Capricorn: Forgotten Faces by Vivien Dean

Author:Vivien Dean [Dean, Vivien]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay & Lesbian
ISBN: 9781611240399
Publisher: Amber Quill Press, LLC

Chapter 8

Though Leandro offered a tempting sight, stretched out naked atop his blankets, his burnished skin gleaming against the paler fabric, I shut the door on my libido and jumped into the shower without him. I made it quick. I can't say I trusted him not to jump in with me, and honestly, if he did that, I might as well have just stayed in bed with him. But the more I learned, the more I realized I didn't know. When your business is information, and keeping all the details together or risk chaos, that's more than a little terrifying.

The way I saw it, I basically had one option. Get Lem's ass here and drag it all out of him. I had no idea how. If he was bound by someone else, my magic would probably do squat in getting past it. Still, I'd managed to find a way with Leandro, so I had to trust that I'd be able to do the same with Lem. Plus, I had the added advantage that Lem liked me. I'm not sure why. I've never actually encouraged that friendship. But for centuries, he'd made his admiration more than clear, in little ways like respecting mortal manners by knocking on my door with a new assignment, or in big ones like his direct questions about my current state of happiness. He probably held some inkling of awe for my position in the hierarchy. He was, after all, simply a messenger.

Still, whatever the roots of his respect, it was there. And I had to believe that if I had problems--and the number of impossibilities that had come up around this single assignment certainly qualified as a big one--he'd be there to help me. As much as he could, anyway.

When I emerged from the steamy bathroom, Leandro was still on the bed, though now he sat on its edge, pulling on his socks. He paused, and his appreciative gaze drank me in, lingering on my bare chest and the few droplets that I'd missed while toweling off.

"It's not too late to get naked again," he said.

"You can get naked," I replied. "I need to make preparation."

His smile faded, replaced by a deepening frown, as he watched me go to my pack. "What are you going to do?"

"The less you know, the safer you are."

"Because ignorance has worked so well for you?" The bed creaked as he rose. "We're in this together."

"Not through any fault of yours."

"How do you know that? You don't remember anything."

I dug around for a different shirt, the one I would've worn for the bloodletting ritual if this had been a normal assignment. It's the oldest garment I have, created when I was first made. Its age added to its power. Crafted by Agia, the artisan to the Higher Powers, it had magic in every weft. The cloth had been woven from the down of angel wings, then purified by the sun where the higher and mortal planes met. When I wore it, I felt weightless, ready to merge with sunbeams and race to the sky.

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