“Nope.”Jake settled into the uncanny immobility he shared with the other two men.It was disconcerting, seeing them pause while the rest of the world continued.Like a bad special effect—or a terrifyingly good one.“I’d say sorry about that, but I’m not.”
At least he admitted as much.
Liv leaned against the small slice of opened door, bracing it in case he got ideas.Her stomach cramped, right on the verge of an embarrassing rumble.
“But we had to make the point without you getting hurt, and that was the only way to do it,” Jake went on, soothingly, nice and reasonable.“Father was out thinning the ranks of the unclean, Erik was defending you, and I was midrange.Standard.”
Standard,he said.“How often do you do this sort of thing?Kidnaplirai?”
“You’re the first potential I’ve ever seen outside of training, ma’am.Haven’t seen a real trueliraifor about thirty years or so.”
What, you were in diapers then?But if she could believe in giant tentacled horrors, why not a little bit of eternal youth?
The worst part wasn’t the nightmare beasts or even her own unruly, terrifying dreams.It was that she was beginning to accept a lot of outlandish bullshit as natural and possibly inevitable.“Thirty years?”
“Probably more.What year is it now?”
For the love of… “I don’t know unless I look at my phone,” she hedged.If he was a sexist asshole, he might even believe it.
“Nice try.”His smile didn’t alter, but a shade of genuine warmth crept into its curve, like he was pleased at a good move in a sports match.“Yeah, a long time.Time gets funny when you get your mark.”
The thought of that violent crimson non-tattoo was enough to kill her appetite.Or it should have been, but she was flat-out starving.“Does it keep you young?”
“Sort of.We don’t really age, part ofhisdominion over flesh.”There was no doubt who he meant, the loathing in the single syllable was all but bubbling-toxic.“You want me to leave you with your breakfast, ma’am?It’ll stay hot until you get to it.”
Isn’t that useful.“Is that magic?”
“Sort of.”He didn’t relax, but his gaze slid away to the window, came back with a smooth arc that reminded her of a security camera.“Father would call itan application of natural laws mankind has only begun to codify.”
It sounded like a direct quote; Jake obviously had a gift for mimicry.It was the old guy’s even, controlled, robotic delivery right down to the breathing.A tiny laugh snuck past Liv’s lips, a happy little thief.
“And she has a sense of humor, too.”Jake’s grin widened, less a grimace and more true amusement.“The total package, ladies and gentlemen.”
Liv let the door swing open a little further.The covered tray beckoned, and if it held a new heart-stopping surprise, she was going to see if shecouldstab him with a fork.She might not be able to hurt these guys, but her training as a monster hunter had to start somewhere, right?
Always assuming that was what they had in mind.But if they didn’t, what use was she?“I’ll come out,” she said, finally.“If you answer a question.”
“You don’t have to bargain,lirai.”That sobered him up; the grin faded by degrees, and his sandy eyebrows drew together.“Just ask, I’ll answer as best I can.Always.”
Awful nice of you, but I don’t think you’re trustworthy.They paid a lot of lip service to being polite, but of course, she’d been kidnapped.“When do I start training?”She took a deep breath.“To hunt those things, the monsters.”
Jake made a restless movement, like a horse smelling fire.“Any sane person wouldn’t want to.”
Well, she couldn’t argue, but still.It was just like wheedling a favor or some paperwork out of a particularly cranky court clerk.“I’ve been kidnapped by a trio of monster hunters.Sanity might be a drawback in this particular situation.”
“Well, technically we’re straight-up predators instead of monster hunters, but good point.”He rubbed at his gold-stubbled chin with blunt, callused fingertips.“As for training, you won’t need it;liraiare instinctively deadly.All you need is the Flame, and that’s not here.”
The Flame.Okay.“Where is it, then?”
“Any temple with an activeliraiwill have access.We just take you to one of your own kind, and then…” He spread his hands, a helpless movement yet a relief from that uncanny stillness.“Well, would you believe me if I said you have to see it first?”
I might not have a week or two ago.She didn’t even know what day it was.“Maybe.”Grudging acceptance colored the word; Liv pushed the bedroom door a little further open.“So, Jake.You got a last name?”
“Nope.Won’t be passing anything on.”The grin was back, but an uneasy shadow moved in his dark gaze.Electric light was kind to him, bringing out all the gold in his hair, lightening his eyes a bit.If she saw him in a bar she might look twice; he had the kind of relaxed magnetism that caught the eye, and his shoulders were nicely broad.“Besides, I was an orphan.Nobody wanted me.Well, except the Sons.”
Is that how you got here?She made a mental note to brood on the implications of that tiny nugget of information, and opened the door a little further.Erik had said basically the same thing.“I’m sorry.”
“About what?”Now he sounded honestly puzzled.
