“True.”
“Of course, she might have and I don’t remember it.” Reaching the end of the block, Wynn glanced from side to side. “And speaking of not remembering.”
A hot breeze wrapped around Wynn as Azh stepped close, flames coating his clenched fists.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded. “Do you sense something?”
Wynn shook her head. “It’s been years since I was in this neighborhood. It’s changed.” She at last pointed toward the street that sloped up the hill. “It must be this way.”
They walked past glass shop fronts that were surprisingly elegant behind the steel shutters that hadn’t been opened for the day. When Wynn had spent time in the neighborhood there had been pubs and cheap lodging houses shoved into the cramped spaces, not clothing stores. And the muddy streets had been clogged with horses, not expensive cars that zoomed past on their way to work.
“The pawnshop was at the end of the street,” she said, shaking away the memories.
It was the gloss of time that made them seem less horrible. There was nothing romantic about standing on the corner begging for food. Or being splattered with mud when a carriage swept past. Not to mention dealing with the locals who would have brutalized her if she’d been a normal human.
She slowed her steps as they reached the corner, feeling a stab of unease.
The pawnshop was still there, or at least, the shell of the pawnshop was still there. The aged stone building was covered in black soot and the windows had been shattered. Even the heavy wooden door hung at a wonky angle, as if some power had tried to rip it from its hinges.
Had there been a fire? An explosion? A magical attack?
A steel barrier had been placed in front of the building, with large signs warning trespassers they would be fined or even imprisoned. A little over the top, she silently acknowledged, considering the place was a dump.
She assumed that it had been put there by the authorities to prevent anyone from dying when the building collapsed.
“I wouldn’t get any closer if I was you,” a voice warned from behind them.
The fact that Azh hadn’t warned her there was danger approaching assured her that it must be a human.
She glanced over her shoulder at the young woman dressed in a narrow black skirt and sleeveless white sweater. Her dark hair was smoothed from her pale, oval face and her dark eyes were emphasized by her false eyelashes.
She had the look of an ambitious human on her way up the corporate ladder.
Wynn concentrated on the magic inside her, tapping into the pale-rose strand. Once she felt the familiar tingles she weaved a spell to change her identity. Gone were her blond hair and lavender eyes. Instead she was hidden behind an illusion of a sophisticated, older woman with silver hair pulled into a bun and wearing a beige trench coat. The sort of woman who would be employed in the elegant neighborhood.
Moving around Azh, she stood directly in front of the human, at the same time releasing a small spell of compulsion. It wouldn’t force the woman to do anything against her will, but it would encourage her to talk.
“What happened?” Wynn asked.
“The official report was an explosion caused by a gas leak, but most people around here think it was an insurance scam.”
“You believe the owners did this on purpose?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “They were super creepy and the other business owners were constantly turning them in to the authorities for not keeping their building up to code.” She glanced toward the building with a visible shudder. “This is actually an improvement.”
Wynn wasn’t surprised the neighborhood had been disgusted by Axton. He was rude, crude, and easily provoked to violence. Unfortunately for them, he had enough royal demon blood to make sure he was protected by the most powerful clans in the city. He could run his ratty pawnshop, so long as he didn’t offend Saxton.
“I didn’t hear anything about it. When did it happen?”
The woman’s gaze started to swing back to Wynn only to be captured by Azh standing behind her. Wynn heard the poor girl’s strangled gasp as she tried to absorb his shocking beauty. She sympathized. Even after spending a few days in his company she was still knocked off balance whenever she caught sight of him.
Wynn cleared her throat. “Do you remember when the explosion happened?”
With an effort, the woman forced herself to answer the question, although her bemused gaze remained locked on Azh.
“It must have been over year now.”
A year? A chill inched down Wynn’s spine. That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? Not when her dreams started at the same time.
