9.There Be Monsters in the Dark

9. There Be Monsters in the Dark

True to his word, Liam and I spent the rest of our weekend on his couch doing absolutely nothing.

Then the week starts, and I start settling into my new role in life. Well, my new role for the next month. We text every day. He sends filthy things, occasional orders, and we trade dirty pictures.

Our schedules didn’t allow for us to meet during the week. It's a good way to adjust, one scene as a hands-on introduction and then a less intense approach for the rest of the week until we can see each other again.

By the time the next weekend comes, I’m eager to see what the professor has in store for me next.

…I wasn’t expecting this .

“Thank you,” I say when Liam opens the door to the passenger’s seat for me. He’s being very chivalrous.

It’s weird.

First, he insisted on picking me up for our dinner date even though the restaurant he's taking us to is much closer to his apartment. Second, he’s taking me to dinner instead of just taking me back to his apartment and doing wicked things to me. We’re also eating somewhere that requires suits, which keeps distracting me from figuring out what’s going on.

I keep sneaking glances at him in his suit. His very sexy suit. The deep black color makes his eyes look so blue in comparison, and his tailor deserves a raise for how impeccably it fits his body.

The picture of him in a suit is so alluring that sneaking glances turns into outright staring.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“No reason... You’re being weird.”

Liam gasps in mock offense. “Aren’t I being the perfect gentleman?”

“Exactly.”

Which means he must have something big planned for the restaurant.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to have you blow me under the table.”

A thrill shoots through me at the thought of getting my mouth on him. But I can't even get a commanding text message from him without blushing, so I am in no way ready for exhibitionism… even if the idea is somewhat arousing, along with mortifying.

I do believe him. Whatever he has planned won’t be remotely sexual. It doesn't need to be. There are so many innocent things Liam could pervert at a restaurant just with the nature of our arrangement. Even his hand resting possessively on my lower back as he guides me to the restaurant makes my heart pound faster. No one else will suspect a thing, but I know he's in charge.

The suggestion of his control in public is enough to have me hopelessly conflicted between desire and fear of being discovered.

Liam’s already smirking next to me.

“You don’t have to enjoy this so much,” I grumble.

“Can’t help it. You look so pretty when you blush.”

Oh boy. I’m in for a loooong dinner .

The cool night air feels good on my already heating face. Liam’s hand is warm at my back, and I'm not sure whether I want to lean into him or push away.

We haven’t made it very far when something changes.

Liam stops in place and his hand tenses against my lower back. He twists back to his car, parked just outside of a streetlight even though the space ahead and in the light is still open. He said it’s just a habit to favor the shadows at night .

Liam tilts his head and waves a hand. Suddenly, his car is gone. Before I can ask where he put it and why, a fireball blazes right through the spot where his car was parked.

Whoa!

With a rush of sound and heat, the flames skip by on the street before sputtering out.

With another twist of his hand, the car reappears. What the…

“Neat trick.” A voice speaks from the shadows and a man appears.

Behind him, two huge almond shaped eyes are visible in the darkness, glowing yellow. The outline of the creature’s large shape looms there. A gust of wind strong enough to knock someone off their feet follows as wings flap. The eyes blink and are gone.

Another man appears a moment later, eyes glinting yellow. He’s massive, making me think he was the beast in the shadows a moment ago.

“How’d you spot us?” asks the smaller man, almost conversationally.

“The night’s shadows are friends of mine. Remember that the next time you try hiding in them.” Liam’s voice is tight and hard. It’s unsettling. Even when he gives me orders, he doesn't sound as cold.

"Well, if we ain’t impressing ya, we’ll have to get new tricks,” drawls the smaller man. “Won’t we, Roc? "

“Yeah, Razor,” Roc grunts. Roc must be seven feet tall, and he’s huge in height and girth. I gulp and barely manage to resist leaning into Liam.

The man doing the talking, Razor, has black hair and a strong build that would be menacing without the giant beside him for comparison. A dangling earring glints in the moonlight and looks like a fang.

"Tired of slashing tires already?" Liam wonders.

The shot in the dark pays off.

"That?” The smaller man with a cruel smile waves a hand. “We were just saying hello."

"Oh, so this is a friendly chat?"

"That’s the funny thing.” He smiles but it looks mean. “Most people just know that they'd rather have dragons for friends, not enemies. It’s just common sense. But when a person is too slow to understand, we like to remind them why you don’t piss off dragons. So, we’re watching you."

Dragons. The men threatening us are dragons.

The eyes we saw a moment ago were a dead giveaway the men were supernatural, but I can’t say my mind went directly to dragons. Even to wizards, dragons are intimidating.

Roc gives nothing away though the smaller man seems delighted to be threatening us.

