The Inner Circle (Return of the Ancients Book 3) (6 page)

I had to protect everyone from the Mesmers.

Samantha let me borrow the computer on my lunch break and I searched again for ways to prevent mind control but with little success. By the end of my lunch break, I’d gotten pretty frustrated.

Giving up, I whirled around in lazy circles in Samantha’s swivel chair, watching the baristas scurrying about. And as one of them walked by me with a big box of foil, I suddenly remembered reading about how cats should be forced to wear foil hats to prevent them from contacting their mother ships.

Curiously, I typed in a quick search about foil hats.

Within minutes, I was reading the scientific theory of how they worked. Apparently, a foil hat significantly reduced the intensity of radio frequency radiation on the wearer's brain, something called a Faraday cage.

Excitedly, I read how even some older houses were basically Faraday cages, the houses that had used chicken coop wire and plaster as wall material. I didn’t think Al and Betty’s house was that old, but maybe I could make a Faraday cage out of it somehow.

I didn’t think I could get them to wear foil hats. Besides Al, anyway.

But still, I was pretty excited. At least I had something to try.

The rest of the day passed quickly with no sign of Jareth or Rafael. And soon enough, we’d turned the Christmas music and the lights off and most of the baristas had gone.

“Wanna watch a movie with me and Grace?” Ellison asked as we wiped the counters down.

“Not tonight,” I said. “I’ve got plans. I’ll just take the bus home.”

“Ah, I see,” he said with a knowing smile.

I knew he thought I was talking about Rafael. But then, I guess I was. But it certainly wasn’t going to be anything like a date.

Grace arrived then, telling Ellison to hurry so they wouldn’t be late for the movie. And as Ellison reached for the trash, I volunteered. “You just go with Grace. I’ll dump the bags.”

“Thanks, mate,” he said, doffing an imaginary cap.

I watched the two of them dash across the street, holding hands. And for a minute, I felt a twinge of jealousy.

Annoyed with myself, I tossed the trash bag over my shoulder and tromped through the back of the shop.

“Tomorrow, it’s back to making cappuccinos for you, Sydney,” Samantha said as I passed. She didn’t look up as her fingers moved rapidly over the keypad of an ancient calculator. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I grunted, hoping she’d take that for agreement. But, I much preferred washing dishes.

Shoving the door open with my foot, I stepped outside.

It was already dark.

Taking in a big gulp of fresh air, I looked up at the night sky. There were no stars, or if there were, they were obliterated by the city lights. A few snowflakes drifted down lazily from above.

Lugging the trash bag, I slipped a little on the icy blacktop as I headed toward the dumpster about twenty feet away. But I’d only taken a few steps before I had the nagging sense that I was being followed.

I heard it first. The small scratching sounds of something scrabbling over the bricks behind me.

I caught my breath in a huge sucking sound and whirled around. In the dim light, the trees across the street suddenly took on menacing shapes.

But then one of the shadows broke away from the dumpster, and a blood-curdling scream tore from my lips as I recognized the small gargoyle shape.

It was Blondie.

The backdoor of the coffee shop slammed open.

“What is it, Sydney?” Samantha asked. “Are you ok? What happened?”

Blondie’s unblinking gaze focused directly upon Samantha, and his impossibly low voice vibrated. “Turn away, human,” he said. “Go back inside.”

“No!” I gasped, grateful that Jareth’s protection rune was apparently working, but I was afraid for Samantha. I didn’t want her to be mesmerized.

But to my surprise, Samantha’s voice dropped an octave itself. “What is that thing? Let me get the broom.”

Astonished, I turned to see her reach back into the coffee shop to grab the handle of a wide sweeper. Brandishing it as a weapon, she began to walk toward me in her usual no-nonsense-Samantha way.

“My, my, what is that? Some kind of raccoon with mange? This time of year?”

Blondie’s eyes began to shine in the darkness. “Hold still, human,” he whispered as he sidled out of the shadows and into the light. I could see his hairless body, the spiked scales, and dark, liquid, bottomless eyes. The magnetic force coming from his eyes was impossible to resist.

I choked. “Watch out, Samantha!” I managed to warn, filling with a growing horror.

