Bo
I stared at my ceiling, contemplating what had happened in the bar. I wasn't hurt badly, mostly because I was able to charm any attackers that came my way. Kenz had been practically bouncing off the walls while we were cleaning. Tamsin's aura had been on fire after the fight, and didn't change on the ride back here. I wondered absently if she was asleep. I definitely wasn't tired, and something in the Valkyrie's eyes back at the bar was clinging to my thoughts unlike anything had before. Well, maybe Lauren and Dyson came close…
I huffed and left my bed, feeling incredibly restless. Downstairs, Tamsin was sitting up with her head leaning back, her face pointed towards the ceiling, and I could see that her eyes were open.
"What up, Succubus?" Tamsin said, shifting her position to turn and look at me as I walked into the room.
"Couldn't sleep," I admitted. I moved into the kitchen, going for a glass of wine. "Care for some?" I asked, holding up the bottle.
The blonde hesitated, so I raised both my eyebrows at her impatiently. "Well?"
"Sure, I won't turn down alcohol. May help with the headache," she said finally, joining me at the counter and taking a seat on the stool.
I grabbed a second glass and poured her some of the sweet, red liquid before filling my own.
"Any ideas on where to find this…uh…taxi fae?" I asked. I'm pretty sure I got the name wrong, but whatever. The learning curve sucked.
"Taxim," Tamsin corrected, sipping at her drink while looking at me from the corner of her eye.
Wow, did she make drinking wine look good. I froze at the unexpected thought.
"And no," the blonde continued, waving a hand, clearly irritated. "His feeds were left in random parts of town, and Dyson couldn't track his scent from the Dal. I think he must have followed us from the crime scene, though. I could feel it; he's killed a lot of people recently and Death clings to him." She said the last part softly.
I couldn't help but be curious about what she felt when she sensed death. "Do you like it?" I blurted, surprising even myself. I took a larger-than-a-sip drink of my wine, feeling the glass gradually become lighter between my fingers.
Tamsin looked at me quizzically. "Like what?"
"Sensing death," I replied after a slight hesitation.
Tamsin's eyes looked me over as if she was deciding whether or not I was worthy to tell such a thing. Or maybe I read that look wrong…
"Not exactly," she told me. "It feels kind of draining. It isn't pleasant."
There it was again; that look in the Valkyrie's eyes. Depth. A moment where her walls had come down. My interest in this girl was becoming more apparent in my mind.
"Well, that's what alcohol is for, right?" I said at an attempt to lighten the mood.
She tilted her head with a smirk and nodded. "You got it, hotpants," she agreed, taking a rather large gulp of her wine.
A few glasses later we were trying, and failing, to come up with the plan to track down the taxi fae, but I couldn't help but giggle as Tamsin drained another glass. The Valkyrie's aura was still bright, even more so than it had been at the Dal.
"I can see auras you know," I slipped, grinning at the blonde.
"And what does mine say?" Tamsin asked. She looked mostly intrigued, but there was something else I couldn't read in her eyes, and as much as I tried it didn't become clear. But maybe that was the alcohol.
My smile was innocent. "I'm not telling," I teased.
The Valkyrie laughed, but it seemed like she was uncomfortable and her eyes left mine. "Well," she said, clearing her throat, "you suck at reading people, so I don't trust your sense on auras, either."
"Oh," I chuckled, amused at her conclusion. "I've got skills, blondie."
Without warning, Tamsin's lips were suddenly on mine. All thoughts of anything except her flew from my mind, just like the few other times it had happened. Her hands were on either side of my face and I covered them with my own, noting how warm her skin was against mine.
I could feel her tense and she tried to pull back, but I followed her and she stopped resisting as I deepened the kiss. I didn't even think about it, but it felt … right. She tasted sweet, like the wine, but also just her.
"Woah, guys, kissage in the kitchen!"
My surprised look matched Kenzi's as I turned to face her. "Kenzi! Hi, we were just-"
"Kissing? Valkyrie lips?" the girl chimed in, waving an entire arm at Tamsin.
I frowned at her, but changed the subject. I'd talk to her about this when Tamsin wasn't around. "What are you doing up? I figured you'd still be sleeping," I added. Wasn't it three in the morning?
Tamsin shifted in her chair to look between the two of us.
