Noe Vanitas No Carte Novels & Stories

Vincenzo leaned down. "You okay, butterfly?" Noel nodded slowly. "Only if we disappear after this. Just us." Vincenzo tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "You’re already mine. But tonight… I want to ruin you again." Noel flushed. "Let’s get the hell out of here."

My heart was racing with anxiety. "The smooth texture? The ones made of flax?" I asked. "If the quality is wrong she won't touch them. She'll think I'm just trying to buy her off with garbage." "They are the brand from her old university syllabus, Dante " Nolan replied gently. He used my name because he could see I was on the edge of falling apart. He reached down. Pried open the crate with a crowbar. There were row after row of paper pads, oil paint tubes and polished wooden palettes wrapped in soft white tissue paper.

★。＼｜／。★ VANESSA DAVIS ★。／｜＼。★ I don’t know what I expected when Colton said we were going somewhere not on the map, but it sure as hell wasn’t a water tower. Not one with a view that made the whole damn world feel like it was holding its breath.

The indigo haze that had once terrified the global markets was now as mundane as the morning dew, a soft hum in the background of human existence that made it impossible to stay angry for too long. Avery Vane-Thorne stood in a sun-drenched studio in the foothills of the Alps. She wasn't holding a pulse-rifle or a data-spike. She was holding a charcoal stick, her fingers stained gray and black. On the canvas before her was a sketch of a mountain that didn't exist in any atlas—a peak from the "Violet-Winter" that she had promised to forget, but which still lived in the muscle memory of her wrist. "It’s too sharp," a voice said from the doorway.

I hated the thought of splitting at all but his eyes found mine, and for a moment the whole van seemed to hold still. “We don’t get Nova back unless we cut the head off this snake,” he said. “I won’t leave her breathing another day with Vivienne.” The words were a knife because I agreed but that didn’t make it easier. Carter gave a short nod. “We’ll make it loud out here to buy you time.” Noah squeezed my hand once, then released it. The van doors slid open, cold salt air rushing in like a slap. We stepped out together. The dock stretched under our feet, wood groaning faintly, waves lapping black against the pylons. The stink of oil and brine hung heavy.

He wasn't searching for financial leverage or corporate assets; he was simply tracing the paths of dead captains. Vance leaned against the high bookshelf, watching him with an expression of quiet, absolute contentment. "You've traded one map for another," Vance observed, a soft chuckle vibrating in his chest as he crossed his arms. Noah looked up from the ancient parchment, a fine-tipped charcoal pen balanced loosely between his fingers. "This one doesn't have variables that can fight back," Noah countered, his eyes bright with a relaxed energy. "The ships on this chart have already reached their destination, Vance. There’s no crisis waiting at the next port."

Immediately Vespera entered her room, she sat on her couch and crossed her legs for some minutes before standing up again and just walked to something that was covered with dark clothes inside her room. Upon pulling the cover, pictures of different people came into view. They included pictures of Ezekiel, his sister, Lynn and her parents and a few people. On this board were some lines that could be traced from the pictures to some words written. On Ezekiel’s picture especially, she wrote: DANGER! BEWARE and circled it with a red marker. In particular was Lorna's picture. She was full of smiles and it seemed at that moment, the picture was taken on the most happiest day of her life.

Just the blank page and two unanswered questions sitting in the same room as each other. I closed the notebook. Set it on the nightstand and turned off the light.

Why could he only think about the one he was soon going to get rid of? Vanessa knew he'd be in his cave. Hidden away after the party. That was his way of ending the day with order intact. She saw him leaning over the table and wanted to replace whatever held his attention. Noah, from a distance, looked more pious. And whatever they had was worth consideration, effort and seeing beyond one's pain. It was no help that casual Noah was stamped on the back of her iris. Noah, casually leaning a hip against an inanimate object.

The two exchanged glances before they left and closed the door behind them. Noelle was distracted by the antiques in the room and had no idea that Ronald and Mr. Quinn had left. Charles smiled slightly as he leaned against the desk, propping one hand against the desk as he used his deep-set eyes to gaze intently at Noelle’s side profile. Noelle looked around and could not help but give Charles a doubtful look after seeing Francesco Petrarch’s work. “My grandfather owns his work too,” she said as her eyes met his. She felt her heart skip a beat, so she blushed as she looked away and asked, “Oh? Where did your assistant and the shopkeeper go?”