Samantha paused, looking directly into his eyes, long and hard. She pursed her lips and reaching forward, pulled me back. “Strange looking beast. Out of my way, Sydney. I’ll not have anyone under my charge harmed until I can get Animal Control out here, and get this poor thing some help.”

Blondie hissed and drew back.

Stepping in front of me, Samantha wielded the broom and with a reproving click of her tongue, ordered crisply, “Shoo!”

Blondie lunged forward.

But Samantha’s aim was true. She hit him straight on, sending his body flying over the dumpster.

My mouth dropped open. I’d thought that the Mesmer were impossible for anyone to resist.

But then, Samantha wasn’t just anyone.

“Strange.” She glared with an audible huff and placed her hands on her hips. “I don’t think I’ve hurt it, but it should be seen by a vet. I’ll take care of this, Sydney. You run on home. I don’t want you around that thing.”

I drew a shaky breath.

“Be quick now,” Samantha ordered me as she pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and punched in a number. Turning to the side, I heard her say, “Yes, I need some traps over here at once. I’ve some kind of armadillo. It looks diseased. It’s a downright health hazard.”

Slipping back into the shop, I grabbed my backpack and peered out the backdoor where Samantha was still talking, waving her hand.

Through a side window, I could see the bus approaching the bus stop.

It was now or never.

Dashing past Samantha, I waved a goodbye and ran like mad to the approaching bus.

But rounding the corner, I knew at once that I’d made a horrible mistake.

There was no denying it this time.

In front of me, a shadow peeled from the brick wall and formed the unnaturally tall man with the black top hat dressed in a tuxedo.

I tripped and fell against the bricks as the man in the tuxedo floated towards me.

“Run, Sydney!” I heard his voice. But it sounded as if it came from a great distance. “Run!” He was pointing up, and as he began to fade, I followed the direction of his finger and saw dozens of glowing beady eyes lined along the rooftops.

“It’s time,” dozens of Mesmer voices whispered. “Time to open the portal.”

I could feel their eyes zeroing in on me. In my pocket, Jareth’s protection rune blazed to life, burning through my sweatshirt and jeans to sear my skin.

The rune wasn’t going to last much longer.

As dozens of gargoyle-like Mesmers slithered down the walls towards me, I turned to run only to hear tires squeal.

I froze in the headlight beams of a car.

The slam of a car door jolted me out of my stupor. Suddenly, Rafael was there, shoving me into his Bentley. Diving into the driver’s seat, he reversed the car, accelerating so fast that my head slammed back against the headrest.

We zoomed down the street. 
A wave of relief passed through me, followed quickly by concern.

“Samantha!” I said, whipping around in my seat and peering through the back window.

“They’re following us, not her,” Rafael replied tersely.

He was right.

I could see them scuttling after us, a macabre stampede of hairless, slithering Mesmers. There must have been at least two dozen.

He sped down the street, weaving effortlessly through the slower moving cars. Several times, we slid on ice, but he was in complete control of the car.

He looked mysterious in the light of the dashboard with his blond hair wildly framing his face, and the line of his jaw, hard. He was an enigma. Forbidden. Tempting.

I could hardly believe I thought that.

Annoyed at myself, I scowled and said, “And why are you running from your buddies?”

Anger made his jaw lock even tighter.

I mentally kicked myself. That was hardly the way to convince him that I was on his side.

“I’m not your enemy,” he said, glaring at me a little.

“Really?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could clamp my lips together. “So, letting Blondie almost kill Betty means we’re still friends?” I bit my tongue. I would have to maintain control if I was going to make real progress in spying.

“She’s fine now, isn’t she? No lasting harm was done,” he said coolly, but I could hear the undercurrent of silent anger running through his words.

“Thanks to Jareth!” I couldn’t resist pointing out.

With a dramatic lift of an eyebrow, he said, “Ah yes, Jareth saved the day.” The note of sarcasm was heavy in his voice.

In an instant, hot anger bubbled, and I just threw caution to the wind. “So, you with the Mesmers and the Inner Circle is just a misunderstanding? Some kind of joke?” I asked outraged. “I’m laughing really hard inside.”

