Daemons in the Mist (The Marked Ones Trilogy: Book One) (15 page)

I just stood there more than a little stunned. My own parents didn’t normally hug me like this, and these people had never even
met
me before.

“Loraly, I think you’re just making the poor boy even more nervous,” Skye said with a playful smile.

“Oh, sorry,” Loraly said apologetically as she released me.

Alex looked at his watch. “Well you all really should be going soon. Saturday traffic is really awful, even this time of year.” He looked back up at me. “We will have more time to talk when Nualla brings you to The Embassy tomorrow.”

“Embassy?” I asked questioningly.

“You have to go before the Grand Council tomorrow, didn’t she tell you?” he said, looking confused.

“Oh right, she did.”
Yeah right around the time she was stunning me with her eyes and revealing her secrets.
I had a really good memory; I had just been a little—
distracted
.

“I should really get going too, if I don’t the club will already be swamped. But I’m not going anywhere without seeing those girls all dressed up,” Skye stated before she walked over to the stairs and pushed the intercom on the wall. “You know it’s rude to leave them standing down here
too
long, girls.”

“He’s here
already
?” Nualla yelled back into the intercom. I wondered how many floors up she had to be to have not heard our conversation.

Skye pushed the button again. “Yes, he’s been here for fifteen minutes already, and at this point you guys are making
me
late too, so get your butts down here!” Skye released the button and looked over at us with a smirk. “Three…two…”

Right on cue, Nikki ran gracefully but whimsically down the stairs and into Shawn’s widespread arms. He caught her as if she weighed nothing and spun her around. When he placed her on her feet again he smiled down at her now white blond and red streaked hair.

“Like it? It matches my dress better than the blue,” she said with a grin as she turned her head back and forth.

“Yes…like…a lot,” Shawn said rather stupidly. I was relieved to see I wasn’t the
only
one here that seemed to be at a loss for words.

“You didn’t say anything about my dress, Shawn,” Nikki said with a slight pout.

Shawn looked slightly like a deer in highlights, and I was pretty sure what he was thinking about Nikki was not fit for public consumption.

I was trying not to laugh at the expression on his face when I heard the faintest of steps coming down the stairs. I looked up to see Nualla and nearly fell over. She didn’t look like she was going to a high school dance; in fact, she looked more like she was going to a red carpet gala in the 1930’s. The light satin fabric of her dress hugged every curve of her body and was nearly the color of the blue streaks in her hair. The top of the dress plunged dangerously low, and I couldn’t help but gape at her. My imagination in no way compared to the girl in front of me. Not even close. And the realization that I was actually
married
to this dark-haired beauty made it very hard to breathe.

Nualla came to a stop just in front of me. “So…” she said, looking up at me through her lashes. “Do you like the dress?”

“You—you’re
gorgeous
!” I blurted out.

“Aren’t you glad I didn’t show it to you at the mall?” Nualla asked with a slightly teasing smile.

Honestly even if she
had
shown it to me, I would still be standing here staring at her like a complete idiot. But I had enough sense to go with the easy answer. “Yes.”

“I thought so,” she said with a broad smile. Then she looked over my shoulder and folded her arms under her chest. “Has my family been playing nice?”

“The cat likes me,” I unthinkingly blurted out again as I jerked my thumb toward Denaya the cat. And then I wanted to kick myself because I sounded like an idiot.

Nualla smiled. “Well
that’s
good to know, she’s hated all the others.”

20

Who Needs Self-control?

Saturday, January 21st

PATRICK

W
e stood in front of the backdrop, a picturesque painting of the Golden Gate Bridge rising out of nighttime fog. Jokingly I leaned in to whisper in Nualla’s ear. “So will they show up in the picture?”

“Nope,” she replied with a smirk.

“
Really
, why?” I asked, looking at her.

“Give us
some
credit Patrick, we thought of that a long time ago,” she answered, rolling her eyes.

“So is it that I can’t see them in the picture, or is it the camera?”

“The camera,” Nualla answered, looking back at the photographer.

“Interesting.”

“Okay kids, smile,” the photographer said before blinding us with a flash.

