Two of those seats were free. Shamus slid down into one and was already yelling over the loud conversations for the attention of one of the girls behind the counter. The stool next to him, toward the wall, was open. And in the seat next to that was Zayvion.
He was partly turned, his elbow resting next to a half-empty glass of beer on the countertop, his back toward me.
Being six feet tall gives me some advantage. One is I could look around Zayvion and see whom he was talking to.
A woman, about my age, brown hair cut in straight bangs across her forehead and pulled back in a single long braid. Her face reminded me of a movie star’s—wide, catlike eyes, high cheekbones, and lips most women would mortgage the house for. She had on a black tank top, over which she had thrown a long-sleeved plaid flannel shirt, black jeans, and boots. No makeup—and she didn’t need it.
She looked over Zayvion’s shoulder at me, and her eyes were sapphire in sunlight.
“Allie?” Zayvion said—had been saying, I realized. I hadn’t heard him over the din. Well, that and I was still thinking a little slow.
“Sorry.” I looked over at him. “Kind of loud in here.”
His Zen was on full strength, making his face a dark, unreadable mask. But his gaze held some worry as he searched my face.
I smiled to let him know I was okay.
“This is Chase Warren,” he said.
I stepped around Zayvion enough to shake her hand. Calluses on the girl. Strength. She obviously worked for a living.
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“So, you’re
the
Allie Beckstrom,” she said. “Zay’s said a lot about you.” She gave me the oh-so-female up-down appraisal that made me want to grind my teeth. Really, I didn’t care what she thought about me, my faded jeans, or my sweaty, messy hair. And I smiled at her to let her know it.
“That’s nice,” I said to cut this little convo short. I took the only seat between Zayvion and Shamus, and leaned both elbows on the bar.
Shamus had finally managed to snag the attention of one of the girls behind the counter and she stood there, a small pad of paper in her hand.
“What are you buying me, Shame?” I asked.
“Beer. Wait. Bet you’re a wine girl.”
“Beer’s fine,” I said, even though I didn’t like beer much, “dark.” Then to the waitress: “Could I get a glass of water, burger, and fries, please?”
She nodded and headed off.
“Nice shiner,” Zayvion said to Shamus. “How did she do?”
Shamus leaned back so they could talk behind my back.
“She’s sitting right here, you know,” I said.
“Fucking amazing. I can’t believe the amount of power she pulled on—and you were right—she took it in her body, right through it. Got my mum’s panties in a knot, seeing all that. Might even make your bullshit about you two being Soul Complements a little easier for the Authority to swallow.”
Zayvion made a little
huh
sound, then took a drink of his beer, hiding his smile. He was exceedingly pleased. It rolled off him in waves.
“Did your mother actually say she was impressed?” Chase, who had leaned forward so she could see around Zayvion, asked. I caught a whiff of her vanilla perfume.
“As much as.”
“That’s a no, then.” Chase gave me a hard, flat look, and I wondered what the hell I’d done to piss her off.
Maybe it was just hate at first sight. Lucky me. ’Cause that’s what I needed—another person who didn’t like me.
I turned away from her. “What do you mean ‘bullshit about Complements’? We are, aren’t we?”
“Not without Authority sanctioning you’re not,” Chase said.
This time I looked at Zayvion. “I thought you said we were.”
Shamus laughed. “Oh, sure. If I had a dollar for every time a man used that line to get a woman in bed, I’d be richer than your daddy—wait. Richer than you, Beckstrom.”
“Shame,” Zay said, “you talk too much.” He leaned in toward me and the hops smell of beer mixed with his pine cologne. “It isn’t easy to quantify. Soul Complements are rare. So rare it is hard to prove.”
“But there is a way to tell. Some kind of test?”
“Yes. There is a way.”
“Let me guess, it’s dangerous?”
“Yes.”
Great.
“And if we don’t do it?”
Zay pressed his lips together. I noted Chase, behind him, suddenly stiffened. “That’s a choice we make. It’s a practical choice. A safe choice. It’s the choice people who are afraid to risk it all take.”
Chase swore. She dug money out of her pocket and threw it on the countertop next to her empty glass. Her pale cheeks were washed in red.
“But?” I asked.
“Safe doesn’t get you anywhere in life,” he said.
Chase, now standing, tipped her head up and groaned loudly. “Give it a damn rest.”
“Problem?” Zayvion asked her while still looking at me.
Chase, behind him, looked back down. The smile she wore was not pretty—no easy feat with a face like hers.
“With you?” she said. “Plenty.”
“Will you two shut the hell up?” Shamus said. “This is supposed to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Hot new girlfriend meets hot ex-girlfriend, both get along like twins separated at birth, there’s probably at least one drunken three-way, and voilà, happy all around.”
“Girlfriend?” I said before I could bite back my surprise.
“Shame,” Zayvion warned.
Shamus laughed. “Priceless. You didn’t tell her? You are such an idiot.”
Zayvion gave me a pleading look while Chase scowled death at Shamus. I leaned back, and Shamus swiveled his stool completely around so that both his elbows were on the counter and his back leaned against it. He flashed Chase an innocent smile and held up his middle finger like he’d just discovered he had one.
“Allie,” Zayvion started.
“I just want my burger and beer,” I said. It came out calm, considering the thoughts spinning through my head. Normally I would be pissed off that Zayvion had put me in this kind of social situation without telling me he used to date her. If I’d known they were lovers, I would have handled this totally differently.
Or maybe I wouldn’t have. In the long run, I didn’t think it mattered.
See? I can be practical about these kinds of things. I mean, I knew he hadn’t been saving himself for me all his life.
