Vision Quest by A.F. Henley; Kelly Wyre Read Free Book Online Page B

they'd left the sports bar, and Blaze had secretly flipped off the waitress when she'd appeared horrified at two men showing such affection after walking out of a bathroom together. He'd almost joked to Arik about how the woman had been so worried about their lack of hygiene, but one look at Arik's face silenced Blaze.
    "Nobody is that nice."
    Dear spirits, save him, Blaze prayed, shifting in the driver's seat. Because the bitch of the matter was that Arik was right. Blaze wasn't that nice. He was definitely here for his health, though, as the consequences of ignoring a Quest were dire, indeed. And he was here for Arik, because that's what Blaze did on Quests. He showed up at the right place, right time, to the right person, and did... Whatever was required. It wasn't always nice. It was never easy. Sometimes what Blaze had to do tried to kill him, one way or the other, but he had no choice in the matter, and he certainly, most assuredly, and tragically ... was not with Arik because Blaze had been kind-hearted or loving or ... nice.
    Blaze took the exit for the hotel, easing into traffic with exaggerated caution. He had no allowance to be driving the rental, for one, and on top of that, he had no license. He'd not brought that up to Arik, just yet. Nor had Blaze thought it was the right time to disclose to Arik that Blaze had no photo ID, no social security number, no Facebook page, and no cell phone. Arik seemed the rule-abiding and giving sort, and Blaze wasn't sure how he'd take the information. Besides, Blaze usually answered, "Despite the odds," or "Barely" or "On the grace of good people" when asked the inevitable, "How the hell do you survive?"
    But Blaze worried if Arik asked the question, Blaze would be a tad too truthful: "I don't know, and I'm tired. "
    When Blaze pulled the car into a spot in the garage and shoved the gearshift into park, the silence ceased to be deafening and became positively oppressive. Blaze turned off the engine, and he slowly slid the key from the ignition. When Arik still didn't say anything after another long moment, Blaze sighed.
    "Look, I can—" Blaze began.
    "All right, here's what I propose," Arik said, too loudly for the confinement of the car.
    "Okay?" Blaze studied Arik. The ashen coloring had retreated, leaving Arik his usual creamy olive tan. His brow was furrowed, his hair messy from wind and stress tugs at its roots, and he was all-over rumpled and damp. He licked his upper lip. Blaze bit his own.
    Arik took a breath. "Stay," he said, and the air rushed from his lungs, his words riding the tide. "Come up and just stay. The room's booked on the company dime, so that's covered, and I'd like to at least buy you dinner after what I did in the... Well. Just after what I did."
    Blaze wisely chose that moment not to tell Arik that he'd bought Blaze coffee already, today. That might clue Arik in too soon on how Blaze really did survive so off the grid, and Blaze still didn't know how long he was going to be with this particular Quest. "... And?" Blaze asked.
    "And?"
    "Seemed like you were going to say more, is all."
    Arik nodded. "I'll... I'll tell you what happened at the mini golf course, if!" He held up a finger, the condition hanging between them. "Afterward, you tell me more about you and why you're here. For me."
    Blaze pretended to mull it over. He knew he had to agree, because it was the way to stay close to Arik, and until he figured out what the devil he was doing with Arik, Blaze would take every chance he got to be as near as possible. It got complicated when the target resisted or didn't give Blaze a clear way into their lives, and Blaze had to hang out in shrubs or tree houses or shadows, trying to find a way into the target's good graces.
    But then, Arik didn't know what he was asking. Blaze knew that to be true, even if Arik would argue the point. Despite it being a day and age wherein the supernatural and the strange were practically in every TV show, movie, and book,