"Well I was," she said, eyeing the Valkyrie before turning her complete attention me. Well, wasn't this just a tad awkward. "But our investigator email beeped hella loud. We got a hit, babe."
"I didn't think people still used that email. This late? Or early? Or whatever," I mumbled. My head was still a little fuzzy from the wine. And the kiss.
Kenzi shrugged. "You got it. Care to join me to me our client?"
I noticed she was already dressed in her usual Kenzi-wardrobe. I glanced at Tamsin.
"Have fun with that, sweetheart," the blonde said, though her smirk took any sincerity from her tone, and she stood and wandered back to the couch.
Kenzi and I left the Valkyrie behind as we followed our client's directions to his house. I feared a little bit for our collection of alcohol with Tamsin staying alone, but she seemed okay when we left and it had been a while since she had spilled those drunken feelings to me. I had almost forgotten about that. Sometimes I wished I could read minds, because I would sure have liked to know what was going through that chick's mind. I just couldn't put my finger on it.
I pulled over at the address that Kenzi gave to me and got out of the car. The house was simple, white, and with green shrubs lining the walls. I rang the doorbell and waited as Kenzi joined my. She bumped her hip against mine.
"You ready for this, Bo Bo?" she asked. She seemed excited, recovered completely from last night's adventures at the Dal, apparently.
I smiled and shook my head. "As I'll ever be. Did they say anything over the phone about what was going on?"
"Um … something about a Djinn?"
"A what now? What is that?" I asked. I was getting tired of not knowing the different types of fae. Maybe we should have brought Tamsin along. I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought of the blonde and shook it away.
"You got me, babe. Do you smell that? Like something burning?" she asked. At her words, I took a whiff of the air, and sure enough something smelled charred.
I cupped my hands over one of the first level windows of the house and peered inside.
"Uh … Bo? We've got one well done over here," Kenzi called from one of the other windows. The front door was unlocked so we both rushed inside. I grimaced.
The body on the floor was completely blackened, but nothing else in the room was burned, which seemed weird.
"I guess this was our client," I murmured, covering my nose for a moment to help with the smell.
"Now crunchy and crispy," Kenzi agreed. "Maybe we should go ask Trick about Djinns," she suggested, already backing out of the house. I was with her; I didn't want to be there any longer and there wasn't anything we could do for the client now except figure out what happened to him.
The Dal was empty, which was to be expected at this time of morning. The sun had come up already, but it was still very early. Not to mention the mayhem the night before.
"Yo, Trickster!" Kenz hollered, planting herself on a stool at the bar. Surprisingly she didn't reach for any alcohol.
"What are you two doing here? It's way too early for you to be here for anything that isn't trouble," my grandfather said, looking wary. "Did you find the Taxim?"
I shook my head. "No, but a Djinn, maybe? What do you know about them?"
Trick looked surprised. "They're rare. They're what you'd think of as a genie. Wishes of free will, and they feed off the disappointment of a wish gone wrong. Why are you asking?"
He made it sound more like an accusatory "What did you do now?"
"We got a case, but when we went to our guy's house he was barbecued extra dry," Kenzi said, drawing a finger across her throat. "Yikes."
Trick frowned. "Djinns are hellish fae. Fire is one of their attributes. Ask Dyson if he knows where one may be. Tell him to look for reports of fires of unknown origins," Trick suggested.
Huh. I didn't think about that. I took out my phone and dialed up the wolf, grinning as Kenzi finally reached for one of the bottles within reach.
"Bo," Dyson greeted gruffly. "What can I do for you?"
"We're looking for a Djinn," I answered. I wonder if Tamsin would know, I thought, but then decided against talking to the blonde. Things felt weird around her lately.
Dyson hesitated. "Alright, Bo, I'll look. But you'll need to be careful. These fae are dangerous," he warned. Typical, Dyson.
"Yeah, yeah," I agreed, mostly just to make him feel better. "We'll be fine," I promised. We always were, right? Besides, we had to find out why a Djinn killed our boy. He deserved that much in my opinion.
Kenzi and I left the Dal and found a place to eat some breakfast, since it was still early enough. She tore into her waffle, managing to talk in between bites.
"So spill," she insisted. "Why did I find you and Tamsin sucking face this morning?"
