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‘How are you doing?’ I asked in his mind.
‘Mi ok. Just anxious tuh get back to her, yuh kno?’
I nodded. If anyone understood, it was me.
“Great, you guys be safe now!” Kasha said, waving as we gathered close to Amon.
“Dossidian, are you coming?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“Someone has to stay to make sure these two don’t burn the place down,” he responded. Rycon rolled his eyes, but Kasha sniggered. “Also, there’s a court to run, I need to check in with a few of our generals and make sure everything is going smoothly.”
I nodded. I guess running a court with a city as big as the one nestled below Amon’s palace would be quite a bit of work.
“We should only be a day or two if everything goes according to plan,” Amon said.
Kasha nodded. “Have fun!”
Amon’s shadows were already coming alive, and crawling towards us. I shuddered pleasantly as my body dissolved into the darkness, and we slipped through The Veil, into the human world.
20
We materialized in front of the Abbey residence, 94 Muir Avenue. Meredith’s sprawling garden still flourished out front, despite her absence. I wondered if Mr. Abbey had been tending to it while we were gone, or if Meredith’s magick just kept it flourishing all year round.
Conrad, Meredith, and I moved toward the front gate, but Amon cleared his throat. We turned back to him where he waited on the sidewalk. He gestured mildly to the wall of wards the three of us had just walked through. I had forgotten that magick folk typically warded their homes against daemons. These ones had been specifically modified to allow me through, from when I used to train here regularly.
“If you don’t mind,” Amon asked Conrad, an amused smirk on his face.
“Ah, sorry Prince Amon, mi keep forgetting.” Meredith and Conrad opened a gap in the wards and Amon stepped through, nodding his thanks to them politely. Meredith and Conrad led us up to the house, which greeted us as we came up the porch and through the front door.
“Hello, house,” I said as we entered, and I felt its magick brush against me in welcome. I could have been imagining it, but I got the impression that it had missed us.
Mr. Abbey came out of the kitchen upon our arrival, a steaming cup of tea in his hand. He was as round and distinguished as ever, and he smiled warmly at me as I entered.
“Welcome back, Raven. How have you been doing? All things considered you look like you have been well taken care of.” He observed, giving Amon a considering look. Amon smiled politely and leaned against the wall of the hallway we were crowded in.
“Yes.” I responded. “How have things been here? How is Patricia?” I paused for a moment, biting my lip. “Have you checked in on Jeremy? How is he doing?” Mr. Abbey’s face grew grim.
“Patricia is upstairs, resting, Conrad if you would like to go to her, I have a cup of tea in the kitchen you can bring up. “Conrad nodded curtly and slipped past Mr. Abbey to get his grandmother’s cup of tea before immediately heading upstairs.
“Come in, come in, I can give you an update while Conrad prepares Patricia for our journey.” We followed Mr. Abbey into the scrubbed kitchen, Amon hung back behind us, allowing Meredith and I to take the lead.
Once in the kitchen, Mr. Abbey poured each of us a cup of tea, and floated them to us as he made his way to sit at the table. Amon accepted his from where he stood by the counter while Meredith and I sat around the eclectic kitchen table with the mismatched chairs.
“How is Jeremy?” I repeated, getting increasingly nervous about the answer. I wanted to believe he was ok, but of course he wasn’t, how could he be?
“Jeremy is… Jeremy has been better.” Mr. Abbey said softly, and my heart broke. I felt my eyes well up with tears and my throat grew so tight it hurt.
“Tell me,” I said gruffly, doing my best to console myself. Meredith reached across the table to grasp my hand. Amon had gone impossibly still, his face unreadable.
“Since the day on the docks, he has buried Clair. He is now obsessed with finding you. He has petitioned his lieutenant to allow him resources to investigate your disappearance. However, because he saw you slip through The Veil that day, his colleagues have asked him to take a paid leave to grieve. They do not believe him when he tries to explain what he saw. Those who were there and saw it too, are refusing to corroborate his story. They do not want to risk being labeled as ‘unfit for field work’.”
Oh, Jeremy. I felt a tear roll down my cheek.
“Can I talk to him?” I asked. “I can explain what happened. I can tell him everything. It would take a while for him to accept it but I’m sure I could get him to understand.” Mr. Abbey and Amon exchanged a look.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Mr. Abbey said, as kindly as he could. “Involving a human in this mess would be very dangerous. It would be safer for him if we waited until after things have… calmed down.” My throat was so tight it hurt.
“Can I at least see him?” I whispered. “Even if he can’t see me? Can I see him while we’re here.” Again, Mr. Abbey and Amon exchanged a look. Finally, Amon spoke.