When my eyes had stopped seeing bright circles, Nualla and I shuffled out of the way so the next couple could get their photo taken. I looked at Nualla and finally noticed something although I had been staring at her all night. “You’re not wearing your necklace.” She was wearing a necklace, but not the familiar Daenarian pendant or wedding ring. This necklace looked like a strand of captured stars, delicate and dangling just above her dress.

“Yeah it didn’t really go with the dress,” she stated, then stopped and turned to me. “
Oh
! I hope you don’t mind that I’m not wearing my ring, it’s just—”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said with a reassuring smile. “It’s just I don’t think I have ever seen you without that pendant.”

“You’ve seen me without pretty much everything else,” she said with a crooked smile.

“But if I can’t remember, does it really count?” I asked jokingly.

“Next time, I’ll make sure you remember,” she said as she pressed up close against me.

I was knocked momentarily senseless by the images in my head.

“Did I break you?” she asked teasingly.

“Maybe just a little.”

With a smile, she took my hand. “Come on, let’s dance.”

We swayed back and forth in the dark room, pressed up close to each other. My heart was racing; this felt
way
too close to last Friday, and I quickly looked away from Nualla’s eyes and caught sight of Nikki and Shawn. They were dancing together, but not quite as close as they had been at the club. “So what’s up with those two?” I asked, gesturing with my head.

Nualla followed my gaze. “Oh Nikki and Shawn?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re either going to stay best friends forever, or one day one of them is going to make a move. The three of us have been friends since we were in diapers. Shawn’s dad is my dad’s best friend.”

“Ah,” I said, still watching them.

“He’s also on the Grand Council.”

I looked back at Nualla. “The people we have to talk to tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

“Fun times,” I said with an uneasy smile.

I looked back out at the other dancers, still avoiding her eyes. They were hard enough to withstand in the daylight, but here in a dark warm room, they were just a little too much for me to safely resist.

“Why are you acting guarded all of a sudden?”

Though I knew it was going to be a bad idea, I looked at her anyways. “Because being with you gets me in a lot of trouble.”

Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You um…make me do and say things I normally wouldn’t,” I admitted nervously.

“You make it sound like I’m corrupting you or something,” she said with a sly smile as she pressed closer to me.

I stared at her with unfocused eyes as I lost the fight with my self-control. “Oh please,
please
corrupt me,” I practically purred.

She looked at me briefly before bursting into laughter.

I swallowed hard, a blush spreading across my cheeks. “See what I
mean
, you turn my brain to mush.”

“Geez, if I knew I could get that kind of reaction I might have done it more,” she said, still laughing.

“You like teasing me, don’t you?”

“Do you mind?” she asked with a playful smile.

No, please keep doing whatever you like to me. I’m yours completely, totally, forever.
“No I…”

“Kinda like it?”

“Yeah…” I answered breathlessly.

Nualla slid her hands from my shoulders to behind my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. I had been carefully controlling myself all night, but somehow the minute her lips touched mine that control always went out the window. I pulled her closer, pressing her body as tightly against mine as I possibly could. Her kisses pressed against my lips, hungry, needy, like she couldn’t get close enough. I kissed her back meeting her need and surpassing it with my own. Normally I would be analyzing this; worrying about it in my head. But this time I couldn’t help myself; my brain felt numb with pleasure much like being drunk. I parted my lips as I felt hers do the same. She flicked her tongue just inside my mouth, and I let out a soft uncontrollable moan.
Oh god
I wanted her, wanted her more badly than I had ever wanted anything.

I finally opened my eyes when I realized the whistles I was hearing were not part of the music. I jerked away from Nualla when it occurred to me
where
we were. That we were not alone, but in fact in the center of a crowded dance floor. Flushed, breathing heavy, and highly embarrassed, I looked around at my classmates.

“Is it hot in here? It’s really hot in here, let’s get some air,” I said unsteadily as I pulled Nualla from the dance floor.

I finally stopped running when we were in the cool, brightly lit hallway far from the loud music and tempting darkness.

“Patrick, what’s wrong?” Nualla asked, looking a little startled.

I took a few deep breaths. “Self-control is apparently one of the attributes I just don’t have.”

“What?”

I looked at her, still breathing heavy. “Every time I kiss you I start to forget where I am and…I’m afraid any day now I’m going to go a little too far.”

