Page 15 of Road To Runes

Dang it. I would have to consider that new development in my future plans. Magic glasses I had some knowledge of, but contacts? Technology really was bounding forward.

"No, how did you know I was specifically here?" I asked. "I didn't tell anyone."

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Asher muttered. "Stop squirming."

"No!" I hissed. "I'm working and you're in my way."

"This isn't work, Bea, this is criminal." Asher's voice lowered and his eyes bore into mine with a pleading sheen.

"You never used to care. These are crappy people. I thought you said they deserved to get knocked down a peg?"

"I'm not a kid anymore, Bea."

Ouch. That stung.

"Listen," Asher glanced at the door beside us, "I can't let you go in there and steal anyone’s powers. These people have just signed up with my company for security."

I snorted. Seriously? He was worried I'd get him into trouble at his precious job? It didn't change anything. He had a job to do and I had a job to do. What we would have to discover was who was better at theirs than the other.

"I won't tell you again, Asher. Get out of my way," I said through gritted teeth.

I eyed Hecate who, upon realising the assailant was Asher, had reorganised herself into a loaf and curled her tail around her body. She blinked sleepily as if she had just finished a saucer of cream and was ready for bed. Where was my personal attack demon when I needed her?

But Asher and Hecate had an understanding from day one. Neither one of them was particularly fond of the other, but they respected each other as most contentious creatures did, even if they never enjoyed crossing paths. Any attack was going to have to come from me, and Asher had taught me everything I knew.

"No," Asher said, his silky tones caressing my nerves.

I narrowed my eyes at him. As a siren, Asher had the vocal ability to incapacitate anyone, whether by lulling them into a daze or by reducing them to a sobbing ball on the floor, begging for the screaming to stop.

Asher had only ever used his abilities on me whenever I asked for them; like whenever I couldn't get to sleep at night and needed a hand. But sirens couldn't always control the effects of the tones of their voices. I didn't want to give him a pass, but the soothing effect of his voice reduced my will to challenge him to the size of a mouse.

"You shouldn't be here, Bea," he said. "You're-"

The start of his lecture had an inner scream brewing that I was in danger of letting out for real.

Tapping into the other power I had inside me, I stepped backward through the wall of the house. The satisfaction at the sight of his bewildered face right before I disappeared felt like a spoonful of melted chocolate on my tongue.

I whirled around, blinking to get my bearings. With Asher on my tail, I didn't have long to get the power I needed.

If the people who lived here were even remotely normal, I would find them in bed, asleep. Clutching the hope to my chest, Idashed toward the stairs as quickly as I dared. But as I ascended them, the front door lock clicked and the door swung open.

Damn it. Of course he had a key. What were the odds of picking a house that Asher of all people had to protect? My luck was thoroughly rotten.

I bit my bottom lip with my four front teeth as I hurried up the stairs as silently as I could manage. I could and would take what I needed from this place, same as I did everywhere else. The fact that Asher felt like he had some sort of stake in this place meant nothing. If anything, it made me want to succeed even more.

When I reached the landing, I shoved my gloved hand into my pocket and fumbled around for the crystal. With the tips of my fingers, I prised it from my pocket, but as soon as it came free, it slipped from my grasp and clunked across the rug.

I swore and reached down to grab it, but something curled around my wrist and snapped me back upright. Asher pulled my arm across his chest, contorting me into an awkward position. He was almost blurry, his face was so close to mine, but the fierce expression on his face had butterflies in my stomach, fire in my veins, and a high-pitched ringing in my ears.

"I know you're trying to get back at me," Asher said. "But-"

"Why do you always think everything is about you?" I asked. "I'm my own person and I've got a job to do, so get the hell out of my way."

Asher grabbed at my arm as I melted through his grasp with the use of my borrowed power. I shot to the bedroom door, with Asher on my heels, and I pushed it open. But I lurched forward as Asher crashed into me and arms flailing, I barrelled into the door and onto the fluffy carpeted floor.

The door flew open and all the air left my lungs as Asher landed on me with full force. I sucked in a breath which strained against my ribs on its way in, ready to give him a hissing at. But aloud snore cut through the silence, and I craned my neck to look up.

A glorious four-poster bed stood a few feet away, the duvet on top of it made of a material so shiny that it shimmered even in the slivers of moonlight that poured between the curtains. A hairy arm dangled over the edge of the bed, its owner's face half-smushed into the pillow, but the one eye I could see of the man remained closed.

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