you scared?”
“Because that creepy guy that sometimes comes to the library with you was in one of the articles as a suspect to the burglary.”
“Wiz?”
I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “He told me he had something to do with it.”
“Yeah, but is he a vampire or something?”
I scrunched my face. “What? Why would you ask me that?”
He undid the paper and showed me the
article. Wiz stood next to the Bearded Dragon as tall as he was right now. He looked exactly the same like he was nineteen years old—same emerald eye and sapphire one, sandy blonde hair, even the expression was the same as he scowled toward the person taking the picture. Fear slithered up my body like several snakes. My fingers shook. My mouth went dry. I checked the date to make sure it was the right article.
Yep. Ten years ago.
But why did Wiz look the same.
“You see what I see?”
Eight asked.
“Wiz looks exactly the same as he does now. He hasn’t aged at all. He looks like he is nineteen years old.”
I nodded. “Can I keep this article?”
“Sure.
Of course. I just didn’t want it to stay with your roommates just in case they’re working with him or something.” He handed the image to me. “But what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“And now that your mom was the one that was murdered.”
“She wasn’t murdered.”
“What if she was?”
“I can’t handle that right now.”
I stuffed the clippings in my jeans pocket. My mind spun around and I didn’t think it was the beer that was doing it.
Wiz doesn’t age?
I thought back to when I’d first met him. He looked the same from three years ago. I guess. I wasn’t really sure.
What is he? Did it have something to do with those snake things inside of his body?
“I need time to think. This doesn’t make any sense.” I stumbled off away from Fangdom and in the direction of Aztec hotel. It was ten blocks away. The very thought of having to walk that far made me sick.
“
Clearly this guy is dangerous.” Eight walked next to me and caught me as I slipped his way. “You should stay with me. I’m sure he knows where you live, right?”
“
Yes he does, but I’m sure he would find me regardless. He always knows where I’m at.”
Even when I’m in someone else’s image. Why? If I couldn’t hide myself by shifting into another, how was I going to hide in Eight’s attic?
For as long as I knew Wiz, he always popped up wherever I was, whether I told him I would be there or not. I wondered if he had some sort of tracking spell on me.
Maybe.
“Stay with me
in my attic.” Eight got in front of me. His hair had dried and now wavered in the breeze.
“I don’t want to bring my trouble your way. Besides, I don’t even know if there is any danger yet. Wiz has never tried to hurt me. He just keeps lots of secrets.”
Eight directing his gaze at me as if he was building himself up to be assertive. “Cameo. You’ve been drinking. You’re sick and there may be some immortal guy that has something to do with these shadow stones, which I read were dangerous.”
“It’s just a research paper.”
“Stop it. I don’t believe you anymore.”
I formed my lips into a grim line.
“Okay. Sorry.”
“I read that these shadow stones hold shadows or something that contain the creature’s magic and h
elps them live forever,” Eight said. “Maybe that’s what this Wiz guy is doing, wearing other people’s shadows.”
“What? Where did you get that shadow part?”
“From one of the new books. Once the Fairy King figured out how to store prisoners’ shadows he started experimenting on other people’s shadows. Even his own. He could use another person’s shadow to shift into other people’s images.”
I
froze. “And the King would wear the shadow like fairy glamour?”
Eight nodded
. “Yeah, but the shadow didn’t evaporate from water or dirt like fairy glamour. In fact, the shadow wouldn’t leave unless the wearer desired it gone. At least that’s what the anthropologist that wrote the book stated.”
So the King used shadows like I used my power.
For some weird reason that thought made me shiver.
How much did Wiz know about shadow stones? Probably a lot if he’d managed to not age in ten years.
“I’m worried about you.” Eight tucked one of my loose strands behind my ear. “I don’t know why you need to know so much about these
shadow stones. Anything fairy and old tends to be dangerous and the people who mess with it are even more treacherous.”
“Stop worry
ing about me. I’ll be fine.” I kissed his cheek. Eight’s body stiffened as he looked behind me and gripped my waist. I leaned back. “What’s wrong, Eight?”
“
Can I talk to you for a minute, Cameo?” Wiz’s voice sounded behind me. It made me jump. I almost screamed, but I struggled to calm myself so I wouldn’t startle Wiz or Eight.
I knew Wiz would find me where
ver I was. I just didn’t think he’d look for me tonight.
I twisted his way. “Why are you here?”
Wiz stood there with a pissed expression. His hair lifted and fell in the wind. The shapeshifter skin jacket fluttered around his legs. He wore no shirt under it, just jeans, his chain linked belt, and brown boots. His shining eyes didn’t even go to me. His gaze concentrated on Eight’s hands around my waist.
“I
was looking for you. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Wiz glared at Eight.
“I’m fine,” I said as
Eight tightened his hold on me.
A weird rumble emitted from Wiz’s throat.
“Let Cameo go. I’ve got her now.”
“No.
She’s not going anywhere with you.” Eight tried to step around me, but I got in his way, holding my arms out to the side to block him.
Rich appeared out of the shadows
from an alley on our left. “Go ahead, Eight. We’ll take care of Cameo.”
Eight trembled
behind me, but still he ducked under my arms and jumped in front of me. He looked from Wiz to Rich and cleared his throat. “No.”
My headache rose to a full on assault. I rubbed my eyes. “Rich and Wiz I’m okay. I’m going to head back to my room and go to sleep. Eight is just walking me back.”
“I don’t know this guy well enough.” Wiz sniffed the air. “Especially not enough to leave him with you while you’re drunk.”
“I don’t trust
you to be with her at all.” Eight raised his hands in the air. Rocks floated out of the alley and attached to his hands as if they were metal drawn to a magnet. “I’ve got her. You can go ahead and creep out someone else.”
“
Say that again?” Wiz whipped out his dagger, Vanity from the inside of his jacket. “I hope you’re able to control more than rocks, little earth witch.”
More rocks drifted our way and hovered over Wiz and Rich.
It must have been five of them in different sizes. Eight’s brown eyes glowed. His bottom lip quivered and I could tell he was nervous. He should be. Wiz didn’t just fight. He killed.
“Okay. No one is fighting anybody. Wiz put Vanity away please. Eight
tell your rocks to go back.” I stepped around and faced him. “Eight, please go back inside Fangdom. I’ll be okay if I walk home with Rich and Wiz.”
I figured Eight would be the
easiest of the three to convince to leave.
Eight shook his head. “If you go with them, then I’ll come too.”
Maybe Eight wasn’t the most sensible one out of the three.
Wiz blurred to
Eight’s side. “If you come, little earth witch, I’ll be able to answer the question I’ve always wondered. What color is an earth witch’s intestines? What do you think, Rich? Green, maybe?”
“I cut one earth witch open last year.” Rich
got on Eight’s other side. “It looked like red blood to me, but I’m willing to help you open this one up.”
“Both of you back away from him.” I hit Wiz and Rich’s shoulders. Although I’m sure my strikes didn’t hurt them, they took a step back. “I’m sorry, Eight. My friends are rude. But, trust me when I say this, they won’t hurt me. I’ll be okay with them. Please put your magic away. I don’t want you all to fight for no reason.”
The rocks remained in his hands, but the others left. A relieved breath escaped my lips.
“Thanks.”
I hugged Eight and kissed him on his cheeks. Rich cursed behind me.
Eight hugged me and whispered in my ear,
“Are you sure you’re okay or do you just think I can’t protect you?”
“You’re my hero.” I kissed his other cheek. Wiz’s eyes lit up the whole area. I ignored his rage. “Tonight I don’t need any protecting.”