Inara and Lowen flitted near, landing on a pair of shelves near the entry way. We all stared down at the unexpected visitor.
“A sphinx,” Inara said.“What is one doing at your door?”
I shook my head. I had no clue.
I’d only ever met one sphinx, and that was a brief encounter.
I gave the man at my feet another moment to compose himself, waiting until he looked up. His bright green eyes were lined by thick, dark eyelashes. The golden hair on his head was the biggest clue to his species.
He was young, not more than twenty, his face lean and narrow. The last sphinxI’d encountered had pointed ears—this guy’s were as rounded and human as mine.
He gave me a strained smile.“Hello.”
I arched an eyebrow and gave him a look, one that said he’d have to do a lot better than that.
“What were you doing there?” I asked.
“Ah, well,” he said, climbing to his feet and brushing off his pants. He seemed uncomfortable, glancing around with furtive glances.
“Speak, sphinx,” Inara ordered, her voice every inch a queen’s.“We don’t have time to waste.”
Lowen buzzed toward the sphinx, veering close enough that the man shied back from the razor-sharp thorn he held in his hand like a sword.
“I heard this was where the clanless vampire lived,” the man stuttered.
That caused me to straighten. My home’s location was no great secret. Both the vampires and the wolves seemed to feel they had an open invitation, but I hadn’t realized it was common knowledge to the rest of Columbus.
I didn’t like the thought of every spook out there knowing where I lived.
Inara and I shared a glance, our thoughts mirroring each other’s.
“And you thought you’d earn a name for yourself?” Lowen snarled.
The sphinx flinched back, the smaller pixie intimidating even me. Lowen’s face now appeared murderous and cold. He might be small but right then it didn’t seem to matter.
“No, I need help. The harpies said the vampire was my best chance,” he said quickly.
Harpies? That was interesting. I shook my head before Lowen could do something drastic—like stab the sphinx.
“Which harpy specifically?” I asked. I had several contacts among the harpies. To my knowledge none of them hated me enough to set assassins on me.
The sphinx didn’t look like an assassin, but you never knew. He seemed harmless, maybe just a bit desperate. Could be a ruse designed to lure me off my guard. Appearances were often used to deceive. I knew that better than most
“Natalia,” he blurted out.
I’d done her a favor a couple weeks ago involving a kobold, so his story was plausible. I doubted she would be quick to set an assassin on me. I could picture her sending someone in a similar predicament my way, especially if she knew him.
“What’s your relation to her?” I asked.
“Her mom used to babysit me,” he said. It seemed to occur to him how tenuous his position was and his expression turned uncertain, fear and uneasiness filling his face.
I wasn’t used to inspiring those emotions in others, and I wasn’t sure if I liked seeing them now.
I fought the urge to put him at ease. There had been more than one attempt on my life in the last month. I couldn’t afford to be careless.
“And why did she point you to me?” I asked.
I folded my arms across my chest, my right hand dipping down to brush the weight of the gun in its holster under my light jacket. If Liam was intent on dragging me into whatever was going on, I wasn’t going unarmed. Physically and magically I was weaker than most, even this sphinx in front of me, butI’d found a gun helped level the playing field very nicely. It was filled with ammo of my own recipe—one that incorporated silver nitrate—lethal to vampires and werewolves, along with several other creatures.
