clicks.
“Poe misses
you,” I say. “He wants you to come out.”
Her head
tilts up again. “Poe? Kitty kitty?”
“Yes,” I say,
extending my hand further. “Poe misses you, but he’s too scared to come in
here. He wants you to come out and play with him. He wants you to take my
hand.”
A screech
rends through the air and I flinch as cold metal touches the back of my neck.
Lilith doesn’t seem to notice. She’s looking at me, her expression still dazed.
“Please,” I
say. “Poe misses you. Now.”
“Okay,” she
says. And she takes my hand. My vision explodes.
Fire fire roaring fire
fire burning fire killing fire
laughing fire fire blood and red and
fire blood and fire fire fey and faerie blood —
I scream
aloud as the hallucination tears me apart, and then I’m stumbling and falling
and letting go and it’s gone. It’s gone and the world is white white white as
color slowly seeps back around the edges and my head splits apart like a
cleaver is carving it in two. Faces first, then voices. Faces looking down.
Kingston and Penelope and Melody and someone’s got a hand on my forehead. Ice water
trickles down my skin and down my neck and under my skin into my bones, and I
close my eyes and wait for the water to drown me, dreaming of scaled skin and
burning blood.
C HAPTER F OUR : SPOTLIGHT
I s she awake
yet?”
“Not yet.
Wait…yep, there she is.”
I peel my
eyes open, which feels like rubbing burning sandpaper inside my temples. It
takes a moment, but after a few blinks the dim light solidifies into something
I can make out. Kingston hovers overs me, Melody at his side. We’re in my tiny
trailer room, and I’m lying on the bed. They’re both looking down like they’re
expecting me to grow horns or die. Or both.
“Morning,
sunshine,” Kingston says. He touches my shoulder, and once more that cool
ice-water sensation slides across my skin and seeps into my head. It feels like
bliss.
I shift under
his touch and stare up at those brown eyes. For once, I have his attention. All
it took was nearly getting crushed to death and an act of stupid heroics. I
smile, and he smiles back.
“What
happened?” I ask, because I’m afraid if we keep smiling at each other I’ll
forget that Mel is still in the room.
“We were
going to ask you the same thing, doll,” Melody says. Her eyes are even more
shadowed than before, especially in this light. Is it just my near-death
experience, or are her fingers shaking?
“What do you
mean?” I ask. I try thinking back, but it’s all a blur. Something deep down
feels fire, feels burning, but I can’t put my finger on it. Like steam, it just
floats around in my subconscious, smoldering invisibly.
“Well,”
Kingston says, removing his healing touch. “We all saw you jump into the wreck
and pull Lilith out. But we don’t understand why you were screaming when you
got her out of there. Then you passed out.” He traces a finger down my arm. I
shiver, but not from any magic he might possess.
“No
injuries,” he says, almost to himself. “No trauma. So why did you faint?”
“I don’t…I
don’t remember.”
Still, the
memory nags at me. I’ve got Lilith’s huddled form in my mind. I remember taking
her hand, and then…that’s it.
“Maybe she’s
just got a weak stomach,” Melody says. She chuckles, which turns into a cough.
Kingston glances at her; his eyebrow cocks in a strange mix of concern and
curiosity. She holds up a hand until the coughing fit stops. “Sorry,” she says.
“Must be coming down with something.”
“Must be,”
Kingston says. “You better not die before our act tonight.” He turns back to
me.
And that’s
when I notice that they’re both in costume. Melody’s not wearing her tuxedo
coat or wig, but she’s in her tight pinstripe trousers and a clean button-down.
Kingston is in a white shirt and black sequined slacks. The tip of his tattoo
is curled around his bicep. I blink because I’m pretty certain
“Poe misses
you,” I say. “He wants you to come out.”
Her head
tilts up again. “Poe? Kitty kitty?”
“Yes,” I say,
extending my hand further. “Poe misses you, but he’s too scared to come in
here. He wants you to come out and play with him. He wants you to take my
hand.”
A screech
rends through the air and I flinch as cold metal touches the back of my neck.
Lilith doesn’t seem to notice. She’s looking at me, her expression still dazed.
“Please,” I
say. “Poe misses you. Now.”
“Okay,” she
says. And she takes my hand. My vision explodes.
Fire fire roaring fire
fire burning fire killing fire
laughing fire fire blood and red and
fire blood and fire fire fey and faerie blood —
I scream
aloud as the hallucination tears me apart, and then I’m stumbling and falling
and letting go and it’s gone. It’s gone and the world is white white white as
color slowly seeps back around the edges and my head splits apart like a
cleaver is carving it in two. Faces first, then voices. Faces looking down.
Kingston and Penelope and Melody and someone’s got a hand on my forehead. Ice water
trickles down my skin and down my neck and under my skin into my bones, and I
close my eyes and wait for the water to drown me, dreaming of scaled skin and
burning blood.
C HAPTER F OUR : SPOTLIGHT
I s she awake
yet?”
“Not yet.
Wait…yep, there she is.”
I peel my
eyes open, which feels like rubbing burning sandpaper inside my temples. It
takes a moment, but after a few blinks the dim light solidifies into something
I can make out. Kingston hovers overs me, Melody at his side. We’re in my tiny
trailer room, and I’m lying on the bed. They’re both looking down like they’re
expecting me to grow horns or die. Or both.
“Morning,
sunshine,” Kingston says. He touches my shoulder, and once more that cool
ice-water sensation slides across my skin and seeps into my head. It feels like
bliss.
I shift under
his touch and stare up at those brown eyes. For once, I have his attention. All
it took was nearly getting crushed to death and an act of stupid heroics. I
smile, and he smiles back.
“What
happened?” I ask, because I’m afraid if we keep smiling at each other I’ll
forget that Mel is still in the room.
“We were
going to ask you the same thing, doll,” Melody says. Her eyes are even more
shadowed than before, especially in this light. Is it just my near-death
experience, or are her fingers shaking?
“What do you
mean?” I ask. I try thinking back, but it’s all a blur. Something deep down
feels fire, feels burning, but I can’t put my finger on it. Like steam, it just
floats around in my subconscious, smoldering invisibly.
“Well,”
Kingston says, removing his healing touch. “We all saw you jump into the wreck
and pull Lilith out. But we don’t understand why you were screaming when you
got her out of there. Then you passed out.” He traces a finger down my arm. I
shiver, but not from any magic he might possess.
“No
injuries,” he says, almost to himself. “No trauma. So why did you faint?”
“I don’t…I
don’t remember.”
Still, the
memory nags at me. I’ve got Lilith’s huddled form in my mind. I remember taking
her hand, and then…that’s it.
“Maybe she’s
just got a weak stomach,” Melody says. She chuckles, which turns into a cough.
Kingston glances at her; his eyebrow cocks in a strange mix of concern and
curiosity. She holds up a hand until the coughing fit stops. “Sorry,” she says.
“Must be coming down with something.”
“Must be,”
Kingston says. “You better not die before our act tonight.” He turns back to
me.
And that’s
when I notice that they’re both in costume. Melody’s not wearing her tuxedo
coat or wig, but she’s in her tight pinstripe trousers and a clean button-down.
Kingston is in a white shirt and black sequined slacks. The tip of his tattoo
is curled around his bicep. I blink because I’m pretty certain
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