The Inner Circle, Book 3 of the Glass Wall ( A YA Urban Fantasy Romance ) (6 page)

He was dressed in full rocker regalia,
spikes, chains and all, and his black hair was moussed to stand out
in all directions. His eye was completely back to normal.
Obviously, the Fae healthcare system was more advanced than
ours.

I was actually relieved to see him. I guess
on some level, I’d been worried that he hadn’t responded to my
calls.

He cut to the front of the line.

The customers didn’t seem to mind, though it
was obvious that Samantha did. And as he leaned against the pastry
case, she waved a newspaper in front of his face.

“Missed another concert, did you, Jareth?”
Samantha asked in a brisk tone. “You’ll ruin your brand if you
continue to misbehave.”

He gave her a cocky grin and snatched the
paper out of her hand. “Misbehaving
is
my brand, dragon,” he
said before scanning the headlines.

The headline was printed in large, bold
letters: “Another No-Show for Jareth. Are Drugs Involved?”

He snorted and tossed the paper onto the
counter.

“Do you want your usual blueberry muffin?” I
asked him, wanting him to sit down quickly so we could talk. “Just
take a seat and I’ll bring it right out.”

Samantha sighed. “Handle him for me, Sydney,”
she said in a slightly weary tone and then turned to her other
customers.

I didn’t need to be told twice.

Putting a blueberry muffin onto a plate, I
slipped out from behind the counter and, grabbing Jareth’s hand,
pulled him to a corner table.

“Where have you been?” I hissed, slamming the
plate down onto the table. “I tried calling you several times!”

Jareth raised a brow and looked surprised.
Pulling out his trion, he looked at the slim silver weapon and
murmured something. A spark of light shot out from the tip and
disappeared into his hand.

“So you did,” he said, clearly surprised.
“Strange. I never received the message.”

My frown deepened, but I forged ahead. “We’ve
got to take control here. But first things first, I must make sure
Al, Betty, and Grace are protected. Can you make them runes,
too?”

I pulled his protection rune from my
pocket.

He looked pleased at that. “So, you really do
trust me now, do you?”

“For now,” I said a bit acidly and then
repeated, “Can you make them runes?”

At that, he turned grim. “No,” he said
shortly. “And I don’t even think the one you have is going to
work.”

Standing abruptly, he pushed his way past me
and exited the coffee shop.

I stared at him dumbfounded and then scowled.
“Thanks, Jareth,” I muttered under my breath, collecting his
uneaten muffin.

Obviously, I couldn’t rely on him.

Returning to the pastry case, I went back to
work, shoving muffins, cookies, and scones into bags and onto
plates as I planned my next move.

Part of me did keep on the lookout for
Rafael. But he didn’t show up. Either he hadn’t gotten my message
or he hadn’t cared.

But I wasn’t about to give up that easily. As
soon as I got home, I was going to walk across the street and tell
him that I wanted to help. I’d pretend that I thought he was
playing the part of a spy. And maybe I’d learn a little something
along the way.

I’d stolen the mutant tulpa before. Maybe I
could do it again. And maybe I could figure out a way to get rid of
the thing. Though exactly how one might get rid of an evil tulpa
was a bit beyond me. I knew it was going to be harder than simply
flushing it down the toilet.

But as I’d told Jareth, first things
first.

I had to protect everyone from the
Mesmers.

Samantha let me borrow the computer on my
lunch break and I searched again for ways to prevent mind control
but with little success. By the end of my lunch break, I’d gotten
pretty frustrated.

Giving up, I whirled around in lazy circles
in Samantha’s swivel chair, watching the baristas scurrying about.
And as one of them walked by me with a big box of foil, I suddenly
remembered reading about how cats should be forced to wear foil
hats to prevent them from contacting their mother ships.

Curiously, I typed in a quick search about
foil hats.

Within minutes, I was reading the scientific
theory of how they worked. Apparently, a foil hat significantly
reduced the intensity of radio frequency radiation on the wearer's
brain, something called a Faraday cage.

Excitedly, I read how even some older houses
were basically Faraday cages, the houses that had used chicken coop
wire and plaster as wall material. I didn’t think Al and Betty’s
house was that old, but maybe I could make a Faraday cage out of it
somehow.

