Page 59 of Destined for Dreams
Cori gave the woman an apologetic look. “I gave it all I had. I’m sorry.”
“Do not feel bad.” Lucas glanced between them. “I’m over two thousand years old. I’ve yet to run across a human who could fully resist me in averylong time no matter what precautions they took.”
Even before Cori had a dose of Melena’s blood, she’d had a natural resistance, but when Lucas’ twin, Micah, tried to compel her, he’d managed it with some extra effort. She should have known her newfound ability would only go so far.
“Two thousand years old?” the woman gasped, looking the nephilim up and down. “How is that even possible?”
Lucas leaned close to her and spoke in a compelling tone, “Forget the last few minutes of conversation and that your tattoo doesn’t provide full protection. The only thing you need to know is you’re safe from compulsion by anyone who would try to harm you.”
“Hey.” Cori hit him in the arm. “That’s not fair to her.”
“But it is the way it must be after what she’s seen and heard.” He straightened, letting go of his mental hold on the woman, and led her out of the room.
Derrick and Ivan followed behind, giving Cori some space. After she had everything set up for the next customer, she called out to the alpha, who quickly led a man into the room. This one moved just as woodenly and had the same glassy-eyed appearance.
“He’s next.”
Cori directed the man to take a seat. “Does he get the shooting stars, too?”
“He does—in the same place.”
She wondered what Derrick expected her to do if she ever had to work on a human who already had a tattoo on the same wrist. She supposed she’d have to cross that bridge when she came to it. On a bright note, at least if this worked out she could charge extra for these tattoos. A lot of humans would want them once the word got out. It could become good for business—as long as Derrick endorsed it so the sups wouldn’t stop people from coming. Still, it helped her relax a little at the possibility. Maybe things would work out, and her shop would be running smoothly again soon.
Cori finished with the guy even faster than the woman. He was also under compulsion until she broke it halfway through the tattoo. The man thanked her profusely, making her wonder what his story was, before he headed back out to the front room.
“Well, I had no doubts she’d handle these first two okay,” Derrick said, standing up from his chair.
Lucas leaned against the doorframe. “Neither did I.”
The alpha glanced at her. “But can she handle givin’ normal tattoos?”
“Just hand me the next tattoo design and get the hell out of here while I clean up.” Cori reached out her hand. “I’ll be alright.”
Derrick’s voice came out gruff as he dug into his pocket, “We’ll see.”
He gave her a wrinkled piece of paper, this time with a flaming sun on it.
She lifted a brow at him. “You really put a lot of thought into these, didn’t you?”
“If I have to pass around the word about these, then I gotta keep it simple and easy for folks to remember.” Derrick shrugged. “Some supernaturals are smart and have good memories, but not all of them.”
Cori supposed she could see the logic in that. She waited until the two men left the room before starting her cleanup and prep. After finishing, she worked on the outline first before calling in the next human.
The alpha led a man inside. “Do him first.”
“The wrist or somewhere else?”
“Upper arm,” he replied.
She got the man set up in the chair and prepped him for the tattoo. The whole time, she tried to keep her mind clear. If this was going to work, she couldn’t think about magic or compulsion or even supernaturals. Instead, she kept her mind focused on the design and what it would take to make it look perfect. Cori now understood how a surgeon felt during a complex operation. Her very livelihood was on the line if she didn’t do it right.
Half an hour later, she finished. Her shoulders had begun aching from trying so hard to do the opposite of what she’d been doing with the first two people. It helped that the tattoo was different, but she also had a lot of eyes on her. Lucas didn’t leave the room this time, and Ivan and Kariann took turns hovering in the doorway. She could almost feel their doubts and skepticism, or maybe she imagined it, but either way it was disconcerting.
Cori glanced up at the human’s eyes and found they were still glazed over. Relief filled her. Not once did he move in his seat or question her. “I’m done.”
Kariann swaggered over. “My compulsion is still there—good.”
“That’s one down, but can she do it again?” Derrick gave Cori a questioning look.
