No requests came in yesterday. She was giving him a reason to keep her here.
The thought of staying in this house alone made his stomach lurch, that was undeniable. But he wanted her safely out more than he feared what Garrett—if it was Garrett—would do when she was gone.
“No, Miss Harper, but thank you,” he said.
Still—what if it was Morse? What if the wizard realized how critical she was to her sister? What if he intended to follow her into the forest and…
Peter almost blurted out, “I’ll drive you home,” but no, that would never do. If itwasGarrett, the man would see that as some sort of declaration.
“Wait,” he said. “I’d better give you your pay for the week now.”
Hoping he could grab a few moments unobserved, he all but ran into the receiving room. He ducked behind the desk, unhooked from his neck the locket keyed to the town and hid it in a pocket, then fished his checkbook out of the desk drawer and stood to make a check out to Beatrix.
She walked in, face grave.
“I really think I ought to get that extra work done today, Omnimancer,” she said, an edge to the words.
“No, Miss Harper.”
“Omnimancer—”
He reached over the desk and pressed the locket into her palm with one hand while using the other to cover it with the check. Her eyes widened.
“I don’t want to risk the efficacy of the brews,” he murmured. “But I’d appreciate it if you would speak to the mayor about the ginger order on your way home. It was nice of him to offer to drive you.”
“Very nice,” she said, frowning. She did not agree with his plan, that was obvious, but she was unable to gainsay him further without making clear to the intruder that she was not a normal employee.
“Good-bye, Miss Harper,” he said.
Her glare suggested all sorts of caustic things. But her voice trembled on her answering “good-bye.”
She was worried about him. That gave him an extra zing of adrenaline.
He took down the shielding around the house. She gave him a look that seemed to be a combination ofbe carefulandhow could you, and walked out.
The instant he closed the door, the locket still around his neck—the one keyed to the house—flared to sudden life. Seconds later came a hammering on the door, and he opened it to find Beatrix, his other locket still clutched in her hand.
“I’m not leaving,” she hissed.
Just what he needed Garrett to see. But he had a strong suspicion, given the timing, that Garrett—if it had been him—was now gone.
“Omnimancer—”
“All right,” he said. “Come in.”
He reset the protective spell and dropped demarcation stones in the four corners of the receiving room. Time to risk it.“Langread leoht.”
The remnants of a few old spells glowed around the desk, with a brighter white spot in the corner where he stood—the designated area for casting this spell.
That was all. No telltale sign of dematerialization.
Shit.
He gathered up the stones, ran to the brewing room and repeated the procedure. There, near the doorway, was the body-like afterimage left over from the exit point of teleportation.
Leaning against a wall for support, he cast the spell that would identify the man. The leaf ash swirled into a familiar face.
“Garrett,” Beatrix said.“FuckingGarrett.”