I shrugged. I honestly didn't know. It had been surprising, like in Brazenwood.
"She kissed me," I told her.
"Aaaaaaand? Don't leave me hanging here, bestie!" she said, waving her hands at me.
"Well, it wasn't bad…" I continued, pondering on the kiss. No, it definitely wasn't bad. If anything it was one of the most passionate kisses I'd had.
"Oh, you were kissing back, succubabe," Kenzi laughed.
"Well I…" I stopped, saved by the ring of my cellphone. "Dyson?" I answered.
"Bo, there were some unexplained fires across town, but it's Dark territory, and they aren't very kind towards you as of late. I think you should let this one go," he stated.
"I'm not asking you to come with me, Dyson. This is something I need to do." My tone allowed for no arguments, so I waited patiently as he gave me the address.
My poor, rundown yellow car carried us to our destination. Dyson had warned me again, but I wasn't about to let this death go any time soon. We ended up at a shabby apartment complex. The windows had crooked boards covering them, and I even saw a few with bars.
"Hm. Nice place," I commented sarcastically and made my way to the front entrance.
"Um … sweet cheeks? We're going to just waltz right in there? This guy grilled a whole man!" Kenzi exclaimed, following quickly but nervously.
I turned to look at her and shrugged. "Got a better idea? This guy feeds off disappointment from wishes gone wrong. Just don't make wishes," I told her while walking up the staircase to find the correct apartment. We found room 24B and I hit the wood softly with my knuckles.
An old man whom I would guess to be in his fifties opened the door. He was thin yet sturdy, with eyes that contained unimaginable depth and agelessness. He wore a gray suit, which I found strange considering he was in his apartment.
"Hi, we're looking for our friend … uh, Djinn," I said with a ribbon-winning smile. You know, just in case the guy was human.
The man's frown slowly turned into a rather creepy smile. "That's me. What can I do for you two lovely ladies?"
He stepped back to allow us into his apartment, and once we stepped inside his suit made a little bit more sense. He used the place as his 'office,' which had a desk with two chairs before it and six more chairs pushed up against another wall. I noticed his was one of the apartments that had bars on the window.
"An acquaintance of ours mentioned you to us. He came into some trouble this morning and passed away, so we are just asking some questions," I said, glancing around the small space.
"He was extra crispy," Kenzi added helpfully.
The man chuckled. "I know what you are. You're that unaligned succubus who looks into fae matters, and yet you're no cop or detective." He chuckled again and teetered on his feet.
Something about him definitely seemed off. He swayed a bit more dramatically and jumped at every creak in the floorboards or groan of a pipe.
"I just like to see the right things get done," I told him honestly, starting to think this maybe wasn't a good idea after all.
"Bo Bo, this guy is going woo-woo!" Kenzi whispered in my ear, moving her finger in a circle at the side of her head to indicate his crazy.
"Yeah I killed you 'acquaintance' this morning," the man slurred. "The wish was there somewhere. Disappointment all around, there was," he muttered.
"I'm gonna call Dyson," Kenzi said before pulling out her cell phone.
The man's face hardened dangerously as his gaze focused on the piece of plastic in Kenzi's hand.
"No, no you don't," he muttered. A wave of his hand sent a stream of flames from his fingers and straight for my best friend.
"Kenzi, look out!" I yelled, fear pumping adrenaline through me. I reacted too quickly to think, jumping in front of the flames before it could reach Kenzi, my friend, my sister, my heart.
I expected more pain, but I actually felt almost … cold. I remember thinking the floor smelled weird, kind of a mixture between peppermints and burning leaves. Kenzi was screaming something, and I was back on my feet, stumbling down the stairs. Was this what death felt like? It didn't feel draining, like Tammy said. Tammy? I meant Tamsin …
I was outside with Kenzi somehow supporting me on my unsteady feet, but I stopped. I did feel tired, and still very cold.
"Gotta get you to Dyson," I heard Kenzi say frantically. Why would I need Dyson?
I caught a flash of blonde hair, green eyes, a blue jacket. Kenzi said something but it sounded muffled.
I was in the blonde's arms and the ground pressed hard into my knees. When did I fall?
"Come on, Succulette, feed off me," said the stressed, delicious-looking blonde Valkyrie.