BOOK 3 - Myth Ch. 01

Jael opened his eyes, bent one knee to prop a foot against the wall behind him, and avoided Norrix's question. "Not witches being auctioned this time, but it seems we're going to be getting involved with chaos again. It might be a good idea to make some new contacts, see who's buying what. I've always been on the lookout for Mages, but they've been underground for a while. Maybe we can find them in a less direct way."

"I want you to go with us, Norrix." Stryx came back in, towing a flushed Ember behind him. He took the seat behind his desk and pulled her into his lap. "You can fly the plane and you've been to Ashana before."

"Stryx's ability to go in the sun is permanent, but I think I can temporarily shield a second vampire if he stays close." Ember glowed silver, her red hair turning black. "Stryx told me you know more about relics and magical stuff than anyone else here. Will you come with us in case you can find something that will help Musette?"

Nothing he knew about or been able to find in his books had been of any use to wake Ember's sister after she'd been rescued from a Mage but left in some sort of coma. And it was easy to see how worried Ember, and therefore Stryx, was.

"Of course. I'll do whatever I can to help." Norrix swallowed. "You're positive you can protect more than one of us at a time?" He did not want to Witness his fiery death in the sun.

"I haven't tried yet, but I'm pretty sure I can."

He narrowed his eyes. "Pretty sure as in 'pretty sure the sun will rise tomorrow' or pretty sure as in 'pretty sure Stryx's phone will last more than three days'?"

Jael chuckled and Ember laughed. She rose to her feet, ignoring the shirt Stryx stripped off and tried to hand her.

Norrix pushed himself deeper into his chair. Stryx was bonded with Ember. Norrix wasn't sure he had that kind of faith in her. "Maybe test it on Jael? He's the bodyguard after all. He's the one who needs to be close."

"No thanks. I'm an assassin. I can't fly the plane. And Shadows hold more appeal for me." Jael had an expression on his face Norrix couldn't identify. He was smiling and looked... Distracted? Like he was daydreaming. When was the last time Jael had smiled? Before Norrix could give much thought to it, Ember touched his arm.

"Come on." She extended a hand. "I promise it will be okay. People at the auction are going to know something's up if you look terrified. We'll just practice standing in the sun for a short time. A friend of mine is coming over. When she gets here you can hide indoors again."

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Norrix gripped Ember's hand and held still as a statue one step out of the front door, prepared to launch himself back through. It was ridiculous to think if Ember's magic failed the sun wouldn't find him if he held still, but he couldn't bring himself to move. An eight-thousand year old habit was hard to break in a matter of seconds.

But he didn't burn. Feeling the sun on his face for the first time in eight thousand years was nothing short of life altering. He inhaled. Even familiar things always smelled warmer during the day.

The grass seemed a brighter shade of green. The gardens and orchards Xenos cultivated shocked him. He had night gardens and day gardens. Norrix had seen the night gardens many times. They were beautiful, but the monochromatic flowers in them while magnificent, always seemed timid.

The day gardens, however, burst with vibrant blooms reaching for the sun, as if daring gravity to hold them back or pots to contain them. The fragrant scents of apples, oranges, roses, clover, and hyacinth were more potent. Birds in the trees, typically asleep at night, sang and tweeted. His skin warmed in the sun in spite of the chilly winter air.

The ocean was blue in the sun. He'd almost forgotten it could be a color other than black.

This wasn't the first time he'd been in daylight since he'd been turned, although it was the first time he wasn't trying to get the fuck out of it before it killed him.

While he was amazed at Ember's magic, Strygoi were... He didn't like to use the word lunatics, but they were mercurial, and he didn't want to startle her, or have her change her mind about the protection she offered.

Stryx, on the other hand, seemed to have a death wish, and had no problem irritating her.

"Can't you stop glowing?"

"I'm trying!"

Norrix had a horrible thought that the level of Ember's magic might be dependent on her level of shiny.

"What about mostly tamping it down?"

"I don't know, do you only want to be mostly protected from the sun?"

He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. They were only a step from the door. It was right behind him. How much time did he have if Ember's magic stopped?

"Put this on." Stryx waved his shirt at Ember. "Your friend will be here any moment."

Ember laughed. "My friend has seen me naked more times than you."

Stryx growled. She laughed.

A twinge of jealousy ran through Norrix and he closed his eyes. He'd had relationships over the last eight thousand years, but they'd been fleeting. He'd never been human exactly, but even before he was vampire he'd been the Witness, a wanderer with no home.

Being the Witness, an obligation that hadn't stopped when Riordan turned him, required traveling to see events and history in the making. He sometimes wondered if he'd have met his Draga if he'd stayed in one place, but he seemed incapable of not roaming, never sure if being Witness caused his restlessness, or if wandering had made him the ideal candidate to become the Witness.

A car drove up and parked. As car doors slammed, Norrix slitted his closed eyes. Three blonde women walked towards them. They exchanged words with Ember and Stryx, but Norrix didn't hear them. He was too worried Ember's attention was now further divided. He tightened his fingers around hers and inched backwards, closing the gap to safety.

Norrix bolted for the door as soon as Ember said practice was over. If his heart beat, it would have been pounding. He Witnessed events, he didn't like to be part of the events.

Back to the wall just inside the front door, he fended Alaric off with a swipe. "Get lost, Alaric."

"I'm just checking to see if you're well done."

"You're going to be done for if you don't fuck off."

Alaric lost interest in him when the three blondes entered the house, babbling something about quadruplet Dragas at them. Norrix shook his head. How that boy managed to stay alive Norrix didn't know.

Stryx returned from seeing Ember up the stairs to Selene's tower. "Viktoria and her sisters might be able to do something to help Musette, but I want to go to Ashana either way. Can you be ready to leave when they're done with whatever they're going to try?"

Norrix nodded. "The plane is fueled, and it will only take me a minute to pack. When you're packing, keep in mind credit cards won't work in Ashana. Cash might, depending on where the other party is from, but the best currencies are 'shiny' and 'odd'.

"What kind of odd?"

"I made a deal where the other party wanted six left shoes. Not pairs, just six size-sixteen left shoes in different styles." Curiosity had almost made him ask, but in the end he hadn't wanted to know. "Another time I saw a domino trade happen, where twenty three exchanges were made to facilitate one transaction. Everything has worth to someone, somewhere."