“Right.”
We all fall silent as we think, and the only sounds that fill the kitchen are the tearing open of new bandages as Gemma finishes tending to Hasan’s wounds.
“Your book is super old, right?” Gemma asks me.
“Yeah,” I say, knowing she’s referring to my grimoire. “And valuable.” I flick my eyes to Jac. “Maybe that’s what this person wants.”
“It could be. We should take extra care with it just in case. Speaking of, I’ll start going through it in the off chance there’s anything about that symbol.” He pushes off the wall and goes upstairs to get the book.
“How does he look?” I ask Gemma.
“One of these needs stitches.” She tapes another bandage over a cut. “But you said he heals?”
“When we’re sleeping,” Hasan explains.
“And you’ll be better by the morning?” She doesn’t seem convinced. “What about making some of that healing potion, Ace?”
“There’s no need.” Hasan straightens up, reaching for the charm that’s still around his neck.
“That’ll open the wounds,” Gemma says quickly, then looks at Hasan. “Can you, uh, turn to stone with it on?”
“I’m not sure,” he answers. “Best not to try it.”
“I agree,” I say. “And I’ll have to recharge the charms soon. They’ve been used a lot lately.” Sighing, I get up and go to the fridge to get the bottle of wine we started. “Let’s finish this tonight.”
Gemma nods. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
* * *
“Up already?”I ask, pushing my messy hair back. It’s seven a.m. and Gemma is already in the kitchen with a cup of tea.
“Yeah. I had a hard time sleeping,” she says. “You too, I’m guessing.”
“I fell asleep just fine, but I couldn’t stay asleep.” I went to bed with Tom and Gil, who made sure I was properly worn out and relaxed before turning in for the night. I slept for a good two or so hours before waking up, plagued by obsessive thoughts over this whole thing.
I want to get to the bottom of it, of course. But what really dug at me was having to lie to the people who once were the closest thing I had to a family. The deeper I go into the world of magic, the more I know I can’t be a cop.
It’s one thing to conceal your identity working any other job. But when my day job and myother jobcollide like this…yeah. It just can’t happen. I have no idea what else I’d do. I need to work to pay bills. So unless there’s a high demand for paranormal investigators that I don’t know about, I’m a bit stuck.
“I need to go shopping today.” I turn on the coffee pot and grab a box of cereal from the pantry. “Want to come?”
“Sure. What do you have to get?”
“Groceries. The guys eat so much for only being awake a few hours out of the day.”
Gemma laughs. “They do.”
“And I need to finally get cameras. I’ve been meaning to and haven’t. The one I got a while ago didn’t work the way I thought it would, and I need to go all out now. I have to see everything around the house.”
“Agreed. We need motion sensors and lasers and everything.”
“For sure. I was trying to hold out on buying an expensive setup, but I’m kicking myself now.”
Gemma sips her tea. “Do you think they’re watching you now?”
My eyes drift to the window above the kitchen sink. “I don’t know. I don’t feel like it, and I’m usually good at sensing these things.”
“It’s creepy that they know so much.”