“
Oh
.” She looked away and then looked back at me. “Self-control has never been something I had much of either,” she admitted conspiratorially as she leaned in. Every time she leaned forward the neckline of her dress dipped lower revealing more of her bare skin, if that was
even
possible. Her necklace glittered in the harsh lights just above her cleavage daring me to come closer.

Oh hell, I was
so
not under control yet. I needed to get something cold to drink and clear my head, or I was going to do something that would probably get me into a lot of trouble.

In a slight panic I turned around and walked straight into Michael. I glared at him and he glared back. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”

“Were you
following
us?” I asked angrily.

“No, I’m waiting for Penelope,” he answered, pointing to the bathroom.

I didn’t believe him in the slightest until Penelope actually
did
come out of the restroom eyeing us all suspiciously.

Michael looked us up and down a broad smirk spreading across his smug face. “She’s
your
problem now,” he said as he turned his back to us and walked away with Penelope.

21

Barely Contained

Sunday, January 22nd

PATRICK

“W
e’re here,” Alex said as we stopped somewhere in the Financial District.

I looked out the window at a building that looked a lot like every other building in the San Francisco Financial District. Pale gray stone, columns, and large glass windows on the first floor. A collection of flags jutted out from above the doors. They looked to be the flags of various countries. I would have thought nothing of it, but the longer I looked at them the more they seemed to change to flags I didn’t recognize.

“What are you squinting at?” Nualla asked, looking out the window.

“Those flags, they don’t look like the flags of countries, so what are they?”

“Oh, they’re for the various Kalodaemon regions,” Nualla replied without really paying attention. Then she froze and whipped her head around to look at me. “Wait you can
see
them?”

“Sure I can, they’re right there,” I answered as I gestured at the flags.

“You’re not supposed to be able to see them; I mean as something—
unusual
,” Nualla said, furrowing her brow.

“Really? That’s kinda weird.”

“Yes, yes it is.” She continued to look at me in concern as the driver came around to open our door.

“Maybe your weirdness is rubbing off on me,” I offered jokingly.

“Ha ha, very funny,” she said, lightly pushing me.

I held up my Blue Card and looked through it at the building, but it really didn’t do anything other than tint the building slightly bluish.

Nualla stepped out of the car and turned to look at me in slight exasperation. “Patrick, what on earth are you
doing
? It’s not a magic looking glass, you know.”

“Hey, it was worth a try,” I replied with a shrug as I stepped out onto the sidewalk.

As I squinted up at the building again the design began to squiggle and change in an iridescent array of colors, like motor oil in a rain puddle, and just for a second I could see a
very
different building. Dull pale gray stone shimmering like a mirage until it became a slate blue-gray, like a rain cloud. The plain rigidly straight metal between the large glass window panes slipping into swirling shapes with a silvery patina to the metal that almost looked bluish-green. Even the stone pillars and walls took on a new form, carved with intricate sweeping edifices; a beautiful and breathtaking blend of ancient Egyptian and Art Nouveau.

“Stop that, you’re going to give yourself a brain aneurysm. It’s cloaked, so you won’t be able to see it for what it is until we get inside,” Nualla said as she bumped me. And just like that, in a blink of the eye, it was gone becoming a plain uninspiring gray stone building again.

“Here, take my hand, and close your eyes, it will be easier that way,” Nualla advised with a reassuring smile.

As Alex led the way, I took Nualla’s hand and closed my eyes, but only part of the way. As we stepped closer and closer to the building, things swirled and spiraled out of kilter. We passed through the main doors into a small glass entry room. People moved out of the way like we were a ambulance flashing its lights and we quickly moved to the front of the line. Someone in a blackish uniform reached out and gently grabbed the Blue Card around my neck and examined it. I looked over at them, and then wished I hadn’t. His shape blurred in and out of focus in an even more nauseating way than the room.

I swayed on my feet, and Nualla almost lost hold of me. Just before she did, someone else took my other arm, and we moved through an arch out of the glass room and into the lobby proper. The second I was on the other side of that arch everything settled, but not before I had to drop to my knees.

I stared at the ground and panted until I stopped feeling like I was about to hurl.

“I
told
you to close your eyes, silly,” Nualla chided as she crouched down next to me.

Geez, how embarrassing.

