Page 30 of Etched in Stone
“Yes, but-”
She scooted off the bed and sprinted out to the living area in the buff. He’d placed the envelope on a table just inside the door. She grabbed it and headed back into the bedroom. Ray was sitting on a stool by the bed. Now that she considered his wings, all the benches made perfect sense. They allowed him a space to rest his butt, with his wings draped over the side.
He hadn’t opened the envelope yet, but by the feel of it, Jesse knew that her fake sigil was inside.
“Let me,” Ray said holding out a hand. With his claw, he could easily open the envelope like he was carrying around his own letter opener. She handed it over. “Just in case. I’m immune to most Earth poisons, and I wouldn’t put it past Rose to be that devious. Ray poured the contents into his hand. He examined the paper and and her fake. He licked it once.
Jesse stared at him questioningly.
“I think it’s okay. This is a very good copy, by the way. The crystal though. That’s not fake. That’s from a true sigil. Might have been from mine. The Rose had years to disassemble it. It goes to show that they’ve been trying to recreate it, even though the technology is still way beyond Earth’s capabilities.
“Morris Granson,” he said, looking at the paper that had come with the device. It was typed neatly on Compass Rose stationary. In the middle of the paper was simply a name and an address. “That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”
“I’ve never heard it before.”
“He was a friend of Olivia. A great while ago.”
“A special friend… or a friend friend?”
The look on his face was that of a father who didn’t really want to know.
“He had the wrong priorities. He wanted a trophy, not someone who could think for herself.”
“And did you unencourage him?”
“I didn’t have to. Olivia did it for me.”
There was more to the story and Jesse was interested in hearing all the sides. But now she was beginning to understand why the Rose Syndicate had recruited her for the scheme. She had an in. She could say that she’d found something from Morris in her aunt’s possessions, and now she wanted to meet him. It would be a good enough excuse.
“Do you fit in an Uber?” she asked, giving him a once over.
“If I have to. Why?”
“Because neither of us own a car, silly.”
“Actually…”
“Ray, have you been holding out on me?”
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FR E L INR AY
It had been too damn long since he’d sat behind the wheel of a car. Despite the awkwardness of his wings, Ray had been in love the with automobiles since he’d seen the first Model T’s. They were primitive compared to Durassian tech, but so much fun, the freedom to drive. They also now came in tinted windows to hide him from passers by. No one looked twice at a black SUV with tinted windows in New York.
“This is a smooth ride,” Jesse said. “How come I’ve never seen you use it?”
“Never had the reason to.” He shrugged. He took a deep breath and inhaled her scent. It was mixed with Olivia’s today. She’d borrowed one of Olivia’s favorite scarves, dressing the part of a Bohemian great niece to attract the attention of her aunts former amour.
“How far is it to Westchester?” she asked him.
“About twenty minutes without traffic.” There was always traffic.
“This is much better than a cab.”
“Cabbies tend to freak out when they see a monster in their back seat camera.”
He knew from experience. It was better to hoof it most of the time. At least with the toll cameras, he was hidden by the sheer mass of people coming through.
