Shift of Time (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 1) (6 page)

“Yes, I’m just a little on edge.” I glanced at the sky. There was plenty of night left before morning.

Unfortunately, Fae don’t travel as fast as vampires. Rather, Milo didn’t. I walked with him to a car he had waiting around the corner. I hadn’t been in one for several months, preferring to enjoy my own steam.

“Don’t you have a faster way?” I asked as we climbed into his vehicle.

Milo turned over the engine, and it purred. The interior of the vehicle smelled new. Business must be good. “Are you saying you’re faster?”

“No. That would be bragging.” I smirked but didn’t really believe I was faster than a car hurtling at sixty miles or more per hour. Milo wasn’t driving nearly as fast as that.

“We have spells that allow us to travel great distances, but a few city blocks seems hardly worth the energy.”

“Using a spell drains you?”

“To a degree.”

I settled back in my seat, arms folded, eyes on the road as I watched for enemies. The willies wouldn’t release me after meeting up with the strong demon. Maybe tomorrow night I would feel more like myself.

“Aren’t you going to buckle up?” Milo asked.

“I’m already dead.”

“It’s the law,” he countered.

I rolled my eyes, amused, and did as he suggested. We drove where Milo’s offices were, and I followed him to the building’s entrance. As we neared the door, he muttered words in a language I didn’t recognize, and he flicked out his first and second finger toward the door. The air vibrated around me, but I saw nothing.

“Was that for my benefit?” I asked, and grabbed the door he held for me.

“Yes, you wouldn’t have been able to enter without some effort.”

“Effort? I thought your spells don’t work on a vampire.”

His eyes flashed annoyance, but then he masked it. “Who told you that?”

“You.”

He thought about it, and I wondered how many lies Milo told me that he couldn’t keep straight. “You’re not impervious, and I said you would have to put in
effort
. This spell was pretty powerful stuff. A baby like you might take half the night.”

I reserved comment and belief. Something told me to take everything Milo Beuron told me with a grain of salt from now on.

“Welcome to my humble company, Rue. Make yourself comfortable.”

T
he wide floor
along which I followed Milo was carpeted in the middle and tiled along both sides. On the right wall were what looked like the backs of shipping crates. I supposed someone thought they would look good as a sort of artistic design that also indicated the kind of business the company engaged in. I wasn’t sure what I thought of them.

Along the left wall, were a series of offices with both windows and doors mostly glass. They each appeared more like storefront displays in their layout. Each office was so stark and cookie cutter with a desk, visitor’s chair, and file cabinets, that I wondered if the policy was that personal items weren’t allowed. No, there was a child’s hand drawn family scene on the last office’s wall. I peered at Milo to see if he noted it and disapproved, but he didn’t turn his head left or right as we progressed.

At the end of the hall, we turned right and found more offices on both sides. They were smaller with a few family photos and knickknacks. Milo stopped at a door at the end of the hall and used a code on the doorknob to open it. More travel, this time up a flight of stairs, and I was beginning to wonder if we were going through portals without me noticing. I could be getting fanciful to entertain myself. Still, with all I had seen in the last few weeks, and with my existence an example, one never knew what could happen.

“Here we are,” Milo announced and led the way into a huge office. I compared it to my house in Summit’s Edge and found my house sorely lacking—both in size and in design. My current apartment didn’t bear considering.

Several of the downstairs employees could probably fit with their desks and file cabinets inside Milo’s office. Yet, he had also added a white conference table shaped like a figure eight and surrounded by stools rather than chairs. No relaxing or sleeping during meetings, I assumed.

Milo strode past the conference table and around the broad oak desk. A floor to ceiling bookshelf that appeared welded or built into the wall stood there. He reached past a few books and muttered more strange words. I waited for something to happen. Nothing did. He spun to face me with a smile.

“What?”

He pointed behind me, and I turned. One wall of Milo’s office held a mural of a forest, which had struck me upon entering. Now that I thought of it, I realized he must personally enjoy a more natural décor. I had to agree. The trees in the mural appeared so real and beautiful. Tilting my head to the side and resting a fist to my cheek, I contemplated it. Why one could almost smell the—

“Ah!” I squawked inelegantly. “It’s real! How? When? It wasn’t a minute ago. I’m sure of it.”

I couldn’t help myself. I had to take a closer look. The leaves on the nearest tree were soft to my touch, and they smelled just as I would expect. Rough bark beneath my palm, dirt sinking under my feet, it all seemed impossible.

“This is my ability, Rue.” He joined me at the edge of the forest. “You mentioned doorways. This is one I use for my safe.”

“Safe?” I shook my head. “Most people use something made of steel and electronics or what have you.”

He grinned. “You have to admit this is better.”

