Fear climbed back up my throat. I knew what this was about. Just because you choose to ignore the things that send earthquakes through your world doesn’t mean that they don’t simmer away in your subconscious and rip the feet out from under you as soon as you think you’re making it through the day.
I was half demon. Half demon and bonded to Samael. My mother had slept with a demon at some point, and I needed to get control of my powers before I hurt someone. Bad.
I was also unemployed. I’d attempted to push that sad fact out of my mind, but the Mage Council was all I’d known since the moment I got to Durham. Now I was on my own. And I would be on my own for the next however many centuries while everyone around me died.
I focused on taking deep breaths, counted to one hundred, and waited for my hands to stop shaking. Then I turned the key and kept driving. I didn’t have time for this today. At some point, I’d have to unpack the baggage I’d inherited from my mother. I’d have to figure out who I was, and what I was going to do with my life. But that wouldn’t be today.
Today I had to help Gary.
I parked, strode into the hospital, and took the elevator up to his floor. The demons on the door had been replaced and I nodded at them when they greeted me.
Gary’s status was still the same, and the healer gave me another one of her sympathetic smiles when I stepped into the room.
Where was the mother of his kids? I’d never asked him, figuring that if he wasn’t with her, he probably didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe she should know what had happened.
Although Gary hadn’t told me to get the boys to her. He’d specifically told me to keep them safe myself.
“Did Gary have anything in his pockets when he came in?”
The healer hesitated. “We’re not supposed to give that information out. Patient privacy.”
I forced myself to blow out a long, slow breath. Then I held up my arm. The light glinted off the gold and her eyes narrowed on the demon mark before they moved back to my face. “Very well.”
She turned and unlocked a drawer in the small table next to Gary’s bed. Then she left me to it.
I studied the items. A set of keys, Gary’s wallet, and a small planner. Searching through his stuff felt like a violation, but if it led me to his attacker, I’d do it a thousand times.
I rifled through his wallet, swallowing around the lump in my throat at the picture of him with his boys, all of their faces lit up with laughter as they posed in front of a human amusement park. There were a few parking stubs from last week, and I noted down the addresses, but that was about it.
His planner on the other hand… who knew Gary was so organized? It made sense, given that he was a single dad running a business and raising two kids, but I hadn’t expected his neat handwriting to detail every moment of every day. From his work schedule to his plans to take the boys to the park, all of it was in here.
The only meeting he’d noted down was with someone he called “The Bladesmith.” I jotted down the date and time. They’d met at Meredith’s. Hmmm.
I whispered goodbye to Gary and left the hospital, heading back toward Main Street and Meredith’s Bar.
Mere was polishing glasses when I arrived, her long hair curling around her face. I scanned the place, but there were only a few patrons dotted here and there, most of them drinking alone. I sat down at her scarred bar, shaking my head when she reached for a glass. “I can’t stay. You probably heard about the attack on Gary, right?”
“Of course. Are you looking into it?”
“Yeah. He met someone here last week. A guy called The Bladesmith. Do you know who that is?”
Her hazel eyes narrowed. “I do. Just so happens, you’re in luck.” Mere jerked her head toward the far right corner, where a guy who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties was drinking alone.
It was a small stroke of luck, but I’d take it. “Thanks.”
I’d seen him around before, I realized. He was one of the regulars who often drank here during the day. So not luck then.
He blinked blearily up at me when I approached. “Can I buy you a drink?” I asked.
His eyes sharpened. “Well now, a young, beautiful woman offers to buy an old man like me a drink? I’d be a fool to refuse that, wouldn’t I?”
I took a seat as one of Mere’s waiters approached. The Bladesmith ordered another whiskey, I ordered an ice water, and we both sat back in our chairs.
“I have an ulterior motive,” I admitted. The Bladesmith gave me a tiny smile.
“I figured.”
“I’m investigating the attack on Gary.” He nodded again. “And Merrill’s murder.” Surprise flashed across his face, followed by sadness. “Ah, he’s dead is he? It would’ve happened sooner or later, but I’m sad to hear it.” His eyes met mine and his expression tightened. “You hit me hard with that to see if I knew of the murder or not.”
