“Yeah, I know.” I’ve already got my laptop open again. “So now we’ve got your birth, your birthmother’s death, a mage receiving mysterious treatments requiring blood transfusions, anesthesia, and painkillers who may or may not have already been harboring a demon by that time, and a pediatric nurse and shadow witch who—nearly twenty years later—went on to become your widowed father’s second wife.”
“If this was a TV show,” she says, “I’d say here’s where we’ve officially jumped the shark.”
“So where do we go from here?” Draegan asks.
“Well, we’re still working on cracking the Codex,” I say. “Not much progress on that front yet. The good news is our wards are holding up—no signs of shadow mage attacks on the property or any of our networks.”
Draegan swirls his drink and sighs. “Not sure how long we can count on that. The fire destroyed the Forsythes’ library and most of the brownstone, but that doesn’t mean Lennon won’t suspect the Codex was stolen. Once he puts two and two together—especially with Westlyn in the mix—I expect him to strike hard and fast.”
“I’m not letting him anywherenearher,” Jude says, resting his chin on the top of West’s head. “Let him try, and then we’ll see how well he can work his hocus-pocus with his own severed cock shoved up his arse.”
“Aww! So romantic,” West teases.
“If you think that’s romantic,” he says, that crazy gleam glazing his eyes, “wait till you see what I’m making for you out of Randall’s kneecaps.”
“Great,” she deadpans. “I can’t wait.” She rolls her eyes and laughs again, but all too soon, her smile falters, a darkness gathering around her eyes. “All of this is connected—I’m sure of it.”
“You and the hospital stuff?” Auggie asks.
“More than that. I’m talking about everything—you guys and the curse and the Codex too.”
“What makes you say that?” Auggie asks.
“I don’t know—just a gut feeling.” She sits up a bit straighter and glances at each of us in turn. “The night of the wedding, when I saw Draegan and Auggie in the pews, I felt an immediate pull to them. Like a current, almost. It was the same thing I felt the first time I met Jude in Madison Square Park.”
“I felt it too, scarecrow,” Jude says. “We all did.”
“Rook, the first night in the library, when we were trying to connect the dots between Zorakkov and the artifacts in the Forsythes’ collection? You said there could be links between their reasons for wanting the marriage, and your curse. You said I was brought into your lives for a reason, and we—”
“Owe it to ourselves to try and figure it out.” I smile at her, remembering the conversation. Her too-big clothes. The birds. It was the night I vowed, in my own private way, to do everything in my power to protect her, just as the others promised.
“I don’t know how Eloise, the Archmage, Hunter-slash-Zorakkov, and I all fit together yet,” she continues, “but the fact that the Archmage bought the very Codex that holds theonespell you guys have been searching for your entire immortal lives… that can’t be coincidence. That’s simply another piece of the puzzle. We just don’t know how all the pieces click together yet.”
“We need more time,” I say, glancing down at my laptop, still trying to make heads or tails of these odd records. “More data, more information, more demon lore, more… everything.”
“Eloise,” she says. “She’s one of the missing links.”
“As far as I know,” I say, “she and your father are still on the west coast.”
“I can call her,” she says. “Get her talking. See if I can convince her to—”
The glass in Drae’s hand shatters. “No. Absolutely out of the question.”
West glances up at him, her eyes imploring. “It’s just a phone call. No meetings this time, not even a video chat.”
“Too risky.” He shakes the glass and booze from his hand. “Phone calls can be traced.”
“Not if Rook does his mojo with the re-router thing,” she says. “Draegan, Eloise was there the night I was born. And the night Hunter started receiving treatments for some unknown—”
“Yes, Miss Avery, I was paying attention, thank you. I don’t require a recap.”
“But if you’ll just let me—”
“The last time I quote-unquote justletyou, you very nearly got yourself killed. So no, we will not be ringing up stepmum for a chat. End of discussion. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve a call with the city planner’s office to prepare for. Rook, keep digging into those hospital records. Augustine, check in with Mr. Teague and see if he’s had a chance to review our proposal again—he may need a bit more encouragement.”
“You got it,” Auggie says.
Drae nods, already on his way out. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my suite.”
