Cal shook his head. “I only overheard a snippet of a conversation before someone got on a train. They were on the phone discussing a job they decided to turn down because they didn’t want to start something with the McCorans, who’d claimed it already. He said, and I quote,‘I’d take on one of those fuckers, but not three. If you want to risk your neck for some cash, go ahead. Her name’s Atria Le Roy and she’s boarding Flight 216 to Denver. Take-off’s in an hour.’”
Time moved slower as the words sank in, one by one. Kaz processed them individually at first, then as a whole, and came to three conclusions: the soft little witch had a bounty on her head, a bloodthirsty gargoyle clan had apparently taken the job, and if he didn’t act immediately, they would take her.
When a gargoyle fixed on a target, there was no shaking them, no running. They were vicious even when they were virtuous. The thought of his soft little witch in the hands of a bounty hunting gargoyle made Kaz’s stomach turn.
She wouldn’t stand a chance.
For all he knew, she was already in someone’s trunk. There was no time to warn her, or expect someone else to protect her.
Kaz had chosen to keep his distance from Atria. He’d done it consciously, against all instinct, and now he had to make another choice: save himself or save her.
Shit.
ChapterFour
Generally speaking,empaths didn’t do well on planes.
Even short flights were a miserable experience for people who were sponges for emotion. It was like stepping into a tin can full of tightly compressed anxiety and stress.
If it was possible, Atria preferred to drive wherever she needed to go, but that was rarely an option available to her. Renting a vehicle tended to cost more than an m-jet ticket, and she was ever-conscious of their tight budget. So onto a cramped economy flight she went, her little carry-on and neck pillow in tow.
Luckily it was a short flight from San Francisco to Denver. If she closed her eyes and meditated for the duration, perhaps she would be able to block out the emotions oozing from all the other passengers. The chances were slim, but an empath had to try.
Atria adjusted the sleeves of her soft, oversized sweater over her wrists and carefully folded her hands in her lap as her fellow passengers shuffled awkwardly by, their eyes darting between the narrow path down the center of the plane and the tiny labels above the seats. She winced sympathetically when a small group of gargoyles squeezed by, their wings tucked close as they attempted to fit in the too-small space.
Frustration welled all around her as a sweaty-faced man held up the line by attempting to negotiate for an aisle seat with a harried mother attempting to wrangle an overtired toddler.
She breathed deeply and turned her eyes toward the tiny window, where she could make out other m-jets and the tiny figures of people in reflective vests moving in the dark.
Fortunately, the line began to move again relatively quickly. The choking cloud of frustration started to dissipate as the flight crew moved to secure the cabin.
A young man had settled into the aisle seat of her row, leaving the middle one blessedly empty between them. Phone in hand, he seemed perfectly content to ignore her. He was pale in the way that suggested he rarely, if ever, saw sunlight, and when he yawned, she noticed two needle-sharp fangs.
A vampire,she thought, remembering Margot’s joke.
She wasn’t one for random hook-ups, but on a flight, she really wouldn’t mind a little vampire venom sedation—
A commotion up at the front of the cabin drew her gaze away from the oblivious vampire. Someone was arguing with the crew at the door, which had been only a moment away from closing. From where she was sitting, it was hard to tell what exactly was going on, but she heard a deep baritone and the quick, placating tones of the crew trying to appease an angry traveler. Frustration and worry spiked again.
Breathe. You don’t need to absorb everything.Atria gripped her fingers and looked away from the spat. To distract herself from the swell of anger that began to fill the already clogged air of the plane, she closed her eyes and silently recited Burden’s Tenets.
All beings are upheld by Burden’s sacrifice.
All beings are links in life’s chain.
All beings may find solace in Burden’s love.
All beings should look after one another so no link may rust.
All beings should seek love where it is lost—
“Get up.”
A rich, growly baritone jolted her out of her silent recitation. Atria’s eyes popped open and swiveled to find…
Oh.
She thought the gargoyles didn’t fit in the small plane, but they looked positively cozy compared to the man who loomed over her vampire neighbor.
