Smoke and Mirrors (30 page)

There was no way she would stay after dark. She was already exhausted after the day she’d had at school.

Don was at the register when she came in, dealing with a customer. None of the other clerks were in sight. The combined relief and irritation on his face didn’t last long; his expression rapidly shifted to concern.

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that she was still so pale and drawn. He could see with his own eyes that she’d been through hell and back. She hoped that meant he wouldn’t give her such a hard time for being out so long.

He wrapped things up with the customer, passing them their coffee and a small box of cookies, before slipping around the counter to wrap Kimberly in a bear hug.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, girl, you scared the life out of me when you didn’t call. How are you feeling?”

“Mmph! Can’t… breathe…!”

He quickly loosened his grip. She stopped her weak flailing and returned his hug.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled against his chest. “Sorry I didn’t show up for so long.”

Letting her go, he gave her backpack a little shake and took on a gruff, stern tone. “You wore yourself out at school today, didn’t you? Back on your feet before the doctor gave you permission, too, I’ll bet.”

She started to protest, but he waved her objections off, heading back behind the counter to grab a few things. He began packing loaves of bread, pastries, and a few other goodies in a bag, which he shoved into her hands despite her attempts to give it back.

“I need you healthy more than I need you here. Go home. Get more rest. Come back when you’re fully recovered. That’s an order.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I really need the hours.”

“Positive. I don’t want you getting anyone else sick or handling food when you’re ill. Besides, no one does their best work when they’re exhausted. You can work a little OT when you’re better to make up for it.”

Both relieved and chagrined, Kimberly clutched the bag of goodies to her chest, doing her best not to tear up. “I’ll be better tomorrow. I’ll be here in the morning, I promise.”

“Not if you still look like an extra on The Walking Dead, you won’t. Annabelle already agreed to come in early, so you’re covered if you need more time.”

“You’re the best, Don. Thanks!”

He gave her a grin. “Tell that to my wife. She still thinks I’m too much of a softie where you’re concerned. Now get your narrow behind out of my store and back in bed where it belongs. Feel better.”

For once, things appeared to be going her way. Shoulders sagging and suppressing a tremendous sigh, she waved her goodbyes to Don and headed for home.

She was very glad that he wasn’t angry with her, and secretly relieved that he’d provided her with dinner. Despite her mother’s promises to do everything she could to help her, when she had peered in the fridge before leaving for school that morning, there wasn’t much left but a few lonely packets of ketchup and a plastic Ziploc bag of cat food. Monster had given her such a look when she’d picked up the bag to give it a speculative once-over, she had quickly put it back.

After being treated to regular meals while in Cormac’s care, her hunger pangs—usually so easily managed or ignored—had become like a raging tiger in her midsection, clawing to be satiated. Lunch at school was free, but when it was her only meal of the day, she had a harder time beating back the sharp edge of starvation. The bread certainly wasn’t as substantial as what she had been becoming used to, but she wasn’t about to turn it down when the other option was cat food and condiments.

While she had sunk that low in the past, after Cormac took her to the Black Star Café, she had hoped she was beyond such things. Coming to rely on someone else to improve her lot had been a mistake, and she was paying for it already. She couldn’t wish food on her table or money in the bank any more than she could wish for the elemental magic she needed to fit in with the other magi at school.

No. She set her jaw and promised herself she would eat something and then get right to bed so she could be rested for a full shift of work. Not only would she have to deal with a day at the café, she had also promised to help the centaurs. She needed her rest.

No one was going to hand her the answers to her problems or deliver her from this life but herself. Leaning on someone else to get her out of it had been a terrible mistake.

One she would never make again.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The next day, Kimberly woke up over an hour before her alarm went off. She ate a piece of bread and then puttered around, straightening up the apartment and sorting her school supplies. There wasn’t much cleaning up to do. Monster had tugged his favorite scarf off the couch again, which she replaced, and there was some dusting to be done on the bookshelf. When she couldn’t put it off anymore, she spent some time reviewing the homework Arnold had given her, flipping through the college applications.

He’d included a note she hadn’t seen until she opened the folder he’d stuffed all the applications into that he wanted her to bring a couple of samples of her enchantments, runes and glyph work with her to school on Wednesday. That puzzled her. He didn’t teach those classes. She couldn’t for the life of her imagine why he might be interested in her enchantments, even if she was exceptional at it.

So she wouldn’t forget, she stuffed a few pages of her notes, sketches she’d done for class, and a couple of her personal runic stones into her backpack. By the time she was done, the alarm was buzzing, and her mother was rolling out of bed, getting ready for work.

Despite several requests for info about how they were doing on the rent and how many hours she needed to put in to make up for lost time, Kimberly’s mother remained cagey and avoided any talk of money. That was worrisome. Usually that meant there was a problem she didn’t want to talk about.

There wasn’t enough time to grill her; they both had to leave for work.

Doing her best not to give in to the raging case of anxiety brewing in the back of her mind, Kimberly did her best to focus on the present. There were no Others lingering outsider her apartment or Allegretto’s. She got to work a few minutes early, beating Annabelle, who she was a little surprised to see before remembering the schedule change in case she hadn’t showed up for her shift. Don let them both in and the three prepared for opening. He even made her sit and have a cup of hot tea and a breakfast sandwich before he let the first round of customers come in.

His insistence throughout the day that she take it easy was driving her batty. Annabelle snickered as she whispered about how Don had hired three new people while Kimberly was out.

