SOS HOTEL: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay! by Adam Vex & Ariana Nash

Author:Adam Vex & Ariana Nash [Vex, Adam & Nash, Ariana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing
Published: 2024-04-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Zee didn’t join me for breakfast. He was absent all day, and when night fell again, he wasn’t in the attic, or the bar, much to the dismay of the guests, who had been hoping for a second outing of the pole-dancing Zodiac. Was it wrong that he’d fed from their admiration? Probably a bit, but he wasn’t hurting anyone.

Clearly, I wasn’t the only one with hang-ups about all this—and us. He probably needed time to work through it all. And maybe it was for the best. We’d been working side by side for weeks, trying to get the hotel ready. A break would do us good.

I asked after Claymore again, and this time, when it became clear nobody had seen our head of security for two days, it appeared I might have a new problem. There was a chance Claymore had simply gone out, but he hadn’t been due any time off until the weekend, and I couldn’t protect anyone outside the hotel.

My gut was telling me Claymore’s absence had something to do with the dead Mr. Reese, who we’d found in Reynard’s room. Nobody had seen Claymore since the night before opening day. That timing couldn’t be a coincidence.

I ventured into the hotel gardens to get some fresh air and clear my head. The garden wasn’t much. We’d mowed a path through the weeds, and set up a picnic table where the view of the city’s sparkling night-lights stretched from east to west. The wards extended to the fringes of the iron fence, but most of the guests preferred to stay inside.

Quiet stars twinkled above, and my breath misted in the cool air.

I thrust my hands into my pockets. It was peaceful outside, so why did I feel as though the sides of a box were closing in around me?

“Would you like some company?”

My heart leaped into my throat. Reynard was just as good at appearing out of the blue as Zee could be. “No, I mean, it’s fine. I was just star-watching.”

“Beautiful.” His silver eyes sparkled in the dark, just like those ice-white stars above us.

“Aren’t they. That’s Ursa Minor—the uh, little spoon—and Ursa Major.”

“The big spoon?” Was Reynard smirking? Probably not. What could he know of little and big spoons?

“Right, and Draco . . .” He was watching my face, not the stars. But as I met his gaze, he looked up.

“Ageless and unchanging,” he said. “Civilizations rise and fall beneath their watch.”

“The things they must have seen but can’t tell a soul.”

“Perhaps they prefer not to interfere, knowing ultimately, it’s pointless. What will be, will be.”

Cheery. “I’ve always liked the stars . . .” I whispered, trailing off. “Whatever happens down here, they’re always up there. It’s reassuring.”

“You have no idea.” Their pale glow lit his face, making it leaner in the dark. “When you’ve lived as many lifetimes as I have, there’s little left that’s familiar. But the stars remain, ever diligent.”

Was it rude to ask how old he was? The way he talked, maybe Zee was right, and a thousand years wasn’t far off.

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