“You’ve been casting the bones again?”
Though he was a Kang, and an extremely powerful one at that, he’d also inherited shaman skills from his grandmother, who’d been a Sarr witch of some renown back in her day. When she’d died, he’d been bequeathed the specially curated animal bones she’d used to predict futures and, while he didn’t often use them, the results when he did were scarily accurate.
“One should never ignore the urge to cast when it strikes,” he said softly. “Unfortunately, they remain unclear as to whether the changes are for the better or not. Just... be wary if he does reappear.”
“I will. I promise.” I hesitated, then decided I’d worried us both enough for the night. “How’s Joe doing?”
Joseph mostly lived with Owen these days, as his place was closer to the witch university, but he did come over to stay with me on the weekends I was home and he wasn’t busy with his friends.
“According to him, uni is okay, his subjects are okay, and he’s doing okay.”
I laughed. One thing our son wasnotwas verbose. “That’s okay then. If you happen to see him before you leave for work, tell him I love him and that I’ll call later this evening.”
“Will do. Oh, and Atticus has turned up here, too.”
I rolled my eyes. Atticus was a black cat I’d saved some five months ago from a fire that, I’d later learned, had killed his witch. It was rare for a familiar to survive the death of his or her witch, and it had led him to believe that my fortuitous rescue was a sign from fate herself. He’d subsequently adopted me, totally ignoring my objections and all the processes that surrounded witches finding familiars. In fact, I’d been assessed for familiar compatibility when I was younger—all witches were, whether they were royal blood or not—and had been deemed unsuitable by both the spirit world and my tutors. No one had ever said why, but I’d always figured it had something to do with the inner darkness, even if no one had been aware of its presence at that point in my life.
“Of course he has,” I said dryly. “It’s not like I didn’t hire someone to cater to his every whim while I’m gone.”
“He claims his mental needs are not being met.”
I snorted. While the bonding ceremony generally meant a familiar could only talk to his witch, Atticus, as an “unfettered familiar,” could talk to anyone. And often did, whether you wanted conversation or not.
“Turning up at your place isn’t going to help that situation, given Joe’s either at uni or out with friends.”
“He also claims a fascination with my work.”
“I suspect it’s more a fascination with you rather than your work.” Atticus did, after all, have a penchant for powerful men. From the little he’d said about his past incarnations, he’d been the familiar of some very notable male witches, which made his decision to “adopt” me against all protocols all the more curious.
Notthat he’d ever deigned to answer any of my questions on that particular matter.
The conversation moved on, and we talked for another ten minutes or so, the conversation flowing easily between us. When we finally hung up, the tension within had slipped away, and sleep came easily.
The phone buzzing woke me what felt like too few hours later. I groaned, ran my hand across the bedside table until I found it, and forced an eye open. It was Lowell. I reluctantly hit the answer button. “What?”
There was a slight pause. “Did I wake you?”
“Yeah.” I squinted at the phone screen for a second. “It’s barely nine. I’ve had all of four hours sleep.”
“Ah. Sorry.”
I doubted he actually was, but I appreciated the effort. “What’s up?”
“Tane Ashworth has just flown in. You’ve a meeting with him at ten.”
“Ah, fuck.”
It slipped out before I could stop it, and Lowell chuckled. “Indeed. He’s staying at his apartment at the Saratoga Woolstore in Teneriffe. He wants a full update.”
“Which you can give him over the phone. It’s absolutely unnecessary for me to meet him.”
“Except he’s insisting it be in person, and that you be the one to do it.”
“Why? In fact, why the hell is he here at all? The only thing he’ll achieve is getting in the way of the investigation, and quite possibly put himself in the line of danger in the process.”
“I agree, but he is a father whose daughter has gone missing. Wouldn’t you be doing the same thing in the same position?”
In the same position, I’d be tearing apart heaven and hell, but Tane was more the “employ someone else to tear” type. Besides, if Monica’s disappearance was connected to the same threat against him, coming here just heightened the danger to everyone, including his daughter.
