I considered his words before answering. “I suppose so. I guess word’s gotten out that my skills are…useful.”
Leander grunted but kept further opinions to himself.
Thinking of a certain detective, I said, “Being cozy with thelawisn’t so bad.”
This time, Leander’s grunt held a hint of mirth. “That’s a whole different level ofcozy. One I don’t really care to think about.” His eyes strayed to the ring on my finger. “When’s the big day?”
Setting my nearly empty glass on the railing, I twirled my ring. The colors changed depending on how the light hit it. “We haven’t really talked about it.” Not that we were putting it off, per se. “It’s… There’s a lot going on right now and…” I swallowed hard. Sometimes, if I let it, recent events and the worries surrounding them were overwhelming and difficult to navigate.
Leander shifted, his broad frame more graceful than it had a right to be. “You heard anymore from that creepy Huxley fucker?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“And that’s what has you spooked.”
This time, I nodded. “It’s been too quiet. I…” I had no idea what to say. While thinking Tenzen Huxley’s attention had shifted elsewhere and wasn’t zeroed in on me was a lovely thought, it was also a fantasy. Not that I knew that for certain. Call it a feeling or an educated guess. Whatever it was, myhackles were up, and I felt like I had to be on constant alert. Shadows had taken on a whole new, ominous meaning.
“You located anymore necromancers?” Leander asked, seemingly switching the conversation gears but, in reality, sending a chilling reminder that Huxley was still haunting my life.
“No. Truthfully, I haven’t been looking. I’m…” I stared off into the distance, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I don’t know what he wants with me.”
“Huxley?” Leander rightly guessed.
I nodded. “I think it’s fair to assume it has something to do with my necromancer abilities and if that’s the case, then—”
“You don’t want to put anyone else on his radar.”
“Exactly. It’s bad enough that he might know about you.” Guilt ate at my soul, turning my sweetened tea sour.
“Bah.” Leander waved me off. “I’ve got nothin’ on you. I figure as long as you’re around, Huxley won’t waste his time on me.” Leander’s teasing grin took the sting out of his words.
“Thanks,” I said, sarcasm thick. “That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”
“Good. That’s a damn sight better than the guilt you were wallowing in earlier.” Leander waved off whatever I might have said to that and asked, “You learn anymore about this shadow borne shit?”
My sigh was long, irritated, and came from deep within my soul. “Nothing useful. Agent Frost sends me snippets of information here and there, but nearly everything he finds is hearsay with no direct evidence or anyone to corroborate what’s written.” It was my turn to scoff. “Anything we find is someone retelling what they heard happened hundreds of years before they were even born. Some of it’s so crazy that I don’t know if I should believe it or not. If even half of what I’ve read is true,then…” I couldn’t even contemplate how that sentence should finish beyond a nuclear bomb punctuating the end.
“Shadow borne were before my time.”
“Jesus fuck!” Leander jumped back, slamming his back into the doorframe. As one, his pack came running, ears pinned back, teeth bared and hackles raised. “Who the fuck is that?” Leander’s hand went to his screen door. No doubt he wished he had his shotgun with him. Not that it would help against a djinn.
“As always, your entrance leaves much to be desired, Aurelia.” I ran my fingers through my too long hair, shoving it back and tucking it behind my ears. My elevated heart rate was slowly lowering back to something akin to normal. “Leander Dunn, meet Aurelia. She’s a…” A what? Friend? Associate? Dangerously unpredictable and socially awkward djinn? Roll the dice and pick a number.
“Djinn?” Leander hissed while his eyes darted my direction. “Shit, you’ve talked about her, but I never…” Leander swallowed thickly. I could only imagine what he thought. I remembered the first time I met Aurelia. She was a striking creature. Bald with ears that were too large and tucked against her head. Magical tattoos filled nearly every inch of skin and metal hoops pierced those large ears. Dressed in her typical nineties’ grunge, Aurelia’s green flannel hung off one shoulder, exposing a tank top below and accentuating her large breasts. Worn-out combat boots covered her feet and met her ripped and tattered camo pants.
The powerful-as-fuck djinn came in an interesting package, but it was her eyes that were the most captivating thing of all. Their Caribbean blue appeared lit from within and damn near glowed.
Those beautiful eyes gave Leander a clinical once-over before landing back on me. “This necromancer is no threat to me.”There was absolutely no inflection in Aurelia’s voice. To her, it was nothing more than a statement of fact.
Relief flowed through me. Just like Navarre. Leander didn’t have the necromancer juice to pull Aurelia’s soul out of her object of attachment and shove it back into her body, negating any and all of the magical manipulation her witch creator had done to turn Aurelia into an all-powerful djinn. So far, I was the only necromancer we knew that could.
Leander stiffened at the comment but remained silent otherwise. His pack wasn’t as content and continued growling at Aurelia. A few barked, and one went so far as to snap in her direction.
“Fascinating.” Aurelia crouched beside the snapping dog. “It is a foolish thing.” She cocked her head to the side and didn’t so much as flinch when the dog lunged at her again, teeth snapping right in front of her nose.
“Maggie! Heel!” Leander grabbed the dog’s collar and yanked her back when it became clear she had no intention of listening. Only when she was at Leander’s feet did Maggie back down—eyes still sharp, hackles raised, and muscles tight. The other dogs followed her lead taking on similar stances.
“Since Peaches is still denying my request for a scuttlebutt, I questioned him regarding canines.” Aurelia stood, straightening her form. “Some of them can be quite vicious while others are so benign as to be nearly as worthless as the previous creature.”
