“So who takes care of male empowerment?” he asked.
“I do,” Dr. Samuels said. “I pay you, don’t I?”
She sensed a smile in his voice, so she knew he was kidding. At least she hoped he was. Her father wasn’t usually that arrogant.
“How long do you think this will go on?” Kizzy asked. “I reinforced all the wards around the book.”
“I don’t know. I wish I did.” That was Ruth speaking.
Thank goodness everyone’s voice was distinctive. In a crowded room with strangers, she wouldn’t know who was speaking or to whom. Yup. The ER was definitely a no-go.
“Have you been able to find out anything new or specific about this threat, Ruthie?” her father asked.
“I tried some divination. I saw two men in my black mirror. I didn’t know either of them, but I would recognize them if I saw them standing in front of me.”
“I’d ask you to describe them, but you’d be wasting your breath on me,” Kizzy said.
“I don’t think you’ve told Mr. Wolfensen yet.”
“You’re right. I should. After all, if you answer the door instead of our housekeeper, you need to know who to bite.”
“Bite? You’re expecting me to answer the door in wolf form?”
Ruth giggled. “I don’t know what you can or can’t do in your other form.”
“Well, I won’t have opposable thumbs, so turning a doorknob is tricky.”
This whole conversation was getting too weird for Kizzy. “I think I’ll go try to find the bathroom.” She used her cane to tap her way around the coffee table and check the path in front of her as she navigated her way to the stairs.
Once she had hold of the handrail, she was fine. Walking upstairs, she realized she didn’t know how many stairs there were. She should’ve counted them. When she got to the top, she took an extra step and felt like she was about to topple over when her foot came down and didn’t land on anything but air.
She sighed.I can do this. Ihaveto do this. Look for the silver lining, Kizzy.The only silver lining, besides a long overdue vacation, was the possibility of learning what her newly blinded patients were going through.
* * *
Noah and Dante sat at their kitchen table, each deep in thought. Noah hadn’t told Dante about breaking up with Kizzy yet, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. The whole situation really sucked. He knew she was in some kind of danger, but she clearly didn’t want him involved.
At last, Dante broke the silence.
“Thanks for coming to Mallory’s show, man. I know she appreciated it.”
“How’s she doing, by the way?”
Dante shrugged. “Well, the gallery owner suggested an alternative to the whole fine art, gallery-showing scene. It made a lot of sense. I was surprised Mallory was open to it, but I guess she took the advice in the spirit it was intended.”
“What’s that?”
“Art therapy. Helen said it was because she was so good at putting her emotions on canvas, but Mal suspected it was to get a little free therapy of her own.”
“Mal? You’re calling her Mal now? That’s a guy’s name.”
Dante smirked. “No, to her face, I call her honey, babe, and sweetheart.”
Noah smiled wistfully. “So, things are going well for you two.” He couldn’t help being a little envious, but at least one of them was happy.
“Yeah. Really well. We’ve talked about me moving in with her at some point.”
“Wow!” Noah chewed his lip as he thought about what to say. “I—I know we’ve had our differences, but don’t move out because of me. I really feel bad about giving you a hard time. I’ve come around. You two make a good couple.”
