“Are you sure you’re okay?” Eliana asked, yet again.
“I’m fine. You would have sounded breathless and shaky, too, if you’d inhaled a whiff of four-day old dead dragon.”
My stomach rolled sickeningly.
“It’s a smell I’m never going to forget. I don’t know how Oanen is still down there. He’s going to need a shower after this.”
“I like showers!” a high-pitched voice shouted in the background.
Eliana gave a long-suffering sigh.
“Please tell me you’re getting closer to figuring out who really did this.”
“I wish I could. It would have been great if this dragon was freshly dead.”
“Uh?”
“It would have been clear evidence that your mom wasn’t responsible.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, not that I’m wishing for any fresh deaths, but you’re right. It would have been convenient.”
“How’s it going? Is she being a good mom?”
“Absolutely. She’s the perfect succubus mom. She brought me an assortment of toys yesterday. And I’m not talking teddy bears. Also, she assures me she’ll get me a teddy immediately. Not the stuffed kind.” She lowered her voice. “I’m afraid I…”
I angrily kicked at the roof’s ledge when the silence grew. My hate for the Council only increased.
“I’m sure the Council would understand matricide in these circumstances,” I joked, desperate to lighten her mood.
Eliana gave a weak laugh.
“I better go check on Elbner. The less I’m at home being showered by my mother’s affection and sage advice, the better.”
“Let me know if either he or Piepen has anything useful to say.”
“I will.”
When I hung up and turned around, Oanen was leaning against the door.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
“Yep.”
He took a step toward me, and I held up a hand.
“You don’t smell like him, do you?”
Oanen cocked his head and studied me, worry clouding his eyes.
“You were never this squeamish.”
“Wrong. The sight of blood and gore, I can handle. Seeing Aubrey eat someone, while gross, was no problem. Watching Trammer blow his brains out was upsetting because of Ashlyn, but not because of the graphic display. Seeing the oracle gobble mermaids whole? Well, that was just fun. But, in every one of those situations, not once was I exposed to a smell like I was in there. I’m not visually squeamish. It’s all about the nose. So stop worrying, and tell me you found something that will help us figure this out faster.”
“I did. He’s the dragon whose burger you ate the first day here.”
I frowned.
“That means he had to have run into the hooded guy again after. It’s a three-day window.”
“Three days of footage we already covered at the Gizzard.”
“Crap. How are we supposed to find this guy?” I paced the roof for a moment. “We know the victim, have a suspect, and know the timeframe. I say we keep asking around. Only this time, we have more details.”
It shouldn’t have been that hard. At least, not in my way of thinking.
However, a day later, we weren’t any closer to finding the hooded man.
“You’re getting edgy again,” Oanen observed as I tossed my hairbrush to the vanity counter.
I gave him a so-what look.
“It’s close to noon, and I’m hungry.”
He shook his head, not buying my explanation.
“Since coming here, you get worse after you get edgy.”
I exhaled slowly and tried to ignore the annoyance that had started crawling under my skin late last night. We’d managed to stay out until three a.m. before I’d said I needed sleep.
“I’m—”
“Fine. I know.” He straightened away from the doorway. “Let’s go out for breakfast. We can ask around while we eat.”
I nodded and followed him out of the apartment.
On the street, I could feel wisps of wicked. Nothing to set me off but enough to make me think I’d been right the day before. Whenever I got a burn, my ability to sense wickedness seemed suppressed for a while. And Oanen had noticed the pattern before I had.
The ride to the restaurant was quiet except for the ping of Oanen’s phone.
“Want me to check it?” I asked.
“Nah. It can wait until after we eat.”
“You think it’s another dead body, don’t you?”
“I do.”
I reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. He didn’t try to stop me from scanning the message.
“Another dragon,” I said, sliding the phone back into his pocket. “Same building as the last one.” I looked out the window. “And your mom wants to know if I’m feeling any better.”
“Are you mad?” he asked after a moment.
“No. I get that I’m worrying you, and I’m sorry for it.”
We didn’t say anything else until he pulled in front of a familiar non-human diner. Oanen caught my hand before I could reach for the door.
“Don’t be sorry, Megan. Just let me help.”
