The Inner Circle, Book 3 of the Glass Wall ( A YA Urban Fantasy Romance ) by Carmen Caine, Madison Adler Read Free Book Online

shift started then, and I was happy to be
distracted from my thoughts. The baristas around me chattered with
Ellison. Listening to their cheerful banter, I began to bag the
pastries as directed when Samantha joined us from the back, her
arms full of pastry-order notebooks.
    Catching sight of her, the baristas
scattered.
    Pausing beside me, Samantha brushed back her
straight blonde hair and fixed her hawkish eyes at the door. “Here
comes trouble with a capital ‘T’,” she said with a shriveling
glare.
    I glanced up to see Jareth stalking forward
amidst the sea of cyclists in their spandex outfits standing in
line to get their morning lattes.
    He was dressed in full rocker regalia,
spikes, chains and all, and his black hair was moussed to stand out
in all directions. His eye was completely back to normal.
Obviously, the Fae healthcare system was more advanced than
ours.
    I was actually relieved to see him. I guess
on some level, I’d been worried that he hadn’t responded to my
calls.
    He cut to the front of the line.
    The customers didn’t seem to mind, though it
was obvious that Samantha did. And as he leaned against the pastry
case, she waved a newspaper in front of his face.
    “Missed another concert, did you, Jareth?”
Samantha asked in a brisk tone. “You’ll ruin your brand if you
continue to misbehave.”
    He gave her a cocky grin and snatched the
paper out of her hand. “Misbehaving is my brand, dragon,” he
said before scanning the headlines.
    The headline was printed in large, bold
letters: “Another No-Show for Jareth. Are Drugs Involved?”
    He snorted and tossed the paper onto the
counter.
    “Do you want your usual blueberry muffin?” I
asked him, wanting him to sit down quickly so we could talk. “Just
take a seat and I’ll bring it right out.”
    Samantha sighed. “Handle him for me, Sydney,”
she said in a slightly weary tone and then turned to her other
customers.
    I didn’t need to be told twice.
    Putting a blueberry muffin onto a plate, I
slipped out from behind the counter and, grabbing Jareth’s hand,
pulled him to a corner table.
    “Where have you been?” I hissed, slamming the
plate down onto the table. “I tried calling you several times!”
    Jareth raised a brow and looked surprised.
Pulling out his trion, he looked at the slim silver weapon and
murmured something. A spark of light shot out from the tip and
disappeared into his hand.
    “So you did,” he said, clearly surprised.
“Strange. I never received the message.”
    My frown deepened, but I forged ahead. “We’ve
got to take control here. But first things first, I must make sure
Al, Betty, and Grace are protected. Can you make them runes,
too?”
    I pulled his protection rune from my
pocket.
    He looked pleased at that. “So, you really do
trust me now, do you?”
    “For now,” I said a bit acidly and then
repeated, “Can you make them runes?”
    At that, he turned grim. “No,” he said
shortly. “And I don’t even think the one you have is going to
work.”
    Standing abruptly, he pushed his way past me
and exited the coffee shop.
    I stared at him dumbfounded and then scowled.
“Thanks, Jareth,” I muttered under my breath, collecting his
uneaten muffin.
    Obviously, I couldn’t rely on him.
    Returning to the pastry case, I went back to
work, shoving muffins, cookies, and scones into bags and onto
plates as I planned my next move.
    Part of me did keep on the lookout for
Rafael. But he didn’t show up. Either he hadn’t gotten my message
or he hadn’t cared.
    But I wasn’t about to give up that easily. As
soon as I got home, I was going to walk across the street and tell
him that I wanted to help. I’d pretend that I thought he was
playing the part of a spy. And maybe I’d learn a little something
along the way.
    I’d stolen the mutant tulpa before. Maybe I
could do it again. And maybe I could figure out a way to get rid of
the thing. Though exactly how one might get rid of an evil tulpa
was a bit