CHAPTER 9
Powered soft and light, foxglove dust fills the night. Dust to nose and dust to mouth, steals the breath and stills the heart.
—Night Death Spell: attributed to Malphic, Warlord of Blackspire
To say Selena’s parents weren’t pleased with her makeover would be an understatement. In fact, I used the excuse of needing to find Grandfather to escape before the blame could shift in my direction. It turned out, Grandfather and Dad were in the billiards room playing a game and having a before-dinner brandy.
The balls clanked as Dad made a shot. He set his stick down and picked up his snifter off the bar. “I hear Selena underwent quite the transformation?”
“How did you know about that?” The only people Selena and I had seen since we got home were her parents. I rolled my eyes. Of course. “Zachary told you, didn’t he?”
Grandfather sunk the last ball. “I believe he was trying out his new telescope when you two pulled in. Razored sides, is it? Her father must be livid.”
“I think she looks great.” I folded my arms across my chest. “She deserves to go on the rescue mission tomorrow. Seriously, Newt probably wouldn’t even recognize her.”
He chuckled. “We’ll see. The mission’s about rescuing Lotli, not Selena’s pride.”
Dad raised his snifter to me. “By the way, Annie, you look quite lovely.”
“Thanks.” I settled onto a barstool and caught Grandfather’s gaze. It was him, not Dad, who had the money and pull with the old boy network.
He tilted his head. “Something on your mind?”
“I wanted to ask you something.” I continued quickly before I could lose my nerve. “After we had our hair done, I went to see Chase’s mother.”
His eyebrows arched. “And exactly how did you manage that?”
“I kind of—” My face heated. “Let’s just say I got in.”
Dad groaned. “Why do I feel like I’m somehow responsible for this?”
“Because she’s just like you?” Grandfather chuckled again.
I sat back on the stool. “Grandfather, we—you’ve got to do something. We can’t leave Chase’s mother there . . .” I explained about the overmedicating and Chase’s stepfather. “Chase has done a lot for our family. The least we can do is get his mother out of there—and get rid of her husband.”
Grandfather glanced at Dad. “What do you suppose she means by ‘get rid of’?”
“I’m not joking,” I said. “This is serious.”
“I realize that, dear. Don’t worry. I’ll have a talk with our lawyer. I think in this case divorce is more prudent than cement boots and a short ocean cruise, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Of course—though a really nasty curse wouldn’t be bad.” I winked, indicating I was joking, at least kind of.
* * *
The comfort of knowing Chase’s mom would be okay energized me all the way through dinner. When the whole family went to the library to look at satellite images of the King’s Pine Yacht Club and discuss tomorrow’s rescue mission, all the stress and aches in my muscles started to catch up with me again. And by ten o’clock, I was a mindless zombie. So, I said good night and went up to my room.
No sooner had I shut my door than a yowl came from the hallway outside. Houdini. Sometimes it felt like he knew what I was doing every second of the day. He’d probably been taking lessons from Zachary.
I let him in and he wound around my legs while I changed into my nightshirt. Bored with me, he moved on to the open window and started sharpening his claws on the screen.
“Stop that,” I shouted at him. “If you can’t behave, I won’t let you sleep on my pillow.”
He gave me the stink eye and went right back to sharpening.
I started across the room to swat his butt, but he zinged under the bed.
“Think you’re smarter than me,” I said, shoving the screen up. A fleeting stab of worry went through me, fear that he might jump out of the now totally open half of the window. More likely he’d drive me nuts chasing moths or mosquitoes, anything that flittered in.
I crawled into bed. The breeze coming through the window fluttered the curtains. Houdini jumped up and took over the pillow next to mine, his purr loud and steady. As I drifted off, Chase’s mother’s words floated into my head, “He told me I had to leave a door or window open, so he could come to me in the night.”
I jolted awake. Chase. Cats were known for their ability to sense otherworldly presences. Had Houdini scratched at the screen in an attempt to tell me Chase was there? No. That didn’t make sense. Chase wasn’t a full-blooded genie. Full-bloods could only enter a house or a room through unlocked entrances or with the owner’s permission. Though perhaps the rules were different now that Chase was able to transform into an ethereal form, if he really had come to me.
A wave of longing for Chase roiled inside me. I ran a finger along my lips, imagining his lips on mine. An ache built in my chest. I wanted to be with him, so bad—
I clenched my teeth, driving off the thought. If he was trying to reach out to me, I couldn’t encourage it. I couldn’t do anything that might bring on the change. We needed to get him back home, then Grandfather, Kate, and everyone could help him cope with it or maybe even stop it altogether.
Struggling not to think about Chase, I stared at the ceiling, the moonlight sending shadows dancing across its pale surface. Shadows. Darkness. Blood. His skin had been slick with it.
Fear, sadness, and utter helplessness overtook me, drowned me in their dark tidal force. Shivering, I rolled onto my side and pulled my knees to my chest. I filled my mind with the satellite images of the King’s Pine Yacht Club. I pictured Selena’s new pixie cut, the pink bow ties, the tuxes, Lotli, Newt, Myles, Dad. Step by step, I went back through tomorrow’s rescue plans. In the morning we’d pick up a rental van and the clothes . . . I even wondered about Taj. It was interesting that he was visiting Maine on the same weekend that the Sons were gathering.
Finally, my mind surrendered and I drifted into sleep.
* * *
I woke to the press of lips against mine. The whole room sparkled with diamond-cut shards of blue light. I reached up, cupping the glimmering image of Chase’s face, bringing his lips back to mine. I opened my mouth, ecstasy, a slow dance of warm breath and tongues. His chest pressed against my breasts, and electric streaks of pleasure sizzled and seethed inside me, settling into a warm pulse between my thighs.
My fingertips moved up his stomach, exploring, enjoying the warmth and silky skin, hard ropes of muscles. No blood. Not a trace. A rough scar. Had it been there before?
My eyes met his in a silent question.
His fingers barred my lips. Saying it wasn’t important. That we didn’t have much time.
Somewhere deep within the fog of sleep, I asked him why? Why didn’t we have time? Another voice whispered inside me. Hush. Don’t worry. This isn’t real. Just a dream. Enjoy.
His fingers swept down my shoulders, trailing tingles in their wake. His tongue circled my nipple. A nibble. A suck. I arched. Chase. The ache inside me exploded into reckless need. I pulled his head against me. My body thrummed—
“No!” I screamed, shoving him back. “We can’t. You can’t. Go away, now!” My voice was husky with emotion. Tears burned in my eyes. I had to stop him. He’d change. Go berserk. I had to sacrifice tonight or risk losing him forever. If this was even real.
The blue diamond light shattered. A chill settled over me.
I sat upright in bed.
The room was filled with nothing, except darkness and empty moonlight.