Avador Book 2, Night Shadows by Shirley Martin Page A

mouthing strange words. Gaderian glanced at Stilo's hand, seeing talons instead of fingers, afraid he must be hallucinating. The vision disappeared, Stilo's fingers normal again. Soon, the elevator raised from the ground floor and made its slow ascent, stopping at the fifth floor. Once they reached his apartment along a hallway to his left, Stilo stopped, his eyes closed, his head against the door.
    At the sound of his snoring, Gaderian nudged him. "You need another spell to enter? Let's get on with it. I don't have all night."

Stilo roused and a simple wave of the hand opened the door. They stepped inside a huge room filled with elegant furnishings and draperies. Gaderian took it all in with just one look, too exasperated to linger. He helped Stilo stagger into the bedroom, where the man flopped down on the bed, asleep immediately.
    Before leaving the apartment, Gaderian performed his own incantation, this time to ensure that Stilo forgot this encounter. When Stilo woke up, he might wonder how he came to be in bed fully clothed, but he would be none the wiser.
    Then Gaderian left the apartment, this time making himself invisible and transporting himself to his own residence….
    Too bad Stilo has forgotten the favor, Gaderian mused, now back in the present. He struggled to rise but fell back, weak and tormented by hunger. He had to feed–now! He glanced around and saw an inebriated vagrant trudging along a path that led away from the meadow. First making sure no one else was about, Gaderian pushed himself to his feet, close to fainting with the effort. He rushed over to the path and grabbed the tramp from behind.
    "No!" The man struggled in his grip, but the noise from the fair drowned out his protests. Despite his debility, Gaderian held on and turned him around. He sank his teeth into the man's throat, guzzling the life-giving liquid, each drop granting him a revival of his potency.
    Moments later, satiated and renewed, Gaderian released the vagrant after invoking a spell to make the man forget the experience. He slipped him to the ground, where the tramp fell asleep. When he awoke, he, too, would be none the wiser. 
    With renewed vigor, he rushed on, back to the crowded meadow and the fairgrounds. He dashed from one booth to another, his head turning right and left. The mobs of men, women, and children obstructed him at every step. He could scarcely move! Tempted to scream at the noise, the crowds, the stench of human food, he worked his way through the crush of people. The music from the wooden platform blasted through the air, louder now as he neared the river. Hemmed in by all the laughing, chattering mortals, he craned his neck to see the dancers, but they flew past him in a blur of color. The music slowed, the dancers clapping and talking among themselves, then the band stopped. Before heading in that direction, Gaderian checked every booth and souvenir stand, his hands clenched as he realized the futility of his quest.
    There! He saw an auburn-haired lady, her back to him among the mobs, strolling with another man, next to the juggler's booth. He rushed in that direction–and saw it wasn't Fianna. Fierce disappointment twisted inside him.
    Desperate to reach the dancing area, Gaderian tried to make his way through the throngs of men, women, and children, impeded by the crowds headed in the opposite direction. If he could just reach the dancing platform–surely he would find Fianna there. With Stilo? Goddess, no! He was still too far from the dancing platform, and rushing against the thousands of people was like trying to restrain a flood.
    Gaderian clenched his hands, cursing himself for his negligence. He should never have left Moytura. If Stilo had Fianna in his grasp, he had already headed back to the city, back to his apartment. He gritted his teeth as he turned around and rushed back to the city, to Stilo's apartment. Surely he would find Fianna there.
     
    * * *
     
    His arm around her waist, Stilo led