Chapter 9
1716 Words
9
The following morning, Samantha woke up with a killer hangover in an empty bed. She ran a hand down Melissa’s side, familiarising herself with her new reality. Her marriage was over.
With a ringing head, she reached for the bottle of painkillers in her nightstand and threw one back. That would stop the pinching, but there was no medicine that could erase the pain in her heart. Even whisky could only temporarily help her forget.
She swung her legs out of the bed, readying herself for the day. She promised to accompany Lilith to the cobbler to find out more about Tomas and Ian, the missing members of the Fatuus clan.
Before she was able to appear in public, she needed a shower though. She could smell the sweat on herself and her mouth was dry from all the whisky.
“Blah,” she smacked, trying to introduce some moisture to her tongue.
Just as she was about to step into the shower, she heard the sound of clanging pots from the kitchen.
Melissa?
Was she still here?
With a flicker of hope caged in her chest, Sam hurried downstairs. Her dressing gown danced around her ankles, her slippers thudding on the carpet. If Melissa was still here, maybe she’d decided she wasn’t moving out. Maybe there was still a chance, one last chance that they could figure this out. They could tear up the divorce papers, forget about all their differences, and start again. Maybe—
“Morning,” Lilith said, looking up from the brochure she was reading.
Sam’s heart sank as she arrived in the kitchen. No Melissa, just her newest acquaintance who didn’t seem to understand what a locked door meant.
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and used the coffee maker as an excuse to turn her back to Lilith and hide her emotions. “Didn’t I tell you not to break in again?”
“I didn’t,” Lilith replied, sipping from her mug. “I was let in.”
“What?”
The Nox woman heaved her cup. “Mmm… Do you like hibiscus tea? I’ve never had it before, but it’s delicious. Your wife makes good tea.”
“Ex,” Sam replied, the word bitter on her tongue. “Ex-wife.”
“Oh.” The other woman pulled a face. “I didn’t know that. I assumed from the wedding ring you were married.”
Samantha cast her eyes down at her hand, glaring at the wedding band. “We separated yesterday.”
“Oh. Was that the family emergency?”
Not in the mood to talk about her recent divorce, Sam turned her attention to Lilith. “What are you reading?”
“Oh, this is a little guide about shining shoes. I picked it up on my way here.” She pushed it in Sam’s direction. “I figured it couldn’t hurt to be informed.”
“I guess not.” With a sigh, she sat down on the barstool next to Lilith and studied the flyer. “Not sure how this is going to help us, though.”
“Me either.” The other woman downed the last of her tea and stood up. “Let’s go.”
“I’m still drinking my coffee and I need to check on my new puppy.”
“Nahh, no need. Hellhounds are excellent at taking care of themselves. Demon Bite will be fine.”
Sam frowned. “She’s still a puppy. Also, her name is not Demon Bite.”
The other woman rolled her eyes. “Humans are so sentimental. Better hurry up then.”
“Why? I still have my coffee.”
Lilith shrugged. “Put it in a to-go cup.”
“You’re bossy,” Sam remarked, even if it was a good idea. She slipped from the stool and rummaged through the cupboards for her travel mug.
“That’s because I am the boss,” Lilith countered. “Come on, hurry up.”
“Just a second!”
Sam hoped she wouldn’t be like this the entire trip because it wasn’t gelling well with her hangover. She searched under the sink but only found cleaning supplies and plastic shopping bags they’d saved. It smelled like laundry detergent and had some questionable sponges, but no travel mug.
Sam turned to the other woman, a sigh escaping her. “I can’t find it.”
“I have a solution.”
“What?”
With a cheeky grin, Lilith pulled the mug from Sam’s hand and tipped the content out in the sink. “There, problem solved. Now, let’s go.”
“Excuse me!” Sam exclaimed, the annoyance rumbling in her chest. “That was perfectly good coffee!”
But Lilith wasn’t listening to her. She’d already vacated the kitchen and was making her way through the hallway, her heels clicking on the stone floor with every swaying step.
“Rude,” she whispered under her breath as she stared regretfully at the wasted coffee. Nothing she could do about it now and she didn’t feel like going against the other woman. Lilith was scary. Beautiful and elegant, sure, but that didn’t stop her from being terrifying.
“Harry’s Shining Shack,” Samantha read as she and Lilith arrived at a small and humble shop. “You sure this is the place?”
“Yes. If you’re getting your shoes shined, this is where to go.”
A little bell tinkled happily as they pushed the door open and the smell of leather and varnish greeted them. A strange smell, but not entirely unwelcome, Sam thought.
An old man with hair coming out of his ears took one look at Sam, before pointing at the door. “Not open for business!”
