* * *
“Whose ass are we kicking tonight?”Thomas reaches for his fifth slice of pizza.
“No one’s,” I reply. “Unless you want to test me.” I wink and wipe my hands on a napkin. I forced down one piece of pizza but have lost my appetite. I knew time was of the essence with breaking the curse, but now it’s more pressing than ever.
“We should work on your defense,” Hasan says seriously. “You shouldn’t rely solely on magic.”
“I know,” I agree. “And I don’t. I’m a cop, remember? I’ve spent my whole career training.”
“You train to subdue. You need to train to kill.”
I nod, looking Hasan in the eye. “I know.”
“If it’s a person,” Gemma starts, “are you still going to kill them? I mean…murder is still murder and you can get in trouble for that. Never mind it’s, well, murder.”
“There’s a difference between murder and self-defense,” I tell her, though it really feels like I’m justifying a kill for later. “Who knows if it’ll come to that anyway.”
“The fucker sent a golem loose in the city to get your attention. It’s already come to that,” Gilbert quips. I can’t disagree. Whoever is behind this is dangerous. Arresting them and sticking them in jail might not do the trick, and I can’t even be sure I’ll be able to arrest them. “Magically sending a golem after an officer of the law won’t stand up in court.”
“Do you think there’s hidden magical artifacts in the house?” Gemma asks, looking around the dining room. At first her question seems silly, but then it seems entirely possible.
“The book was hidden in the basement,” I say. “So I guess it’s possible.”
“Did you go through all the boxes down there?” Thomas asks.
“Kind of. I looked in them but didn’t dump every single one out and sort through it. Most looked like they were full of junk, which, now that I think about it, could be a great cover. Unless it got tossed, but maybe my aunt was assuming whoever moved in would be a packrat like her.”
“We should go through them,” Jacques tells us. “Tomorrow.” His eyes meet mine. “We never did get to enjoy a movie night.”
“Right.” I smile, thankful for him making sure I get a low-key night. He knows I’m stressed to the max worrying about them turning to stone right before my eyes. “Yesterday seems like so long ago.”
“So…say you do find something valuable,” Gemma goes on. “Then what? You hide it where no one can find it?”
I shake my head. “I guess it would depend on what it is.” I pick at the crust of my pizza. “If it’s something dangerous, I’d consider destroying it.”
“Really?” Gemma’s eyes widen.
“We’ve all seen enough movies to know what happens when you try to keep some sort of super-powerful magical item. I don’t want this to turn into an Elder Wand situation or something.”
“The book,” Gil says slowly. “It’s full of spells.” He looks at Jacques and I know what he’s thinking.
“Yes,” he starts. “The book could be considered dangerous. The spells have been perfected over hundreds of years and it’s full of information you won’t find anywhere else.”
“That sounds pretty damn dangerous to me,” Gemma says so seriously I laugh.
“Of course it is. But something tells me that’s not what this guy is after. It’s too…it’s too easy.”
“Lyra said the stuff is worth a lot of money.” Gemma flicks her eyes to mine. “Would you consider selling it if it wasn’t dangerous?”
“No way.” I shake my head. “Even if it was some stupid painting with no powers or significance to my family, I wouldn’t on principle. I can be petty, and sending a golem to attackmycity just to get my attention brings out the pettiest bitch in me.”
Gemma smiles. “Good. Or you could sell a fake.”
“I think it’s safe to say this person will know the difference between a relic and something fake,” Thomas tells her.
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” I say, trying to downplay the situation. There’s something else I want to focus on tonight.
“Exactly,” Hasan says, and for a second I think he’s going to agree with me on letting this go—if only for tonight. “This person knows you have pyrokinetic powers.”