“Here Patrick, let me help you up.” Alex looked as if he was trying very hard not to laugh as he offered me his hand.

I took hold of his hand and got back to my feet still a little dizzy. “Sorry, next time I’ll listen.”

When I finally looked around, I almost fell back over again. People in various strange outfits walked past us through the building, as if it was totally commonplace. The clothing was a strange fusion of Japanese and something much harder to place, and it felt an awful lot like I was at an anime convention.

I let my eyes pan around the rest of the room. The front part of The Embassy was hollow and rose up eight floors in height, ending with a intricate blue and white stained glass ceiling. There seemed to be a reception area off to the right of us which was bustling with activity. Two grand staircases lined either side of the front room, allowing you easy access to the second floor. Hallways lined either side of the upper seven floors with wrought iron railings that allowed you to look down to the ground floor. Three hundred or so feet away the railings turned and ended at a glass-front double elevator. It was all very impressive, but it was thing directly in front of us that made my breath catch. About a hundred feet beyond us stood a large beautiful fountain, a statue of the goddess Daenara at the center, the water spilling over her hands and raining down to the pool below.

The decor of The Embassy was an interesting mix of ancient beauty and futuristic technology. Which was also a perfect description for daemons themselves, really; ancient creatures that were just a tad bit ahead of the times.

“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” I said under my breath.

“Excuse me?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, nothing,” I mumbled nervously as I looked back at the mass of people moving purposefully through The Embassy.

A woman in what looked like a kimono approached us gracefully. Bowing slightly she spoke to Alex. “Chancellarius Galathea, may I speak with you?”

“Yes Kikyo,” Alex said to her with a smile.

She looked over at me briefly before adding, “It’s regarding the Kakodemoss, Chancellarius.”

“Ah,” Alex said, frowning. “Nualla, honey, I have to go take care of this. Go find Natasha in my office; she will guide you through everything,” he said, turning toward his daughter.

“Okay Dad, see you later,” Nualla said with a tight smile.

“Patrick, try to calm down a bit if you can. I promise no harm will come to you while you are here,” Alex said with a reassuring smile.

Did I really look
that
bad? Yeah…I probably did; nervousness and strange swirly motion illusions really didn’t mix well. “I’ll try,” I said with the best attempt at a smile I could manage.

Alex and the lady named Kikyo disappeared into the crowd as they moved off across The Embassy having a hushed conversation. By the way people were treating Nualla’s father I was beginning to wonder what
exactly
a
chancellarius
was.

“Ready to go, or do you want to stare a little longer?” Nualla asked as she twined her fingers through mine.

“Can you really blame me?” I replied, looking at her.

“Not really; this place is pretty strange even if you are familiar with the world,” she admitted with a crooked smile.

God she was gorgeous when she smiled; breathtaking, like a shooting star flashing across the night sky.

“
So
…” Nualla said, swinging my hand slightly back and forth.

“Yeah, we can go,” I said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

As we moved through The Embassy in the same direction Alex and Kikyo had taken, people stopped to bow to us. Since I assumed it must be some daemon custom, I bowed back. But when they all started to give me really weird looks I stopped.

Nualla and I moved past the bank of elevators into a portion of The Embassy that was no longer hollow. As we walked I glanced around at everything; rooms lined the hallway each with a placard in a language I couldn’t read—probably the same language that was on Nualla’s pendant; Daemotic.

Eventually the hallway turned, and we reached a second set of elevators. These were far less crowded than the first set, but still a crowd stood in front of them.

As we walked up to join the group waiting for the elevator, a tall male daemon in normal clothes inclined his head toward Nualla. “Arius Nualla.” I had absolutely no idea what
arius
could possibly mean, but Nualla was beginning to look nervous, and I got the feeling there was something she hadn’t told me yet.

When we entered the elevator with a few others Nualla began to start rubbing her necklace, which I had learned was
never
a good sign. She was keeping something from me, and I really hoped it wasn’t anything too bad. I was about to ask her about it when the elevator dinged, and she pulled my hand. “Our stop.”

The second we were out of the elevator she let the pendant drop. Maybe she wasn’t hiding something after all; maybe she just really hated elevators.

“Hey Nualla—” She looked at me with wide eyes, and I decided to switch questions. “—what’s the Kakodemoss?”

