The words poured from him, despite the fact he’d never told anyone before now. “My father came and went until I was five, then he just went. My stepmother worked at a convenience store, but it didn’t pay enough for the bills and her crystal habit. She took me to an acquaintance of hers, who showed me how to pick pockets. When I got a little older, he also showed me how to pick locks.”
She stared at him. “Your stepmotherwantedyou to steal?”
Why did he feel the need to defend Sadie? But he did. “She was already an addict. Although I didn’t realize it back then.”
“Addicted to crystal dust?”
He nodded. “For a Morph, sometimes one dose is enough, but it usually takes a few to really get hooked.”
“Wow.” For a few moments, she remained silent. Then, “That must have been awful.”
The stealing wasn’t the worst thing about his youth. Not by a long shot. “I’m a good thief. And I only target bastards. Drug dealers. Crystal underlords. Slavers. My favorite thing is to steal from those who also steal.”
Her fingers scritched Mai behind her trembling ears, before she sighed and offered, “Who am I to criticize? I’m hiring myself out to keep those bastards alive.”
Lucas relaxed a little. “Will you go back to that?”
She twitched a shoulder upward. “My boss got killed. I haven’t exactly been getting rave reviews from the others that hired me. My days as a bodyguard might be over.”
“You’re a warrior,” he protested. “You’re talented, and beautiful. Someone will hire you.”
She regarded him with surprise. “You haven’t even seen me fight.”
“It’s in every move you make. The way you assess your surroundings and are ready for whatever comes at you. The way you never quit, even when the going gets tough.”
The depth of his true feelings reverberated through the words, and Lucas shut them down. Brutally.
But she’d heard them. Wide-eyed, she stared at him.
And with a poof of raw flame, a bird appeared in front of them. It spat fire in every direction from its bright feathers.
Aria shot to her feet, shoving Mai up beneath her hair. In one fluid motion, the tail spike was in her hand.
Lucas grabbed her arm. “No! It’s okay. It’s only Sparkle.”
Aria didn’t take her eyes off the hovering creature. The flames had diminished, but its bright feathers and long tail continued to glow.
“What’s a Phoenix doing in this realm?” Aria asked.
“She’s the pet of my trader friend. She knows Betsy’s place; she’s reached me here before.”
Aria looked past the hovering Phoenix. “She came with your friend?”
“No. He often uses her for sending messages.”
She relaxed, but only fractionally. “I thought they used digital here.”
“They do. But my guy likes to use Sparkle when he can. Keeps her sharp. Her teleporting skills are really useful in nondigital realms.”
Lucas stepped forward and offered his arm. With a twitter, the bird landed. The flames had vanished, but small drifts of ash settled to the roof tiles.
Aria holstered her tail spike as Lucas expertly popped off the lid to the message canister fastened to the Phoenix’s breast. He withdrew a slip of paper. On it was a date and time.
“I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning,” Lucas said. “He has what we’re looking for.”
Her posture and expression reflected relief. “Oh, that’s good.”
Lucas didn’t have a pen for a return message, so he put the lid back on. “I’ll text him an affirmation. Thank you, Sparkle.”
