Embrace, Entice, Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington

Author:Jessica Shirvington [Shirvington, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePub Bud (www.epubbud.com)
Published: 2013-06-26T16:00:00+00:00

chapter twenty- one

“Well! Evil to some is always good to others.”

JaNe ausTeN

When the taxi pulled up to the curb, Spence and I all but scrambled out the windows, heaving for fresh air.

Th e driver and his taxi stank. Th e combination of garlic- charged body odor festering for hours on end in terry cloth seat covers with no air-conditioning was pungent. From the moment Spence closed the door, we’d been holding back our gag refl exes as we tried desperately to stick our heads out the small openings the jammed windows permitted.

Stumbling onto the sidewalk, my head was spinning with a

combination of car sickness and repulsion.

Spence took in a few deep breaths. “Wow, that was…” He

scrunched his face while fll apping his T- shirt, aerating.

“Yeah,” I said, gasping for a few cleansing intakes of fresh air too.

Spence waited patiently while I took a moment to right myself.

I hate riding in the back of cars at the best of times.

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Jessica shirvington

“Okay,” I said eventually, as I stood straight and started to

register my surroundings. “We must be close. I can sense exiles.” Spence nodded and looked around. He couldn’t sense

anything yet.

We were outside the hotel Onyx had directed us to, the Luxe

Grand, a five- star hotel with all the trimmings. Standing to attention in crisp, white shirts beneath tailored gray vests were three doormen— one to open car doors, one to take any luggage, and

one to open the hotel doors for guests. The entrance had the

clichéd red carpet in the front, edged with gold pillars and heavy velvet rope. It sent out a simple message— If you can’t afford to be here, go away.

Spence and I paused. I heard him scoff under his breath. He was in the same pair of baggy jeans he always wore when he wasn’t in training gear and a faded green T- shirt— as opposed to his faded blue T- shirt. Spence wasn’t well off. I looked down at my own very average ensemble: black cargos and a black long- sleeve T- shirt. At least we weren’t wearing flip- flops.

We spared each other a glance, both thinking the same thing,

and shrugged simultaneously before moving toward the red-

carpet entrance.

The doormen each gave us a snooty up- and- down look, but we

didn’t stop. We needed to get up to Nahilius’s room. Unfortunately, Onyx’s text had only said “top floor.” No room number.

We powered through the lobby, not wanting to draw any more

attention to ourselves than we already had, and beelined for the 256

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Entice

elevators, deciding to take a chance that Onyx was right. And that he wasn’t setting us up!

The top floor, which turned out to be the twenty- sixth, consisted of two penthouse suites. Spence and I pressed the number in the elevator and waited.

Nothing happened.

“It’s got one of those swipey things for the top floors,” Spence said, pointing to the electronic swipe machine, which was not

dissimilar to the one I have outside my apartment building.

“How are we going to get one of those?” I asked, feeling every-

thing was against us.

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