Puck: 1-9, S. G. Ricketts [classic books to read txt] 📗

Mittens sat back, hands carefully folded in his lap. “My lady, you’re babbling again.” I bit back more words, more shocked by his face than anything all day. Even James’s stunning features weren’t quite so surprising. He looked carved from marble, with a straight, delicate nose and full lips, a strong jaw and thin eyebrows. And his eyes… They were yellow, with rims of green, just like his cat eyes had been. I stared. My fingers itched for my camera, but that was in the car with another supernatural stunner. Instead, I stood and went to make coffee. If there was anything I’d learned in life, coffee made everything better. Mittens cleared his throat. “Your friend Joe is incredibly clever to figure out I am a Dinnshenchas. I wonder how he knew…” I heard a faint hiss from behind me. “I ought to thank him some day,” he muttered. “This makes my job infinitely easier.”

I focused on the coffee. Hot water pot on, coffee beans into the grinder. Grind them up, put them in the French press. Fill it with hot water. Pour it into a cup. Add cream and sugar. Pray to God the vision on my kitchen floor goes away. I took a sip, letting the drink settle on my tongue. One, two, three. Mittens waited expectantly. “Dammit, you’re still here.” His face fell slightly, and I added, “But you are Mittens, right?” He nodded once, a smile blooming on his face. I rubbed my face hard. “I’m glad one of us sees a bright side to this. All I see is a man who’s seen me take baths and walk around the house naked.”

Mittens had the decency to blush. “I did try not to look.”

“Like hell you did!” I retorted. I pointed at him, furious. “You used to sit on the toilet next to the bathtub! And you were always tripping me when I was walking around the house.” I gasped. “Oh my god! You’ve seen me naked!”

He pressed his head against the floor. I barely caught his words. “It was the one perk to being stuck a cat.”

I glared at him. “Regardless, that’s a really creepy thing to do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a visitor to go get.” I drained the rest of my coffee and set the mug in the sink. “Seriously, a pervert cat. Only I could get a pervert cat.”

I turned to get James, only to run into something incredibly solid. “I can’t let you do that, my lady.”

“God dammit, Mittens! Stop calling me ‘my lady!’ Call me Rebekkah. I’m not royalty,” I snapped. “Get out of my way.” I tried to push past him. He didn’t move. I stepped back and groaned. “Of course you’d be tall. Everyone today is intent on being at least a foot taller than me.”

He ignored my mumbling, his own face clearly annoyed. “And you stop calling me Mittens, at least in my Dinnshenchas form. My name is Ariel. And, m- Rebekkah, I won’t move.” Ariel the man-cat crossed his arms and glared at me. At least that was a look I was familiar with.

I shrugged. “Fine. I’ll just go out the front door.” I turned on my heel and took one step forward, only to be spun around. Ariel bared his teeth, surprisingly sharp for all he looked practically human. I swallowed hard. “I invited him here. I’m not going to leave him in the cold.”

That seemed to take him by surprise. “You invited the Lord of Destruction here?”

I tried to shake his grip on my elbows. Seriously, what was with guys and restraining me today. Did I have “I’m weak. Keep me from doing stuff.” tattooed across my forehead? “Let go. And the ‘Lord of Destruction?’”

Ariel glanced over his shoulder at the garage door. “As if my job wasn’t hard enough as it is,” he growled. “Curse your kindness, Rebekkah. Go let him in.” He let go of me and I rubbed my elbows in relief. More bruises for me. Yay. He never took his eyes off the door. “I’ll be waiting here for him.” He plopped down on the couch and crossed his legs, a look of determination and terror on his face.

I glanced between him and the door. “On the couch. Like that.” He nodded stiffly. “Not as a cat.”

He shook his head. “He’ll recognize me either way. I’d prefer it be as a noble protector, rather than as a coward.”

“Riiiight…” Shaking my head, I went out into the garage. The heater had warmed the air to barely above freezing, but James seemed fast asleep in the car. I tapped on the glass, guilty for waking him up. He looked so peaceful, long lashes spread across his cheeks and hair undone. He shifted in his sleep, and I paused. I could feel the nervousness radiating from the house. Really, why were Joe and Mittens/Ariel so afraid of this guy? I tapped again, louder. James’s eyes flew open and then he was gone. Wait, gone? I pressed my nose against the glass, bewildered. He’d just been there.

“Hasn’t anyone told you not to sneak up on someone while they’re sleeping?” I jerked and turned around. James whipped his hair back into a ponytail and gave me a caustic look. “You’re lucky you had the door between us. I don’t wake up well.”

I stared at him in disbelief, then shook my head. “Of course you don’t.”

“Excuse me?”