“You are.”
I leaned forward and kissed him lightly. Worry that bordered on fear consumed me then vanished.
In that moment, I knew I was in trouble. It had nothing to do with killing my grandma or my burns but everything to do with my heart. I loved Oanen. So much that it hurt to breathe.
“You just paled.”
“I’m sure I did,” I said, reaching up and gently running my fingers through his hair. “You were in my head.”
He closed his eyes briefly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let it slip.”
“Don’t be sorry for caring, Oanen.” I exhaled deeply and set my head on his shoulder. “I can’t wait for all of this to be over. I want to go home and paint our house rainbow colors and make the Council twitchy just for fun.”
He grunted a half laugh and stroked his hand over my hair. We took comfort in each other for a silent moment before I pulled away.
“Sitting here won’t make my dreams come true any faster. Let’s eat so we can get to the corpse before it starts to smell.”
His lips twitched, and he got out to open the door for me.
“From any other person, that statement might worry me.”
I stood on my toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
“That just means I’m your kind of warped,” I said.
The wisps of annoyance intensified the moment Oanen opened the diner’s door for me. Playing it cool, I didn’t hesitate. I went straight to an open booth and plopped down. Oanen slid in across from me and grabbed a menu from the holder. He tried to offer the single, laminated sheet to me, but I shook my head.
“I already know what I want,” I said. “You sure it’s okay to eat first?”
“I learned my lesson the last time we left here without feeding you. Besides, it’s not like the guy’s going anywhere.”
The same waitress as before came to our table and set two waters down.
“I know what I want,” I said before she could leave.
“All right. What can I get you?”
“Two eggs, over-easy. Bacon. A double order. Hash browns with onions and cheese. And a side order of pancakes.”
“You got it.” She turned her attention to Oanen without writing anything down. “You know what you want?”
“The same, please.”
She nodded and went back to the kitchen.
“I’m going to ask around while we wait for our food. Don’t move from this table,” Oanen said.
He took his phone out and brought up the camera app, using it to scan the room. It took a second to realize he was using it to check if the hooded man was in the diner with us.
“Smart and good-looking,” I said. “I might just keep you.”
He winked at me and left our booth. I kept an eye on him as he went around the diner, showing the picture to the patrons. I wasn’t the only one keeping tabs on Oanen, however. The waitress watched him closely, too. Hopefully, she wasn’t thinking of trying to kick us out for disturbing customers or something. I wanted my food.
The phone in my pocket buzzed, and I took it out, expecting a message from Eliana. Instead, I saw my mom’s number.
Rumor is that you haven’t left town yet. For your sake, those better be unfounded rumors.
My temper flared. The old me would have been slightly cowed by this kind of message. Not the new, abandoned-and-so-over-it me.
Your mom-card expired the day you ditched me in Uttira. Stop acting like you care now.
I watched the phone, waiting for a reply, but none came.
Oanen slid back into the booth.
“Eliana again?” he asked.
I was saved from answering by the arrival of the waitress.
She set down our plates, and my mouth watered with anticipation. I was so focused on the food, I almost didn’t catch her reaching out to place a hand on Oanen’s shoulder.
“The plate’s hot. Be careful.”
She walked away before I could decide if she was being handsy.
Oanen reached out and touched his plate. With a frown, he picked up his fork and started eating.
“What’s the frown for?” I asked, picking up my own fork.
He chewed slowly and nodded toward my food. I took a bite and almost groaned. It was so good. Or, maybe, I was just that hungry.
“Here,” Oanen said lifting a bite from his plate toward me. “You think the eggs are good? Try the hash browns.”
I swallowed and opened my mouth, more than willing to eat some of his share. And, I almost spit out the ice-cold hash browns as soon as my mouth closed around his fork. Only the light press of Oanen’s foot on top of mine stopped me. I chewed quickly and swallowed.
“You’re an amazing man for sharing your food.”
His lips twitched, and he continued to eat his cold meal. After a moment and another press to my foot, I dug into mine.
What the hell was up with our sucky waitress? There was no way his plate was hot. She’d probably stuck the damn thing in the freezer. It would explain why it took so long to bring the food out.
