Page 66 of Keeping Sarah

“Be careful around Angeles, in particular,” Rex suddenly said. “He likes human womentoomuch.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of doing this?”

“Just wanted to give you a warning, that’s all.”

Satisfied with how I looked, I left for the council meeting. We took Rex’s personal carriage, which was far nicer than any I had ridden in since coming to Faithless. The carriages hovered over the ground a few feet, while being pulled by either a skentha or a motorized device. Today, we had the motor, which I was grateful for. The skenthas smelled awful.

We drove through the slums of Faithless until we reached the nicer parts of the city. The building we parked at was tall, black, and foreboding. Like an enormous black rectangular rock with no windows and only one door. It looked like the place where fun died. Other carriages were lined up next to ours, and they were equally as fancy. I walked up the steps, lifting my dress from the ground as I did. As soon as I got to the door, it opened automatically.

The interior was not black like I had expected. It was gray and ivory bone, except for where the windows lined the walls.They had not been visible on the street, but I could see out in every direction.Sneaky.

Rex said, “The best way to be vigilant is to look like you’re not paying attention. I had this municipal building built with that in mind. Our meeting hall is to the right.”

I followed his directions to the hall. There were bone handles on all the doors, and some of the rooms were decorated with bone-framed furniture I had grown accustomed to in other places in Faithless. When I opened the doors, eight Ladrian men stopped their conversations to gawk at me.

The nearest one, Barthen, according to Rex, asked, “Are you lost?”

I gave him a confident smile. “No, I am here for the council meeting.”

He almost smirked. “The council meeting is a private affair. Who is your owner?”

“I have no owner.”

His eyes raked down the length of me, a lascivious light flickering in his eyes. “Then you are available for ownership? Good. I could always use another of you for my house staff.”

He came at me, like he was going to grab me, and I let Rex take over. He had Barthen’s face pressed against the wall and his arm hoisted over my head before I could blink.

Rex snarled in my throat, “You will not touch her, Barthen!”

A hand cannon fired, just grazing my robes. My head jerked toward the shooter, another council member. Xylic. Rex moved Barthen between my body and the shooter, like a shield.

“Gentlemen, relax,” Rex said in a cool tone. “I am wearing this body for now.”

They all stared at me in varying degrees of shock and incredulity. “How did you…Who…Rex?” Xylic asked in confusion.

Rex’s ghost emerged from my neck, which made some of the council members chuckle. “Yes, Xylic, it’s me. You can put that away now.”

Xylic smiled in amusement and tucked his hand cannon away. “What is going on?”

I released Barthen, who rubbed his shoulder and glared at us while Rex said, “The woman I am inhabiting is the contra of conduits.”

A collective gasp went up among them. Xylic said, “Is that what happened to you? Are you stuck with her, from her magic?”

“Not stuck, per se,” Rex said delicately. “But we are experiencing technical difficulties in separation. The issue will be remedied soon, but until then, this is the situation. I expect you all to act as the professionals you are, and not attempt to lay claim to her,Barthen.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” he grumbled.

“It was rude to assume she was available for your amusement, Barthen,” Rex snapped. “And Angeles, lose that perverse look in your eye. We are here for a meeting, not for your hobbies.” Rex straightened my neck and assumed control of my mouth. “Now, where were we?”

It was so strange to let him use my body, even now. I knew I could take control back at any time, but it was still peculiar.

Xylic came and politely pulled a bone-framed chair out for me. “My lady.”

Rex chuckled as we sat down. “You can still call me Rex when I’m running the show. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

“Indeed,” Barthen said as the rest of the men took their seats. “Has Justice contacted you any time recently?”

“No, why?”

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