“A gentleman never tells. Anyway, back to the important point: I find it interesting that your brewing has been affected, and now your familiar’s out of commission.”
“For how long, do you know?”
“It’s hard to say. Oscar has a different metabolism than we do, obviously. But now that I’m putting this all together, I realize this might not be about Sailor at all. It’s more likely about you. Tristan tracked you down for a reason.”
“But I don’t understand—why would Tristan show up like this, after all this time?”
“According to what I heard, Tristan betrayed you—and his own mother, for that matter. Before you were completely healed, he tried to strike his own deal with one of the demons, and gave up your hiding place. I’m guessing you stole something from him before you ran, perhaps something he had promised to deliver to the demon.”
“Why would it take him so long to follow me here to claim it?”
“I believe it took him this long to become strong enough to go up against his old rival.”
“You.”
He nodded. “It’s also possible Renee’s been putting out feelers for a male counterpart, so he decided it was time to make a move if he could secure her backing.”
“So, you say I cried when I was there, with my father? Tristan’s spirit said something about the ‘tears of the daughter’. Should I suppose that wasmylachrymatory?”
“It seems possible. Imagine what Renee could do with the salt of your tears.”
“But why wouldn’t I be able to cry now? I always thought it was a witchy thing.”
“I think it’s part of your coping mechanism, an inability to accept those memories, to delve that deeply into your own psyche. The same reason you’ve suppressed the memories.”
“Who’s New Agey now?”
He chuckled.
“Okay, let’s recap,” I said, and took a deep drink of wine. “Tristan comes to San Francisco from Germany to work with Renee, demands his beag from me, then winds up dead at the hands of a doppelgänger who looks like Sailor. But the doppelgänger must not work for Renee, because she wanted to ally herself with Tristan to go up against you and me, to form her own version of thecoincidentia oppositorum. So who would want to ruin Renee’s plans? Besides you and me, obviously.”
“We’re not the only ones in the magical community, Lily. I’ve got feelers out, but no useful information yet. Still, a man like Tristan might have other enemies.”
“Let’s start there. What more can you tell me about him?”
“As I said, he’s worked on the fringes for a long time.Known for betraying most of the people he’s worked with, eventually.”
“So maybe it’s someone from his past, come to settle a score.”
“Maybe.” Aidan sipped his wine.
“Or... Tristan never seemed like prime material for thecoincidentia oppositorum, did he? I mean, he seems more like an underling, a guy who gets used. Maybe Renee gave him false hope because she knew he’d get the lachrymatory for her.”
“It’s possible. But does that tell us anything?”
“I’m not sure....” Something didn’t seem quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I leaned back in my chair. The paella was scrumptious, but despite my earlier hunger I didn’t have much of an appetite. Aidan, in contrast, had finished his healthy portion and was now slathering butter on fresh sourdough bread, apparently relishing every bite.
“Who was the woman?” I asked.
“What woman?”
“You said you took over your responsibilities with the San Francisco magical community from a woman. She wasn’t... That wasn’t Renee, was it?”
He gave me a disgusted look. “Of course not.”
“Then who?”
