Ghastly. (Jurdan)

Chapter Four

I guzzled down a bottle of water, trying to regain control of my breathing. Cardan sat next to me, staring ahead dismissively. His finger ran around the edge of a plastic cup, something I had often seen him do in deep thought at the palace, although I was used to seeing him do this with fine glassware. Vivi and Heather were still in the club, but Cardan had dragged me over to a quiet dive bar a couple of streets away. My head swam with questions, although I was grateful to him for getting me out of that situation, I was furious at him for showing up unannounced. Why was he even here?

The jukebox played a whiney jazz song on what sounded like a scratched record, occasionally jumping and hissing like a startled cat.

"I didn't need your help." I said, more aggressively than I had intended. Cardan continued to stare ahead as if ignorant to the fact that I had spoken. "I'm serious, I was fine. I was about to get up."

Cardan laughed, sourly. "Oh yeah? Is that right?" He caught the eye of the bartender and held up two fingers. The barkeep approached us.

"Does she have ID?" He asked Cardan.

"You can ask her yourself." I started.

"You can serve her." Cardan's voice was heavy with glamour, seductive and rough. The barkeep nodded and brought us two rusty brown drinks. I took a sip and recoiled, having grown used to Heather's sweet and fruity beverages. This lingered in the back of my throat, clawing and hot. Cardan laughed.  "You never were a good drinker."

"You've always been too good." I retorted. He finally turned to face me, his dark eyes gazing into my chestnut brown ones.

"You're ghastly. You know that?" He grinned.

"God I hate you." I was the first to turn away.

"I love it when you say that." I felt the heat rising in my cheeks, boiling my blood.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I snapped. "Don't give me that 'I'm the King' horseshit, because I put you there. How dare you show up here! I'm moving on, I have a life here!" Most of that last bit were obvious lies. I hadn't moved on, not even a little bit. And I clearly didn't have a life in the mortal world.

Cardan took a moment to consider what I had said, chewing on his drink as he did. "I have visited you. Many nights, I have watched you. Some life you're living here. Living in that box, in your own squalor, tossing a turning at night, dreaming of me no doubt. Some life without me."

"You cast me out! I had nothing!" I spat.

"You had your supposed hate for me keeping you warm, my darling Jude." He smirked, his curly hair flopping into his eyes. "And it seems you had one hell of a punch to keep you safe. But I ask you this, why didn't you try to return? Why didn't you come home to me?"

He placed his hand on my thigh, too close to the hem of my dress, and slowly started moving it up. I plastered my face with a smear of disgust and whacked with hand away.

"Excuse me, I must use the facilities." I said, already regretting it.

"So human, my sweet villain."

                                                                                     ***
After staring at my seething reflection in a cracked bathroom mirror, I returned to my seat at the bar. Cardan had obviously been nursing his drink in my presence and my absence had encouraged him to enjoy it at a quicker pace. It seemed that he had helped himself to some of mine as well. I slid in next to  him and looked intently at his features, wondering what his eyes, ears and tail looked like to the people he glamoured. Did he make his eyes appear brown, blue or green? Did he keep some kind of point to his ears? It was something I never had time to consider before.

"Would you stop looking at me?" Cardan asked, startling me out of my daze.

"Sorry."

"No you aren't. You've missed me."

"Missed you? Please. I've hardly thought of you." I lied. "Cardan, tell me. What are you doing here?"

"I've come to bring you home. Back to Elfhame, to the palace with me. You're miserable here and you belong to- with me." The bartender called for last orders. "I could make him let us stay, you know?"

"Leave him alone. He's already been glamoured once tonight, it's not fair." I sighed.

"Where was that compassion when you killed my brother?"

"Cardan I-" I was taken aback by this. Cardan had not shown any real disturbance at the time of his brothers demise. Of course I could blame that on the effects of the poison but I thought he hated Balekin.

"Perhaps I should take you home?" He said, almost sadly.

"No!" I said, before  I had considered what that would mean. "Maybe you could ask him for one more drink?"

Cardan's devilish eyes met mine as he smirked. He beckoned the barkeep over and told him in that sweet and sour voice that we would be staying until we felt like leaving, setting our night in motion.