He looked down his nose at me. “Grigori do.” He curled his arm around my waist and gently pulled me against his torso. That thrum again. His grip on me flexed. Had he felt it too? “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“So that your corneas don’t burn.”
“Great reason.” I closed my eyes. “What happens no—”
My insides slammed into my spine, and then blood rushed to my head.
“You can open your eyes now,” Uri said.
I clung to his biceps, knees shivering as I obliged. Amber light, soft, like it was coming from a lamp filled the room—a room made of gray stone, a flagstone floor, and walls lined with deep shelves. Most were empty because the books and artifacts were piled onto a long table in the middle of the room. There was one door, a wooden one that was firmly closed, and no windows. This was the vault. He’d brought us straight here.
The Academy tutors must have picked up all the tossed artifacts after the raid, and everything on the table needed to be cataloged and put away according to the log. The log that Uri was still clutching while I continued to hold on to him.
“Sorry.” I released him and stepped away. “You made my knees weak for a minute.”
He arched a brow.
That hadn’t come out right. “I mean, the trip made my knees weak, not you. You don’t make my knees weak.”
“I don’t?” His tone was polite, inquiring, but was that a hint of amusement in his stormy eyes?
“I mean you’re beautiful in a my-face-may-be-chiseled-from-marble-but-I-will-cut-you way … ”
His mouth twitched.
“And I’m just going to shut up now.” My knees no longer felt like noodles, but my cheeks were on fire. “I’m glad you find my brain scramble entertaining. What the hell was that, by the way? It didn’t feel like teleportation.”
“Ah, yes, Conah travels in a similar way to the Grigori. We simply use a different pathway. Your body will be more attuned to the demonic plane, which is why the journey affected you as it did.”
He placed the log on an empty spot on the table and flipped it open. “I don’t suppose you read Enochian?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t know I could speak it until I was speaking it. Wait. Am I speaking it right now?”
His smile was almost indulgent. “You’ve been switching back and forth between English and Enochian for a while now in response to what I speak.”
I adapted without realizing it. “I wish I could hear the difference.”
He tapped the page in front of him. “What does this look like.”
I stared at the lines on the page. “Gibberish.”
“In that case, I will describe the item, and you locate it. It’s a long list; if you need to leave at any point, then please ask. I understand you have duties elsewhere.”
Deadside was waiting to reinforce our connection, and Aunt Lara would be expecting me for a visit, but this was important. This could help us figure out what the Dread were up to and stop them.
“No. I’m good.”
“In that case …” He scanned the page. “A ruby-encrusted goblet with three grooves in the rim.”
I stared at the piles of stuff, rolled up my sleeves, and set to work searching.
It took two hours to comb through the artifacts list, and now we were on the final page of the log.
I studied the table, which was half empty now. “We only have books left.”
Heavy leather-bound books. Or was it leather? Maybe it was human skin … Yeah, I’d watched way too many horror movies in my time. “So, the missing item has to be a book, right? Books are all we have left in the log.”
“If there is indeed an item missing,” Uri said with a frown. “These items thus far seem innocuous to me. Artifacts from a time past, treasured only for their historical value. Some have monetary value, yes, but I doubt the Dread would have gone to so much trouble just for money.” He frowned at the log. “I wonder why this log was held in the Beyond?”
The answer was obvious to me. “Because there’s something hidden in it.” I pointed at the books. “Something important hidden among the mundane things. I mean, you can’t think the Dread trashed the place for nothing?”
“No. Of course not, but maybe they didn’t find what they were looking for.”
“Or maybe …” I held up a finger. “They took a book.”
He gave me half a smile and shook his head. “You’re an optimist.”
“That’s correct. But in this case, it’s logic. They attacked the Academy, but for what reason? They killed two tutors, and some cadets were hurt. That hardly seems a pressing reason to infiltrate this place, after … how long? I mean, they’ve known about this place for ages, right? Surely they could have sussed out the location if they’d tried hard enough.”
“Possibly …”
“So, logic dictates they wanted something. Something specific and important brought them here.”
