Okay, he didn’t want to tell me about that. Well, I was going to allow that, but just until we got back to New York, then I was getting to the bottom of it.
We hailed another cab and split into two groups. Drea and Indigo hopped in with Gage and me, and everyone else piled into the other car.
It was going to be a long ride to Brighton where Gage had told the dude to go, like almost two hours, he’d said. We cut through the heart of London as we traveled south to Brighton, slipping through the city streets with ease at such an early hour. I leaned against Gage and looked out the window as he played tour guide, pointing out a number of London’s iconic sights as we drove by.
When the big city had turned into rolling hills and then finally a small seaside town, the cabby stopped in front of a quaint little walk-up with a bright red door.
We shuffled out of the car after Gage paid the guy and stood before the building.
Marlow held her device up to the door and scanned it, her brows instantly furrowed. “There are some major wards protecting this house.”
Gage nodded. “You guys might not even be able to knock on the door. I’m not even sure I can anymore to be honest.”
Gage turned to face us, nervously chewing at his lip. “So, heads up, my aunt Vera is a little mentally unstable from years of using her gift and hates Lumens and Shades alike.”
His aunt! Gage didn’t mention the woman we were seeing was his aunt.
I frowned.She hates both Shades and Lumens?That was interesting.
“We’re… estranged,” he added. I reached out to squeeze his hand, and he offered me a weak smile of gratitude. Family stuff could be tricky, so I didn’t envy him right now.
Gage cautiously climbed the steps and knocked on the red wooden door.
The door ripped open immediately as if someone had been waiting there, and a woman with messy dark hair and a wild look in her eyes stared at Gage. I remembered the photograph of Gage and his mother I’d seen in his Long Island bungalow, and even though the woman standing in the doorway was several years older, I could see the resemblance to Gage’s mother immediately.
“Are you a ghost?” she asked, her British accent thick.
“No, ma’am,” Gage said with a slight grin.
“I heard you were dead.” Her voice cracked a bit like she wanted to believe it was really him.
“Lies,” he stated.
Her brows drew together as she peered at all of us, and then focused her attention back on Gage. “What was your mother’s favorite color?”
“Teal,” Gage said.
“Favorite band?”
“Beatles,” Gage shot back.
“First guy she kissed?” Vera asked.
Gage shivered. “Gross. I don’t know.”
Vera rapped her nails on the doorjamb. “If you’re really my nephew, then prove it.”
Gage stepped closer. “You two fought like cats and dogs. You’re the messy one and she was clean. You were only ten months apart and called yourself twins. My mom once said you were the better part of her who got stuck with a gift so special that it was akin to a curse…”
Gage looked his aunt in the eyes as tears gathered and then spilled over and down her face.
“I miss her.” She sniffled as the rest of us awkwardly shifted our weight and listened in on their private conversation.
“Me too,” Gage told her.
“She was a horrible cook,” Vera stated.
Gage grinned. “The worst.”
