“I shouldn’t have pushed you against the wall.”
Kyra’s frown deepened, brown skin ashen.
“The markings you asked about before,” he continued before she could say anything, “are reflections of their tattoos. Young druids would tattoo glyphs on their wrists, and sometimes if they’re strong enough, their throats to help them balance their arcane.”
If they’re strong enough.
“You have most of your body covered,” she said, a half question considering she had seen a large portion of his body already. “Then why does Dirk…”
The air shifted, and before she could finish her question Lucifer appeared in a burst of smoke. “Oh, are we telling secrets now, Xee?” he said with an ear splitting grin. “Please, tell the Dark Priestess why Daemons have similar glyphs tattooed on their bodies as druids?”
Xander leaned against the locked door, head turned as if he was listening through the thick wood. “Hurry up, we don’t have long. You can’t be found here.”
Lucy pouted. “Neither can she.” He gestured with his chin. “Tell me, were they flabbergasted to see awomanwalking their precious halls? As if the mere idea of someone with ovaries could sully their precious abbey.”
Kyra would have snapped at the ‘Dark Priestess’ comment if she wasn’t so fascinated with Lucy’s entrance. She had read about drifting, had tried to understand how someone could transport themselves from one place to another with a single thought.
She could never learn that ability, witches powers restricted to the elements. Usually.
“Honestly,” Lucy continued as he scanned along the edges of the bookshelves. “I’m surprised their shrivelled dicks didn’t combust at the sight of a pair of breasts.”
Xander glowered at Lucy.
“Yes, yes, of course,” he said with a dramatic bow. “Right away me lord. I hope you don’t growl at your mother like you do me.”
Xander froze by the door, his eyes of frost hardening. “What did you say about my mother?”
Lucifer had reached for a grimoire, the leather thick and worn. “Your mother called,” he drawled. “You know, the creature that somehow birthed your gigantic head. She sounded like a real fucking matriarch when she demanded you return homeimmediately.”
Xander remained rigid. “Did she give you a reason?”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Is love for your mother not enough?”
Xander growled.
“Fine,” Lucy grunted, picking up two more books and holding them to his chest. “No, she gave no reason, just said that it was urgent. Also, I’m saying this because I’m your friend and also because I’m an arsehole, but your mother is a right cold bitch.”
Xander pressed his palm to the locked door, eyes closed for a second before he stepped back. The glow intensified for a few seconds, orange sparks breaking off from the corners. “We have less than five minutes, do you have what you need?”
Lucy gestured to the five books that he now had in his arms.
“They can’t leave the library,” Xander said through clenched teeth. “If you try you’ll call the…”
Lucifer’s image seemed to shimmer, and then he dropped the books with a sharp shout. A woman appeared, but Kyra could see Lucy through her. She wasn’t a woman, but she wasn’t a ghost either.
“Whisp,” Xander finished. “Shit.”
Thief!Several voices resonated inside her head. Kyra stepped forward, wanting to get a closer to the woman who wasn’t really a woman. It seemed to sense her presence, her head snapping to the side. The woman’s features were beautiful, but without shadow, two-dimensional as if she were a cartoon. She was all one colour, a soft dove grey that was like cloudy glass. She wore a robe similar to the elder druids had in the halls, but no embroidery decorated the sleeves.
You shouldn’t be here,the voices, multiple male and female said inside her head.Leave.
Lucifer took step back, hands held up in surrender. “A warning would have been nice!”
“You knew the books couldn’t leave,” Xander snapped back as he touched the wood of the door again. “Fuck, they know the Whisp is out.”
You taste like death,the Whisp said to her.But not as in mortality, but as in rebirth. Healer. Creator.The Whisp floated forward, her bare feet dragging across the floor as she stopped an inch before Kyra.You taste of Chaos.
“What are you?” Kyra asked, wanting to reach forward, to see whether she felt something solid, or just air.
