After a pregnant silence, his mother reluctantly said, “I might let you borrow the van.”
Before he could edit his reaction, Kilian threw his arms around her waist and kissed her temple. She smelled of a familiar perfume and unfamiliar cigarette smoke. “Thanks, Mom.”
“The minute your father sees it’s gone, he’s going to ask, and I will not lie to your father.” Her words were a warning, but Kilian focused on the arm she had slipped around his waist.
“Will he call the authorities?” Stephen asked.
She winced. “He will.”
“Does he ever drive the van?”
“No, never. He has his own car. Why?” She looked at Kilian, but he shrugged. He didn’t understand Stephen’s logic.
“I could create a spell in your garage, something that mimics a van, but I don't have enough power to make it run. If anyone tried to get in the van, the illusion would be pretty much shot.”
“Magic? In my house?” His mother jerked away from Kilian and her hand flew to the base of her throat. Words like hypocrite floated to the top of Kilian’s consciousness because he knew his mother had asked for blessings on everything from her house to her cars to her husband’s hunting rifle.
“Give us a couple of days so that we have a head start, and you can have the priest over to bless the garage. It will pop the illusion immediately,” Stephen said.
“The priest’s blessing would undo all of your magic?”
“Absolutely,” Stephen agreed. “Heck, if someone leans on the illusion too long, it will pop. I doubt I can weave anything strong enough to last more than a couple of days.
Kilian side-eyed the man. He had been fighting supernatural creatures for a long time, and he knew for a fact that blessings did not automatically trump spells. They could undo a spell if the priest was talented or powerful, but that was no different than any two magic users having a pissing match.
However, his mom was already nodding. “I'll get you the keys.”
Stephen smiled. That little shit had lied to Kilian's mom. Worse, Kilian had no intention of correcting her misconception. They needed help, and if it took a little deception to get that help, so be it. Kilian wished that lies and manipulation hadn’t stained the feeling of his mother’s hand resting on the small of his back. Depending on what charges the Army chose to press, Kilian might not get the chance to come home before his parents died of old age. He would have liked to have a pure memory of acceptance to cling to.
But Kilian was a realist. He would take what he could get, and in this case he got a conditional moment of acceptance based on obfuscation and a worn-out old van. Hopefully it would be enough.
Chapter Fourteen
Stephen had his feetpropped up on the dash and he beat out a rhythm on his thighs. Stephen and boredom did not mix well, but at least he’d stopped with the riddles. The damn riddles must have come out of bubble gum wrappers. Either that or the demon had honed his skills to include verbal torture. Possible.
Kilian was running out of stamina when they passed a sign that said one hundred and ninety miles to Chicago. Storm clouds darkened the sky and the clouds spat on the windshield so the wipers created long streaks of muck on the glass. “So, how are we going to handle this?” Stephen asked.
