Page 80 of Sleeping Redemption
With his palms upward, he gave a subtle gesture with open palms and a slight shrug of his shoulders, indicating he didn’t fucking know.
“Just peachy keen,” I grumbled under my breath.
The red tint of Admir’s eyes, like blood floating in pools of ink, scanned our surroundings. After several passes of observing those around us, he finally looked back at me.
“Rook, I didn’t just ask you to come here to give you information that you already had a hunch was true. I want to offer you a job. It would be the chance of an eternity.” His voice dripped with the promise of an exclusive opportunity.
I couldn’t recall the last time anybody wanted to hire me other than Kinley. So, color me a dandelion and pluck my petals.
“I’m listening,” I responded with an intrigued grin on my face.
Admir steepled his hands in front of him while he spoke. “I don’t think it’s any surprise that your abilities and talents are not the most highly thought of amongst certain powers in our community.”
His eyes held a bit of empathy as he spoke the truth. Often, tricksters didn’t hold the same clout as others. We weren’t considered scary enough on the demonic scale of horrification. Said scale ranged from one, merely invoking mild anxiety, to the other end of the spectrum at a ten, the petrifying notion that not even death could halt your terror.
“I believe you deserve more respect and should no longer be forsaken. I can assist you in rising up and reclaiming the wicked force you are meant to be.”
He crafted quite the pitch to me, but everybody knew the devil was in the details.
Nodding as I entertained his notion, I idly played with the rings on my fingers.
“Go on,” I encouraged him.
A pleased smile crossed his thin lips that I was willing to listen.
“Illusions of the mind can be a powerful thing, but neither of us are fools. Your tricks on negligible humans hardly do your skills any justice.” He reached into his jacket’s interior pocket and pulled out a valuable gem only found in the Fourth Circle. It glimmered even in the dimly lit space we sat in.
The ultra-rare stone was a color that I could only describe as the texture of cotton and the sound of a hawk’s sneeze. Humans would never be able to lay their faulty eyes on it, given their lack of seeing the full spectrum of colors the universe had to offer.
This particular gemstone would make the diamond Rose dropped into the ocean at the end of the movieTitaniclook as valuable as the flies surrounding a pile of elephant shit.
“Proposing so soon, Addy? I had expected something with a little more grandeur and a four string quartet,” I smirked at him.
Amusement with a hint of irritation passed through his sharp features before he bantered back. “I know a good thing when I see it, Rook. You would be a valuable partner in providing your visions to comrades of mine who have found themselves misguided.”
There it was—the truth. Admir wished for me to torment his enemies. I wasn’t opposed to the concept, but my powers did have their limitations.
“A very generous offer indeed. However, as you may be aware, imparting my illusions on any non-human entity takes a hefty amount of energy from my batteries. It is not something to be called upon frequently.” The last thing I wanted to do was to be drained and useless from overextending myself, leaving me vulnerable.
A light chuckle escaped Admir’s lips. “You wouldn’t have to worry about that; you would only be summoned in limited scenarios. You’d be my specialist, if you will.”
While tucking the gem back into his jacket, he added, “Think about it, Rook. I don’t need an answer right away. I know you have your hands full with this little saliranimum problem of yours.”
Before I could further the discussion, I felt vibrations in my pocket, the sound of my ringtone getting lost in the loud atmosphere of this demonic watering hole.
I dug my phone out of my pocket. Glancing down, I saw Atlassian’s name on the screen.
There was something in my otherworldly senses niggling at the back of my cerebrum. I loved a good chit-chat with my former brethren, but I sure as hell didn’t expect a phone call from him. Especially when he knew of my whereabouts and what had drawn me out of Kinley’s house in the first place.
“Excuse me, mate,” I said to Admir without sparing him a look.
Standing from my chair, I answered the call while holding it to my ear. “At-At, I know my charms are sorely missed, but?—”
His words cut me off with an urgent and perhaps desperate tone.“You need to get back here now.”
I immediately ditched all my typical playfulness. “What’s happened?”
“She’s…” He sounded like he was at a loss for words. “Just get back here.”
