Jo made the mistake of blinking again.
The woman had turned, grinning like a madman directly at her, an angry sky illuminating her shoulders from behind. Jo pressed her eyes closed, and everything was back to normal once more, Pan’s back to her. There was not enough curiosity in the world to tempt her to ask what, exactly, was happening.
So Jo turned, wide-eyed and trembling. She did not blink all the way back to her room, coffee forgotten.
Chapter 2
Not a Drill
WHEN DAWN CAME, it found Jo still staring out the window of her room, overlooking Paris.
She hadn’t left for the rest of the night, willing herself to forget, to feel a little stronger and less afraid. That act became easier with the first light. A normal sunrise scared away the demons and bogeymen haunting her thoughts. It seared her eyes and her mind, giving the whole affair a hazy, dream-like quality.
Feeling safer (though she didn’t know from what), or at the least much braver, Jo finally ventured from her room. She headed right for a door with a carefully painted bird and a name written in elegant script. Jo gave it a few solid knocks.
“You’re early this morning.” Nico opened the door with a smile, wiping his hands on a grungy paint-stained apron.
“Yeah, I had a bit of a weird night.”
“Come in and tell me about it? I’ll only be a minute more.” Nico stepped away from the door, leaving it open.
Jo did as asked, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. Nico paused his motions over by his easel, raising his eyebrows questioningly at her unorthodox behavior. “I ran into Pan.”
Four words, and she suddenly felt very silly. Pan was a fellow member of the Society, an odd one certainly, but hardly an unknown quantity.
“That is odd,” Nico agreed. “It’s not like her to be out of her room without a wish.”
“That’s what I thought.” Jo shrugged.
“Is that all?”
Jo paused, chewing on her tongue a moment. It wasn’t all,was it?She’d spent all night willing the interaction to go away, and now it suddenly felt distant, like a dream she’d forgotten, remembered, and was already forgetting again.
“She said something weird, too.”
“What?”
“I—” if her mind was a car, it would’ve just stalled out. Everything stopped, sputtering. Jo just shrugged, trying to play it off more casually than she felt. “Can’t remember. I was up working and mentally spent at that point.”
“Knowing Pan,” Nico made for the door, “she was doing it with the intention of being strange.” He clasped a hand over Jo’s shoulder. It was a sturdy support that pushed her feet into the earth and reminded her she was on stable ground. “I wouldn’t pay it any mind.”
“You’re right.” Jo forced a laugh. “Not like I want to give her the satisfaction of taking me off my game.”
“There’s the Josephina I know.”
They made their way directly to the common area to begin their morning ritual. From underneath the TV, Jo retrieved two tablets and, at the same time, Nico busied himself in the kitchen. She turned for the two chairs they had pulled together by the pool, and stalled.
There had been more, her mind insisted. Jo stared, transfixed by the mountains in the distance, as though she expected a monster to suddenly grasp their peaks with its giant claws and hoist itself over.
“Jo?” Nico’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Jo shook her head. “Sorry.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked as she approached.
“I’ll be better with coffee. Nothing a hot cup can’t fix.” Jo smiled and handed him one of the two tablets. “For you.”
“Thank you.” He propped it against his knees as Jo sat on the chair next to his, placing hers on her own lap. The Italian man finished situated himself, taking a long sip of his espresso, eyes fluttering shut. “It is truly a delight to have someone to share the mornings with.”
