Bad Moon:Book One in the "I Am Chaos" series.

Chapter 11: Ligers and Liaisons

Chapter 11: Ligers and Liaisons

I shouldn't have googled it. Really. I should have just let well enough alone. But there was nothing in Diana for the New World or The Berwick Book that talked about hybrid ilicon species. And I needed to know what I was. So I tried the search engines. And I read way more about mosaics, chimeras, ligers, hinnies, and mules than anyone who's not a geneticist should ever have to.

I also learned that I probably shouldn't even exist. It shouldn't have been genetically possible. The fact of my existence left a ton of questions about how human an elemental was and the exact number of chromosomes a demon had.

Oh, I also found out that Mules are sterile, which left me with a whole other series of questions and an excess of anxious energy so severe, I had to go on a six mile jog to calm down.

I got back from my run and finished showering in time to leave for my meeting with Amelia. At least, for a few hours, I'd be able to push aside the visit with my father and pretend I'd never heard the word ilicon.

Yah, right.

By the time I exited the T, it was full dark. Even though I trusted Brandon, believed that Vehendi wouldn't bother me for another few days, I found myself reaching for my power and neurotically examining everyone's aura for signs of magical ability.

With my power hovering just beneath my skin, I felt safer, and I wove through the congested, after-work crowd, breathing a small sigh of relief when I pushed the heavy rotating doors and entered the Prudential Center.

The crowds weren't any better inside. It might have been a Wednesday night, but with half a dozen conventions at the convention center – not to mention a special Halloween crafts pop up market (I saw several people walking around carrying orange paper shopping bags) – the mall was more crowded than usual.

Shoppers had their noses tucked in their phones, so navigating the kiosk-packed walkways became a game of bumper cars. Bruised as I was from my battle with Paz yesterday, I was becoming crankier by the second. I wondered, abstractedly, if there was a way to use my power like a shield. I thought about it, imagining my power sliding from my fingers and coating the air around me like a bubble. A young college student wearing headphones rebounded off the air about an inch from my elbow and looked up, startled.

Another man did the same thing, knocking into a woman walking beside him. Whoops. Perhaps the shield was a bit more forceful than I intended it to be. Not wanting to make a scene, I dropped it, and made my way through the mall unguarded.

Amelia was waiting for me outside the entrance to the Sheraton - which connected the mall to the convention center. In her spring green skirt, white blouse, and pearls, she looked professional and was chatting with a man whose skin was so dark that the whites of his eyes and the bright flash of his teeth were nearly blinding. Both looked up as I approached.

"This is my friend," I heard Amelia say, as if she'd mentioned me before. The man, who had a square, slender build and a shiny, hairless pate, gave me a welcoming nod as I approached.

"You're early," said Amelia, reaching in for a short, hard hug. "I told Ken we'd have more time to talk."

"I am early, for once. Apologies all around." I turned to introduce myself to Ken. "I'm Eva."

"Ken Chikelu."

Two words, and I was mesmerized. Ken's voice was deep and soft, and reminded me, instantly, of fresh roasted coffee, of bassoons and kettledrums. I wasn't good enough at naming accents to place his, but more than anything in the world, I wanted him to speak again. My body seemed to move without my consent, my hand winding out to take the one he offered me. His palms were rough and his hands were warm. I knew I was holding on too long, knew I needed to get a hold of myself. I tugged my hand back with more force than I meant.