The charm sat in the center of the kitchen island, all by itself, as if simply being near the other charms would contaminate them as well. Being near it hurt something deep inside me.
“Can it be fixed?” Cilla innocently asked. She had her hands tucked under her arms as she leaned on the counter. She’d already touched it at least once and nothing untoward had happened. It was innocuous as long as it wasn’t activated. That didn’t change her feelings. Honestly, all of us kept our distance.
“Perhaps.” I wasn’t certain. “It will take time to trace the changes and then to unwind them.” It was time I didn’t currently have. Perhaps once things had settled down. Right now, I had larger concerns. We’d only found one tampered charm. That meant there were at least two more out there that had already been sold.
What we also knew was that Bailor hadn’t tampered with the same type of charm. This one was different than the one currently affecting Aaron Detling. Gaia only knew what other charms Bailor had twisted.
My eyes were bloodshot and tired. I’d slept poorly the last few nights, and the strain had taken its toll. Twisting and reading this much magic tonight hadn’t helped. I needed quality rest but doubted I’d find such a thing knowing there were other potential victims out there.
“We need to figure out what charms were tampered with and who has them.” My voice was as scratchy as the throat it came from.
Cilla appeared nearly as worn down as me. Only Hikaru retained quality awareness. “I keep a log of sold charms,” Cilla slowly answered. “It will take time to track them down, but I can make a list of recent sales. We’ll need to contact each buyer individually.” She rubbed her eyes and released a deep sigh. “You know what this will do to your reputation.” Cilla sounded as reluctant to say those words as I was to hear them. “Wordwill get out that something is wrong. The vast majority of your customers received quality charms. Bad press always garners more attention than good. This won’t inspire confidence.”
Cilla was right, but what choice did we have? “The harm the activated tainted charms could cause is a worse risk.”
“You’re right.” Cilla didn’t exactly sound dejected, but it was a close call.
“You could buy the charms back,” Hikaru said. “Or, I could simply remove them from the purchasers care.” He wiggled his fingers. “Things get lost all the time. They’d never know it was me.” His grin showed off sharp, pointed teeth.
For the first time in the past few hours, my lips twitched with mirth. “You mean you could steal them.”
“Steal, liberate…it’s all semantics.”
I didn’t agree. “I will not cause further financial hardship on those who purchased my products.” I knew enough to understand that some saved months or years to be able to afford quality charms.
“Fine.” Hikaru dragged the word out while he flopped on the couch, his tails sticking up and waving about. “Maybe you and Keir have more in common than I thought.” Hikaru’s voice lowered, trailing off as he muttered, “always ruining my fun.”
Cilla sat there, staring at Hikaru’s antics with a hint of amusement in her eyes. “I suppose there’s hardly a dull moment when he’s around.”
“You’ve no idea.” Those words were said with fondness, not malice.
Cilla stood, stretching her arms and cracking her neck. “I’m about to fall asleep where I sit. I need to go home and get some shuteye. I’ll get busy tomorrow morning collating the list of charms sold and the names of those who purchased them. Creating the list won’t take long. Finding and contacting the names on that list will be the tricky part. Most will be local,but we do have those who travel across the country or come from other countries to purchase your charms, Nikodemus. I’m afraid, in this instance, your popularity and skill might work against us.”
While that might be true, I would never apologize for being anything less than excellent. “It will work itself out.” While that was true, there was a very good chance I wouldn’t like the way the situation managed to unwind itself.
Walking around the counter, I met Cilla and escorted her to the door and out to her car. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Hikaru materialized beside me. I was only slightly taken aback when he drew Cilla into a hug, “Niki’s right, Cilla. You’re a true gem.” While I didn’t remember using those exact words, I couldn’t disagree either.
Cilla’s cheeks dusted pink as she leaned into the hug. “T-thank you.”
Hikaru squeezed a little tighter, making Cilla squeak before he released her and crowded into my personal space. “Be careful driving home.” Hikaru did an odd little finger wave as he said those parting words.
“It’s not far,” Cilla answered as she climbed into her car and closed the door. She offered a final wave before heading down the long, winding driveway.
Head cocked to the side, Hikaru watched Cilla’s headlights fade. “I see why you like her. I’m okay with that, as long as you like me more.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You are a terribly insecure individual.”
If Hikaru’s casual shrug was anything to go by, my words didn’t offend him. “You’ve seen who raised me,” he answered pointedly. “Tenzen Huxley was like a father to me. I’m not sure how you expected me to turn out normal.” Hikaru made little air quotes around that final word. “Besides, I’m a kitsune.”
Turning on his heel, Hikaru flounced off toward the house, his tails swaying in his wake. That minuscule, eighth nub peeked out every once in a while, teasing me with its presence.
Head tilted, I stared up at the clear, starry night. “Dear Gaia, please give me strength.” I wasn’t certain if I was asking for her aid with the Warlock Council or Hikaru. At this point, I would be willing to accept whatever reprieve she felt compelled to gift me.
“Hurry up, Niki. It’s bedtime.”
The heavy groan exiting my chest wasn’t initiated by excitement, but dread. My heavy feet carried me toward the house, my stride more laborious than the prancing kitsune who’d gone before me.
Eighteen
