The Nymph's Curse: The Collection (80 page)

“I hope everything went all right; you were in there for a while,” he answered.

“I’m having a great time and all, but—”

“Hey, while you were in there some lady came by our table. Said she was looking for you,” Devon said, interrupting. “She gave me this to give to you.” He handed her a sealed envelope. Nothing was written on the outside.

“Did she say who she was?”

Devon shook his head. “She was good-looking but not as pretty as you.” He tipped his glass toward her. “And she talked with an accent. Couldn’t put my finger on where exactly it was from though.”

Who would have tracked her down in a seedy out-of-the-way bar in a city where no one but Jasper knew where she was? Had he told someone where she was? Or, whoever had left her the letter must have been a supernatural, and whatever news the letter carried could only be more supernatural shit—shit she was trying to avoid. She ripped open the top of the envelope and pulled out the paper that was tucked inside. It read:

There was no signature.

Who would have written this cryptic note? And why? The only person besides herself who knew of her quest to retrieve the books was Jasper. Anger steamed through her. He had promised to keep her secret.

Asclepius had told her to return to Jasper, but how could she trust a man who might have betrayed her?

Jasper hoped to grab Starling as she’d left the restroom, but he stopped himself when he noticed the angry look in her eyes. Maybe the date wasn’t such a success.

At Devon’s table, the drunken fool slobbered over Starling, making Jasper’s skin crawl. Up until a few minutes ago, he’d been hoping she had merely showed up to follow through on her word. Yet, as he watched Devon’s hands roam the hills and valleys of her body, he couldn’t deny that she must have been at least a bit attracted to the asshat.

He should have grabbed her when he’d had his chance.

He sat his glass down on the bar. Well, if she wanted to be with the banker, so be it. “Another round,” Jasper said to the barkeeper, pointing at his drained pint.

“IPA?” the bartender asked.

He nodded. Beer would take the edge off his confusing mess of emotions.

The man slid the glass down the bar to him and took his money.

Devon leaned into Starling and ran his frog-like lips up her neck and over her chin. It was more than he could take. Grabbing his glass, Jasper rolled out of the shadowy corner and across the bar. He couldn’t stand by idly and watch. Sometimes safeguarding meant having to protect a person from herself.

“You ready to go?” Jasper asked, interrupting the make-out session.

Starling jerked, away from Devon’s slavering kiss. She wiped the back of her hand over her lips. “What are you doing here, Jasper?”

“I’m taking you back to the hotel. You need your rest.” He bit his tongue to stop himself from saying what was really on his mind.

“You can take the hotel and shove it up your ass. I’m not some weak, fragile girl who needs a babysitter,” she said, glaring at him. “I’m just fine here with Devon.”

Devon looped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “That’s right, baby, I got you.”

“You can’t be serious,” Jasper said, motioning toward Devon. “This guy is the biggest asshole I’ve ever met. You don’t need to slobber all over him just to make me jealous. I don’t give a damn.”

Starling leaned back, forcing Devon to loosen his grasp. “Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I don’t care about you?”

“Come on now, Starling. You can lie about a lot of things, but you can’t tell me you don’t think of me at least as a friend.”

“A
friend
,” she spat the word, “wouldn’t throw another friend under the bus the first chance he got. A
friend
wouldn’t blab a secret.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?” All he’d ever done for this girl was give, give, give. He’d voluntarily given up almost the entire last year of his life taking care of her and watching out for her. Hell, if put in a bad spot, he’d have taken a bullet for her. And now she was going to accuse him of being incapable of keeping a secret?

“I told you something … something you promised to not tell anyone …” She glanced at Devon. “And then I was given this.” She thrust an envelope into Jasper’s hand.

Taking out the note, he read the words. “Who in the hell gave you this?”

“I did,” Devon growled. “Some chick gave it to me, told me to give it to Starling. I thought it was her friend or something.”

