Uncertain Allies

17

Déjà vu teased at me as I walked down Pittsburgh Street. Less than a year had passed since I first went down the alley behind the warehouses, yet so much had happened. The graffiti-covered buildings hadn’t changed, nor the forlorn atmosphere of a place that had seen better times. The boarded-up windows and doors that faced the alley made the buildings look like they had construction barriers. Construction was the last thing happening.

The door to the squat wasn’t hard to find despite the way it blended with the others. I checked for observers before tugging on some pine boards, a false barrier to disguise the entrance, a poor man’s glamour in a way, no different in intent than an essence barrier. They pulled way from the building, bringing the door with them.

Inside the trash-filled hall, I sensed Shay’s body signature and the pure essence of the stone bowl. He hadn’t been followed, at least not into the building. The door at the end of the hall opened, exposing Shay in silhouette. “For gods’ sakes, Shay, I told you someone might be after you.”

He stepped back as I entered the room. “Uno’s here. You know he doesn’t let anything happen to me.”

The big dog sprawled on the bare mattress of one of the two beds. He pricked an ear as I came in, then settled down with his head between his paws. “You shouldn’t take that for granted. You shouldn’t take anything for granted.”

“Like thinking it’s safe to let you in my apartment?” Shay never let an opportunity pass for a little sarcasm.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He placed a languid hand on his hip. “Other than being scared half to death and having a perfectly good canvas ruined, I’m fine.”

I spotted the stone bowl on the floor near the wall. As I crouched over it, the black mass in my head danced in reaction to the emanations rising from it. “Do you think it’s safe to leave this here?”

“Probably, assuming, of course, a gang of virgins doesn’t break in,” he said.

Shay had lived in the room with his boyfriend, Robyn. They had been safe, watching out for each other, living under the radar until I came along. Except for the furniture and a ripped maroon velvet curtain that covered some shelving, Shay had stripped the place of personal belongings when he moved into his studio. “Has anyone been in here since you left?”

Shay sat on the bed and ruffled his fingers through Uno’s fur. “It’s exactly how I left it. We never told anyone we lived here. Murdock knew about it because he followed Robyn home one night to see what he was up to.”

“Good. Tell no one about it or the stone. As far as the world is concerned, you never had anything to do with this,” I said.

He pouted in amusement. “Until you need it moved again.”

“Let’s cross that bridge if we come to it.”

Shay played with Uno’s hair. “You and I both know it’s ‘when’ and not ‘if.’ What happened, Connor? That black stuff that came out of you was like that night in the leanansidhe’s cave.”

I sat on the opposite bed. “That’s one of the things I’m trying to figure out. I have some clues now. The leanansidhe was able to do something similar, and the Guildmaster is affected by it, too.”

His eyes went wide. “Is that why he’s been sick all this time?”

Manus ap Eagan’s illness wasn’t a secret, but Shay’s knowledge of things fey often surprised me. “I shouldn’t have said that, but, yeah, it looks like it.”

Uno rolled on his back as Shay scratched him. “I hope you figure out.” He buried his face playfully in Uno’s fur. “And I hope it’s not the reason this guy follows you around.”

I pressed my lips tighter, conscious of trying to keep a secret. I didn’t think it was fair to Shay that Robyn made me promise not to tell he had sent the dog. The two of them had left some things unresolved when Robyn died. I told Robyn he should resolve them. He said he would consider it, and I made the promise to keep silent. “I’m sorry you got dragged into all this, Shay.”

He smiled up at me. “There’s nothing sexier than a goodlooking man apologizing.”

I tweaked his nose. “You are incorrigible. Let’s get out of here.”

Shay shut off the light, and we left the darkened room, at least, darkened as far as visible light. The essence was building again in the stone bowl, its unique properties amplifying the surrounding essence and gathering in its shallow depression. Out in the hall, Shay showed me a hidden chink in the door to check the alley before leaving. Uno followed us out to Congress Street, then melted into the air. Though I liked the dog, I breathed easier when he wasn’t around.

“Take care of yourself, Shay,” I said.

He tucked his chin down. “I always do. Call me sometime.”

Amused, I shook my head as he walked away. The kid had flirted with me from day one. It was innocent fun for him, and I didn’t mind. I needed more fun.

I waited until he was well down the street before returning up the alley and letting myself back into the squat. I didn’t turn the light on, but bathed in the glow of the stone bowl. The dark mass in my head stretched, a sinuous finger of shadow pushing at the front of my skull. I gasped as it pierced my right eye. Blood rushed to the surface of my skin, igniting the nerve endings in delicious pain. A dark spike oozed from my eye and slipped into the bowl. Yearning hunger overwhelmed me as the darkness sucked at the essence. I sank to my knees and hunched over the stone, letting myself drift off in an ecstasy I couldn’t explain and didn’t want to.