I was contemplating that when Sandy spoke up, catching me off guard because I had completely forgotten he’d followed me out here.
“Do you know him?” Sandy asked quietly.
“No,” I said, which was true. But Declan did.
Almost like he knew I was thinking about him, my phone chimed at that very moment with a text from Declan.
Declan:Hey, Elwood and I are finished. Found a bunch of hexes. I’ll tell you all about it. Just need to clean up and I’ll be there.
Declan was going to need to know before he bumped into Josh completely unaware. The only question was how to tell him. But over text for sure wasn’t the best way.
Me:Okay, I’ll meet you in front of the library entrance.
Declan:See you soon.
“I’m going to meet Declan out front.” I glanced over at the wall where Eugene was lurking. “You and Eugene go back inside and keep your ears open for anything useful. Declan and I will join you in a minute.” Eugene’s detective morphed into a soldier who gave me a salute and then disappeared.
“He’s really getting into that, isn’t he? Wonder where he got the idea,” Sandy said.
“I have no idea, but he’s definitely coming out of his shell.”
As soon as Sandy made it into the meeting room, I turned and headed back out. Declan would be here pretty quickly, but first, I needed to call Grady. If someone had hexed multiplecompetition entries that was a problem for the sheriff as much as it was a problem for the supernatural community.
Chapter Eleven
Exes, Boyfriends, and Familiars Collide
Declan
The horizon was bright with fiery oranges as the sun slipped down past the mountain peaks in the west, but the light was fading fast, and the streetlights were already on. Silhouetted against the vibrant colors streaking across the sky, Licorice kept pace with me as I hurried down the street to the library.
I wanted to take a minute to watch her. She truly was magnificent. But I couldn’t right now. I was already running out of time.
Still, as I rushed over the cobblestone street and past all the glowing windows of the businesses that’d stayed open later than normal for the festival, my mind kept drifting back to my familiar. What would the world look like from way up there? Once I solidified my bond with her a little better, would I be able to see through her eyes? That was a thing that happened in movies, but could it be true? That would be amazing.
Licorice dipped low and cawed at me, as if reminding me to focus.
Right. The hexes were what I should be thinking about. I had plenty of time to figure out my relationship with my familiar later.
With any luck, we’d be able to gather enough evidence against Roy tonight to turn everything over to the authorities, and then I could turn my attention to her. But if we didn’t, we might need to convene a misfits’ meeting to enlist their help in the investigation. Eugene would be happy to have a mystery to solve, even if this one didn’t have a dead body.
But I didn’t think solving this would be that much of an ordeal. Roy hadn’t tried to cover his magical meddling. He’d obviously not expected anyone to look at the other contest submissions, trusting that his hexes would stay hidden.
As I neared the library, I saw Gideon waiting for me by the front door. Just seeing him made me feel lighter, and I swear I flew over the remaining distance between us. I threw myself into his arms and beamed up at him.
“I missed you,” I said, not seeing any reason to hide it. “Sorry I’m late.”
Gideon dropped a quick kiss to my mouth, then leaned back. “Why’s your hair wet?”
“Mm… you taste like cinnamon.” I licked my lips, then I kissed him again. “I took the world’s fastest shower. I didn’t want to show up covered in magical goop.”
His eyebrows rose. “Goop? What were you doing?”
“Well, I guess it wasn’t really goopy, just purple and sparkly and…”
He sniffed me, then promptly turned his face away to sneeze. “You might have missed a spot.”
Licorice landed beside my foot and pecked at it.