“We aren’t from here. We know no one. What makes you think the woman was Starling’s friend? You didn’t think to ask who she was?” Jasper’s fingers tightened around the paper until it crunched in his hand.

“Hey, I’m not the one who is supposed to be her bodyguard,” Devon said, twisting the knife.

“What exactly did you tell him?” he demanded of Starling.

Don’t get angry at me. You are the one who told someone my secret.”

“I didn’t tell anyone anything. I’ve been following you around and trying, once again, to keep you from getting your ass in trouble.”

“You haven’t talked to anyone?”

“I don’t know anyone here, and the only person I’ve spoken to other than you is the cabby who brought me here.” But that wasn’t entirely true. There was the phone call with Ariadne. He couldn’t remember telling her anything that would have compromised the promise he made to Starling. Was it possible Ariadne sent the messenger? She knew about Starling’s ability to speak to the dead, but she couldn’t possibly have known about the secret books. Yet, someone out there knew. Someone who wanted to help. But why?

He had a hard time believing it was just for Starling. Maybe he was a cynic, but nobody helped someone else without some kind of selfish motive. They needed to get out of Savannah before anyone else came out of the woodwork. It seemed like every passing minute Starling fell further into danger.

“Why don’t you get the hell out of here?” Devon drunkenly motioned toward the door. “She clearly doesn’t need a shitty bodyguard. What she really needs is a good time and frankly, man, you’re ruining it.”

“Shut up, Devon.” Starling pried herself loose from his grasp and stood up. “I couldn’t have a good time with you even if you vibrated.”

• • •

“Let me see the letter again,” Jasper said. He read through it one more time. “Cabby, what’s the best place here in Savannah?”

“What, sir?” the cabby asked, looking back at them.

“What would you say is a place where memories are made?” he tried again.

“I don’t know about memories, but Savannah is known as the city of parks and squares. And Forsyth Park is a real popular place for weddings,” the cabby answered, but his voice made it sound like more of a question.

“Is there something round there?” Starling asked, breaking the tense silent treatment she had been giving ever since they had left Devon alone at the bar. Jasper handed back her letter, and folding it, she put it back into her purse.

“There’s a pretty nice fountain at its center. I guess that would be round,” the cabby continued.

“Take us there,” Starling ordered.

The cabby looked toward Jasper and he gave the man a nod.

“All right,” the cabby said, turning to the wheel.

“You really didn’t tell anyone what I told you?” Starling finally looked at him; the anger in her eyes had been replaced by a look of pain.

“No. I really didn’t tell anyone.”

Starling nodded.

“I’m glad you weren’t really into Devon,” Jasper said, trying to find anything to say that could keep her talking to him. “Tell me the truth. Did you go out with him just to piss me off?”

She looked away, but not before he noticed a smile flicker over her lips.

A wave of excitement shot through him, making him smile. “So you did?”

“I did no such thing.” Starling’s voice was flecked with laughter. “I told you, I went out with him because I made a deal. I’m nothing if not good to my word.”

She couldn’t have been more wrong. She had so much to give. Starling was smart, stubborn, headstrong, and unarguably one of the sexiest women he had ever had the chance to work with. Yet, he couldn’t tell her what he really thought. They were already crossing the line between a professional relationship and something more; he didn’t need to push things any further.

“You never told me what you found in the vault.”

“The books weren’t there,” Starling said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“But?”

“But what?” she asked, clearly avoiding his question.

“There was something else in the box, wasn’t there?”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a black feather. “There was only this. I think it was a threat. I think the Catharterians may have taken the books and left me this.” She spun the feather around. “They know my weakness. They know that if they pull one of my hairs, or take a feather when I shape-shift, I can be killed.”

“Son of a bitch.” Jasper took the feather and turned it in his fingers. The feather was so black and rich that it reminded him of Starling’s long hair. He ran his finger down the barbs, letting them come apart under his touch. “When you were inside I got a call. The Sisterhood. Apparently, they think we’re in a Catharterian hot bed.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Ariadne said they have reason to believe that Savannah is the headquarters of their leadership. Before they get to you again, we need to get these books and get out.”

