Page 43 of Ashes and Lilies
“Bianca,” Damen called, looking at me through the rearview mirror. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I placed my phone face down on my lap. He was pulling into a parking lot outside of a red brick building. Due to the amount of police vehicles, I assumed this was the precinct.
“Okay,” he said, parking his vehicle. I could tell by his voice that he didn’t believe me. He turned off the car and glanced at Dr. Stephens, who was neatly placing a bunch of papers into a brown briefcase.
“Gregory and I need to run inside for a few minutes.” Damen looked back at me. “Would you mind waiting?”
“Sure,” I said and opened my phone once more. I was obviously not worthy of entering the law establishment. But that made sense. I had to prove myself first.
“There’s a park across the street,” Damen continued, inclining his head to the right. “Why don’t you caper about over there while you wait?”
I glanced toward it. Where was it that he wanted me to ‘caper,’ like some child? It’d better not be a playground.
Although it had been some time since I’d been on a swing.
However, the lush gardens were evident from here, and suddenly, it became much more important to be there than inside a stuffy building.
“Okay,” I said.
Dr. Stephens looked up, glancing between us, and addressed Damen, “Why are you talking to her like that?” he asked. “It’s not your concern what she does.”
Well, I didn’t need to be here for this conversation—I was confident that Dr. Stephens could handle Damen’s bossiness allon his own. Besides, Damen wanted to keep my involvement secret; he should deal with the good doctor.
“Bye,” I told them and exited the car.
I walkedalong the quaint cobblestone pathway as the sight and sounds of modern civilization fell further behind me. There was, indeed, a playground, but I ignored it in favor of the autumn foliage. The gardens were abundant and immaculately kept, making me wonder if the groundskeeper was fae too.
Probably. Everything else appeared to be a part of this supernatural society.
How could I have been so naïve?
We were nearing the end of September, so the area was rampant with mums, asters, and the occasional group of black-eyed Susans. I was lost in the sight and sounds as I rounded a corner and encountered an arch bridge over a pond.
“Stupid Finn,” I muttered, peering down into the water from the peak. I couldn’t see the bottom, but it was pretty dark. I’d bet someone with nefarious intentions could hide a lot of dead bodies in there without anyone noticing. It was the perfect place, being right next to a police station and everything. No one would ever suspect.
I wouldn’t, however, wish Finn was down there too. That’d be too much. Still, I couldn’t believe he’d had the nerve to bring up things that we’d both agreed were better off forgotten about a time when I’d been so embarrassingly stupid.
The others could never find out. It would be so humiliating.
I turned, pressing my back to the railing, and pulled out my phone. I stared at Finn’s contact information—at Kogepan’s cute, angry expression. It was the best image I could find in the tenseconds it took to create his contact. I would have to adjust it later to something more fitting.
How much longer were Damen and Dr. Stephens supposed to be, anyway? It felt like forever since they’d left. Was Damen supposed to text me to let me know to come back? We hadn’t even discussed logistics, and I couldn’t even see the street—let alone the parking lot—from here.
“Hey!”
I looked up. A man stood at the foot of the bridge, pointing at me. His strawberry-blond ponytail bounced against his back as he stepped onto the wood. “Is your name Bianca?”
My mouth went dry, and I tucked my phone back into my pocket with shaking hands. I had no idea who this was. Why should I answer him?
“Duh,” a voice sounded directly behind me, and I jumped. There was a second person, a burly man with a buzz cut. “She clearly is.”
“Okay then,” Ponytail said, stepping forward.
I’d been stunned into silence by their arrival and unable to force my body to obey my screaming thoughts, but the determination on their faces and the stalking way they’d held themselves made my thoughts turn.
“L-leave me alone!” I ducked under Buzz’s arm and stepped back.
“No, can do,” Buzz replied, and suddenly, between the two of them, I felt so very small. “We’ve got a job to do. Why don’t you just come with us without a fight, and everyone—except maybe you—will be happy.”
