His eyes bored into me and flickered slightly gold. I could almost sense his admiration, like an unidentifiable scent on the wind. Coming from him, that was a shock.
I blushed and ran my fingers through the ends of my hair, hoping he couldn’t sense the heat forming in my center. I averted my eyes from his gaze. “What do we do next?”
“Tonight, we’ll need to visit the seer at the Full Moon Fair. She’s the one who pointed me to you. She told me that I wouldn’t find the answers I was looking for without you at my side, so maybe she can point you the rest of the way. Perhaps the fates will intervene.”
I swallowed. I hadn’t ever put much stock in fate or fortune, but clearly, it had power here. It had sent Jaxson after me. The implications were dizzying, and my chest rose and fell as I tried to calm my breathing. What was my fate in all this? A sacrificial lamb?
I pursued a less loaded line of inquiry. “Tell me about this Full Moon Fair. Is it like a carnival?”
Carnivals had funnel cake, a potential bright point in the developing nightmare I was living.
Jaxson’s eyes brightened, and he tilted his head. “It’s best if you see it for yourself. It’s hard to describe. The fair is held at the Midway at sunset. Until then, we need to figure out what the two-headed wolf tattoo means. And this.” He tapped on the paper with the demon summoning circle.
I chewed on my lip as I studied my drawing. “Would my family know what the symbols mean?”
Jaxson raised an eyebrow. “Probably. Do you really want to ask them?”
My cheeks flushed. I’d stolen the scrying potion and used it without permission, and I did so to help their nemesis. I let my eyes drop.
He gave a knowing grunt. “I thought so. I’ll send your illustration to some scholars I know downtown at the Order of Magica’s research archives. Their people might be able to figure things out.”
“What’s the Order of Magica?”
“They’re like our FBI and government all rolled into one. It’s a corrupt mess that’s mainly preoccupied with keeping our kind hidden from the world.”
“So why aren’t they handling this instead of you?”
Jaxson’s jaw ticked. “They have their investigation, and we have ours, since werewolves are involved. They’re looking for someone to blame, while I’m looking for the truth. Luckily, I have something they don’t.”
“What?”
He stepped close, and his heat melted into mine. “You.”
23
Savannah
A half hour before sundown, we headed west toward the Midway Plaisance. Jaxson’s contacts at the archives hadn’t gotten back to him about the circle or the tattoo, and digging on the internet hadn’t yielded any results either—not that it would. I’d considered asking Casey, but I figured we’d better hear what the seer had to say first. She might have all the answers we needed.
Jaxson parked along 62nd Street, and we walked north toward the Midway Plaisance, a long, grassy park that ran east-west through the heart of Magic Side. Police had barricaded off 60th, and it was packed with pedestrians and food trucks.
I couldn’t help staring. I hadn’t been out in public since my first visit to Eclipse. The place was packed, and everyone was…different.
A woman with horns and a tail caught my slack-jawed look and winked at me. I went deep red, then turned close to Jaxson to cover my embarrassment. “This is where we’ll meet the seer?”
Jaxson scanned the crowd, barely registering my question. “The fair’s not here yet. We have to wait until sundown.”
Huh?
Jaxson seemed lost in thought, so I didn’t bother asking for clarification. It wouldn’t be a long wait, anyway. The sun was hovering just above the trees on the western end of the park.
Jaxson looked down, as if suddenly noticing me. “You need anything to eat?”
I was starving, but I snapped, “I’m fine.” Then I noticed a truck selling deep-fried smores. “Actually, those.”
If I was going to be held hostage all day, then I might as well live it up.
My fingers were irreparably sticky by the time the sun finally reached the horizon. Someone nearby hooted, and the crowd turned to watch.