Shifting the Night Away (64 page)

Best to cut off her hope. “What I have lost, no one can retrieve for me.”

***

Wen watched Li walk away from her. Again. The man seemed to enjoy that. Playing hot and cold. Asking her to share, then clamming up when his turn came. Well, if he wouldn’t tell her what he desired, she’d have to discover it for herself. Lotus were more than thieves. Spies, mercenaries, seductresses. She would employ every trick in the Matchmaker’s handbook. Once she stole back whatever it was Li craved, the Matchmaker would have to deem her worthy.

She refused to stay here and join his band of outcasts. It was great of him to open his home to these people, but she wasn’t one of them. Her destiny, her purpose, was to fight against the Red Death and the monsters who’d unleashed the Plague God. To claim revenge for Matthew’s death.

Wen roamed down the corridor in the opposite direction Li had gone. His chamber would be a good place to start. She dug around inside her mind for everything her grandmother had told her about this immortal. He supposedly possessed two enchanted objects—his crutch and his gourd. Neither of which were in his collections room, therefore, they must be in his chamber. Right?

If they weren’t there…they were missing.

As she jogged up the staircase toward Li’s chamber, a flash of light caught her eye. Odd. Veering toward the glint, she padded in the direction of the balcony overlooking the garden. A metal disk zipped through the air, catching the sunlight. She leaned over the railing, peering down into the garden.

A huge, black beast leapt out from behind the bushes and caught the disk in its mouth. The creature was as dark as midnight, with a long, curled tail and pointed ears like a wolf’s. The dog-like animal bounded to Li’s side. He scrubbed its ears and wrestled the creature to the ground, rolling around with the canine. His deep chuckling echoed from below.

Huh.
Apparently he wasn’t sour and surly with everyone in his household. This glimpse was the first hint he possessed a lighter side. What would it feel like, to be the one to make him laugh? She shouldn’t care—she wasn’t staying long enough to find out—but his laughter caused a smile to play on her lips regardless. Watching him here like this made her that much more curious about the rigid, solemn shell he exposed to the world, and what really lay beneath it.

They rolled over, Li onto his back, and he lifted his head in her direction.

She shot backward, pressing against a column to hide from his view. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins. He hadn’t caught her spying, had he?

“Care to join us, Wen?”

Crap.
That was definitely smugness coating his tone.

Straightening her shoulders, she marched to the balustrade, planted her hands on the cool stone, and leapt over the side. She landed in a crouch beside Li’s sandal-clad feet and rose, notching her chin. Just as she was about to wipe the smirk off his face with a sassy retort, the dog creature barreled into her, knocking her onto her ass.

Its long, slick tongue slathered her face in doggy drool. “Woo, hey. Nice puppy.” She shielded her face from its spa treatment and laughed as its fur tickled her skin.

“All right, that’s enough, boy.” Li chuckled and hauled the furry canine off her. “Wen, meet Tiangou.”

“A pleasure.”

Li offered his hand, and as she grasped his firm, warm hand in hers, a tingling sparked along her skin. He lifted her to her feet as though she were a flower. Plucking her gently, careful not to break her. A long time had passed since anyone cared whether she got broken. Her older brother Matthew had been the only one who’d watched out for her. Without him, she was alone.

Yet with Li, she didn’t feel isolated. Maybe because he was alone too.

He released her hand and she clasped hers together, wishing he’d held on a second longer. “Just so you know, I wasn’t spying on you and your,” she twirled her fingers through the air, “ah, dog.”

“Tiangou isn’t my dog. He is a resident here.” At the snap of his fingers, Tiangou heeled to his side, sat, and thumped its long tail on the ground.

“
Hmm.
” She twisted to assess the enormous dog. The beast’s head matched the height of Li’s shoulders. “What did he do to land in this place?”

Li ran his hands through Tiangou’s fur, along his back. “He has a penchant for trying to eat the sun whenever there’s an eclipse and it’s garnered him a few enemies in Heaven. He’s safer here.”

Safe. Li murmured the word, his deep accent comforting like a rolling ocean wave. Her nails dug into her palms. He might be rough around the edges, his belligerent reputation questionable, but this man was a protector. A white knight providing shelter for those who had nowhere else to turn. He embodied everything she sought to become as a Lotus. They had more in common than she’d allowed herself to see.

Warmth brushed her fingers. She glanced to the side. Li’s hand closed around hers, sending tiny flares firing through her veins.

He cleared his throat. “Would you like to meet the rest of the residents?”

“Would I ever.” She flashed him a smile and linked her fingers through his.

Li led her on a tour of the estate, introducing her to the dozens of beings exiled on his island. Mythological beasts, fierce warriors, magical beings. All outcasts, displaced from the other realms. He ruled over them with strict discipline, but she didn’t blame him. After all, these entities hadn’t earned their positions here for doing good deeds. He gave greater freedoms to those who exhibited good behavior. Kept a tighter rein on those who didn’t.

Most of his all-male staff were friendly, but a few did gape at her…which made sense, considering she was the sole female on this island. The question was…why? Aside from his obvious resistance to being charming, why didn’t Li have female servants? He could seduce any woman he desired…if he deigned to put in the effort. She sighed and followed Li back to her chamber. Another mystery to add to the shroud surrounding her new boss.

 
“Well, this is the end of our tour.” Li leaned against her door, his intense stare pegged on her.

“Thanks.” Her chest tightened. After spending the afternoon together, she’d forgotten she was a prisoner here. That she ought to be calculating how to earn her freedom. “I guess I should get back to dusting.”

He nodded and pushed off her door. “Yes, and I have other business to attend to.” Li paused at her side, stroked his hand through her hair, and bent forward to inhale, his lips against her cheek. She braced for his kiss, but instead he straightened, dropped his hand, and strode down the corridor.

