Page 78 of Perfectly Perplexing Zombie

“How did you know that’s what I was thinking?” I whispered back.

“You’re logical. It’s not difficult following your train of thought.”

Setting my bin down on the table, I twisted in Ray’s arms, wrapping my hands behind his neck and letting my fingers dance through his hair. It was a beautiful crimson waterfall. It was a crime fairies didn’t let everyone get a feel of their silken strands.

“Hamish looks irritated,” I said. “Is that wise?”

“Very. Stover would be infinitely more suspicious if Hamish acted more interested. It is difficult for fairies to acknowledge ignorance. We are a proud race. When we desire information, it is common to act apathetic while gathering it. We do not wish to seem too eager or grateful.”

“That’s kind of…” I wasn’t sure and settled on “devious.”

“I will not argue the point.”

Going up on tiptoes, I took a chance and kissed Ray’s cheek. His sudden inhale and shivering skin gave me more confidence, and I repeated the action. I wanted to keep peppering him with kisses, but my actions weren’t purely motivated. Getting in close to his ear, I whispered, “Vander says there’s some type of magic-canceling cloth wrapped around the amphora. Mattie can’t get a read on the magic attaching Aurelia to it. We need to get the cloth off.”

The only hint Ray heard my words was a minuscule firming of muscle.

“How are we to do that when it is untouchable?” he soundly asked.

“Vander and Mattie agree you can touch the cloth. You still can’t touch the amphora, though.”

“Interesting.” Ray’s whispered reply ghosted over my skin, oddly skipping the necrotic areas and causing a patchwork landscape of feeling. “Walk with me,” Ray suggested, and I followed.

We’d barely gotten into a shadowed hall when Ray gave me a final kiss. It would have been breath-stealing had I needed the oxygen. “Hopefully, I won’t be gone long.” Ray gave an uncharacteristic wink before taking two steps back. Raising his hand, he used a single finger to tear a hole in the space between us. Without another word, he slipped through.

Less than thirty seconds later, all hell broke loose.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Hellfire Rayburn

I considered texting this new information to Hamish. He had his cell phone out on the table, and we’d agreed to use that as a form of contact should he need any further instruction. Hamish had taken to periodically checking nonexistent texts and disregarding them with equal frequency. Sometimes he typed something and placed the phone back on the table. It kept up the apathetically disinterested façade well. Not that it was much of a true façade. I didn’t think Hamish was acting in the least.

When I learned I could touch the cloth surrounding the amphora, I decided action was better than further scheming. Perhaps I’d grown too eager to be done with Arthur Stover. Given my feelings for Wendall, that was completely possible. I’d accepted my objectivity was a thing of the past.

Whatever the excuse, action was my choice. It did not go as planned.

I reentered the space directly behind Stover’s chair. Hamish didn’t so much as glance in my direction. Stover shouldn’t have known I was there. I had not considered he’d wished for Aurelia to alert him if anyone sneaked up on him. To her credit, Aurelia bent that wish and waited until after I’d reached into his pocket and removed the magically wrapped amphora. Thankfully, Vander and Mattie were correct, and I wasn’t adversely affected.

I’d hoped to disappear to the back, leaving the way I’d come, and get the amphora to Mattie and Vander. We could shake the hated thing out onto a countertop so Mattie could get a read on the magical sigils.

It was the simplest of plans. It failed miserably.

Aurelia’s forced warning alerted Stover before I could get away. Leaping up, Stover’s crazed eyes danced from Aurelia to the cloth-wrapped amphora in my hand. Screaming, “Thief,” Stover didn’t dive for me. Instead, he had Aurelia do his dirty work and yelled, “I wish for you to stop him!”

With a huffed sigh, Aurelia’s lips pinched, and a brief “apologies” slipped past her lips before she sliced her hand through the air, sending me sailing back into a wall. The amphora fell from my grasp, rolling out of the fabric and dancing across the floor.

An eerie silence fell throughout the bar, with only the blaring music in the background. One of Lucroy’s vampires was nearest the amphora. Before she could be warned, the vampire reached out to grasp it. Fingers at least three inches away, a bolt of what looked like lightning shot out. The vampire stiffened before seizing and falling to the floor. Lucroy sprang into action and was at her side in an instant.

Lucroy’s cold expression didn’t tell me if she was stillaliveor not. Peaches’s fluttering wings filled the area with golden pixie dust. It was his relief-filled gaze that let me know the vampire was revivable.

The flash of lightning was enough, and all of us stared down at that small piece of pottery like it might lash out at any moment. Stover’s maniacal laughter grated along my spine. With effort, I stood, straightening out my clothing and setting myself to rights. Hamish also stood. His gaze wasn’t exactly accusatory, but he didn’t look terribly impressed with my efforts either.

“Didn’t expect that, did you?” Stover stepped forward.

Aurelia shifted farther away and gave him a look so full of loathing that I halfway expected the human to dissolve under the acidic glare.

I lifted an eyebrow and stared at the seemingly innocuous piece of ancient pottery. “I was unsure what to expect,” I truthfully answered. Stover appeared momentary confused before his gaze latched onto the spot directly to my left. It was the area Wendall had taken up residence. His hand immediately found mine, and our fingers intertwined. Stover didn’t miss the movement.

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