A splash of water on her face, and she was out the door, careful to walk down the steps so as not to make them creak and potentially wake her neighbor on her day off.
Avery paused at Saga’s door. Should she knock? This was not, after all,technically part of the case. It was likely not the case at all. It could be an accident or even a false alarm. Though the possibility that Avery had been awoken by a false alarm left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Still, it was early and unlikely that Saga had had a chance to talk with her family about yesterday’s…unfortunately shocking news. The woman had not yet accepted her offer, and there was a very real possibility she wouldn’t.
Avery surprised herself as a small pang of disappointment hit her at that thought. She’d barely spent even a full day with this woman, and she was already feeling discomfort at the idea of her absence.
This would not do.
Perhaps it would be best if Saga rejected her offer. Clearly, her isolation in prison had greatly increased her sensitivity toward companionship, and she’d formed an unnatural attachment in far too short a time. It was unsafe. Putting distance between them would undoubtedly be the best option.
She took a few steps back from Saga’s door and made her way outside, pulling up the collar of her coat to shield herself from the morning air. It was no longer raining, but the slick surfaces of anything not protected by an awning made it clear that the weather had only just abated a short time ago. She walked along the opposite sidewalk, peering at the commotion a few doors down from a safe distance. There was a small crowd of early-morning onlookers, and she blended in easily.
Avery watched two men in uniform load a stretcher into the ambulance, the figure atop it shrouded with a white cloth. Somethingwaswrong.
She caught sight of a woman who matched Saga’s description of Leigh Hudson. She was standing with her arms wrapped around a child no older than three or four. She looked distressed, her face streaked with tears and contorted occasionally to remain placid rather than give in to the sobs that shook her form.
Everything stopped. Avery could hear nothing but her own heartbeat. Her breath caught and she watched as Leigh handed off the child to another woman—another woman who wasnotSaga—and followed the two uniformed men to the ambulance.
Who was under that sheet? Fates,whowas under that sheet?
Then a familiar figure came into view.
The third man in uniform was standing by the steps leading up to the building’s door. And on those steps satSaga, a blue blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she held a strange clear mask over her mouth and nose.
Avery felt her chest relax, and she gasped for a breath of air. Relief mixed with trepidation. Something was very wrong, and yet not as wrong as she had initially feared.
Distance be damned.
Avery moved across the street without a second thought, weaving around the parked ambulance to approach both Saga and the uniformed man with caution, catching the end of their conversation.
“Your vitals are normal, but I would recommend you come down for a full examination.” He removed something from around her bicep and held his free hand out for the clear mask, which appeared to be attached to some kind of tank.
Saga surrendered the mask and shook her head. She seemed so distant, like a creature caught between two planes of existence and not fully present in either. “I’m fine.”
Avery knew she was anything but fine.
The man nodded and moved past Avery to talk to Leigh. She caught a few words about the logistics of Leigh riding in the ambulance with them, but noting that this information was not relevant to Saga’s condition, Avery ignored it.
Saga didn’t see Avery approaching, but the sentient void beside her did.
A large black cat arched his back, the ebony fur standing on end as a guttural growl warned Avery not to take another step toward them.
Saga’s eyes focused as if she were coming out of a trance, flickering to Avery before raising a hand to smooth down the cat’s fur and soothe him to sit back down. “It’s okay, Riddle. Avery’s a friend.”
The word “friend” encouraged Avery to step a little closer.
The creature’s bright golden eyes did not waver, but the growling ceased, and he did sit back against Saga once more.
Avery noted the way the cat’s tail swished back and forth in an agitated manner and the unimpressed expression he leveled at her, but she pointedly ignored his warning. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
“I passed out.”
Avery glanced from the building behind her to the open ambulance doors where she could still see the shrouded stretcher. “Who…?”
“My grandmother.”
Shit.Had their talk incited an altercation? Was it an accident or intentional? It would not have been the first time heightened emotion invoked unintended consequences in powerful casters. “Are you well?”