Damn. She blinked and searched for her focus.
Find what Li desires. Earn your Lotus status.

The only room he didn’t show her on their tour was his own. She’d learned a lot about him, but not what object she could steal to prove herself to him and the Matchmaker.

Arriving at his door, she twisted the knob and it clicked open. Nice. After sneaking inside, she slid the door shut behind her. The room was like him. Dark. Mysterious. Neatly controlled.

On the far right wall, vast assortments of leather-bound books were tidily arranged on shelves adorning either side of a large fireplace. Two cozy armchairs faced each other, but she didn’t get the impression Li did much entertaining. She’d wondered how he spent his free time, and this was the answer. The man read. A lot.

She wandered to the bookcases, scanning the titles for anything that might be of use. Unlike his collections chamber, no glass cases were on display in this room. If he kept his talismans here, they were hidden from view.

Or again, missing.

Wen meandered to his bed. The large four poster bed appeared so inviting. Just like Li’s arms. She trailed her fingertips down one post and leaned her cheek on the wood. Shoulders hunching, she sighed.

Click.

She jolted, a bead of sweat trickling down her spine as the doorknob twisted. She could
not
get caught snooping.

Where to hide? She scanned the chamber. The barren room contained little furniture. Nothing to hide behind. Okay, then. No hiding.

Wen smoothed one hand down her skirt and ran the other through her hair. The door creaked open and in walked a short, lanky Chinese man. One she hadn’t met on the tour. His eyes widened as he took in her presence and his lips parted as though to speak, but no sounds escaped.

She flashed him a smile. He continued to gape. Well, this was awkward. Unless the man was a mute? At least then, he couldn’t report her snooping to his Master.

“Uh, sorry m-miss,” he stuttered, holding up the duster and mop in his hands.

Darn. There went the hope of his silence. He tilted his head at her provocative pose against the bedpost. Right. She straightened and removed her hand, patting the wood. “I was just finishing up myself.” She plucked the feather duster from the long pocket of her skirt and attempted to fluff it.

“Uh-huh.” He nodded, but kept staring.

“Is there a problem, Chen?” A deep voice questioned from the doorway.
Crap. Li.

Wen pasted on her best innocent smile. Li shouldered past the servant, but halted as he spotted her.

“Hi.” She twirled the feather duster in the air.

“Hello, Wen. Are you lost?” He took a step toward her.

“Nope.”

“Is there an emergency?” Another step.

She forced the smile. “No.”

“Then I guess I don’t need to inquire why you’re in my chamber?” His cool tone hinted of displeasure, but oh, his eyes. They darkened as though begging her to counter his conclusion—s
pying again.
“Chen, leave us.” Without glancing back, he waved the servant off and closed the distance between them. His intense gaze assessed her, searing a path like a heated caress, until he paused on the feather duster. “Cleaning?”

“No.” Damn, what was wrong with her, that she couldn’t say anything else? A Lotus should be able to talk her way out of anything.

“I was snooping.”
Brilliant, Wen.
She forced back an eye roll.

“Snooping?” The corner of his mouth lifted.

Roll with it.
She raised and dropped a shoulder. “Yep. Here I am, stuck in this crazy mansion with an immortal for a boss, so I figured, why not learn as much about this place as I can?”

“I caught you spying, and now snooping.” He chuckled once, but cut off. “Are you planning your escape?” A deep crease formed in his forehead. Huh, and here she’d assumed he would be happy to get rid of her.

“Oh, no.” She sighed. “I can’t escape. Well, I could, but if I did, the Matchmaker would never let me back into the League. Actually, she’d probably have me executed.” She wrinkled her nose. “No one wants to live looking over their shoulder.”

A tsk clicked from his tongue. “You don’t lack tenacity, that’s for certain, but even you couldn’t leave this place without my permission.”

She flashed him another smile. “Try me.”

“Perhaps another time. Now, tell me, why is it so important for you to join the League?” He bent his head to hers and inhaled, sending shivers exploding along the back of her neck. She bit back a moan. “How did you fail, Wen?”

“It’s not my favorite topic of conversation, but fine. If I share, so will you. Deal?”

He shifted back and pinned his hard stare on her. She held her breath; he probably wouldn’t concede.

“Deal.”

Whoa. Okay. “I dropped it.” She spewed out the words. No sense in dwelling on them. “The Matchmaker ordered us to steal some stuff from a dragon’s lair and—”

“Wait. A dragon? Do you have any notion how foolish it is to steal from a dragon?”

She stiffened at his reprimanding tone. “It was her idea, not mine.”

“Go on, then.”

“As my partner hoisted me out of the cave, I saw this cool scepter and decided to snatch it as an extra bonus. The scepter burned my hands and I dropped everything. The dragon woke up and bang, we had to haul ass outta there.” She bit her lip.

“This scepter, what did it look like?”

“I don’t know. Sparkly and gold.” She scowled. “What does it matter?”

“The scepter only warmed as you withdrew it from the cavern?”

“Yes.”

“Well, there’s your answer.”

Her hand dropped to her hip. He elaborated, “You could not have removed the object from the dragon’s lair. These talismans, like the ones in my collection—the powerful objects spread across the Earth—they’re not…neutral.”

“They’re not?”

“No. Great power never is. It absorbs the energy of its creator, of its previous owners.”

She swiped her tongue along the seam of her lips. “You’re saying they’re good or evil?”

“Indeed.” He sidestepped to the fireplace and plunked down in one of the armchairs. His outswept hand waved for her to claim the other, but Wen hadn’t finished her interrogation of him yet.

She strolled to him, skated her hands up along his thighs, and crawled onto his lap to straddle him.