“Guess I’ll go see if Lianne is still watching TV,” she muttered. “Or if she’s decided to try to make up a new potion again.”
“Chelsey,” Kira protested, but Chelsey didn’t look back.
“Don’t be too hard on her. She’s just worried,” Gwen said gently. She patted Kira’s back. “It’s not every day that your big sister collapses.”
They headed outside. The salt circle had solidified into a crystallized mass that appeared halfway between quartz and glass. Kira touched it and felt a strange humming energy in the circle. Around it, the candles still flickered. They no longer spat up dark smoke or sparks. Pools of melted and solidified wax spilled to either side of the circle.
“Did it work?” Kira asked. Her voice shook, and she swallowed, trying to hide her reaction.
Gwen knelt by the circle, passing her hands over the candles and salt-glass. “I think so. Everything happened exactly as described in the grimoire.”
“Even the shoes disappearing?”
“Even that,” Gwen said. She chuckled, though she still sounded worried. “I bet the team is going to be upset when they come back and find that they all are missing a shoe. But I suppose that’s better than the alternative, right? And they were able to make the demon turn and run. That’s got to be worth something.”
Kira nodded. She realized she was unconsciously rubbing her stomach and stopped herself. No. She wasn’t going to start getting attached to a pregnancy yet. As much as she wanted to be a mother, she had to survive being pregnant to hold a baby in her arms.
She knelt as well, touching the circle again. The energy seemed to increase a little at her touch, as though it was happy to see her. There was no lingering darkness. A shudder ran down her spine. Was the dark that had embraced her only because she passed out? Would she have had the vision anyway? Or was there something else happening? Perhaps it was due to her pregnancy. Maybe when they reached out to put the protections around the special ops, the demon had used that same channel to reach back.
It was a disturbing possibility.
Before she could dwell too long on it, Gwen’s phone started to ring. She yanked it from her pocket. “Rafael?”
She held her breath. Kira leaned on, her hand unconsciously moving toward her own pocket. Her fingers closed around her phone.
Relief washed over Gwen’s face. “I’ll tell them. The special ops team is back.”
Back. Kira yanked her phone out and stared down at it. Was he hurt? Was that why he hadn’t called?
“Of course.” Gwen held her own phone out to her. “Joshua wants to talk to you.”
Kira grabbed it and held it to her ear. “Joshua?”
“Hey.” Joshua’s voice was heavy but clear.
Kira’s shoulders slumped with relief. Tears burned her eyes. “Are you hurt?”
“Nah. Just a little tired. I’m going to debrief Rafael on what happened, then head home to clean up and get some sleep.” He hesitated, then murmured, “We didn’t get it. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m just glad that you’re okay.” She almost said she’d meet him at his place, to cook for him and look after whatever injuries he had. But she couldn’t. As much as she wanted to be close to him, it was too easy to be close and forget the reasons she needed to keep him at arm’s length. “Maybe your parents can come to your place for a bit?”
Joshua chuckled lightly. “I’d be surprised if they didn’t. Don’t worry about me. I’m okay,” he huffed. “Rafael wants his phone back.”
“I’ll call you in the morning,” Kira said quickly.
“I’d… I’d like that,” Joshua murmured.
She handed the phone back to Gwen quickly. The candles spluttered out, and she leaned back on her heels, her chest tight.Goddess, give me answers. I don’t know what to do anymore.
Chapter 20 - Joshua
Joshua stumbled through his front door, his muscles aching with the strain of the day. His wounds were hastily bandaged, but he could still smell the scent of blood in the air. He needed to shower, clean the grime of the day off him, but the effort was just too much. Movement caught the corner of his eye, and he whirled, snarling as he prepared for attack.
Nothing was there.
“Joshua?” his mother called. She left the kitchen and blanched.
“I’m fine,” he said, head drooping with fatigue. “Honest.”
