Angel glared at me. “You know you just cursed us, right?”
“I didn’t take you as the superstitious sort.”
“I’m a shifter mated to a necromancer; it’s part of the package.”
I laughed lightly, keeping my voice down, aware that Wade and Tiana were in the bunks, Ezra sprawled out on the bench, and Remi curled in one of the chairs, Bobby in the other, all asleep. “But really, what should I expect? We spent all of last week running into buildings to rescue people. It feels a littleanticlimactic to be staring at unmoving screens like a mall security guard.”
“Our objective is to keep things from crossing the tear.”
“But part of it goes through the building. Shouldn’t we be monitoring inside too?”
“NHVs take lead on this side,” Angel said after a long minute. “The last team cleared the building, so we only have to keep things out.” He stared at the monitors for a long minute. “Often, we’ll get a callout while parked near a tear to investigate an area, clear an area, or rescue someone who tripped through the Veil, like you did on our first case together. It might be quiet now, but it never stays that way. It’s not usually dangerous.” He shrugged. “Sometimes it’s total chaos, but that’s rare. Probably a few times a year.”
I reached over to open the new box of cake and was surprised to find the box empty, frosting smeared on the bottom as if it had been scraped clean. “Uh...”
Angel snatched the box, turning it over. “What the fuck?” He craned around his seat, as if the cake had teleported onto the floor. I checked behind me too, though we both knew it hadn’t fallen. Nothing.
Then—thud. A weight dropped into my lap, and I nearly launched out of my seat. “Holy fuck!”
Supernatural Flocks and How to Herd Themstared up at me, a tome thick enough to be used as a doorstop. Before I could react, a whisper of fur brushed my cheek—Nox, streaking past in that invisible-to-everyone-but-us way of his. He landed in Angel’s lap, swiped the half-eaten slice of cake Angel had left on his armrest, and vanished again, leaving only a warm tingle against my spine where his tail had flicked me.
Angel blinked at the space where his cake had been. Then at me.
I raised my hands. “You said he was better off with me than Ivan.”
“I didn’t say he could commit grand theft dessert.”
I glared at the book. “Not sure this’ll help the boredom. And Nox?” I added, louder, “Stop. Stealing. Our. Cake.”
Silence. Then, from behind me, a tiny, frosting-scented burp as he returned to tattoo mode after stealing my food.
“Little brat,” I muttered as I flipped through the book, glancing back and forth from the screens to the text. The pages were a chaotic mix of handwritten notes and suspicious illustrations. A few standout chapter headers glared back at me.
“Chapter 4: Spectral Sheep: Don’t Follow the Crowd”
“Chapter 7: Invisible Geese: Steer Clear of Gang Fights”
“Chapter 16: Polter-Pigeons: Urban Warfare Tactics”
“This is the most ridiculous book yet. And yet there are no chapters on turkeys. Do you have any idea how vicious turkeys are?”
Angel leaned over, squinting at a diagram of a goat standing over a black void. “Supernatural goats are demon spawn and will lead you to the edge of a cliff.”
“Great. Stay away from goats in pajamas on this side, duly noted.”
Angel flipped through the chapters. “Nothing on fae dragons who hoard weird books and steal desserts.”
“Figures,” I said, settling into my seat, tummy grumbling and annoyed with the lack of activity.
Angel handed over another box, this time with a sandwich. “He seems to only steal sweets.”
I gripped the box, feeling the heft of it and waiting for some reaction from my parasite pest, and when he didn’t move, I wolfed down the food. Who knew magic could supercharge a guy’s metabolism. I skimmed the text, flipping the pages and studying the pictures between watching the screens. A time ortwo I paused to stare at a particular monitor, feeling as if there was some sort of movement I’d missed, but after a time it began to feel like it was in my head.
A couple hours passed that way. Silent. Boring, with occasional tugs of something I couldn’t explain. My power recognizing something passing by but not close enough to see? Or my imagination. Angel said nothing, occasionally reaching over to touch me absently.
I flipped through the book twice but ended up setting it aside to focus on the top right screen that projected a view from behind the NHV vehicle and nothing but darkness. From time to time a ball of light would flicker by, never consistent or close.
An energy hummed under my skin, growing slowly, my magic alert. Recharging or sensing something? The thermal feed showed nothing. Why did I feel on edge?
