Dead and Dusted by Lily Webb (most recommended books .TXT) 📗

understand why he needed me to escort him and his crew, but I piled into the elevator anyway and smashed the button for the sixth floor when everyone was inside.

As the lift slowly climbed, I thought about making small talk with Brady, but one look at his stony expression told me he probably wasn’t one for idle conversation, so I held my tongue and stared down at my shoes instead. Several uncomfortable moments later, the elevator dinged to announce its arrival on the sixth floor.

The security agents hurriedly freed themselves from our steel cage and fanned out on the landing with their wands drawn like they thought there might be an assassin lurking in the shadows or something. If the guards weren’t so intimidating, they would’ve been hilarious.

“This way, gents,” I said, nodding down the hall toward, well, not even I knew. When the guards were satisfied that there weren’t any surprises waiting for them, they fell in line behind me. The sound of their swishing robes filled the hall as we approached its end, and I couldn’t help smiling when we stopped in front of two matching, ornate doors designed to look like gates.

Despite having lived in Kindred Spirits for several months and getting acquainted with many of its surprises, I’d forgotten that the building had the ability to magically rearrange, expand, and shrink itself as needed. Blair and Kiki hadn’t needed to move Aron’s room at all; they’d simply created another next to his for Mr. Marth. “Genius,” I laughed.

“I’m sorry? What is?” Brady asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just marveling at the architecture,” I lied and pointed at the door on the left. “That should be Mr. Marth’s room.”

Brady glanced from me to Aron’s door and back again. “Is there someone staying in the neighboring room?”

“Yes, a dwarf named Aron, but you don’t need to worry about him. He built the inn and lives here permanently, but he keeps to himself save for meals,” I said with a smile as I thought of Aron’s seemingly bottomless stomach.

Brady crossed his arms over his chest. “Unacceptable.”

“I’m sorry, what? Why? I told you, Aron won’t be a bother at all—”

“I’m sure he won’t, but it’s not secure,” Brady interrupted. The lower corner of his left eye twitched as he glared at me. “Mr. Marth’s instructions were very clear: there are to be no other guests or patrons near his room, per the contract your aunt signed.”

“I, uh, well…” I trailed, my face flaming as I flailed. “I’ll have to speak to Blair about getting Aron moved, then. Did you still, uh, want to search the room? You know, just in case?”

“Can’t hurt,” Brady said and passed the room key to another of the warlocks, who nodded to the rest. They swooped through the door and disappeared while Brady stayed outside with me.

“I’m really sorry about this. I’m sure it was just an oversight, but I’ll take care of it.”

“Good, thank you.”

“Well, I’ll just get moving on that then if you don’t—” I started, but a piercing shriek from inside Mr. Marth’s room cut me off.

“What in Lilith’s name was that?” Brady asked with his brows furrowed. But I didn’t even need to look in the room to know. A beat later, one of the security warlocks stepped out of the room dangling two dazed creatures in his hand by their knotted tails, and my stomach dropped at the sight of their bright red and blue hair. Two pairs of haunting yellow eyes spun hazily in their sockets. “What happened?” Brady demanded.

The guard shrugged. “These creatures attacked me, so I stunned them.”

“What are those things?” Brady demanded.

“Lox and Keez,” I mumbled, unable to look Brady in the eye when he whirled on me.

“What?”

“They’re imps. Mischievous ones, but harmless,” I said and reached for their tails to take them from the guard. When I glanced up, Brady stared at me with a flaming face.

“Imps? In Mr. Marth’s room?” he fumed, his nostrils flaring with each exasperated exhale.

“They’re just curious. The room is new, so they probably couldn’t help exploring. The two of them have a thing for hunting shiny things and that often leads to them sticking their wings where they don’t belong.”

“That’s the last thing Mr. Marth wants,” Brady snapped. Well, the weekend was already off to a wonderful start. Between Aron’s proximity and Lox and Keez’s invasion of privacy, I fully expected Brady to call the whole thing off and usher his wasp-like warlocks out of the inn in a hurry.

“They won’t bother you or Mr. Marth again, I promise. I’ll see to it personally,” I said, knowing full well that claiming responsibility for the two devious demons probably wouldn’t work out in my favor. Despite our collective efforts to keep Lox and Keez confined to their space in the basement, they always found ways out. The little twin terrors were too cute by half, to say the least.

“See that you do in a hurry,” Brady ordered. “Excuse me, I need to make a call to Mr. Marth,” he continued as he rummaged in his robes for his phone and turned his back on me.

“Right, yeah, sure,” I mumbled and spun on my heel to hurry back to the elevator, but before I could take a step, a door opened behind me.

“Everything all right out here, lassie?” Aron’s deep voice called, and I froze. Though I couldn’t blame him for being concerned with all the commotion, did he really have to show his face now, of all times? Slowly, I turned around to face him. The dwarf took one look at the imps hanging by their tails in my hand and burst out laughing, causing his floor-length white beard to flutter. “Oh, dear Lilith, I think I’ve seen it all now!”

“Everything’s fine, Aron. Thanks for asking,” I snapped.

“Just doing my part,” he said through laughter. “What a welcome gift for the new guests!”

“Don’t remind me — or them,” I hissed and hurried away from him to the elevator before anything or anyone else