Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,28
It’s a delicate matter, sire.”
“Can it wait?”
“No.” The man looked at Casey then back to the king, his meaning obvious.
She waved. “Better go before Borax completely bursts with his news.”
Roark’s lip curled as he glanced back at her. “Shall we call it a draw?”
“Please. It’s obvious I would have won.” She said it on purpose to antagonize him, and he knew it. Which was why, when he scowled, she smiled and waggled her fingers. “Buh-bye.”
“This isn’t finished,” he grumbled, striding to meet with Borax. They slipped through the door, and she had a moment to decide her next move.
Given she’d just sent Charlotte off with Anita, she took a chance. She sheathed her knives, and once she reached the stairs going down the tower, she slipped into a shadow to follow and listen.
Because knowledge was power.
Borax talked in a hushed and yet animated tone, his voice peaking every so often. “—came through just a moment ago that the inhabitants of the Snakeswallow Hamlet captured some strange crew coming toward the city.”
“Strange how?” Roark asked. A good thing because a certain eavesdropper was curious, too.
“For one, they aren’t from around here.”
“How can you tell?”
Borax shrugged. “You’ll understand when you see them. They’re dressed oddly. Speak with an accent, and of the seven, only two can pass as human.”
Minor deviancy in the genetics of Wastelanders was normal. Extra limbs, fur, abilities, but most tended to at least remain human appearing.
“What are the others then?”
“Something else,” was the truly sober reply. “One of them might even be part demon.
Except it can handle daylight.”
The very idea almost made her stumble from the shadow into Roark’s back as he abruptly halted his descent.
“That’s not possible.”
Casey understood his incredulity. The demons were what they called those shadow creatures that could only come out at night. Gnarled, vicious, she might even call them evil. Monsters had only one thing in mind when they came across anything living.
Kill it.
The idea a demon would have stopped and raped a human… Or was it the other way around? It seemed impossible. How could they be genetically matched? Which was when it hit her.
A breeding program. Would she really put it past certain depraved kingdoms to attempt to mix and match genes?
Caught in the implications, she missed the man’s next words but heard Roark’s reply. “Where are they being held?”
“Downstairs, Your Highness.”
“Stop calling me Your Highness, Borax. I’ve known you since this place was little more than a pile of rubble.”
“You’ve done well, Your Highness.” This time there a hint of good humor in the reply, and it brought a short chuckle from Roark.
“I assume someone told Titan.”
“He’s already with them and said to tell you he’s increased security going over access points in the castle. Everyone is on alert.”
Roark resumed, practically skipping down the stairs, moving rapidly, a man of action. Borax did his best to keep up, but Roark waved a hand at him. “I’ve got this. Keep an eye on the main level for anything odd.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Roark went a few more steps and around a corner, eschewing the elevator that would have moved him quickly and without much effort. Only when they passed through a door that unlocked when he entered a sequence of numbers did he pause and say, “You do realize I can see you.”
Who? She glanced around, looking for someone, yet they appeared to be alone. She returned her gaze to the king to find he stared right at her, though she stood in shadow. Even Cam couldn’t find her if she hid well. How powerful was Roark?
“Might as well stop wasting your power.” He beckoned.
It seemed stupid to keep hiding. She stepped into the light. “Your Highness, imagine running into you.”
For some reason he thought this funny and snorted. “I’m flattered you were following me. Kind of makes me wish I’d gone for a shower first. You could have washed my back.”
“Who says I was following you?”
“Are you really going to play that game?”
She shrugged. “I was curious.”
“So am I. Your ability allows you to hide in plain sight.”
“Not exactly. I was in a shadow. Makes it harder for people to see me, but you did. How?”
“A disturbance in the force.” He rolled his shoulders. “It wasn’t so much see, as sense and scent.”
“Meaning I do need to bathe.” Her nose wrinkled. She’d have to stop underestimating the man.
“What else can you do?” he asked, apparently not in a hurry to go through the next door.
They were in what was probably a checkpoint