Page 10 of City of the Lost
The rest I knew. He’d survived by joining a freak show and working with a ventriloquist who also happened to be a neph. It seemed that being turned into a dog opened his eyes to the supernatural world. He’d lived with the neph for the better part of a century, and when he’d died, Trevor had ended up on the streets. That’s where I’d found him. He’d saved my ass in an alley fight by giving me the heads up. Naturally, I’d brought him home, and the rest, as they say, was history.
“I’m sorry, Trev.”
“Don’t be. I’ve had an interesting life. More so than I would ever have had as a human, and now I have you.”
He sounded sincere, but his doggy eyes were filled with resignation. Hope was what kept us striving, it was the reason we woke up in the morning. I couldn’t let him abandon it. “If there is a cure out there, we’ll find it.”
He waved a paw. “Nah. I’ve been thinking, wondering about the consequences and such. I was human, Wila, in my prime, and I’ve been alive for over a century. If you turn me back, what would I become? Bone and ash?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly. I’m not going to take the risk.”
I reached out and ran a hand over his back. “I promise you, Trev. If there’s a way to get you back,withoutturning you to dust, then I’ll find it.” I kissed the top of his head, then pushed back my seat. “I’m going to grab a shower before I head to Tay’s. You want to tag along to the party?”
“And steal your thunder? I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Ha.”
“But seriously.” His tone switched to somber. “Don’t turn away from the chance of love, Wila. Don’t close off your heart. You deserve to be happy.”
How could I explain it to him? How could I explain that it wasn’t loving someone I was afraid of, but that their love wouldn’t be enough for me? How could I tell him that the truth wasn’t that I was afraid of getting my heart crushed, it was the possibility of breaking someone else’s heart that kept me from handing mine over. How could I tell him what I wanted didn’t make sense. So instead, I gave him my best cocky smile. “Trust me, Trev. I don’t need a man in my life to be happy.”
“Hmmm. Just so you know, I’m arching a brow right now.”
Yeah, he so wasn’t buying it.
The air behind me shifted, signaling Gilbert’s arrival.
I turned to face where I thought he would be. “Thanks for a lovely meal, Gilbert.”
“My pleasure,” he said. “No reports matching Lost sightings. I’ll keep trawling, but I feel we may have bagged the only pack that escaped.”
“I hope you’re right.”
The dial on the radio turned, and Missy Honour’s voice blared out at us.
New reports of metal beasts attacking citizens, what will the Arcana throw at us next, not to mention—
I strode out of the room. I had enough on my plate.
* * *
The pipes gurgled and clunked.Bloody plumbing in this place was shot to shit. I’d have to get someone to come in and look at it. The damned pipes were probably as rusty as my vajayjay. With an ominous thud and an angry gurgle, the showerhead sprang to life and water jettisoned into the tub. The room was nice and steamy within minutes. Stripping off my clothes, I climbed into the tub and stepped into the steam. Hot needles of water stung my skin, but man, did that feel good. The heat chased away the aches and pains of the day. I reached up for the shampoo and a gasp caught in my throat. Fucking hell, my finger. My pinky was purple. Shit. Now that I’d noticed it, the damned thing began to tingle.
The ruby ring Valance had given me glinted. It was too tight? How the heck was it too tight? Had it shrunk? Had my finger grown? With no other rings on my hands to compare, there was no telling. Grabbing it, I began to wiggle it, wincing as it cut into my flesh. Fuck, come on. Just over the knuckle. Almost there. I twisted and the damn thing flew off and fell into the tub with a clink.
Crap. I bent down to retrieve it and a cold chill blasted my backside. I shot up and spun round, almost slipping in the wet tub.
A hand shot out to steady me, and I was caught in Valance’s electric-blue eyes. What the heck? How the—I reared back and he grabbed me around the waist, stepping into the hot spray of water with me.
His hair was plastered to his head in a matter of seconds. We stared at each other.
“You’re taking a shower,” he said calmly, water skating off his chiseled visage.
I blinked against the water pattering against my face and nodded, my voice trapped in my throat.
He pouted contemplatively. “So ... you’renotin mortal danger?”
