Magic washed up his legs in a red wave that splashed onto his shoulders, climbing until it tickled his jaw. When the viscous liquid drained away, Hood did too, melting into a muscular form that was half bull mastiff and half Komodo dragon. His rust-colored fur gave way to heavy scales in strategic spots. Needlelike teeth filled his mouth, and his bloodcurdling bay as he challenged her raised chills down my spine.
The man turned on his heel and ran faster than any necromancer had a right to move.
I took one step back but froze when Hood swung his blocky head my way, and I rasped, “Good boy?”
Snorting out what might have been a canid laugh, he resumed his hunt.
After knocking the shrieking woman onto the ground, he clamped his wide jaws on her thin shoulder and bit down until crimson stained his mouth. He slung her between his paws until she fainted from sheer terror. With a disgusted huff, he released her then padded over to me.
A cool presence materialized at my elbow, but Cletus made no move to intervene. I was hoping that was a good sign.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Linus, but he too remained still. Tension lined his face, but he was absent his tattered cloak, telling me he hadn’t hit panic mode yet.
Ignoring the wraith, Hood snuffled my palm where it rested against my thigh until I lifted my hand. I gave his massive head a hesitant pat, and he licked me, smearing gore and drool from the wrist down to my fingertips.
“Oh, ick.” I flung my hand. “Are you serious?”
Chuffing under his breath, he walked off wagging his tail, leaving the woman to bleed out on the sidewalk.
An ambulance pulled curbside within seconds, and Hubert exited the building in a huff. Two paramedics jumped out with a stretcher hung between them. They checked the woman’s vitals, scooped her up, and vanished all in the time it took me to remember how to shut my mouth.
“Hubert would have called them once Hood got involved,” Linus told me. “A precautionary measure.”
“Hood savaged that woman.” I held up my arm, crimson drool stringing between my fingers. “He could have killed her, and no one came out to stop him. No one told him no. They just watched.”
I had watched, too terrified I might be next to intervene. But as the adrenaline ebbed, the excuse felt flimsy to me.
“The Faraday has its own laws, and she broke them.” Linus cast the darkest shadows a wary glance before guiding me into the lobby. “I’ve seen Hood do far worse with much less provocation.” His cool fingers brushed the small of my back, and he guided me into the lobby. “I’m not certain why he finds you so interesting, but it’s for the best that we’re returning to Savannah tomorrow.”
Savannah, not home. This—this topsy-turvy mess—was his haven.
“Thank the goddess.” I wiped my hand on my pants. “I take back what I said about wishing I had never come here. I’m glad I did. I was chafing against the bonds holding me in Savannah, and this cured me of that. I’m more of a homebody than I imagined.”
This side of Atlanta was not a facet I ever needed to see again.
Linus shuffled me into the elevator. “Do you still want to tour the campus before we go?”
“I’m good.” I waved away the offer with a sticky hand. “Maybe some other time.”
“I ruined this for you.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to show you the best of my city, but it seems determined to only show you its worst. My worst.”
“Hey, I meant what I said.” I caught his eye. “We can try this again after things calm down.” I smiled to make sure he understood I wasn’t laughing at him when I added, “But next time I’ll be getting a hotel room across town.”
“I hoped you might see a different side of me,” he said softly. “Not this one.”
“Don’t all those sides get confusing?” I bumped shoulders with him. “Can’t you ever just be the real you?”
“Real is an abstract concept. Are we ever ourselves, our whole selves, except when we’re alone?”
Once, I told Boaz that old Grier was a shirt I pulled on when I expected company and warned him that eventually it wouldn’t fit me anymore. One day, I would be forced to wear a new one or remain exposed. I had never considered that the alternative might be investing in a closet full of new shirts to wear when the mood struck me. Not until I glimpsed Linus’s wardrobe.
“I want to believe we can all find at least one person to show our true faces.”
Curious, he glanced over at me. “Boaz is that person for you?”
“Sometimes.” I mulled over my answer. “I show him the best of what’s left, but he’s seen the worst too. We’ve known each other forever. It’s impossible to hide your whole self from someone for that long. You can keep corners of your heart secret, but that’s about it.”
“Hmm.”
The flashing number slowed as we reached his floor. “What does that mean?”
“I envy you,” he confessed. “I don’t have that. I have too many secrets to be open with any one person.” He followed me into the hall. “You’re the closest I’ve gotten.”
“Oh, come on.” I forced a laugh to shatter the quiet moment. “You can’t tell me you and Meiko don’t do the pillow-talk thing. I’ve seen your pillowcases. They’re covered in cat hair.”
Card in hand, he hesitated. “I’m not sure it makes any difference, but I want you to know that Meiko and I…” A flush rose up his pale throat. “She might appear as a woman when the mood strikes her, but it’s an illusion. Beneath her magic, no matter how real she might otherwise appear, she’s anatomically a cat.”
Embarrassment flared in my cheeks, because I was mortified to realize it did matter. “I’ll admit I was curious.”
“I’ve long believed that’s how her favorite game developed,” he admitted. “She was gifted, or cursed, with higher awareness, and she wants to be more. She wants to be human, or something like it.”
“She got someone hurt tonight,” I reminded him. “There’s no excuse for that behavior.”
Smile curling his lips, he huffed out a laugh. “I’m open to suggestions.”
“I’m willing to design wards to keep her out of your apartment,” I said sweetly.
“Don’t tempt me.” He let me into the apartment. “I must return to Strophalos. A few of the tests we initiated earlier will be ready by now, and Reardon can’t enter his office until I remove the wards.”
“I can entertain myself,” I assured him. “I brought a book to read. I might go soak for a while and lose myself in a small town where only a postal worker and her dog can unravel the mystery of who is killing the people on her route.”
His eyes sparkled. “Sounds riveting.”
“Don’t mock me,” I said primly. “I’m expanding my intellectual horizons.”
“You’ll have to loan it to me when you finish. Perhaps I’ll pick up some sleuthing tips.”
The reminder of his job curdled my stomach, but I tamped down the roiling so as not to wound him.
“I’ll do that.” I did a cursory check of the loft and found it empty. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Name it.”
Sucker. “Can you keep Meiko busy for a few hours so I can enjoy some peace and quiet?”
“I’ll bring her to Strophalos with me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can set up temporary wards to prevent her from escaping my office. Her magic nullifies mine, so I can’t promise how long it will last.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask what good a familiar that nullified rather than amplified magic was to him, but every second the door stood open was an opportunity for her to snake between his legs and ruin my relaxation time. “Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.”
“Cletus will remain in the area, and I’ll check in before I return home in case you need anything.”
“That sounds perfect.” I cheered up on the spot. “Be thinking about food.” I rubbed my hands together, stomach growling. “I vote you pick up takeout on your way back, and we binge on cartoons until dawn.”
And pretend today never happened.
“We can do that.” He ducked his head, but it failed to hide the curve of his cheek. “Enjoy your evening.”