CHAPTER THREE:
THE PATRON
Word
spread quickly about Inked Shadows. Maya hadn't advertised her work differently, but something about her tattoos drew people from across the country. Her waiting list grew to six months, then a year.
She was careful, only bringing her own creations to life, learning to control her gift. The inked creatures became her companions, her guardians, her secret. She'd found a strange peace in her bizarre new reality.
Then came Victor Sterling.
Sterling was tech royalty, a billionaire entrepreneur with a fascination for the occult. He arrived without an appointment, offering to pay triple her usual rate for immediate service.
"I've heard things about your work, Ms. Rodriguez," he said, his steel-gray eyes evaluating every inch of her shop. "They say your tattoos have a certain... vitality to them."
Something in his tone made her skin crawl, but she couldn't afford to turn down the money. Her building's owner was selling, and she needed every dollar to make a down payment and keep her home and business.
Sterling requested a chimera - body of a lion, head of a goat, tail of a serpent - across his chest. An unusual choice, but Maya had inked stranger things.
As she worked, Sterling peppered her with questions about her technique, her inks, her background. He seemed particularly interested in her Spanish heritage and her grandmother's stories.
"Fascinating," he murmured when she mentioned her artist ancestor. "You know, there are legends about artists who could create life from nothingness. The ultimate act of creation."
Maya's hand faltered for just a moment.
"Just legends," she said with forced casualness.
"Perhaps," Sterling replied, watching her too closely. "But legends often contain kernels of truth, don't you think?"
After he left, Maya couldn't shake her unease. That night, she waited anxiously for midnight.
When the chimera emerged, it was different from her other creations. Larger, more vicious, its movements jerky and aggressive. It stalked around her shop, knocking over equipment, snarling at her raven when it tried to intervene.
"What's wrong with you?" she whispered, backing away as the creature advanced on her.
The chimera lunged, its lion claws raking the air inches from her face. Only the intervention of her phoenix, diving between them in a blaze of light, saved her from being mauled.
As dawn approached, the chimera fought against returning to its host, raging against the pull until the last possible moment. Something was very wrong.