I zipped farther in among the trees, leaving concrete behind. “But if you left something out here, surely someone could come along the slow way and find it. Where does this exist?”

“Nowhere. At least, nowhere humans have ever visited, and it’s warded against nonhumans.”

“Why did you show me? You don’t know me that well to trust me not to break into it later.”

He chuckled. “With your strength, you could break the wall. I would just call this connection to whatever else lay in the same spot. Besides, the spell is my own. I created the words and envisioned the result. Another Fae might be able to crack it, but not without—”

“I know. Effort, right?”

“You’re catching on, and he or she would have to have at least a few of my words. Can you tell me what I said earlier?”

“Gibberish,” I shot back without hesitation.

He nodded. “Okay, enough with the magic talk. I’ll get the box. Do me a favor, and stay here.”

“Why, if it doesn’t matter?”

He peered at me but said nothing and walked on. I had the feeling in this case, he didn’t want me to know any more. So I waited. Milo strode away from me through the trees. I kept an eye on him, but he kept getting farther and farther away. Just how big did his safe need to be?

At some point, he disappeared from view, and I went exploring in another direction. I came upon a huge old tree with a massive hole in the center. Maybe like a squirrel, Milo stashed his valuables inside. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen any woodland creatures or heard birds overhead. I glanced up at the sky, and everything appeared normal—just vacated. The silent beauty started giving me the willies again, and I headed back to the entrance.

Seeing Milo’s oversized office come into view gave me relief, and I passed inside and took a seat in a chair near the desk. Five minutes later, Milo returned carrying a black velvet pouch with something square shaped inside. He went through the same procedure for opening the portal, and the wall became a mural again.

When Milo took his seat behind the desk, I focused on the bag. Different from the spells he had cast over the wall but similar to the vibrations I had felt outside, the bag, or what was inside it, was definitely magical and maybe more powerful. I had no real way of knowing without Milo explaining, but I was eager to see what he felt needed to be locked in a safe. This object wasn’t a stack of unmarked bills. At least, I hoped not.

The rectangular box might have been carved of wood, but the way the wood glowed and shifted in color from red to pink to blue and so on, made me wonder. In the center of the box’s top was a raised circle, and in the center of that two feathers with tiny symbols all around them. The rest of the box was also carved with these intricate symbols. I had the feeling they each meant something, and were woven within each other to create what I could only imagine. I had learned a little of these types of markings from a book Jake had read as a young child. They were called runes. I found them fascinating and beautiful and wished I could learn more about them.

Milo handled the box with the tips of his fingers as he set it on the desk. I assumed it made him nervous, but I didn’t scent fear or nerves on him. “The, for lack of a better word,
treasure
that was stolen from me goes with this box,” he explained.

I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes and frowning at the piece, but I couldn’t see any way to get it open. No doubt it did with another spell, and he didn’t plan to demonstrate.

“I’m assuming you can pick up the scent of the other part to this box and the scents of the thieves.”

“It might be helpful if you open it,” I said and raised my eyebrows in hope he would comply.

He shook his head and slid the box closer to me. “No. Just smell it.”

I hesitated. There were grooves on both sides of the center circle. I couldn’t figure out what the grooves might be for. They seemed out of place with the otherwise perfection of the design.

I needed to focus and stop trying to figure out the importance of the piece. He might be in the middle of a transaction for the box and whatever went inside, and his client was waiting on him. My guess was Milo stood to lose a lot of money.

“This isn’t something illegal, is it, Milo? I have to ask because I won’t be involved in smuggling. I can’t afford to go to jail.”

His lips twitched. “No, it’s not smuggling. Even if it were, magical items aren’t governed by human laws. That would be ridiculous.”

I thought about that. “I agree. They wouldn’t know what to do with them.”

“Correct.” He raised his hand as if swearing in. “I promise you, this box is one hundred percent mine. I’m not stealing it from anyone.”

I stared into his eyes, and Milo looked right back. He didn’t flinch at all, and I detected no increase to the beat of his heart or sense that he lied. Now, don’t get the impression I was suddenly some human—
er, Fae
—lie detector. I wasn’t. There was every reason to believe he was telling me the truth at that moment.

Leaning closer to the box, although it wasn’t necessary, I sniffed. Human, I thought. At least one human had handled the box, and demons. Something else too I couldn’t put my finger on. If I hadn’t smelled it before, I had no way of identifying what I picked up. However, I could compare this with everyday items the same way Orin smelled of honey.

This scent, mixed in with all the rest, including Milo’s was something that was like rain. Sweet rain, crisp and clean, and tiny. If I hadn’t stilled and let the smells wash over me, there was no way I would have picked it up, let alone track it to wherever it had gone. I also couldn’t be sure the rain was a part of the box and its treasure. The scent might have come from Milo’s forest safe, but there hadn’t been a smell like that out there.