I chewed and watched Oanen turn his plate to get to his eggs. Then turn it again to get to his bacon. I’d never noticed that quirk before. When he cleared that plate, he slid the pancake plate toward him while shuffling the cold plate over.
“Are you almost finished?” I asked after he had taken one bite.
I didn’t play with my food. Despite the weirdness of his meal, I’d quickly decimated mine.
“Yep. No rush, though. I like watching you eat.”
His gaze flicked to mine, gold flooding into the blue.
“I don’t even know where your mind went just now, but keep it to yourself.”
His lips twitched, and he pulled out his wallet to leave money on the table.
“Let’s go, troublemaker.”
“Hey, I was a complete angel this time.”
I followed him out of the restaurant and got into the car. He circled around the car and got in more quickly than usual.
“In a rush?” I asked.
“Maybe.” He started the car and pulled out into traffic before reaching into his pocket and handing me a folded piece of paper.
“What does it say?” he asked. He tapped his fingers on the wheel showing his agitation.
I looked at the writing.
“It’s an address. That’s it. Where did this come from?”
“The waitress. It fell into my lap when I moved the cold plate.”
“The waitress was watching you show the hooded man’s picture,” I said. “Do you think this is his address?”
“I do. She told us to be careful. It sure wasn’t because of a hot plate.”
“Dead body or mysterious address?” I said, mostly to myself. Looking at the body first meant less smell and clearing Nicolette faster if we could prove he died after Adira took her. Checking out the address meant finding the killer, clearing Nicolette, and getting to my great-grandma’s place faster. Something I wasn’t prepared for.
“Dead body,” I said at the same time he said, “Mysterious address.”
He glanced at me.
“You don’t think we should check out the address first?” he asked.
“Nope. I don’t trust the waitress. What if it’s a setup, and someone’s there waiting for us? Impatient people make mistakes. Better to let them wait and get restless.”
He focused on the road and was silent for a moment.
“Is that the only reason?”
“No. I also want to clear Nicolette’s name for Eliana. There’s no saying that finding this hooded guy without proving the body was killed while Nicolette was in Uttira will result in Nicolette’s freedom. We’d need the guy to confess. And, I’m honestly not sure I’m up for pulling a confession from anyone right now.”
“You’re right. We’ll check out the body.”
This time, instead of taking off from the condo, he drove to Port Morris and found a quiet spot to park.
“How are we going to do this? The clouds are higher today.”
“We’re going in low and fast. The island’s right there.”
He pointed to the island just off shore. I could see bits of a crumbling building from where we stood, and I wondered if it was another illusion.
A rustle of clothes was the only warning I had before Oanen’s pants landed on my head.
“You’re weird, you know that?” I said.
“Just be grateful I don’t wear underwear.”
“Ew. And under no circumstances should you start,” I said.
“Because you’d miss the impressive views?” he asked close to my ear.
I shivered—this one had everything to do with proximity—as he reached around me and set the rest of his clothes in my arms.
“I don’t know,” I hedged. “I haven’t really seen anything impressive.”
He chuckled low in my ear.
“Now, you’re just being mean. Ready to ride me, Fury?”
A flush erupted on my face and raced all the way to my toes. Need flooded my mind only to disappear a moment later when Oanen’s feathered head nudged my back.
“Yeah. Hold on. That last comment robbed me of the ability to think, and I still need to put your clothes away.” I took a moment to fan my face then filled the backpack.
The ride to the island was just as fast as he’d promised. And, the icy wind on my face actually felt good, this time.
When we landed on the same roof as before, I didn’t hesitate to slide off, ditch the bag, and face the door. Oanen’s low, knowing chuckle kept me flushed for an extra few moments while he dressed.
“I like this,” he said, turning me in his arms.
I took a quick peek down and found all his views were covered.
“Disappointed?” he asked.
“Relieved. My face feels like it’s about to burst into flames.”
“It’s almost as attractive as when your eyes glow.”
He kissed the tip of my nose then led me toward the door.
“It won’t be as bad this time,” he promised.
“Does that mean the other body is gone?”
“Yes.”
“Who took it?”
“We have our own version of funeral homes and morticians.”
“Nope. Don’t say any more. I don’t want to know.”
