He still managed to make the whole conversation super embarrassing, but at least he never talked about penetration. I shudder just thinking the word, but I miss him. I miss him so much it makes me furious. “I have to go.” I get up and head for the bathroom.
“Go? You just got home.”
“Cal needs me.”
“But—”
I slam the bathroom door and turn on the shower before she can finish. Until Cal figures out what’s wrong with me, I’m not going to give her anything else to worry about.
And I’m certainly not going to give her ammunition to keep me away from the Council.
When I’ve showered and dressed, I slip out into the hall. Mom is nowhere to be found, and I’m still too embarrassed to go looking for her. “Bye, Mom!” I shout as I slip out the front door. I text Archer to let him know I’ll be there at two, but ask if he can pick up Alice’s van from my house before that. I didn’t mind driving it when there were no other cars on the road, but I don’t want to take it anywhere near campus traffic. Instead, I drive my car—Dad’s car—to Cal’s apartment.
“I was so worried about you. Archer told me what happened,” Cal says and crushes me in a hug when he sees me. I squeeze back, but he winces and pulls away.
“Everything all right?” I ask, looking him over. He’s wearing jeans and an oversized hoodie, his hair neatly parted to one side.
“Yeah.” He groans when he rubs his side, which isn’t terribly convincing. “My old binder wore out, so I had to get a new one. It’s tighter than it should be though. I ordered a replacement in the next size up, but it’s not in yet.”
“Oh. Ouch.” I follow Cal further into his apartment. It’s small, but at least he’s able to live alone. He converted his small eat-in kitchen into a makeshift Caster workshop. On a table that takes up most of the room, clear beakers with potions bubble gently over Bunsen burners.
“Have you thought about working with a Blood Witch?” I ask. “I know you said you were saving up for top surgery, but I bet a Blood Witch could significantly speed up the recovery. You wouldn’t have to take as much time off work, so you wouldn’t have to save up as much.”
“Do you think they could do that?” Cal asks, still rubbinghis tender ribs. I hope the larger binder comes in soon. I hate seeing him hurt like this.
“I can ask Morgan if you want. She said they can’t do much with broken bones and that sort of thing, but surgery recovery should be doable.” I remember the way Morgan tried to help Dad when she found the blood clot in his brain, her eyes shimmering with magic as she worked. She’s the only reason he regained consciousness one more time before we lost him.
I swallow down the rising emotion, pushing it firmly away. “You’d need a Blood Witch familiar with the surgery to do something that intricate, but I bet there’s someone out there who could do it.”
“Umm... yeah. I’ll think about it,” Cal says, but it’s clear that he’s uncomfortable with the idea of giving a Blood Witch access to his body. Part of me understands his hesitation—my first interaction with that kind of magic was the epitome of Not Great—but now that I’ve seen what Morgan can do? Now that I’ve felt the calm and peace her type of magic can provide, it’s hard not to feel defensive of her Clan.
“Speaking of Morgan,” he says, steering the conversation away from Blood Magic. “How is she holding up?”
“She’s scared.” I can still see the frantic runes she traced along her door, and I shudder, thinking of the trail of blood that went all the way down her forearm. “We’re all scared, but it’s so much more personal for her.”
“I heard one of the Hunters is her ex. I can’t even imagine.” Cal pulls out the chair at the head of the table, careful not to knock into any of his actively simmering potions.
“What’s all that?” I gesture to the multicolored liquids as I sit in the chair he pulled out for me.
“Just a few ideas I’m working on for after we destroy the drug.”
When he doesn’t elaborate, I press for more information. “They still haven’t decided how to stop the Hunters?”
Cal fidgets with the ties on his hoodie. “They have...”
“But?”
He sighs and sits beside me. “I don’t know. The plan doesn’t feel right.” Cal runs his hands through his hair, hesitating again.
I’m not sure if he’s stalling because he’s not supposed to tell me or if the plan makes him that uncomfortable. “Come on, Cal. What is it?” I stare at him until he finally relents.
“The plan relies on you recruiting David,” Cal says, referring to the Caster Witch I’m supposed to meet next Saturday. “The Council is using the Hunters in Archer’s basement to identify the rest of the Order. Dr. O’Connell can create a targeted potion that will poison Hunters but leave everyone else unharmed.”
“What will the potion do?”
Cal doesn’t look at me when he says, “Kill them.”
His words ricochet inside me, battering my ribs. Too many emotions rise up inside, and I can’t piece together what it is I’m feeling. Relief that we finally have a plan. Vindication that Dad’s murderers will be punished for what they did. But there’s also this sense of unease.
