Page 7 of Rise of the Melody
“It’s okay, boy. Let’s just….” My voice trailed off as a form began to clarify in the darkness. It appeared to be a guy, tall with nice shoulders, his longish, dark hair hiding half of his face. He wore black jeans, black boots, and a long-sleeved navy shirt. Something about him set my nerves on edge. I could only see one of his eyes, light in color, the other hidden by his hair, but as he took another step toward me, my skin razed with a strange heat.
“Listen,” I warned him, motioning to the dog. “You should back off. I can’t control him. He’s not mine, exactly. Just step away and we’ll leave.” But when I glanced down at CooShee, his hackles had gone down and he seemed unbothered now. The guy’s lip quirked up for a split second.
“I’m no’ afraid of the creature.” His r’s rolled languidly.
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.Freaking Scottish? What were the odds?
“No’thatcreature, anyhow,” he said.
I shook my head, confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?” What other ‘creature’ was here?
His one visible eye narrowed as ifIwas the one being a smartass.
“Did fake accent guy tell you to mess with me?” It sort of just popped out of my mouth and I immediately felt stupid. How would they have had time to coordinate this?
The guy took another step forward and swished the long waves from his face. I sucked in a gasp and held it. Under all that thick hair was a brutally handsome face, all sharp angles with light eyes. I looked down expecting the dog to growl at this stranger, but instead he sat down! What a worthless guard dog! Why was this guy talking to me anyway? I felt…off. Like I wanted to run, but also move closer to see him better. The opposing instincts freaked me out.
“You know a load of people who speak in fake accents then?” His voice made me shiver. It wasn’t exactly Scottish. The more he talked the more I couldn’t place it. Like Scottish mixed with something more lyrical.
“Look, I have to go,” I said, giving CooShee a tug, but the animal didn’t move. The guy’s lip slightly tipped up again, but there was no humor in his eyes. He stood about five feet from me now.
Listen…I didn’t normally let any strangers this close. Especially at night. But the entrance to the club was only a block away. I could see people going in and out, and they would hear me if I screamed. And I couldn’t lie. This particular stranger was giving off hot vibes, even without the accent. I was sort of mesmerized, although I wouldn’t let him know that. Why had he stepped out to talk to me? Maybe he was on his way to the club?
“Your lipstick is…” He motioned around his mouth, as if to say my lipstick was out of the lines. My face burned.
“Yeah, okay, thanks.” I released the pepper spray and wiped under my lip and at the corners. He watched closely. “Is there something I can help you with?” My voice was laced with sarcasm. “’Cause, if not, I gotta go.”
He moved closer, and I ignored my reflex to step back. His eyes held mine, then trailed down my arm to land on the cuff. He made ahmsound.
“Who put the ammolite on you?”
“My aunt,” I said, then bit my tongue. Nobody ever knew what my cuff was made of. It was so strange that he did.
“Interesting.” Our eye locked together like a physicalclick, making me jolt at the intensity of his stare. And his eyes were…wow. I wished I could take a picture so I could stare at them all I wanted in peace. They weren’t blue or green. They were a combination of both. Clear blue with light flecks of a creamy green, focused solely on me.
Letty, go, I told myself.Get out of here.But my feet didn’t move.
“Why?” he asked, his voice husky.
“Why what?” I asked back. Why did my aunt give me the cuff? “It was a gift. Are you into gems or something?” Maybe he’d been to the apothecary? Though I’d remember if he came in on one of my shifts. This was not a face I would ever forget.
Without smiling, the guy let out a dry laugh that sounded more like surprise than amusement. “I see now. You’re hiding.”
I felt my face crease with confusion. “I’m not hiding from anything.”
I wondered if he had a few screws loose in his brain, which was no laughing matter. There was a sadly high amount of mental illness in the city. It would be such a shame if someone this incredibly sexy escaped from a psych ward or something.
I stiffened as his hand slowly reached toward me. He took the end of one of my long, loose braids into his fingers. I flinched slightly, my whole body lighting up with awareness at his nearness. The way he held my braid felt intimate. Again, I ignored the instinct to run, because it felt like a graceful, wild animal had approached me and I didn’t want to scare it off…or have it kill me.
He whispered something under his breath, and suddenly, a tingle went over my entire scalp. I looked down at his hand as black liquid dripped from his fingers. He gave his hand a small shake to fling the stuff to the ground. What was that?
He said in a low voice, “Now I can properly see ya.” His heavy gaze roamed my hair and body, then landed on my eyes.
“What?” I asked, and that’s when I noticed my hair. I grabbed the strand and stared, feeling my eyes go wide. It was my natural golden color with bronze lowlights. The black dye was completely gone. All of the air got stuck in my lungs as I looked up at his unsmiling face and a shiver razed my spine.
“How did you…?” I stuttered, breathy and completely shaken. Was he a street magician? Usually, they preferred a crowd for these sorts of big stunts. I found it hard to breathe, like I was standing there naked and exposed. I finally took a step back and steeled myself. I wanted to tell him off or something, but I had no idea what to say. Then I remembered the hair trick and stiffened again.
This was too much of a coincidence. He could do things…like Aunt Lorna. Which meant what, exactly?
