Smolder Chapter 22

Immediately, a rush of hatred coiled in her stomach, winding its way through her senses, but Jade suppressed it and tried to push those feelings down to the tips of her toes. She needed to stay focused on finding out what Skye was doing here. Eventually, she would be able to interrogate her. Eventually, she would learn everything she needed, but that time was not in the middle of a huge and bustling tourist spot.

Jade ducked behind the bench, using the backrest as a shield to keep her face completely hidden from view. She poked her head up, hoping the visor of her cap and her sunglasses kept her masked enough, and watched her. She was waiting for someone or something. She scanned the crowd, her eyes darting back and forth, reading each face carefully.

Well, Jade thought, I'm just going to have to be the one to find out what she is up to. While Benjamin and Aiden had been searching for her, she had fallen into Jade's lap. Not that she was complaining, but she knew they would be annoyed that she had not only left the hotel room but also did what she was doing now: following Skye as she walked away from the harbor.

Sneakily, Jade stood up and walked over to a storefront, peering not through the glass at the clothes but on the glass at the reflection. Skye continued walking, thankfully at a human pace, and Jade watched until she was almost out of view before chasing after her. Jade had never been so grateful for time spent in The City as she was then. Walking around crowded city streets had taught her the all-too-precious weave, duck and jump, and swivel her hips to keep from getting bowled over by the crowds. Without her years' worth of knowledge, she had no doubt she would have lost her in the crowd.

As it was, she tracked Skye around the harbor to a giant grass hill, some park overlooking the water. Taking each stone step slowly, she followed her up, hoping it wasn't a trap. When she reached the top Jade scanned the area and saw Skye's dress as it billowed before a gleaming white marble monument. Luckily, the contrast made her easy to spot, which may have been Skye's intention. Jade was certain she had no clue she was being followed.

To keep it that way, Jade quickly dashed behind a tree and peered around the trunk to observe. When she was sure Skye was looking the other way, Jade sprinted behind a different tree that was much closer, so she was only ten feet from her prey because that is how she wanted to think of Skye as prey and not as predator.

After ten minutes of peeking at her as she did nothing but stare down at the harbor, Jade was getting impatient. Yes, it was a plus that she had found her, but sitting out in the heat and leaning against scratchy bark to hide from a demon was not ideal.

Finally, just as Jade's annoyance reached an all-time high, she stood a fraction taller. Jade instantly became alert. Skye focused on something towards the bottom of the hill, arching her neck for a better view, before straightening out her dress and quickly feeling her hair for stray strands.

She's nervous, Jade thought.

A second later, a man appeared by Skye's side. He materialized out of thin air in a suit. His skin immediately let her know he was a demon. Even at a distance, she saw the crooked bend to his nose and silently felt a little sorry that he was stuck with that for all eternity. Skye smiled widely, in a subservient way that Jade didn't recognize from her, and the man extended a gloved hand. Placing her fingers in his palm, she let him lift her hand for a kiss.

Jade was seriously confused. Was this business or pleasure? Had Skye given up on ruining her life for some strange demon lover? The more the two demons interacted, the more Jade felt like she had been transported to a period film, some version of Wuthering Heights filled with curtsying and overly polite manners.

Skye produced a fan from the folds of her long dress and started flicking it around like some secretive language. The man held out his arm, and she grasped it at the crook of his elbow so he could lead her on a stroll around the park. They looked more like sweethearts during a secret rendezvous than evil-plotting villains, but Jade knew Skye was not the sort to give up on revenge, especially when she had been plotting for months.

Jade circled her tree, wishing the meandering couple would stay put so she didn't have to keep jumping around the trunk like a crazy tree-hugger to keep out of sight. Her poor hands were scratched red from the wood, but she knew there was no choice but to wait. She needed to see what was going on. This might be the only clue to Skye's plan that any of them ever got.

Eventually, after circling the entire park once, Skye dropped her hand and turned to face the man, who had reached into his pocket to pull out a gleaming white envelope. From that distance, Jade couldn't read the words it said, but she saw the image of a blood-red rose drawn on the front and watched as crimson petals cascaded to the ground when Skye pulled out a note.

Skye politely inclined her head. Jade assumed it was some sort of acceptance. He slid a small vile into her hand and kissed her fingers one more time. Then, as quickly as he had come, the man disappeared. Skye pressed the note against her chest, smiling widely, but Jade didn't miss the calculating focus of her eyes. This was not schoolgirl glee at a crush finally returning her emotions: it was the giddiness of a plan falling into place. Surely that meant she had no idea she, Benjamin, and Aiden were there... hopefully.

For a moment, Jade had the incredible urge to blast Skye with a ball of fire right there in the middle of the park. She didn't care what passersby saw, how they would run in fear at her power, or how someone would snap a photograph making the Seraphina seem like horrible monsters.

For a moment, all Jade wanted to do was catch Skye and make her pay. She hadn't been this close to her since that day in the woods, and just like the evil witch had planned, her words were never far from Jade's mind. This demon was the only way she would find out any information about her mother. She was the only tie and Jade was close.

Without realizing it, Jade outstretched her arm in Skye's direction, preparing to blast her with flames.

But as quickly as the thoughts came, Skye was gone, and Jade had missed her opportunity again. The girl was crazy fast. Jade sighed and leaned against the tree. She would need Benjamin's help when the time came.