Her shoulders relaxed, and she grimaced a bit as she answered. “A sect of Kakodaemon terrorists.”

I stopped walking. “Should I be worried?”

“Not really, they don’t really attack anymore. They’re like the Bogeyman, something your parents tell you about to get you to do your homework and eat your veggies.”

We walked down another long hallway before finally stopping in front of a set of large double doors. Nualla pushed the doors open without stopping and walked in. Once in the room, I immediately came to a dead stop. A woman with a long braid was whipping around a katana. She was dressed in a black kimono top and tight pants that disappeared into long black boots. A silver and blue emblem decorated the left side of her chest and black fingerless gloves covered her arms. The emblem was a rich vibrant lapis-blue and had eight silver spokes radiating out in a circle with each ending in what looked like an Egyptian lotus.

“Are you a Jedi knight or something?” I blurted out. It was probably a dumb thing to say, but it was the first thing that came to mind and I couldn’t always stop those things from popping out of my mouth.

The woman turned slowly and raised an eyebrow at us. She looked positively deadly and I immediately began to regret what I had just said. The woman sheathed her sword and smoothed her hair out of her face. “You must be Mr. Connolly,” she said in an authoritative voice.

“Yeah, actually I am,” I answered nervously. “Who are you?”

“Natasha Jordash, Chancellarius Galathea’s personal guard and captain of the Kalo Protectorate.”

“Personal guard?” I didn’t take my eyes off her as I spoke to Nualla out of the side of my mouth. “Just what
exactly
does your dad do?”

Natasha eyed me suspiciously. “He is the
chancellarius
of this region of the Kalodaemon Empire.” When it was clear that I had absolutely no idea what that meant she sighed. “He is the ruler of this region.”

“You have
got
to be kidding me,” I said in complete disbelief.

Natasha looked slightly confused. “This is no joke.”

I turned to Nualla and just gaped at her. “You could have mentioned this.”

“Yeah, like
when
exactly? Should I have mentioned it before or after I told you that I wasn’t human?”

I had no answer to that, so I turned back to Natasha. “So when you say
region
, you mean the Bay Area, right?”

“Well yes, that is part of Chancellarius Galathea’s region.”

“
Part
?” I squeaked.

Oh, this is bad; this is really,
really
bad.

“The region also includes all of California and the states of Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.”

I just stared at her, trying not to faint. Finally, I turned to look at Nualla. “Your dad’s ruler of the entire West Coast!”

“Yeah…pretty much. I mean, each state has at least one embassy to take care of local affairs, but this is the central embassy for the region,” Nualla babled uneasily.

“So you’re a—”

“Princess? Yeah, basically. In the event of my dad’s death, my sister or I would then become the next
chancellarius
,” Nualla stated, avoiding my eyes. The past few minutes started to make more and more sense. The people we had passed had been bowing to her
because
of who she was, and not because it was just some daemon greeting.

“I…I think I need to sit down,” I said as I all but fell into a nearby chair. I put my head in my hands, starting to hyperventilate. What exactly had I gotten myself into? This kind of stuff didn’t happen in real life;
especially
not to me.

Nualla knelt down next to me. “Patrick, are you okay?”

“Just—give me—a second, okay?” I answered breathlessly. I took a few more breaths, but it didn’t help; my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to beat its way out of my chest.

“I need some air,” I announced abruptly. As I stood, I knew instantly that it was the wrong thing to do. My body felt weightless and the ground started to rush up at me.

Sometime later I opened my eyes. I looked over to the side and saw Nualla sitting on the floor next to me, flipping through stuff on her phone. “Hey,” I said in a weak voice.

“Patrick!” Nualla dropped her phone and leaned over me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, highly embarrassed, but fine,” I replied with a wry smile.

“Do you think you can sit up?” she asked with worried eyes. I nodded slowly, and she helped me sit up.

I looked over at her warily, “Is there anything
else
you have neglected to tell me?”

“Um…”

There was a sound behind us, and I turned to see Natasha coming through the door. “Oh good, you’re awake.”

Oh, ‘cause you sound
super
concerned.

Natasha stopped looking at me and turned her attention to Nualla. “Arius Nualla, the Grand Council won’t be able to hear your case until after three.”