“And the yard, probably the woods around us. As a precaution. It’s imperative we have a good buffer around the house secured.”
I nod and squeeze my hands against each other so tight that my knuckles feel like they’re going to split. I don’t like the thought of Jaak going into the woods. I feel sick at not knowing what’s happened with Buffy or Charlie.
What if something happens to Jaak?
“Yeah, that makes sense, but…don’t go far, okay?”
Jaak looks back at me and I swear my knees nearly give out when he smiles at me. “I won’t go far. I will return to you, I swear it. Lock this door and do not open it until I return.”
I nod, give him a tight smile and force myself to stay still even though I want to hug him. “Okay.” If I hug him I might not want to let him go and that’s not very save my friends and defeatthe mages of me, so with another reassuring smile from Jaak he leaves the room.
I stand there for a few seconds as the fire pops and crackles in the quiet room. When a log falls in the fireplace, I jump and snap out of my staring contest with the closed door.
“Lock the door. Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see. There’s no reason to worry,” I tell myself as I lock the door and double check it to make sure that it’s secure. When I’m satisfied, I cross over to the windows to settle in and wait for Jaak. I can’t hear him moving around in the house but it’s big enough that I know he can’t be done already. I’ll have a few minutes of waiting until I see him again. In the end, I manage a pretty comfy set up, a rocking chair with a cushion and a thick blanket that’s not dusty at all. I wrap it around myself and lean close to the window to scan the yard. That’s when I see it.
Not Jaak but the Auger’s head.
Its white fur makes it easy to spy from where I’m sitting. The angle of the house perfectly lined up with where we teleported. From here I wouldn’t know what I’m looking at. I might assume it was a stuffed animal or maybe a discarded blanket, something like that but because I know, I can’t unsee it. There’s a glint and I know I’m looking at those earrings swaying in the wind.
I shake my head and close my eyes but that’s also not the smartest move. The second I close them, I’m back in the stream of whatever it was Jaak brought us through. I can feel that touch of the Auger on my back, feel the warm heat of its breath against the backs of my legs, hear its low growl in my ears.
My eyes shoot open and I shake my head. “Get a grip. It’s not real,” I say just like I always do coming out of a nightmare but then I see the Auger’s light bright head and I’m reminded that this isn’t a nightmare. This is real and so is the Auger. My heart speeds up like it always does when I’m scared, the thud of it so familiar in my chest that it’s almost comforting. I put a handover my heart and lean forward, face down towards my feet so I don’t have to look at the dead monster out in the trees.
“It’s dead,” I correct myself quickly. “It’s dead and it can’t touch you. It couldn’t even when it was alive, not with Jaak there. He kept you safe.”
When I close my eyes and take another steadying breath it’s not the Auger, I see, it’s Jaak. I see him crouching at my feet, hands on the ropes, I see him watching me through the ash. I remember the way it felt to be in his arms in the forest, through time, crossing the threshold.
“You’re safe with him. You’re safe, Meadow.”
Chapter
Fifteen
Jaak comes into view a few minutes later. He’s not wearing the jacket around his waist anymore which is interesting. I guess he found clothes in his walk through the house. I watch Jaak walk the length of the yard and back again, stopping every so often to set a ward with a wave of his hands and what looks like some A+ concentration work. I don’t know what goes into a ward other than Sunday complains about them draining her juice or that Wrath does them periodically around Sweet Tooth in the evenings. He doesn’t complain like Sunday does, though.
Wind blows hard enough to rattle the window panes and the trees around the house shudder from the force of it. I look up at the sky and see clouds moving fast across the sky, the moon gets blocked out for a minute or two before it comes back again. I think a storm is coming from the way the clouds are starting to get heavy. I hope Jaak doesn’t get caught in the rain. It would ruin the hard work he put into finding clothes, which speaking of clothes…who used to live here that there were clothes left behind in his size? From the looks of it he found a pair of tan pants and a white dress shirt that’s more for decoration than anything because the demon didn’t bother to button a single button.
The wind catches Jaak’s shirt when he crosses the yard. When he’s right in front of the windows I sit at, the moon breaks through and bathes him light.
“So freaking pretty,” I whisper like he might hear me, which maybe he can. As soon as the words leave my lips, Jaak turns to face the house and raises a hand in a wave. I wave back on autopilot with a stupid smile on my face. His hair blows back behind him and he doesn’t look like a demon then, he looks like a fairytale prince. Or at least he does until he makes his way to the giant monster head and drags it off into the trees and out of sight.
“He ripped that thing off with his hands, Meadow,” I remind myself. Wait, not hands. “His hand,” I say out loud. “He just snapped it clean off withone hand.”
I should be freaked out that a demon ripped a monster's head off one-handed while I hugged him but I’m not. The opposite happens. My face heats up and I feel giddy. Jaak did that for me. To keep me safe.
I’m a simple woman really. A hot demon and a monster slain is enough to get my motor running.
I close my eyes and lean back against the chair. “I blame the cult. It’s their fault I’m like this.”
I should open my eyes and think about actually going to bed but I don’t. The weight of the day hits me harder than the mage-splosion does and I drift off into a doze. It’s only when I hear a knock at the door that I stir. I don’t move right away because I can’t remember where I am, not really. Sleep clings heavy to me, it always has, for as many problems as I’ve had with it. I wipe my eyes and struggle to sit up when the door opens with a soft click.
The fire’s died down, the shadows are deeper now and the room feels smaller. “Jaak?” I murmur, struggling to untangle myself from the blanket to sit up.
“Shhh, witchling. It’s me.” Jaak comes close, an arm under my legs and another behind my back to lift me up from the chair.
“I fell asleep,” I tell him helpfully.
“So you did.” He walks across the room and I turn into him.