One had walked out with the contents of the register. Another had taken a smoke break and never returned. The last one was still on board, but she was doing a terrible job. She’d already caused the coffeemaker to overflow on the floor twice, burned several batches of muffins, and didn’t notice a customer wander off with the tip jar. She’d flipped out and caused a scene, crying in front of the customers when Don yelled at her for that, and he hadn’t had the heart to fire her.

No wonder Don was so desperate to treat Kimberly well. Finding her replacement wasn’t turning out to be as easy as he had probably thought. Even if he’d been looking for someone to take her place, Kimberly didn’t want to leave him in the lurch. She swore to herself that she’d find some time to come in during one of the new girl’s shifts so she could help out and show her the ropes.

Things were busy but fairly uneventful until after lunch. Kimberly only had another hour or so left on the clock before the centaurs were supposed to show up when Cormac entered the café and got in line behind the other patrons.

Kimberly didn’t notice him right away, busy as she was mopping up a spill behind the counter. When she turned around and spotted him in line, he tipped her a nod. Annabelle was looking pleased to see him until she noticed the rage turning Kimberly’s face a dull shade of brick.

Annabelle took her arm and hauled her into a crouch behind the counter, her whisper low and urgent so the customers wouldn’t overhear. “Girl, get it together! You want me to get rid of him?”

Too shaken and upset to speak, she only nodded.

Cormac spoke up, obviously having overheard them. “I won’t stay around long, I just want to talk for a minute.”

Some of the chatter in the café was dying down, people at the tables craning their necks to see what was going on. A couple of people in line moved over so Cormac could reach the counter. He set his arms on it, leaning forward so he could meet Kimberly’s accusatory glare up from her crouch on the floor with a considerable frown of his own.

“We don’t serve assholes here,” Annabelle said, standing up to put her hands on her hips. “She doesn’t want to talk to you. Get out.”

Cormac’s frown deepened as he focused it on Annabelle instead. She, as well as many of the people in the café, were struck by a sudden wave of formless, gut-wrenching fear as he briefly let some of his true nature slip with a low hiss of displeasure.

Kimberly got to her feet, ignoring the way her stomach dropped to her feet and hands trembled as she stood between Cormac and Annabelle, leveling an accusatory finger at him. “Stop that. You… you. Get out of here. I told you I never wanted to see you again!”

Cormac lowered his head in the face of her wrath, immediately dropping the dragonfear aura. Terrified people were rushing for the door, forgetting their coffees and sweets. One woman even left her purse behind.

“Kimberly, I’m sorry. I know you’re upset with me, but you’re running out of time—”

“Don’t say it!”

He paused, his gaze briefly flicking to Don as the other man poked his head out of the doorway leading to the kitchen. The proprietor of the café looked less than pleased to see Cormac had returned.

The dragon bowed his head again. “I know you don’t have any reason to take me at my word, but I called in a few favors—”

“Oh, spare me,” she said, cutting him off. “You get out of here and take your favors with you. If I ever catch you near me again, I’ll—”

Cormac’s eyes flashed a brilliant white-blue at the interruption and threat, his teeth bared in a silent snarl. She shut up, and Annabelle knocked a glass jar of sugar off the back wall in her hasty attempt to claw through the wall behind her. Don, on the other hand, came out of the kitchen like a raging bull, veins sticking out in his neck as he clenched his fists and stalked out to match Cormac, glare-for-glare, over the counter.

“We don’t serve your kind here! Get out!”

Cormac’s snarl turned into a twisted grin, the blaze in his eyes growing. “You don’t serve them, but you let them work for you? Seems a bit of twisted logic there, boy.”

That took the wind out of Don’s sails. The rage turning his face a dangerous shade of purple gradually shifted to a stunned, chalky pallor as he turned to look at Kimberly. Her features twisted with horror as she shook her head, trying to deny it.

“You. You. Lying little monster. I took you in, gave you a job, treated you like one of my own…”

It occurred to Cormac too late that he had made a mistake. Annabelle was scrambling to put some distance between herself and Kimberly as Don’s expression turned blank, empty.

“Get out,” he told her. “You’re fired.”

“Don,” she tried, her voice high, strangled, “please, not now, just give me one more week—”

“Get. Out.”

“—one week, Don, please—”

“Out! Get out!” he roared.

Her face crumpled with despair, she hunched her shoulders as she scooted around him to grab her purse and run out the door. Cormac reached out to snag her arm as she rushed by, but she ducked around his grasping hand and dashed outside.

Cormac turned to face Don before following her, the glow in his eyes gone dim, simmering in the depths of his pupils.

“You contemptuous, worthless fool. You have no idea what you’ve just done to her. None.”

“I don’t deal with her kind—or yours,” Don replied with a snarl. “You’re banned from my store. Get out of here.”

Cormac set a hand on the countertop, the heat of his rage burning its imprint in the surface. “Gladly. But before I go, I want you to know that I will be taking a personal interest in destroying everything you’ve built here, piece by piece. I curse this place. I curse you, Don Allegretto.”

Don’s eyes went wide as the power of the curse hit him like a blow to the gut, the bad luck charm swirling around him like a flock of vultures, altering his fate. The man staggered back, flailing at the invisible somethings pricking at his skin with painful bites as they altered his aura.

“What… what did you do to me?” he gasped.

“Never piss off a dragon, you son of a bitch.”

Cormac took a measure of satisfaction in the waver of Annabelle’s voice following him out as he turned on his heel and stalked after Kimberly.

“A dragon? Don, is that the dragon from Central Park? Oh, my God, I have to find my cell phone, I have to get a picture and tell everybody…”

Shaking his head, he took a few steps outside before pausing. He shaded his eyes against the sun, looking up and down the street both ways. Then rocked back as an invisible fist landed on his jaw.