(Collin’s no longer next to me. When I look for him, he’s across the room, leaning against a glass-windowed standalone pantry.)
“Ach!” she cries, letting go, and bringing my attention back to her. “I know! That whole teenage seductress pose is a horror show, isn’t it? What is she thinking?! Doesn’t she realize that cougars are in right now?”
I can’t help but snort out a laugh at that. “Yeah, well, when it comes to what potential boyfriends are looking for, I, um— I figure she knows what she’s doing…”
“You meanrichboyfriends, don’t you? And rich people are assholes. Why base your whole thing on whattheywant? It’s not like she has any problems with money.” She throws a quick wave up and down in front of me with her hand, like I’m Exhibit A. “And she’s your mother! She should have stuck with her appearance while you were growing up, at least until you yourself decided to try something new. It must have been so confusing!”
Well, she’s not wrong.
Hm. We’ve spent less than a minute together, and already… I’m kind of liking her. I glance over at Collin to get his reaction, but I can’t read his expression. Neither wary nor happy to be here. He’s doing that glancing-up-in-the-air thing every now and then, but it just seems to leave him looking puzzled. Like maybe our reason for being here has turned offallhis divine insight.
I snap my attention back to Tara, not wanting to reveal that I can see Collin. My anxiety cranks back up a notch as I realize I should be focused on making smalltalk. She clearly seems to know exactly what my mom and I are, so I say, “Well, I’ve never had the power to change myself. What you see is what you get, for better or worse.”
Next to the kitchen sink, there’s a silver tray on the counter with a well-worn white teapot and two dainty, flowered tea cups. She’s adding enormous chocolate-chip cookies from a large aluminum sheet to a china plate laid out next to the cups. From the aroma in the kitchen, they were just baked. She glances over her shoulder.
“That’s right. She said you don’t feed. So you don’t have any incubus powers at all?”
I shrug. “I can detect magic, and I can see in the dark. That’s about it.”
Suddenly reminded that I do actually have a somewhat-useful power, I casually scan around the room for enchantments and the like. I should at leastcheckif there are any dangers, right? There are lots of things that have a little bit of yeasty domestic magic with a unique hint of musky almond, but nothing major. Nothing like the doorway runes in the house on Lake Street that packed serious juice. Nothing on her. And all the stuff on the tray that she’s putting together is completely normal.
Collin meets my eyes as I look up from the tea set. He was looking at it, too. His expression seems maybe a little calmer, more confident. Hopefully that’s a good sign.
Tara steps away from the counter and comes up to me, holding the tray. I can smell the steam from the teapot. Floral and sweet. “Well I, for one, think your choice to abstain is very cool. It’s too easy to rely on supernatural powers in this world, and even easier to use them to take advantage of other people. Bravo, you.”
She makes me blush a second time.
“Um, thank you. It’s really not a big thing.” I don’t love having a lot of attention directed at me. But I can’t help smiling.
“Alvin, I have known incubi for much longer than you’ve been alive. Trust me, it is.”
I bite my lip, not sure what to say to all these compliments. (Not that I don’t like them!) I’m fidgeting the pad of my thumb against the side of my index finger without even realizing it. But she notices and immediately swivels toward the back screen door, saying with a legit Mary Poppins twinkle in her eye, “Well, we should get started, shouldn’t we? It’s such a nice day! Let’s step out into the garden.”
“Okay,” I say, honestly relieved. And appreciative that she picked up on my anxiety. I know I’m the last person who should judge a book by its cover, but she really does seem different from my mother or anyone else I’ve met from her crowd. And even though I just had a big breakfast, I don’t think I’d mind having two—or maybesix—of those richly fragrant, warm-from-the-oven cookies right now.
She takes us out to a wooden table with a slatted round top. It sits on a flat-stone patio in the middle of an expansive lawn. We’re surrounded by a huge variety of plants in a riot of colors, like the entire botanical garden from the Golden Gate Park has been compressed into one very large backyard. There are cool landscaping features like a running fountain, and a white wooden lattice and arch over a stone path that leads deeper into the garden. The scent of pollen is heady and tickles my nose.
She gestures to a simple white deck chair and I sit down. She takes the chair just to my left.
“So, I understand you’re here to free a spirit trapped by druids a long time ago.” She pours us each a cup of tea while resting her fingers on the thin china lid of the pot.
“Yeah,” I say. “I was hoping you might know a way. The spirit is the… Uh…” I hesitate, glancing up at Collin for his thoughts. He’s standing just behind her. Considering my mom’s reaction, I’m not sure how much I should reveal. He frowns and shakes his head.
“The Avatar of Knowledge, right?” she offers.
Ah. Okay. Mom already told her. Collin rolls his eyes, frustrated.
She holds out her hand. “May I see the inscriptions on the watch?”
Collin steps around her and comes next to me, urgent. “Mind yourself, Alvin. I know she seems nice, but I’ve been trying to ask questions about her history, what things she’s working on, who she’s workedfor, and I’m only able to get bits and pieces. Maybe it’s a druid thing, another limitation built into the artifact. But it’s notcommon.”
I want to ask if he thinks the fact we’re trying to get him free is what’s actually messing him up, but his alarm has made me cautious enough that I still don’t want to tip Tara off that I have access to the Avatar. Instead, I try to nod as casually as I can, like I’m responding to her but also letting Collin know I hear him.
He’s obviously aware I’m going to have to show the watch, though—we’re not just here for tea and cookies—so he says, “Whatever you do, just don’t keep us separated for long, yeah?”
I give one final, definitive nod, still smiling at Tara, and remove the watch from my back pocket. Collin disappears immediately, and when I reveal the latched silver timepiece in my hand, I say, “Just to be clear, I’m not giving this to you.”
Her eyes flick up to me, a little baffled, and I’m immediately embarrassed at how that sounds. “I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal. It’s just that ‘giving’ is kind of a big deal with this artifact.”