I waved his question away. “Never mind. Come on in. There’s someone who wants to meet you.” He slipped off his gloves and thoughtfully turned off the heater. At least, I assumed it was thoughtful. Perhaps he really did take the bad luck thing seriously. I rubbed my temple in exhaustion. If I’d known today would have been this crazy, I’d have stayed in bed. I pushed the door open, annoyingly aware of him behind me. “Kitchen, living room, upstairs are the rooms.” I pointed briefly each direction. “I’ll make coffee. Lots of coffee.” James offered a smile. I felt one begging to appear in return. I stifled the urge. “My friend wants to meet you. He’s in there.”

He gave a short bow, making my ears burn. “Thank you. I’m sure your coffee here at home is even better than the coffee at Rebekkah’s Roasters.” There was a muffled “hmph” from the living room. I ignored it, merely nodding and returning to making that ever-perfect staple. James left for the living room. I waited, listening for signs of a fight. Nothing happened. My hand hovered above the grinder. Were there even signs of life? Did shape-shifters and evil cupids make sound when they fought? I bit my lip, torn between coffee and curiosity. Finally, curiosity got the best of me. I peeked my head around the corner.

Ariel and James stood face to face, both looking like statues. Ariel was a few inches shorter, but looked just as fierce. “Robin.”

I stared at James in confusion. Robin? James gave a feral grin. Goosebumps erupted all over me. “Ariel, I’d never thought to see you again. It seems we’re destined to run into each other, now aren’t we?”

Ariel snarled. “Are we? I didn’t invite you here, and I wouldn’t mind if you’d leave.”

James’s eyes narrowed. “What is it with humans, Ariel? Care to see another one fall?”

My blood ran cold. “You bastard,” Ariel growled, slamming his fist into James’s stomach. Or, what was supposed to be his stomach. Instead, he hit air and, off balance, stumbled into the table.

James snorted from my recliner, feet reclined and jacket off. “Fool. You’re barely grown. Do you really think you can take me?”

Ariel hissed, caught himself, and pivoted. I watched it all in a daze. “Another human? Is that really all they are to you? Playthings to toss about?”

James didn’t look up from his careful inspection of his nails. “Exactly. They live, they love, they break, they die.” He shrugged. “They are weak. My job is simply hastening the inevitable.” My fingers tightened convulsively around the door frame, chilled by the cold dismissal. Hadn’t he said last night that he hated his job? I swallowed, trying to fill my shocked lungs with air. He’d seemed so destitute then and so charming today. I stared at him in confusion. Was this the real James, the creature Puck that Joe and my cat were warning me about? He flicked invisible dirt from between his nails and sat up in the chair, fixing chilling blue eyes on the Dinnseanchas. “Poor, poor Ariel. You have the worst luck choosing humans. Just once, try to choose one I’ve not selected to destroy, why don’t you? Be a good lad now.”

Ariel’s voice filtered through my hearing, distant and garbled. “My job is to protect her from despicable creatures, namely you,” he snarled. I glanced up. Fur was sprouting along his neck, thick black puffs. I blinked, trying to will my mind to work. “She’s had enough to deal with. You may leave.”

It all clicked into place. My nails dug into the frame of the door. The lies last night, the coffee, the picture, the fake sleeping… “You… you son of a bitch.” Both men looked up, startled. Ariel popped back into Mittens so suddenly, I almost didn’t catch it. I gave him a glare I hoped would singe his whiskers. “Nuh-uh, buddy. Back up in human form. We need to talk.” When James chuckled, I turned my glare onto him. He had the decency to wipe the smirk off his face. “And you can get the hell out of my house.”

“You invited me in,” he said.

I ground my teeth. “And now you’ve been disinvited. I’m not about to keep my enemies around.” Ariel stiffened but didn’t move. “Out!” I commanded. “Front door’s there. Take your shit and get out.” He opened his mouth again and I flung my finger towards the door. “Out! I said out!” I took a deep breath, trying to control myself. The series of events, Joe’s warning, Ariel’s terror: they were all too much for me. “Do you think I’m an idiot? I see what you’re doing here. Acting all nice to me last night, buttering me up, running into me on ‘accident?”

He took a step forward, hands out. “Rebekkah, really—”

I closed my eyes. How could I have been so stupid? “Get. Out. Of. My. House. I’m sure the cops mean nothing to you, but I’ll call them all the same.”

A moment passed. The only sounds were my ragged breathing and the steady thrum of a growl from Ariel. “Fine.” I ground my teeth together, determined not to open my eyes before I heard the door shut. There was the rustle of cloth as he slipped on his coat, then the quiet sound of footsteps. “As you wish, Rebekkah.” The door shut.

Without a sound, I sank to the floor. A worried Ariel slipped his arms around my shoulders. “Oh no you don’t. You’re just as much in trouble, sir.” If he’d had ears just then, they would have gone flat. I pointed to the couch. “Sit, or I’ll kick you out, too.” He sat. I took a deep breath.

“Would you like to sit in a chair, my – ah, Rebekkah?” he asked tentatively.

I glared