And besides, he and I were together now, even though he didn’t look quite as sure as I was about that. His Zen slipped and he looked an awful lot like a man who realized he might have made a big mistake.
Chase leaned full body against Zayvion’s back, wrapping her hands up under his arms so she could splay her palms over his chest.
He tensed, and it wasn’t love in his eyes. Not quite anger either. Maybe tolerance. Maybe denial. It got me thinking about those scars he said he had on his heart. It got me thinking maybe she had put them there.
Chase tipped her head down to Zay’s face, her perfect lips so close she wouldn’t have to move an inch to lick him. “Fuck you, Zay.” I didn’t actually hear her words over the noise in the room, but I was plenty close enough to read her lips.
Shamus, who must also be pretty good at lip reading, laughed again.
“Good night, Chase.” Zayvion did not move, but it was like he suddenly drew a wall of ice between himself and her.
She tipped her head and rested her chin on his shoulder. She smiled at me, and for the life of me I could not figure out what kind of game she was playing.
Have I mentioned I have always sucked at all the bitchy backstabbing games women play? Consider it mentioned.
“Enjoy,” she said.
I nodded. “I will.” Simple. Honest.
I guess that wasn’t what she was hoping for. She stood, turned off her smile, and strode out the door on this side of the building.
“That. Was. Awesome,” Shamus declared.
Zayvion rubbed the back of his neck. “You,” he said, spearing Shamus with a look, “talk too much.”
Shamus chuckled. “And you are too easy to rile up, but you’ll forgive me anyway.”
“No,” Zayvion said, “I won’t.”
From the tone of his voice, it was clear he liked Shamus. Maybe the way a person likes paying their taxes, or hanging out with an annoying little brother.
Zayvion put his hand on my upper arm. Since I had planted my elbow on the counter and was cupping my chin in my hand, willing the waitress to bring me my burger, I leaned my head sideways to look at him.
“What?” I asked.
“I feel like an explanation is in order.”
My willing must have worked. The waitress appeared with two plates on her arm and glasses in her hand. Sweet heaven, it was about time.
She set the burger in front of me, and the beer and water, then deposited a plate of what looked like chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn in front of Shamus.
The overpowering aroma of the food reached my nose, and my stomach cramped in hunger. Using magic made me hungry. And Shamus wasn’t kidding, I’d thrown a hell of a lot of magic around a few minutes ago. The nice thing? Whatever his mom had done when she brushed my forehead had totally wiped out my Disbursement headache.
“Go ahead.” I got both my hands around my burger and bit into it.
“I didn’t know Chase was going to be here tonight.”
“Mmm-hmm.” I took a swig of beer to wash down the burger, and tore into the fries.
“She and I . . . we were . . . we did date. Well, not date, but we had . . .”
“Sex,” Shamus offered helpfully. “You and Chase had hot, screaming sex. A lot,” he added, with a serious nod to me.
I stopped chewing. I didn’t know if I should tell him to shut up or just laugh. He was shameless.
“Shame,” Zayvion said in a voice that wasn’t even close to Zen.
“Sex everywhere, all the time,” he continued, with a wicked glint in his eyes. I noticed he had pushed his plate away and dusted off his hands, as if in preparation for a fight. “One time during training, I actually had to carry bags of ice around and lob them at the two of them to keep them from spontaneously fucking.”
Zayvion was up out of his chair so fast, the only thing I had time to do was duck. Zay towered over me, caught Shamus by the shirt, and had him in a headlock before he could squirm away.
“Tell Allie you apologize for your mouth and your manners,” Zayvion said.
Shamus made a horrible choking sound.
“Hey, hey,” I said, figuring I better break up this little testosterone hug before someone got hurt. Then I realized Shame wasn’t choking, he was howling with laughter.
“Tell her. Tell her you are incapable of telling the truth, because you are an immoral ass.” Zayvion calmly squeezed just a little harder.
“Can’t . . . breathe,” Shamus wheezed.
Zayvion squeezed one last time, then released him. “Remind me why I keep you around?” He glowered.
Shamus tugged on his shirt to straighten it, and brushed his hair back down over his eyes, covering the bruises, then raked it back to one side.
“My good looks, quick wit, and, best of all, my connections,” he said. “Need I say more?”
“No,” Zayvion said. “You need say less. Much, much less.”
They both settled into their seats again.
“Well, see, I may not have morals, but I do have a conscience.” Shamus pulled his plate back in place and took a bite of mashed potatoes. “And I know when to speak my mind. Not at all like you, Jones. Silent. Shifty. Temperamental. Sullen. Morbid.”
“How long have you two known each other?” I asked.
Zayvion shook his head. “Exactly one hour too long.”
Shamus made a rude noise. “You said that three hours ago.”
Zayvion lifted his beer and flashed me a quick smile before taking a drink. “Several years,” he said. “Long, painful years.”
“Grew up together,” Shamus added around a mouthful of chicken.
I took a drink of my beer. During the hubbub I’d managed to get through half my burger and made a serious dent in the pile of fries. The food did a decent job of clearing my head and settling my mood.
I was feeling a lot better. “Well, then, I’m sorry for you both.”
Shamus coughed and laughed, and Zayvion’s faint smile spread out into a grin. He looked good when he smiled. Looked like someone should be kissing him for it.
I guess some of my thoughts showed in my expression. Zayvion raised one eyebrow and pushed my knee with his knee, swiveling my stool toward him. I was now mostly facing him.
“How was class?” And even though he was relaxed, a hint of a smile still playing on his lips, he spoke a little more quietly, privately, and somehow that made it easy to hear him, only him, over all the other voices and people in the room.