Letting her hand fall back to her side, Jade walked over to where she had been standing. Kneeling, she picked a few of the silky rose petals from the grass, wondering if Benjamin would know what this peculiar invite was.

As late afternoon approached, she knew it was time to head home and slip back into the hotel room before either of them showed up. She picked up a snack and happily walked through the lobby. Once inside, she ran back over to the chair and quickly stuffed all the papers she had been reading into her folder. Carefully, she slipped the folder inside a t-shirt in her duffle, keeping it hidden. She placed the rose petals in a pile on the table and waited.

And waited.

And wait a little more until Jade just about thought she would go crazy. Patience was so not a virtue. It was torture, especially when she had two dummies with hero complexes chasing after evil demons.

When the doorknob finally clicked, Jade zeroed in on the entryway, shocked to see Aiden and Benjamin enter, chuckling with one another.

"What the heck?" she said and stood, staring at them angrily. It was one thing to leave her at home and go their separate ways, but it was another thing to leave her behind and adventure together. They didn't even like each other! Though she supposed she should take it as a good sign that they were laughing and not at each other's throats as per usual.

Benjamin walked over to pull her into a tight one-armed hug and said, "Oh, nothing. Aiden's friends tried to kill me," which caused another burst of guffaws from Aiden.

Jade shirked out of the hold to turn and look at him. "What?"

"Dude, they weren't trying to kill you. They were just trying to throw you off the roof."

"What!" Jade spun to face Aiden now.

"Trying is the operative word."

"They sort of succeeded," Aiden grinned. Enough, she thought.

"Stop!" She yelled to finally make them pay attention to her. "What is going on?" They stopped smiling as if noticing Jade's frustration for the first time. Was steam coming out of her ears yet?

"It's not a big deal," Benjamin said, lightly rubbing her arm. "Aiden texted me to meet him on some roof because he found information, so I went. But by the time I had gotten there, a few other Seraphina had joined in and thought I was trying to attack them, so they fought back—"

"Ah," Aiden took over, "don't skip over the best part! When Benjamin landed on the roof, my friends tried to blast him off it with their power, but they just sent him flying right into a water pipe that burst like a geyser. It was just like one of those cartoons. Benjamin was butt-smacked off the roof by the blow!" Aiden could barely finish the story before he doubled over in another fit of laughter.

"Are you okay?" She turned back to Benjamin, finally taking in the slightly damp quality of his clothing.

"Yeah, it was awesome. I haven't been surprised like that in a while. One minute I was standing on the roof, the next I was flying." He grinned boyishly.

"Getting catapulted off of a roof was fun?" She asked, deadpanned. He shrugged, and she rolled her eyes. Some things she would never understand.

"Jade, you would have died if you were there. I can't stop playing the picture of him somersaulting through mid-air," Aiden voiced while he collapsed into an armchair.

"I'm glad you two had... fun..." She said, sitting down on the couch, shaking her head. "I had a good day too," she started, not sure how to tell them she had broken their rules and gone outside.

"What did you do?" Benjamin asked and settled on the couch next to her, dropping an arm around her shoulder.

"A little of this, a little of that — you know, some reading and well, some spying on Skye—"

"What?" Benjamin sat up and turned to face her.

"I swear, I didn't mean for anything to happen. I didn't go out looking for her. But, you didn't expect me to stay inside all day, did you? I was bored out of my mind." Both shrugged to say, yeah, we did think you would stay inside. But in Jade's mind, they should've known better. She continued, "Anyway, I was sitting on a bench by the water when I saw her." They sat up straight, about to ask the same question, but she cut them off. "No, she didn't see me. Relax, I was completely incognito."

She told them about the meeting on the hill and how Skye had been acting strangely, like some love-stricken puppy. Finally, she ended with the invitation and pointed to the roses on the table.

"You saw Roanoke's head demon. His name is Theron," Benjamin said with a sigh. "His nose is the unfortunate monstrosity you described, but it's said that he can smell anything a mile away — even the sun on a Seraphina skin. It's a miracle you weren't seen."

"How can we be sure?" Aiden asked.

"The fact that she is sitting in this room completely unharmed means she wasn't seen," he whispered, and Jade couldn't suppress the gulp that slid down her throat. "Theron is not one for leniency, and out in the open like that, he would have taken her for sure. Or at least tried."

"And this is the same guy you had tea with?" Aiden asked in disbelief. Benjamin nodded.

"But what was with the invitation and the strange back and forth between them?" she asked.

Benjamin leaned forward in his seat to pick up a stray rose petal. He rolled the red strip between his fingers, lost in thought.

"Unfortunately, I know exactly what this is: the red rose masquerade." Jade and Aiden looked at each other, both scared by Benjamin's ominous tone.

"Why is this masquerade so important?" she asked, not sure she wanted an answer.

"Not important, but elite—very elite. I've never been invited, but I know what it is. Once every generation, the head demon of a region will take his or her turn hosting the masquerade. They invite every demon who meets one single requirement: immunity."

Jade squinted, not liking where this was going. "Immunity...to Seraphina?"

He nodded. "There are two: the red rose and the white rose. To be invited to the Red Rose, a demon must own a captive Vindicator. For the white rose, a Hierophant." Benjamin ended quietly. Jade and Aiden looked at each other like they were going to be sick.