“I wouldn’t, either.” I reached out my hand and laid it on Kallie’s. I was pretending to give a friendly gesture, but really, my Spirit abilities were reading her body. Everything was back to normal, like she’d never been hurt at all, and she could walk again, even though she was still tired. Mama had made sure to patch her up as good as new. Now the mental healing began.
“I really am fine, Ava,” Kallie said. “Honest.”
She wouldn’t be swearing to me she was okay if she reallywas, which meant she was struggling with all this. But she’d come to me if she needed me, so I backed off. We didn’t need to talk about the Dollmaker and make her relive everything that had happened.
I went to the other side of the party. Tahoma lay beside the couch, watching Sprigs climb a plant in the corner. Alette fluttered around Sprigs and tried to get him to play.
Ez got up from his spot on the couch and walked over to me. “We took care of Kallie,” he promised. “She went through a tough thing, but she’ll pull through it.”
“Her mind’s all fucked up,” I whispered. I couldn’t imagine the mental anguish Kallie was going through, even in a safe place surrounded by all her friends. After John had attacked me, it’d been all I was able to think about for months afterward. I was sure she couldn’t get the Dollmaker out of her head.
“I know. It’s gonna be like that for a while,” Ez said. “But there’s nothing our magic can do about that, and she was literally just attacked by a serial killer this morning. She’s barely had any time to process. She needs this party, to get her mind off things and make her feel normal.”
I hoped so. I really wanted this party to help. It was the reason we were doing this.
Kallie wasn’t the only one acting off. Chancey sat in a chair near the window, staring out over the city. I think he’d just left the hospital wing. I noticed bandages poking out from the collar of his t-shirt. I think his chest and back were all wrapped up from where Ivy had cut off his wing. His tea was still steaming in his hand, and it didn’t look like he’d taken a sip. Ivy leaned against Chancey and traced lines over his arm, though neither of them said anything. I thought Ivy was trying to cheer Chancey up, but Chancey appeared distant… or not even there at all.
“Did you do it?” Opal asked as she came up to me. “Did you pull it off?”
“We did,” I said weakly. “Cassiel says we should celebrate.”
Alistair approached the coffee table and touched the hot tea pot. “We can’t celebrate withtea. Where’s the booze?”
“I’ll have the servants bring something,” Abigail offered.
About a half an hour later, Eldin stood guard at the door while servants brought in pizzas with all kinds of topping combinations. They wheeled in a cart full of liquor, and Alistair began smelling the bottles, pouring shots when he found what he liked. Danny turned on music that shook the room, then grabbed one of Oberi’s favorite tennis balls and threw it. She hopped off my chair and shifted into a husky, chasing after it.
Marcus caught the ball after a few bounces, then held it out of Oberi’s reach while he jumped for it. “What is it, Oberi?” Marcus teased. “Oh, you want this? You’re such a good boy.”
Who are you calling a good boy?Oberi grumbled.Give me the ball, you fool!
Marcus obviously hadn’t heard the insult. “Fetch!”
Marcus threw the ball, and Oberi tore across the room after it. I laughed as they played together.
Oberi caught the ball in his mouth. You’rethe good boy,he said, wagging his tail.
“Marcus, come over here,” Kallie ordered. “I want to hear all about the mission.”
Marcus obeyed her like a puppy dog and plopped onto the couch beside her. He draped an arm over the back of the couch casually and began to fill her in on all the details.
“I don’t know, Oberi,” I joked as he dropped the ball in my lap. I stroked the top of his head. “You and Marcus might have more in common than you think.”
Oberi growled at me.I take offense. Now throw the ball, please.
“Oh, you said please?” I laughed. “Who’s a good boy now?”
I threw the ball, and Oberi chased after it. He must’ve been upset that I called him a good boy, because he brought the ball back to Charlie instead. Charlie tossed the ball around and played with Oberi while I went to grab a slice of pizza.
Marcus and Kallie chatted from the couch. “Yeah, it was pretty intense,” Marcus bragged. “I must’ve taken out at least a dozen vampires by myself. Chopped one’s head off with a cleaver.”
For once, Marcus wasn’t exaggerating. Kallie’s eyes sparkled as she stared up at him. Her eyes locked on him like he was the grandest thing she’d ever seen, looking at him in a way no one else had before.
Alistair passed drinks around, and the party got louder as everyone started to loosen up. I noticed Charlie had a drink in his hand. I was curious about that because we’d agreed wewouldn’t drink anymore. But he was laughing as he played fetch with Oberi. It was nice to see the two of them having a good time, so I just let it go.
Alistair downed shots like they were candy, and it didn’t take long before the alcohol hit him. He climbed up on the table and began shaking his ass, while Pig and Rishi danced around him. He placed his cane upright in front of himself, squatting down like he was straddling a stripper pole. He stumbled to the side and almost knocked over the teapot.
“Be careful, sir,” Abigail scolded. She quickly grabbed the tray of tea from the table and wheeled across the room to get it away from Alistair.