“Can you do it, Rue?” He took my hand in his. “I’ll pay you. Name your price.”

I pulled away and sat back. “I’m not sure I can. The demons all smell exactly the same to me, and I hesitate to seek out that other one. I could track the human scent I smell on the box. Was it ever with a human?”

He frowned. “No.”

I studied his face. “Is there anything you’re not telling me about all this, Milo?”

Again the negative answer, and his darn pulse remained steady.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“One more. Why can’t you do this yourself? You have magic. I don’t know how it works, but I imagine you could wriggle your nose and blink the treasure back.”

He smirked. “You confuse me with a TV genie.”

Too bad. I had liked that show. “You could scent them out yourself.”

This time his cheeks pinked, and I kind of felt satisfied with that reaction. “Fae have ordinary senses of smell, no different from humans.”

My eyes widened. “Wow! That’s interesting to know.”

He appeared annoyed to share this less than stellar trait. After all, the Fae were incredibly beautiful. A vampire might heal and have lovely muscle tone and strength, but if we were ugly when we were turned, we stayed ugly. Sad fact Ian had shared. Of course, my Ian must have been maddeningly handsome before he was reborn.

“We rely fully on our magic, and unfortunately magic can’t solve everything,” Milo said. “However, we are all clever enough to find a way around our limitations.”

“Like hiring vampires?”

“No.” Milo’s chest might have puffed out at that point. “We steer clear as most beings do from vampires. I believe you and I can be good friends. We don’t have to cling to the prejudices of our ancestors.”

“That makes sense to me. I don’t have any nonhuman friends in New Orleans. I wouldn’t mind making you a friend.” He didn’t need to know I didn’t have human friends either. One didn’t want to seem too pitiful. “As long as you don’t betray me, Milo.”

He moved around the desk to my side with a speed I could be proud of. My hand disappearing in his larger palm was another matter, and he brought his lips to my inner wrist. When he bounced off the shelving behind the desk, I begged for forgiveness while I reached to help him up.

“I’m so sorry. Sometimes I forget my strength.” I touched his shoulder, and he moaned. “You’re hurt! Oh dear, Milo, it was reflex. I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

His face flaming red, he brushed my hand aside with a bit more force than necessary and rose under his own steam. “I’m fine. I shouldn’t have taken you by surprise like that.”

“You’re not fine. Your arm is hanging funny.” I pressed knuckles to my mouth.

Milo stumbled to his desk and pulled open a drawer. He removed a Baggie of herbs and set them before him. I wondered what he intended to do, but he frowned at me. “Stop worrying. I can heal myself. My kind don’t visit hospitals any more than yours does.”

“Oh.”

“Find my treasure, Rue.”

“I will.” I spun to face the cube. “Do you mind if I take the box with me?”

He forgot his injury. “Why would you need it? You remember the scents, don’t you?”

I clenched my hands at my sides. “I’m still new to all of this. You’re the one who wanted to hire me and keep calling me a baby vampire. I need to remind myself of the scents, and this box gives off vibrations. So do other nonhumans I’ve met. If I can match its vibrations with others I come across, I might make a faster match. I don’t want to have to keep coming back here.”

He hesitated.

“What’s the big deal, Milo? The treasure has been stolen. This is just a holder!”

His shoulders slumped, and he winced then went back to extracting herbs from the clear plastic and adding them to a small white bowl. “You’re right. Take it with you. I wanted to hold onto it because it made me feel less like I had lost something important to me. With both gone…”

“I’m sorry,” I said again. “I will do everything in my power to find it.”

“Thank you.” He slid a sheet of paper across the desk toward me. “Write your bank account information on here, and I’ll deposit a partial payment. The rest will come when you hand over the treasure and the box.”

“Fair enough.” I started to scoop up the box to place into the pouch, but Milo beat me to it. I frowned at him. “If you’re worried about me obscuring the scent, don’t. Vampires have little of our own. We do pick up a bit from our environment, but not much. It’s all a part of the cloaking our presence thing.” Or so I had heard.

Milo grunted. “You know about that? I guess your sire would tell you that much.”

I looked at him, but he had already bent his head to the task of the healing spell. Milo confused me. One minute he flirted, and the next he was distant. I didn’t blame him now after I had tossed him across the room. Doing so must have hurt his pride as a man.

I had learned about cloaking my presence from Ian. However, it was one more item on my list to master, which I hadn’t as yet. More time, I kept telling myself, but more time never came when I spent my days either working, sleeping, or hunting. I had never needed to mask my presence from a human in the dark of night. They bumbled about like they were blind. I supposed they were, when I still marveled over my own advanced eyesight.