I didn’t think I could get them to wear foil
hats. Besides Al, anyway.

But still, I was pretty excited. At least I
had something to try.

The rest of the day passed quickly with no
sign of Jareth or Rafael. And soon enough, we’d turned the
Christmas music and the lights off and most of the baristas had
gone.

“Wanna watch a movie with me and Grace?”
Ellison asked as we wiped the counters down.

“Not tonight,” I said. “I’ve got plans. I’ll
just take the bus home.”

“Ah, I see,” he said with a knowing
smile.

I knew he thought I was talking about Rafael.
But then, I guess I was. But it certainly wasn’t going to be
anything like a date.

Grace arrived then, telling Ellison to hurry
so they wouldn’t be late for the movie. And as Ellison reached for
the trash, I volunteered. “You just go with Grace. I’ll dump the
bags.”

“Thanks, mate,” he said, doffing an imaginary
cap.

I watched the two of them dash across the
street, holding hands. And for a minute, I felt a twinge of
jealousy.

Annoyed with myself, I tossed the trash bag
over my shoulder and tromped through the back of the shop.

“Tomorrow, it’s back to making cappuccinos
for you, Sydney,” Samantha said as I passed. She didn’t look up as
her fingers moved rapidly over the keypad of an ancient calculator.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I grunted, hoping she’d take that for
agreement. But, I much preferred washing dishes.

Shoving the door open with my foot, I stepped
outside.

It was already dark.

Taking in a big gulp of fresh air, I looked
up at the night sky. There were no stars, or if there were, they
were obliterated by the city lights. A few snowflakes drifted down
lazily from above.

Lugging the trash bag, I slipped a little on
the icy blacktop as I headed toward the dumpster about twenty feet
away. But I’d only taken a few steps before I had the nagging sense
that I was being followed.

I heard it first. The small scratching sounds
of something scrabbling over the bricks behind me.

I caught my breath in a huge sucking sound
and then whirled around. In the dim light, the trees across the
street suddenly took on menacing shapes.

But then one of the shadows broke away from
the dumpster, and a blood-curdling scream tore from my lips as I
recognized the small gargoyle shape.

It was Blondie.

The backdoor of the coffee shop slammed
open.

“What is it, Sydney?” Samantha asked. “Are
you ok? What happened?”

And then Blondie’s unblinking gaze focused
directly upon Samantha, and his impossibly low voice vibrated.
“Turn away, human,” he said. “Go back inside.”

“No!” I gasped, grateful that Jareth’s
protection rune was apparently working, but I was afraid for
Samantha. I didn’t want her to be mesmerized.

But to my surprise, Samantha’s voice dropped
an octave itself. “What is that thing? Let me get the broom.”

Astonished, I turned to see her reach back
into the coffee shop to grab the handle of a wide sweeper.
Brandishing it as a weapon, she began to walk toward me in her
usual no-nonsense-Samantha way.

“My, my, what is that? Some kind of raccoon
with mange? This time of year?”

Blondie’s eyes began to shine in the
darkness. “Hold still, human,” he whispered as he sidled out of the
shadows and into the light. I could see his hairless body, the
spiked scales, and dark, liquid, bottomless eyes. The magnetic
force coming from his eyes was impossible to resist.

I choked. “Watch out, Samantha!” I managed to
warn, filling with a growing horror.

Samantha paused, looking directly into his
eyes, long and hard. And then she pursed her lips and reaching
forward, pulled me back. “Strange looking beast. Out of my way,
Sydney. I’ll not have anyone under my charge harmed until I can get
Animal Control out here, and get this poor thing some help.”

Blondie hissed and drew back.

Stepping in front of me, Samantha wielded the
broom and with a reproving click of her tongue, ordered crisply,
“Shoo!”

Blondie lunged forward.

But Samantha’s aim was true. She hit him
straight on, sending his body flying over the dumpster.

My mouth dropped open. I’d thought that the
Mesmer were impossible for anyone to resist.

But then, Samantha wasn’t just anyone.

