“No.” Calix’s answer is short, as is his tone, like he’s upset. Before I have a chance to ask what’s wrong, he turns and heads out of the kitchen.
“Are mood swings contagious during pregnancy?” I joke, looking at Gunnar and Grim.
Gunnar snorts and leans back in his chair. “You don’t get why he’s pissed?”
I raise my eyebrows. “I mean, I can guess. He doesn’t want me going back to Savannah.” I hope that’s all it is. He seemed fine about the whole becoming a baby daddy thing.
“I think the fact that the wolf is damn near obsessed with you has more to do with it, my lady.” Gunnar gives me a droll look.
Now it’s my turn to scoff. “Torin’s concern is for a pregnant female, it has nothing to do with me in particular.”
“For his sake, let’s hope that’s true, because the Nemean has far more patience than I do.” Gunnar smiles, but it’s all sharp teeth and implied threats. I plant my elbows on the table and give him a goofy grin. I’m so easy—just a hint of violence on my behalf and I swoon.
Grim draws my attention when he rises from his seat. His cloak, which is so dark it almost seems to absorb light, encases him as if it’s always just out of sight and waiting to be donned. I reach for his arm, wrapping my fingers around him like I might be able to keep him from leaving. “You’re going?” I whisper, half worried that another Charmed is calling him to be reaped, and half sad that I can’t keep them all to myself forever.
“I won’t be gone long,” Grim assures me.
“Is it…?” I don’t finish my question. It’s bad enough that I feel guilty for taking time from our hunt for the witch to deal with our new little issue, but I also know I did the right thing by telling them.
“No, Damiana, it’s…”
Before Grim can finish, someone speaks behind me. The voice has me snapping my head around. “Hello, Mouse.”
“Boogey?” Just beyond the shadows, I can see his sharp white teeth and his claw tipped fingers. I haven’t seen him in years, not since I was a teenager. I rise from my chair slowly so I don’t spook him.
I’ve never seen him anywhere but under my bed. He was one of the monsters that would still visit me when I was away at boarding school. I would lie in bed at night for hours talking to him. Even though I never really saw him, he was my first crush. How cliché. I was in puppy love with the monster under my bed. Secret whispers shared in the dark about how we wished things could be different for both of us. All he wanted was a life, to be able to walk around in the daylight, and all I wanted was to be accepted for what I was.
Boogey needed things I couldn’t give him, like fear. Every once in a while, I would hear other girls from the dorm screaming in the middle of the night and I knew it was him grabbing a hand or foot that slipped out from under the covers. I wasn’t jealous really, but it made me feel like I was never enough.
He didn’t follow me when I moved. I was sad, but I understood. The rumors of my dorm being haunted and cursed had grown so much since I’d been there, the place was feared by everyone on campus, not just the unfortunate souls who had to be housed there. I think he lived off the fear in the same way I dined on sins.
“Been a while,” he mutters.
I feel Grim’s long fingers wrap over my upper arm as he steps closer to my back. Boogey retreats a little farther into the shadows, but I can still make out his teeth. “Someone’s been recruiting at the school, Mouse.”
“What?” I step forward a little, not wanting Boogey to disappear.
“A witch, I hear the girls’ whispers.” His voice still sounds exactly the same, husky and dark, as if it’s made from the shadows themselves.
“Tell us what you know,” Gunnar demands, now standing next to Grim. I grab his forearm tightly. I don’t want him to scare Boogey away.
“Your legacy still fills the halls. None of us have forgotten you.” I see a black tongue whip out and curl around his teeth.
“What kind of recruiting?” I prompt, hoping Gunnar will let me do the talking. Boogey may be terrifying to humans, but he’s always seemed very skittish to me.
“Mostly he lies. Promising power if they join him. He says he’s the one who gifted you with dark powers.”
“Antonio?” I look over at Grim, who is studying the darkness Boogey is hiding in.
“I thought you should know.” Then softer, he adds, “Goodbye, Mouse.”
“Wait!” I call out, and take a few steps in his direction, but he’s gone, disappearing into the shadows, leaving only his sad voice ringing in my ears.
“I don’t like him,” Gunnar snaps.
“You don’t like anyone,” I retort.
“Well, I really don’t like him. And why did he call you Mouse? You’re about as far from a mouse as I am from being a kitten.” He gives me an accusatory glare.