Before she could reply, her companion stepped forward. “I think you’ll find you are open for business, Harry.”
Harry. Hairy Harry.
The man’s tone changed immediately. “Miss Lilith, I hadn’t seen you there. What an honour to have you in my shop. What can I do for you?”
Lilith leaned on the counter, her hips curved. “I need to ask you a couple of questions.”
“What about... her?” Harry said, gesturing to Sam.
“The human is with me,” Lilith replied, her voice holding a distinctive tone, one that wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“Certainly. What do you need to know, Miss Lilith?” he replied, the submission clear in his voice.
“I’m looking for Tomas Carlton. Is he one of your customers?”
“Mister Carlton?” Harry replied, blinking rapidly. “What about him?”
Lilith sighed dramatically. “I want to know if you shined his shoes.”
“I—” The man eyed the exit, a little jitter in his step. “No. I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Sam frowned as she stepped forward. “Really? It just sounded like you did know him.”
The old man glared at her. “Don’t speak to me, human.”
“Hey!” Lilith snapped her fingers, all pleasantries gone from her voice. “Answer my question. Did you know Tomas?”
Harry shifted uncomfortably from side to side, sweat pearling on his forehead. “No.”
As he wiped the sweat away, Sam swayed to the side so she could see into the back. A stained workbench stood under a spotlight with a metal bucket of paint, some brushes, and a pair of shoes he’d been working on before the two women interrupted him.
She tapped Lilith’s shoulder, leaning in closer so she could whisper in her ear. As she caught a whiff of her perfume, she gestured to the back. “That pair there, those could be Tomas’.”
The other woman nodded and turned back towards Harry. “Show me the shoes you were working on.”
“But…”
“I said, show me.”
Reluctantly, he stepped away from the counter and towards the workbench. With a nervous smile, he returned with a pair of charcoal greys that matched Tomas’ shoe size.
Sam studied the footwear, inspecting the insoles. “Just as I thought, worn uneven, just like the others. These are definitely Tomas’.”
A low growl escaped Lilith’s mouth. “You hear that, Harry? Definitely Tomas’. Tell me the truth before I consider your lie as disobedience and tell Boss.”
A shiver ran down Sam’s spine as she listened to Lilith’s threat. This woman was dangerous, there was no doubt about it. Between the dimples and smiles, she had the tongue of a poisonous viper and probably the temperament to match it. She’d better not get on her bad side.
From the looks of it, Harry felt the same. He held up his hands, his eyes wide. “Look, I did know the guy, okay? These are his shoes, but he asked me not to tell anyone I’d seen him. He paid me good money so I thought, what’s the harm?”
“The harm is he’s a traitor to the clan, the clan you are a part of. If you know what’s good for you, you’re going to tell me everything you know.”
The man swallowed audibly. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“When did you see Tomas last?”
“I… four days ago. He brought the charcoal greys, asked me for my premium package. He wanted a good mirror shine on the tip, he said he had an important meeting or something. In fact, he was adamant he needed to get it done as soon as possible, but I couldn’t do it as fast as he wanted. I told him he could pick up his shoes on the sixteenth, which he accepted. Reluctantly.”
“The sixteenth is today,” Sam remarked, turning to Lilith. “This could be our chance.”
“So it could.” She turned back to the old cobbler, her eyes spitting fire, her voice a low rumble. “If you breathe one word to Tomas or anyone about this, I will have you banished from Clan IF faster than you can say shoe, you understand?”
He gulped, the fear clear in his eyes. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“Good.” She smiled, all her anger and annoyance instantly evaporated. “Bye for now.”
The little bell tinkled as the two women left the shop, their attention to the task at hand.
Lilith clicked her tongue and threw her long hair over her shoulder. “When he shows up here for his fancy shoes, we’ll catch him.”
“Or…” Sam said. “We follow him. You said it’s Ian you really want. If the two are in cahoots, Tomas could lead us right back to him.”
Lilith snapped her fingers. “Yes. Yes, that’s better. Let’s do that.”
She caught Sam by the wrist, her blue eyes smouldering with a playful excitement. “Alright, you and me, stake-out.”
Sam looked down at where Lilith was touching her. It seemed wrong for someone else but Melissa to elicit sparks and shivers, but there was an undeniable tension sizzling between the two of them. Whether that was due to the magic of the Nox or something else, she didn’t know. She hoped it was the magic, she feared it was something else.
Carefully, she pulled her arm away. Even if Melissa and she were over, she was in no hurry to jump into another relationship. Certainly not with Lilith. The woman might be young and foxy, but Sam wasn’t going to follow her into this new world of nightmares and magic, no matter how beautiful she was.
- Writer
