Page 66 of Insidious Monsters
“Best not. I don’t want him to cancel the meeting, you know. Best to just do as he asks, especially if it gets us answers.”
Quentin nodded. “Fine. I’ll drop you off, go run a few errands, then pick you up after.”
“Perfect.”
We drove in silence for several minutes. “Is Telarion okay?”
“He’s fine. Why?”
“He should be with you, especially after what happened.”
“I’m fine. We’re…fine.”
“Are you?” He glanced my way. “You tried to kill yourself.”
His words took me back onto that ledge and the despair that had driven me there. “It wasn’t real.”
“The emotions you felt were real, simply intensified. If you want to talk about—”
“I’m fine.” I gave him a quick smile. “Honestly.”
The last thing I wanted to do was dissect my feelings because that would lead to reliving what could have been my last kiss with Telarion, and if I did that, then I’d break down and cry.
Instead, I locked it all down, wrapped it up, and put it in a box to examine later.
Right now, I had tattooed symbols to understand. My best friend’s life could depend on it.
* * *
Quentin droppedme off at Pendergrast, where a guard was waiting to let me through the gates. This time I was led to the main building, the monolithic gray-stone towering home of the city gargoyles.
I wasn’t up on my deets when it came to the city protectors. All I knew was that they were powerful and lived according to a strict code of honor.
The guard led me away from the main doors and around the side of the building to a small entrance.
“Follow me please, Miss.” He stepped into a dingy stone corridor and down a flight of steps that opened onto a basement floor, hardwood and renovated. A freestanding stone arch sat in the center of the room.
Weird.
“You can go through. You’re expected,” the guard said.
“Just…walk through the arch?”
He smiled with his eyes. “It’s perfectly safe. I swear. Milo is waiting for you.”
“Okay then.” I strode through the arch into a vast chamber with a high vaulted ceiling. Books lined the walls, and several tables dotted about were littered with more books and papers. Sofas and chairs were arranged around coffee tables in cozy huddles, and a roaring fire burned brightly in a huge stone hearth at the other end of the room.
My gaze darted about, taking in the tiny details of a space well-loved and lived in.
“August, thank you so much for coming.” A man dressed in a cream tee and worn-in jeans appeared as if from nowhere. His sandy hair was mussed and his smile lopsided. “I thought it best we meet.”
“Milo, I presume.”
“That’s me. And I’ve been studying the images Devyn sent on your behalf. Come, join me.”
He indicated one of the sofa huddles and I noted the pot of tea set on the coffee table along with two cups.
“I hope that’s a fresh pot. I’m parched.”
