Just an empty box of Cheez-Its on the coffee table.
I closed and locked the front door, then headed to the basement still clutching my handbag and the grimoire.
The place was still a disaster zone from my previous potion-making—I hadn’t had time to clean it up.I made space for the book and placed it on the counter, then opened the drawer and started going through papers.
“There you are!”
Tani exploded in front of me in a shower of pink fairy dust scaring me half to death.I sucked in a breath and pressed my hand to my chest.
“Tani!We talked about this.”
“Sorry.Was excited to see you.”She landed on the counter next to the book and lounged against it.“So, you and Mr.Hottie…?”
“Owen,” I corrected.“And?”
“He cooked you breakfast,” she said.“Does that mean he spent the night?”She waggled her eyebrows.
“That’s none of your business.”I flipped a page in one of the folders, scanning it.Nothing.
“Sure it is.I live here, too.”
“You live in the greenhouse,” I reminded her.“And if Voss has his way, not for much longer.”
That got her attention.She straightened.“What does that mean?”
“It means,” I said, turning another page.“He was on the porch when I got home with an ultimatum.He expects me to send you and Red back to your own realms.”
“I have to find Oberon first,” she said.“That was the deal.”
I ignored her grousing.“Also, the Council has given me seventy-two hours to figure this out or I’m gone as Guardian.”
Silence.She didn’t move.Her wings didn’t even flutter.Then she poofed full-size in a burst of glittery fury.
“Then we better figure this out, chica.What are you looking for?”
That gave me an idea.I stopped my frantic search and pointed to the book.“Know what that is?”
“A book.”
“Very funny.”I flipped open the cover.“Can you read it?”
She squinted down at it, flipped a page.Then shook her head.“No.Where did you get it?I’ve never seen it before.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said quickly.It mattered, but I didn’t want to explain it.“If you can’t read it, I have to find someone who can.Or something in these files that will help translate it.”
Tani reached into the drawer, pulled out a file, and slapped it on the counter like she meant business.“I can help.”
I hesitated, staring at her.
Trust was a luxury.But so was doing this alone.
“Fine,” I said, shoving another stack of folders toward her.“Then start reading.”
Tani slapped open the file and started humming as she flipped pages like she was looking for her favorite dinner recipe instead of a decoder to a magical book.
At least, I assumed it was a magical book.
The grimoire sat on the counter beside her—innocent-looking, if you ignored the fact that it felt like a live wire every time I got too close.