“Strange.” She glared with an audible huff
and placed her hands on her hips. “I don’t think I’ve hurt it, but
it should be seen by a vet. I’ll take care of this, Sydney. You run
on home. I don’t want you around that thing.”

I drew a shaky breath.

“Be quick now,” Samantha ordered me as she
pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and punched in a number.
Turning to the side, I heard her say, “Yes, I need some traps over
here at once. I’ve some kind of armadillo. It looks diseased. It’s
a downright health hazard.”

Slipping back into the shop, I grabbed my
backpack and peered out the backdoor where Samantha was still
talking, waving her hand.

Through a side window, I could see the bus
approaching the bus stop.

It was now or never.

Dashing past Samantha, I waved a goodbye and
ran like mad to the approaching bus.

But rounding the corner, I knew at once that
I’d made a horrible mistake.

There was no denying it this time.

In front of me, a shadow peeled from the
brick wall and formed the unnaturally tall man with the black top
hat dressed in a tuxedo.

I tripped and
fell against the bricks as the man in the tuxedo floated towards
me.

“Run, Sydney!” I heard his voice. But it
sounded as if it came from a great distance. “Run!” He was pointing
up, and as he began to fade, I followed the direction of his finger
and saw dozens of glowing beady eyes lined along the rooftops.

“It’s time,” dozens of Mesmer voices
whispered. “Time to open the portal.”

I could feel their eyes zeroing in on me. In
my pocket, Jareth’s protection rune blazed to life, burning through
my sweatshirt and jeans to sear my skin.

The rune wasn’t going to last much
longer.

As dozens of gargoyle-like Mesmers slithered
down the walls towards me, I turned to run only to hear tires
squeal.

I froze in the headlight beams of a car.

The slam of a car door jolted me out of my
stupor. And then Rafael was there, shoving me into his Bentley.
Diving into the driver’s seat, he reversed the car, accelerating so
fast that my head slammed back against the headrest.

And then we were zooming down the street.

A wave of relief passed through me, followed
quickly by concern.

“Samantha!” I said, whipping around in my
seat and peering through the back window.

“They’re following us, not her,” Rafael
replied tersely.

He was right.

I could see them scuttling after us, a
macabre stampede of hairless, slithering Mesmers. There must have
been at least two dozen.

He sped down the street, weaving effortlessly
through the slower moving cars. Several times, we slid on ice, but
he was in complete control of the car.

He looked mysterious in the light of the
dashboard with his blond hair wildly framing his face, and the line
of his jaw, hard. He was an enigma. Forbidden. Tempting.

I could hardly believe I thought that.

Annoyed at myself, I scowled and said, “And
why are you running from your buddies?”

Anger made his jaw lock even tighter.

I mentally kicked myself. That was hardly the
way to convince him that I was on his side.

“I’m not your enemy,” he said, glaring at me
a little.

“Really?” The words tumbled out of my mouth
before I could clamp my lips together. “So, letting Blondie almost
kill Betty means we’re still friends?” I bit my tongue. I would
have to maintain control if I was going to make real progress in
spying.

“She’s fine now, isn’t she? No lasting harm
was done,” he said coolly, but I could hear the undercurrent of
silent anger running through his words.

“Thanks to Jareth!” I couldn’t resist
pointing out.

With a dramatic lift of an eyebrow, he said,
“Ah yes, Jareth saved the day.” The note of sarcasm was heavy in
his voice.

In an instant, hot anger bubbled, and I just
threw caution to the wind. “So, you with the Mesmers and the Inner
Circle is just a misunderstanding? Some kind of joke?” I asked
outraged. “I’m laughing really hard inside.”

“I’m very pleased to have amused you,” he
answered in such a calm tone that I immediately wanted to slap
him.

“Stop the car,” I demanded.

After a hard stare, he relented and pulling
into a gas station parking lot, turned off the ignition.

“What happened to Betty wasn’t funny,” I
snapped. I knew my temper had gotten the better of me, but I was
too emotional to care.

My hand flew to the door handle, but Rafael
jerked me back.

“It’s not safe out there for you right now,”
he said, raising his chin as if daring me to challenge him.

Of course, I did. “And what’s the problem?
Can’t you just tell your Mesmer minions to leave me alone?”