“We will get back what’s ours,” vows the smaller spokesperson—spokesdragon. “If you don’t return our treasure, we’ll take it from you. ”

With a lazy wave, they saunter back into the shadows, gone as quickly as they appeared. At least, I quickly lose sight of them. Liam seems to track them for a while until he finally turns to me, satisfied that we’re alone. "They're gone.”

“How did you do that?” I ask, gesturing to the car.

"During the night, the moon creates both the shadows and the light. This grants me limited powers of sight, allowing me to see anywhere nearby where the moon can see, along with the ability to look into any nearby shadows.”

Right, he did mention some unique abilities along with his specialized ritual work as his main nightbrand powers.

“And the car,” he continues, “That’s just simple manipulation of the shadows.”

When I turn my gaze back to him, he’s watching me with concern. He puts a hand on my back again, but this time it feels protective. Oh no, what have I done?

“I’m so sorry, Liam. You don’t deserve to get caught up in this. Now the people my family pissed off are bothering you too.”

“Why are they after you?”

I shrug. "When you screw people over, you get enemies."

"Unwanted attention brings all kinds of craziness,” he points out. “We have no idea if there’s any truth in what they said. Maybe they like causing trouble. Maybe they’re opportunists trying to trick you.”

"If my family did wrong them, don’t worry. That’s what civil suits are settling right now.” With much of our assets frozen, all the dragons had to do was get in line, file a suit, and wait their turn for their compensation.

This doesn’t ease his persistent frown. "The rumor is that not all dragons follow laws, whether human or supernatural. These hordes have their own ways of settling grudges."

"They don’t have another choice.” No matter what threats they try, I don’t have any large sum of money to offer. “I’m broke."

"Let’s discuss this inside," Liam suggests.

The sins of my family keep coming back to haunt me. Even though I was innocent of their crimes, I feel just as guilty, and it appears the dragons agree. They hold me liable and expect payment from me. My family hurt the wrong people.

I understand Liam’s concern. What if a civil judgment and monetary compensation aren’t enough? What if they’re after revenge?

We get back in the car and Liam doesn't start the engine right away; he turns to me with a grim expression instead. Apparently speaking inside means inside the car.

"I'm sorry, Oliver. ”

"It's not your fault," I reply. “I should be the one apologizing.” They went after his vehicle because he was with me.

The noble thing to do would be to walk away, but being with Liam is… I’m not sure I’m selfless enough to give up the one part of my life I enjoy.

“Don’t even think about,” he snaps, cutting into my thoughts. "Bullies aren’t going to dictate who I can and can’t see.” Then he sighs, all the righteous indignation gone in an instant. “I just wish there was more I could do. I'm sorry because our arrangement can't be undone early. The natural end comes at the waxing moon. Only time will truly release you, but I can give you permission to use your gifts at any time."

My eyes nearly pop out of my head when I whip my head up to look at him. "Wait, what? How did we start talking about this?"

"Those dragons dropped by with a threat," Liam replies matter-of-factly. "You need every advantage possible at your disposal."

"You said they might just be messing with me."

“They might,” he agrees. “That doesn’t mean I’m comfortable counting on that possibility. We should be prepared. I’m not saying we stop playing all together, but we can still play our roles without magic.”

Nope, my powers are the last thing I need right now.

"The dragons have been bothering me for a while, but they aren’t hurting me. Even before all the tires were slashed on my borrowed ride, they popped a tire and keyed a car.”

Liam makes a thoughtful noise after I fill him in on the first incident. “Are you even sure the popped tire is related? Slashing your tires with talons, the fireball, those both connect back to a dragon. Some key marks and a puncture don’t.”

It does make a certain amount of sense. The popped tire seems more like the kind of general harassment I face sometimes. And that person who popped one tire lost their nerve when keying the car. It must be unrelated. The dragons certainly aren’t lacking boldness and nerve.

“If they slashed your tires, then tried to destroy my car, they’re escalating quickly and were serious about getting your attention from the beginning. This could be a serious threat.”

“You don’t know that,” I argue weakly.

“Oliver—”

“No, don’t say it. Liam, I don't want my powers back."

"It’s not what we planned but—"

"No, I’m not ready,” I insist. “This is going well. I like what we’re doing. It’s starting to help. I don't want to stop.”

“I understand your frustration,” he says. “But we shouldn’t ignore the potential danger.”

"I understand where you're coming from, too," I offer. It makes sense to re-enable my powers, just in case. But it doesn't feel right. “I'm just starting to feel more comfortable, but I'm not better. If you give me control again, my magic and I are likely to start fighting each other like before. I need more time."

"We might not have that luxury," he says. “But there’s no point debating this anymore. Not until we get more information or one of us has a change of heart.”

We fall silent, at a standstill. Without the ability to predict the future, there's no way of knowing whose approach is wisest.

We’re in the dark. No amount of moon magic can illuminate the path ahead or detect what lurks in the darkness with us.