Wow.Her fangs really showed when she smiled.“Good.I’ll remind him to be extra vigilant.”
He almost felt sorry for the guy.
Almost.
If he weren’t such a dick.
“I was going to call you and tell you that there’s a new vampire movie coming out on Friday.Are you available to catch a movie and maybe do some antiquing with me?I need to get some furniture for my new place.”
Quentin snorted.His mother had been dragging him to terrible movies since he was a child.She especially enjoyed bad science fiction and horror movies.It was somewhat ironic that she had become a vampire.“Sounds fun.Text me when you have the movie times.”It had been too long since they had a mother-son outing.
“Will do.I’ve got an appointment with my therapist now.See you later.”With a smirk and a wave, she sauntered off.
Shaking his head, Quentin knocked on Grevin’s door.
“Come in.”
He entered to find Grevin reclining on even more pillows.
Grevin’s relieved expression cracked Quentin up.“Expecting my mother.”
“She’s fucking relentless.”Grevin’s admiring tone had Quentin nodding.His mother could be a bit much.“You don’t have to worry about Jaks taking down your enemies, I don’t think they’d survive first contact with your mother.”
It took Quentin more time than it should’ve to get his giggles under control.He dropped into the chair beside Grevin’s bed.
“I’m glad that one of us is enjoying this,” Grevin pouted, but the amusement in his eyes belied his sulky tone.
“She’s great, isn’t she?”
Grevin nodded.“She is, you’re very lucky.”
“I am.”He didn’t know much about Grevin’s family, only that the ones he’d mentioned were all dead, and not once had he talked about pulling them from the afterlife for a chat.For a necromancer to ignore his own dead told Quentin everything he needed to know about Grevin’s relationship with his deceased relatives.
“You should know that I’m seconds from breaking out and calling a car to take me home.I’d like you to be my accomplice.”His words were delivered in such a deadpan manner that they sent Quentin laughing again.
“I think you should stay until the doctor clears you, then I’ll be more than happy to teleport you home.”
Grevin sighed.“I hate it when you’re reasonable.”
“It’s a burden, but someone has to be.”
“How was class?”
Quentin’s expression must’ve tipped him off.
“What happened?”Grevin asked.
Quentin sighed.“It was a shitshow.”Running his fingers through his hair, he told Grevin everything along with Jaks’s conclusions.
“You think it was the chalk?”
“According to our tests, yes, but continuing to claim it was some unknown chalk that caused the accident won’t earn me any favors.”
“Not to mention yours was missing.You’re right.If you continue claiming that, it will look like you are inventing an excuse for your incompetence.”Grevin winced.“Sorry.”
“No, you’re right.”Quentin ran his fingers along the seam of his jeans.“Besides, if I hadn’t been so lazy, I would’ve gone and gotten some chalk from the supply room.Instead, I used chalk from an unknown source, endangering everyone.I’m not even really upset about being suspended.I’m upset that Rendell gets to lord it over me that I was a shit teacher, and after all the safety precautions I drilled into them during their first class, I do something like this.”
Grevin patted Quentin’s arm in a surprisingly comforting move.Grevin wasn’t known for his emotional intelligence.Few necromancers were.They must be able to disconnect from their feelings to handle the dead, and the more they dealt with the dead, the worse the disconnect grew.It was a brutal cycle.“It will turn out all right.You’ll either get rehired on your terms, or you can tell them to go fuck themselves.”
