“I’m… I’m sure she’d rather focus on the task at hand.” I shoot Auggie a warning glare. “Demons. Curses. You know the drill.”
“Draegan said something about gargoyles being made by faeanddemons,” she says thoughtfully. “What’s that all about?”
“Not demons,” I clarify. “Demon magic.”
“Why would they need demon magic? I thought fae had their own.”
“They do,” Auggie says. “Mostly deriving from the power of nature and the elements. But that’s—for lack of a better word—good magic. Dark fae specialize in finding ways to twist that magic into something more nefarious, and demonic power is a good way to do it. Good way tobinda curse, too.”
“Why did they curse you in the first place? I mean, people don’t just go around cursing each other for no reason.”
“People, maybe,” he says, dodging her question. “But dark fae? They don’t need a reason.”
“Aren’t they worried about blow-back? Do unto others, threefold law, Karma, all that jazz?”
“Have you ever encountered a dark fae?” he asks. “Theyarethe blow-back.”
She considers this, her brow furrowing, then says, “And this object the Archmage has. What is it, exactly? What does it do?”
I don’t respond. Neither does Auggie.
Silence falls between us again, and the birds take flight, as if simplymentioningthe artifact calls up the dark history associated with it.
Ourdark history.
Curiosity sparkles in her eyes, and it’s clear she’s biting her tongue to keep from asking the wrong things—from stepping on a land mine she won’t be able to walk away from. I don’t want to keep her in the dark—truly. But as much as I want to open up the books on the life and times of all things gargoyle, it’s just too damn painful.
Once again, the old shame and hurts rear their ugly heads inside me, and I lower my eyes, suddenly wishing I had the library to myself again.
Group projects are always a terrible idea…
“Look, guys,” she says softly. “I get that we just met and you’re not ready to shareallyour deep, dark supernatural secrets just yet—I can respect that. I’m not exactly ready to drag all my old ghosts up out of the basement, either. But you’re asking me to help you find a needle in a haystack without telling me where the haystack is located or that it’s even a needle we’re looking for. Not to mention the fact that we’re supposed to figure out how to steal said needle, and I have no idea whether the haystack will be warded or boobytrapped or… I don’t know. You see what I’m saying, though, right?”
“I have no idea what you’re saying,” I admit, a smile returning to my grim face. “But I like hearing you say it nevertheless.”
“Careful, Rook,” Auggie teases. “You don’t want our witchling to think you’re flirting with her.”
Heat spreads across my cheeks at his insinuation, but West doesn’t seem to mind.
“It’s a metaphor,” she says.
I shake my head. “You’re breaking and reforming an idiom, which can sometimes work as a metaphor, but in this case, it’s too convoluted. Metaphors are designed to simplify communication by creating a shared symbology that’s immediately recognizable to both the communicator and the intended recipient. In order for successful—”
“And the man wonders why he’s eternally single,” Auggie fake-whispers.
West sticks her tongue out at him. “You’re just jealous Rook’s an evolved being and you’re a primate picking fleas off your nuts and eating them.”
I crack up. “Nowthatwas an excellent metaphor, West. Truly fine work.”
With a cacophony of monkey noises, Auggie gets up and lopes into the kitchen to make us another round of drinks, leaving me alone with West, all the old secrets swirling through the air like those ghosts from the basement.
“The Cerridwen Codex,” I finally admit. “An ancient text believed to contain a dark fae Spell of Unmaking. That’s the thing Forsythe has. Initially, Drae was hoping he’d sell it to us willingly, but—”
“But now that I’ve screwed up his plans for world domination by dissing the royal demon he hand-picked for me,” she says with a sigh, “I’m guessing the Archmage isn’t in the mood to field offers.”
“We’re thinking not.”
Tapping her finger on the library table, she says, “So this unmaking spell… It’s a real thing? You could actually break your curse?”