We walked down a single flight of stairs and went to another apartment on the same floor as the previous day. We didn’t proceed past the first door in the hall this time.
“This is the one,” he said.
He opened the door and went inside. Thankfully, there wasn’t any odor. I looked around the barren apartment noting that, unlike the other guy, this one hadn’t collected much. But, then I noticed dents in the carpet.
“Did someone clear this place out already?” I asked.
Oanen snapped a few pictures of the dents with his phone and spent a little time studying the patterns on the floor.
“I’ll ask for more information.”
He moved down the hall. Like a good little shadow, I stuck close.
We found the dragon in the bedroom. The bed was neatly made beneath him, and a folded piece of paper waited on the nightstand.
Enforcer,
Stop looking for him. He’s doing us all a favor.
Magroal
I looked at the smiling dragon’s face, trying to reconcile him with the bitter dragon I’d met the day before.
“He’s the one who ate the burger and left. Call the Council. With my eyewitness sighting of this guy after Nicolette was taken plus his note, they have to let Nicolette go.”
Oanen nodded but continued his examination of the guy and the room. While I waited, I sent a text to Eliana.
Freedom is one phone call away. Get ready to say goodbye to mommy-dearest!
I waited for a reply, but none came. A ball of worry formed in my stomach. This was the girl who rushed out of class to answer my phone call.
Everything okay? I texted after three minutes went by.
Everything is fine. See you soon, hopefully.
Relieved, I tucked my phone away and went to stare out the window. Nicolette would be cleared today, and I still didn’t have a plan. But, it didn’t really matter. While I could already predict what Oanen’s reaction would be, the final decision about what to do was up to me. And there was no way I was going to kill someone else just so I could live.
“That was a big sigh. Ready to go?” Oanen asked.
“Yeah. Did you call the Council?”
“Not yet. I was going to wait until we were back in the car.”
There was no playful striptease on the roof, which made for a colder ride back to Port Morris.
Before we even landed, I felt a strand of wicked calling to me. It grew stronger with each beat of Oanen’s massive wings. I braced myself for the pull.
As soon as Oanen landed, I slipped from his back and raced for the car. At the last minute, I tossed the backpack on the ground then slammed the door shut. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus.
“Hold it in. Just don’t let go,” I mumbled to myself.
The intensity of the wickedness crawled under my skin. It begged for my attention. It demanded my intervention.
“You can do this. You can hold it.”
The car door creaked. My eyes popped open, and I stared at Oanen. The orange glow on his face said it all.
“Is everything all right?” he asked calmly, his face a careful blank mask.
“No, I have to go to the bathroom. Get in so we can go.”
He cocked his head at me as he slowly got in.
“You just lied to me.”
“Stupid lie detector. Just hurry up, Oanen. We have to go.”
He started the car and turned around. I refused to look at the man who was slowly walking down the side-street towards us.
“I’m trying to be patient,” Oanen said quietly. “I’m trying to be understanding. But, it’s hard to do when you won’t tell me what’s going on. Or worse. When you lie to me.”
The more distance we placed between the man walking down the road and the car, the easier it was to think clearly. It didn’t mean I was out of danger. I could now feel the wisps of wicked crawling under my skin. How much longer did I have before I wouldn’t be able to resist it?
“Talk to me, Megan. Now.” The complete authority in Oanen’s voice made my fury stir.
“This is one of those times that you don’t want to push, Oanen.”
“This is one of those times I think I need to push.”
I partially growled and groaned.
“Fine. I wanted to whip out my fury card on that guy walking down the street, okay? Given our current goals, I didn’t think it was the right time to stop and punish someone. Better?”
In response, the steering wheel groaned under his white knuckled grip.
His fear hit me hard, and I mentally staggered under the weight of it.
“No. There’s more you’re not telling me.”
“Tonight, Oanen. Whether we find anything at this address or not, we’ll talk. I promise. Will you just give me until then so we can focus on helping Eliana and stopping this killer without distraction?”
“The distraction is there, Megan, whether we talk about it or not. But, yes. I’ll drop it for now, and we’ll talk tonight.”
He turned his golden gaze on me.
“No exceptions. No more delays.”