“I have learned that the Dread don’t always operate on logic,” Uri said. “Maybe merely knowing the location of this place was enough to prompt an attack.”
“I like my theory better.”
“Why?”
“Because otherwise, we’d have combed through that damned log for no reason.”
This time he flashed me a smile of even, white teeth.
The smile threw me for a moment because it softened an otherwise austere face.
“You may leave if you wish,” Uri offered.
“No. I have an idea. We can make this process easier if you tell me which books might be worth stealing. I mean, which titles sound like the Dread might want to get their hands on them?”
“The book of life. The tome of eternal miasma. The artifices of power.” He looked up with a sigh. “Any number of these could have information inside that they covet.”
“Fine, we’ll do it the same way we did with the artifacts. Luckily those had logged descriptions, not names. Otherwise, we’d have been fucked.”
“You don’t have to stay. I can take you to Deadside if you wish,” he offered again.
I gave him a cheeky smile. “And let you take all the credit when you do find the missing piece? Nope. I’m staying. But I will need a coffee. Want me to grab you something?”
My wrist vibrated, then my comm beeped. A message. I tapped it, and nothing happened. Shit. How did I open the damn thing? An icon appeared. I tapped that. The screen flashed and beeped, but then the message finally appeared.
Patrol’s been pushed up to tonight. Meet at Lumiers on west side corner ASAP. Send your location and Nox will pick you up – Sariah
Shit. I was momentarily torn, but I’d made a promise. The reapers were my responsibility, and they had to come first.
“You have to go, don’t you?” Uri said.
“Patrol’s been brought forward. Nox will pick me up.” I made to type a reply.
“I can drop you off,” Uri said. “It will be quicker.”
And leave me weak-kneed, but yes, quicker. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
No need for pickup. I have a ride. See you soon – Fee
Uri closed the log, stood, and held out his hand. “May I tou—”
“You don’t have to ask permission every time you touch me.”
He slow-blinked at me as if this was an alien concept to him.
“You’ll soon know if I don’t want to be touched.”
He inclined his head and offered me that half-smile again. “In that case, shall we?”
I stepped into his embrace.
“Location?” he asked.
“Lumiers on the corner of West Street. Do you know it?”
“I doubt there’s an outlier, celestial or demon, who doesn’t.” His chest rose and fell against mine, and I caught a whiff of vanilla. “Close your eyes.”
I did.
Chapter Twelve
Uri hugged me to his chest, one arm tight around my waist as my body recovered from the trip. The scent of impending rainfall mingled with his vanilla aroma. My fingers flexed on his biceps, and I leaned my forehead against his shoulder, taking deep breaths to quell the nausea that rolled in my belly.
“You’ll be fine in a moment,” he promised.
He made circles on my back, and heat radiated out across my shoulders, soothing and calming.
“Better?” he asked.
I did feel better. A little too better. Mmmmm. God, I was like a pussy in need of a stroking. Wait, that sounded wrong. Or was it … I seriously suffered from dirty mind syndrome.
“Seraphina?” Uri asked.
“Better, yes, thanks.”
He released me, and my body instantly cooled, craving his silvery warmth. Was it possible to become addicted to a celestial’s touch? He felt safe and serene. But then my surroundings registered. A street, slick with rain, and the air crackling with the promise of more.
“Lumiers is across the street,” Uri said.
I glanced in the direction he indicated. A building with a pink awning and three floors sat on the corner of the street. Warm light spilled out onto the path in front of it, and the shadowy shapes of figures could be seen through the frosted windows.
“I’ll stay till you get inside,” Uri said.
“You’re not coming in?” Of course he wasn’t. He had a log to get through, and patrol wasn’t his problem. So why did I want him to stay a little longer?
His smile was wry. “What you’re feeling is called the aura,” Uri said. His eyes were sad. “The longing, the warmth in your chest, is all a reaction to what I am. You’ll get used to it.” He jerked his head toward Lumiers. “Go now.”
“You’ll let me know if you find anything?” I needed to know, but I also wanted to see him again. Damn that aura.
“You’ll be the first person I tell.” He gave me his enigmatic half-smile again. “After all, you did help a little.”