“If we leave, would we go back to Vegas?”

“Trina and Kaden have gone into hiding. I think that would be a good idea for you, too.”

“You really want me to go into hiding?” Starling sat up straighter, readying herself for a fight.

“I just want to keep you safe. You know that. If that means that you have to go to Vegas, or Crete, or wherever, so be it. I just can’t have you getting hurt.”

Her shoulder drooped and she slumped in the seat. “Let’s just worry about getting the books. Once we do, I promise I’ll do whatever or go wherever you want.”

Her reaction surprised him. She’d fought him every step of the way, and now she was resigning herself to the fact that she would be tucked away from the world until the Sisterhood’s enemies were under control. It seemed so unlike her.

The car pulled to a stop at the north end of a large tree-filled park, and Starling hopped out onto the curb.

“Wait here,” Jasper said to the cabby.

He followed Starling as she strode down the sidewalk toward a fenced large, white, Parisian-style fountain that sat at the center of the north end. A statue of a classic woman was perched at the top. She held her dress at her knee, but the iron skirt flowed as if a light breeze could flex the metal in which she was cast. The woman held a staff in her hand, in a way reminding him of the frescoes he had seen of Epione when he’d been in Crete with Ariadne.

Starling walked around the fountain, running her fingers over the black fence that surrounded it. After making a full circle, she sat down on a waiting bench. She dropped her head into her hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“The books aren’t here.” Her shoulders trembled. “I’m never going to find them. I’m never going to be able to stop the voices or protect my mind.”

He sat down next to her and took her hand. “There are other answers, Starling. We just need to look harder.”

Uncertain of what he could say to make her feel better, he sat in silence and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. The trickling water and the sounds of kids playing filled the air as Jasper watched the water spray. At the bottom of the fountain were four half-man, half-fish—Tritons—and in between them were four swans. Their white beaks were open, letting the water shoot upward, filling the air with mist.

“Take a moment to remember …” Jasper quoted the line from the mysterious letter. “What is there to remember here?”

“I don’t know,” Starling said as she looked up. She dabbed away the tears that rested on her cheeks. “Why didn’t the person who sent us the letter just tell us where to go? And if they have the books, why didn’t they just give them to me? Why does everything have to be so goddamned hard?”

Jasper smiled, masking his pity. No matter how tough she acted sometimes, she was young. So many tough moments were going to come her way. His stomach lurched—tough moments like the secret he had to keep from Starling about his past.

“Life is hard, Starling. It never gets easier.” He looked down at their entwined hands. “I’ve learned that the moment you think you are okay is the moment that everything goes wrong. At least for you, and this quest, there’s nowhere to go but up.”

“That’s fucked up. You know that, right?” Starling smiled, but there were still tears in her eyes.

His laughter spread out into the evening air. “Maybe you’re right. I guess I’m a little fucked up.”

In more ways than one.

She slid closer to him on the bench and lifting his arm, put it around her. He moved to take it away, but she held it against her body. Everything in him told him to pull away, that they were too close. That he was putting not only her, but everything in danger.

“I’m sorry about going after Devon.” She leaned her head against his chest, as if she was trying to listen to his heart. If she could hear it, he had no doubt she would have been able to guess how nervous she and her little red dress made him.

“It’s fine. It shouldn’t have mattered.” Jasper reached up with his free hand and moved a strand of her hair out of his face.

“But it did. I know it bothered you.”

“Did you see the swans?” Jasper asked, trying anything to get away from the subject.

Starling laughed. “You don’t have to act all tough all the time. I know you like me.”

“I … I do like you, Starling. But you have to know it’s only as a friend. Nothing more.”

She nodded. “Right now, I’m happy to have that.”