“I’m very pleased to have amused you,” he answered in such a calm tone that I immediately wanted to slap him.

“Stop the car,” I demanded.

After a hard stare, he relented and pulling into a gas station parking lot, turned off the ignition.

“What happened to Betty wasn’t funny,” I snapped. I knew my temper had gotten the better of me, but I was too emotional to care.

My hand flew to the door handle, but Rafael jerked me back.

“It’s not safe out there for you right now,” he said, raising his chin as if daring me to challenge him.

Of course, I did. “And what’s the problem? Can’t you just tell your Mesmer minions to leave me alone?”

Emotion flashed across his face as he held onto my wrist in a viselike grip. “I’d rather not have to keep rescuing you. They want you, you know.”

I knew I should play my cards right. Here was a chance to get real information. But at the moment, I just stared hotly into his angry but handsome face and focused solely on my feelings of betrayal.

“I thought you were nice,” I said, my voice raw with emotion.

Rafael let go of my wrist at once. “Maybe you aren’t seeing what you should, Sydney,” he replied softly.

The tone of his voice alone threatened to melt my resistance, and I could see secrets hidden in the depths of his gray eyes. But I wasn’t sure I could really trust my judgment at the moment.

“And how do I know that what I should see isn’t just what I
want
to see?” I asked, locking gazes with him.

“What is it that you want to see?” he asked me then.

Suddenly, the conversation took an entirely different turn. Or I should say, situation. We quit talking altogether and just stared into each other’s eyes.

How could he be bad? I just couldn’t believe it. His actions just now were anything
but
bad. And as leader of the Inner Circle, he may have said some things, but he’d saved me twice so far. And no one had seriously been hurt. Not yet, anyway.

His face was only several inches away from mine, and I could feel his breath on my lips.

"I should remain as I am, neither friend nor foe,” Rafael whispered. There was a deep, enduring sadness in his face.

“Why?” I asked desperately. “Why can’t you be my friend?”

He moved even closer. “Is that what you want? For me to be your … friend?”

His lips touched mine. Lightly, at first. But at the first touch, I forgot everything else.

Cupping the back of my head with his hand, he gently kissed my bottom lip. Instinctively, my mouth parted, and our tongues touched. It was so intimate. Tender.

I held still, enthralled, and savoring each moment.

And as his kiss deepened, a tremor of excitement rippled through me. It was the kind of excitement that I knew could quickly spin out of control. The kind of excitement that could turn into a passionate hunger.

The kind of excitement that I could only want to share with him.

Abruptly, he pulled away.

“This can go no further,” he said quietly, his face hardening into a mask.

Feeling rejected all at once, I reacted by jumping out of his car.

But he was out in a flash and headed me off before I could take more than a few steps in the fresh snow.

I scowled at him.

“You shouldn’t be walking around right now, Sydney,” Rafael warned. “You’re in more danger than you realize.”

“And whose fault is that?” My scowl deepened in response.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” he asked arrogantly, raising a mocking brow.

That infuriated me even more. “You’re trying to blame me for taking the tulpa in the first place?” I poked him in the chest. “Weren’t you guys the ones who were supposed to protect us? You know, prevent those things from even
coming
to Earth?”

“And is it our fault that you humans insist on harming yourselves, thereby attracting the Brotherhood to begin with?” he asked without missing a beat.

My mouth dropped open. “I’ve never seen this side of you before,” I said, wagging my finger at him. I couldn’t really say anything else because there was a sort of logic to what he was saying, even if I didn’t like to hear it. I settled for snapping at him. “I’m sure the Fae aren’t perfect either!” And with that, I turned on my heel and prepared to go.

Rafael caught my shoulder to stop me. Annoyed, I shrugged him off. But he didn’t let me get far. In calm, deliberate movements, he grabbed my hand and spun me around. And pressing me close to his chest, he brought my face within an inch or two of his.

“I’m sorry, Sydney,” he whispered in my ear. “It’s been a trying day. I seem to have no patience of late.”

I held out, thinking about giving him the cold-shoulder treatment. But that only lasted about two seconds. I didn’t seem to have any resistance when it came to Rafael.