I frowned. "Tao?"
There was a pause, then, "Here."
My gaze swung to the left, and even then it took me a minute to find him. He was hunkered down in the shadows of the Dumpster, his arms wrapped loosely around his knees.
"You okay?" I walked over and offered him one of the glasses. He smelled of sweat, grease, and ash. The latter had concern slithering through me.
"Thanks." He reached up and took it, but didn't lift his eyes. Didn't look at me.
"Tao, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." His voice was monotone. Clipped. "I'm fine."
"Then look at me." I squatted down in front of him and gently touched his chin. I might as well have touched a furnace, and I couldn't help the reflex to jerk my fingers back.
"Yeah," he said. "Nice, isn't it?"
"And the reason you're out here, I'm gathering." The fire elemental he'd consumed—the one he was locked in a constant battle with over control of his own body—didn't do too well in darkness and cold. Normally he'd just retreat to the freezer when the thing inside him started to threaten again, but with Rachel in there doing a stock take, the night air was the next best bet. I touched his chin again, ignoring the sting of heat as I forced him to look at me. His eyes—normally a rich, warm brown—were alien and fire filled. "Never turn away from me, Tao. You are not a monster, not now, not ever. Not to me, not to Ilianna, not to anyone that will ever matter."
He jerked out of my touch and snorted, the sound sharp with disbelief. "You say that now, but when the monster gains control, it'll be another damn story—"
"But it won't," I said sharply. "Because you're stronger than it is. So stop sitting there feeling so damn sorry for yourself and tell me about your date last night."
Just for a moment, I felt the flash of his anger—it rolled over me like the heated wind of a desert, drying my skin in an instant and sending little sparks dancing across my sweater. Then it dissipated, and he chuckled softly. "You really do like tempting the devil, don't you?"
"I have to deal with the devil in the form of Madeline Hunter on an almost daily basis, so maybe I've just become a little blasé about it." I sat down beside him, my shoulder touching his lightly. Although the heat was fierce, the tension within his body began to dissipate almost immediately. "And you avoid talking about your dates only when they go like crap. What happened?"
"Nothing. She was lovely, we had a good time, and we parted making plans for another date."