Ah, the quintessential bartender. Always ready and waiting with a willing ear. How to start? “Tyler sent me,” I said, taking a tentative sip of my drink and settling onto a stool at the bar. “He said you’re the question-and-answer man. And I’m in need of some answers.”
Levi seemed to contemplate my statement and fixed me with a pointed stare. I fished a fifty-dollar bill from my pocket and slid it toward him. When I lifted my hand, he palmed the bill and shoved it into his pocket. “I know some things, Shaede girl. What do you want to know?”
Son of a bitch! That wily little bastard! I looked at Levi with a scowl. I’d always appreciated how comfortable he’d been with me, how he turned his head from my unusual nature and treated me like everyone else. Of course he did. It didn’t have anything to do with him being a genuinely good guy. He was just in the loop.
“What are you?” I asked.
“Wow, that was a waste of a fifty,” Levi said with a laugh. “You’d better be more careful about what kind of answers you’re willing to spend your money on. I’m human. Nothing more; nothing less. Just a guy who knows some things. There aren’t many humans who have the knowledge I’m privy to, but I’m not the only one. Anything else you’d like to ask?”
I fingered the hilt of my dagger. Smart-ass. I slid another fifty across the table. If I didn’t watch out, this was going to be an expensive meeting. “Lyhtans. What do you know about them?”
Levi pocketed my money and smiled. “For starters, I wouldn’t want to stumble across one of them unless I was heavily armed and escorted. They’re nasty, dangerous bastards.”
“Why have I never seen one before?”
That question earned me a strange look from Levi. Maybe he was just as blown away by my ignorance as everyone else. Fantastic. “They can go around invisible during the day. And if you ever saw one, you’d know it. They don’t look like any human or animal. At night, they stick to the shadows. Lyhtans don’t live in large groups. They’re pretty solitary. I don’t know for sure, but I think they live in the forests, parks—places where they can hide above human eye level. Trees, bridges, cracks, and crevices. Lyhtans stay above your head and well out of sight. Honestly, though, I’m not surprised you haven’t seen one. It’s been quiet around here for a while—as far as the supernatural community goes. But a month or so ago, there was a bit of a population explosion. Seems Seattle is the new hot spot.”
Well, that explained why I hadn’t noticed Seattle’s nonhuman inhabitants: Until recently, there hadn’t been many. “How do Lyhtans make a living if they’re so obviously not human?” Levi looked at the counter, and I sighed, slapping down another fifty.
“They don’t need money.” Levi laughed. “If they don’t look human, they’re not very likely going to be shopping at the Gap. Lyhtans are more like animals than people. They hunt for their food. They don’t live in houses. I don’t even think they wear clothes, for that matter. Hence, they don’t need money.”
Lyhtans might not shop at the Gap, but Levi sure did. I had a feeling I’d be fronting the cash for his new wardrobe too. I drained the gin and tonic and handed the glass to Levi, along with another folded bill. “What do they eat?”
“Anything they can get their hands on,” Levi said. He paused to take a tray laden with discarded glasses from one of the waitresses, and handed her an empty one. “But they prefer fresh meat. Human or other.”
“Sounds lovely.”
“Yeah,” Levi scoffed. “You know how spiders inject their prey with venom? Well, Lyhtans can do that too. It’s in their teeth. Paralyzes the prey and dissolves its insides and bones into goo. Then they slurp it out like a smoothie, leaving an empty husk behind.”
I thought of my Lyhtan visitor commenting on how it would like to suck my innards out through my nose, and my stomach heaved, threatening to send my gin and tonic back the way it came. I took three fifties, folded them in half, and handed them to Levi. “Can they be killed?”
“Yes, but don’t ask me how to do it. I have no idea.”
“Anything else I need to know about them?”
“They can compel a victim if they want to,” Levi said, and I wondered if I imagined the shudder that seemed to shake his body. “I’ve only heard stories, so I don’t know for sure. Maybe through their venom. Whatever it is gives them some sort of mind control over their prey. The ones they don’t eat, that is.”
“For what reason?”
Levi shrugged. “Who knows? Protection. Slavery. Meals on wheels. What would you do with a walking, talking zombie? One ready to do whatever you asked.”
Hmmm. I wonder. “What else creeps around out there, Levi? If Shaedes and Lyhtans are running loose all over Seattle, there have to be more. Who are they? What are they?”
Levi plucked the bill I’d thrown him off the counter and pressed it back into my palm. He reached up and rang a bell above the bar, giving the lingering patrons a start, and hollered, “Last call!”
Grumbling replies answered, and Tiny stepped through the entrance, ready to send any hostile stragglers on their way. Levi grabbed a bottle of imported beer from the fridge and popped the cap before sending it rattling down the bar toward Tiny. He scooped it up in his paw of a hand and tipped it back, nearly draining the bottle in one swallow.
“Keep your money,” Levi said, low. “You can’t afford for me to answer all of your questions. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Cheeky. College boy knew his Hamlet. “Horatio,” I said in response.
“Huh?”
Well, well. Maybe I should be asking for a partial refund if I had to answer any of his questions. “ ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ Hamlet is speaking to Horatio in that scene.”
“Oh!” Levi smiled, his face glowing like an ad for high-end cologne. “Gotcha. Don’t worry about what you don’t know, Darian.” Boy, did those words hit a nerve. Azriel had said that to me more times than I could count. It’s easy for someone armed with knowledge to tell the ignorant one to relax. He offered me another refill and I took it gladly. A whole bottle of gin wasn’t going to be enough to get me over this night. He checked his watch and grinned. “Just enjoy the ride.”
I downed the drink in a single swallow, slamming the glass down on the bar. Enjoy the ride. Sure. Whatever. No one was trying to kill his ass. Or tell him bald-faced lies. But I couldn’t deny that Levi was a fucking fount of supernatural information, and I wouldn’t forget it. He was worth the cash.
“Thanks for the drinks, Levi,” I said, pushing off my stool. “You’re a good guy.”
He flashed me a flirty smile, saluting me with my empty glass. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Darian.”
Smart-ass. With a tilt of my head and a parting smile to Tiny, I left a little more informed and a lot more angry.
Chapter 11
The pristine blue sky graced Seattle with a shining sun. I took the beautiful weather as a sign, and decided to see if I could get myself into a little trouble. Ignoring Tyler’s urging that I call him whenever I went out, I walked the sun-drenched sidewalks, hoping my Lyhtan friend would pay me a visit.
I’d passed the corner of Pike and Fourth when I noticed the snick-snick-snick like tiny insect legs scurrying on the sidewalk. Then I recognized the disturbance in the air around me. I tried not to let it see how the sound of its many facets of voice unsettled me. For a block or so, it merely called my name, taunting me with its nearness. I felt a waft of breeze now and again and recognized the dense air where it traveled beside me, unseen. Its stench sickened me, hanging over me like a cloud. I don’t know how the Lyhtan would have smelled to a human or if it would have smelled at all. But I found its odor foul, sour, and nothing like the sweet scent of my own kind, or the delicious aroma that clung to Ty.