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“Oh! What happened?” I exclaimed.
Avery shook his head.
“Damn invis-bag. There’s a time limit on the magic—it can only hold so much and be compressed so long before it all comes…well…spilling out.” He waved a hand at the pile of groceries on the floor. “As you can see.”
“Oh my God, Avery—what were you going to do—start your own cooking school down here?” Emma asked. “I mean, look at all this stuff!”
“I was going to try a new recipe, that’s all,” Avery said sulkily.
“But don’t you think the cafeteria ladies are going to miss their stuff?” Kaitlyn asked, bending to pick up the roasting pan and the potato masher.
“I was going to put it back the next time I went ‘shopping’,” Avery said. “And they have so many things they never use in there. It’s a crime really—they shouldn’t be allowed to have all these implements if they don’t know how to utilize them correctly.”
“Translation: you would like to open a cooking school,” Emma said, grinning at him. “Come on—we might not be the cafeteria ladies, but you can still teach the three of us if you want to.”
“I’d love to learn how to cook over a spit,” I said, immediately interested and glad to feel like we were getting back to normal. If coking dinner in the Dungeon could be considered normal, anyway.
“Not me, please.” Kaitlyn drew back a little. “I, uh, don’t like to get too close to the fire,” she added in a low voice. “But I wouldn’t mind watching, if that’s okay?” she asked, looking at Avery.
“You can do anything you want, Katydid,” he said gently, smiling at her. Then he turned to Emma and me. “All right—supper is a little late getting started, but better late than never. Come on, girls—let’s get cooking!”
As we gathered the ingredients and headed for the fireplace, I tried to push all my worries away and just enjoy this time with my new friends. Things were going to be okay, I reasoned with myself. The mark Griffin had put on me was only visible to those who were looking for it. And at least now I could speak his name without the key necklace half-choking me to death.
Which made me realize I still hadn’t told my coven-mates about the necklace and the key set with Blood stones. Or the fact that Griffin wore a matching one with a lock set with the same stones. I opened my mouth to speak, but the chain tightened warningly around my neck.
I frowned. So it was okay to talk about Griffin but the magical necklaces we both wore were off limits?
What the hell, key? What’s your problem?
Beneath my nightdress, it moved just a little and I had the feeling it was waiting…biding its time. But waiting for what?
I didn’t know but I had an uneasy feeling I was going to find out.
33
The next morning as we came up out of the Dungeon, I glanced around apprehensively for Griffin. But to my mingled relief and disappointment, the tall Nocturne was nowhere to be seen, though I thoroughly scanned the entire Dining Hall.
Avery seemed to be thinking the same thing because he sniffed and shook his head.
“Huh—so much for your Blood Knight escorting you everywhere,” he remarked.
“My what?” I asked, frowning at him.
“Oh, it’s just an old Other legend.” He shrugged. “Never mind. Come on—who wants breakfast?”
Breakfast was awful as usual but thanks to the fact that we’d all eaten roasted chicken and veggies around midnight, we were still full and nobody minded starting the day with just coffee and tea.
Emma was feeling especially perky due to drinking two black coffees instead of one.
“This is what I always have for breakfast after one of my late nights,” she explained, taking another gulp of the black, bitter brew and puckering her lips cheerfully at the taste. “Though usually I’m beat from staying up late working at the I Scream and last night I was taking a class in the joy of cooking from Monsieur Avery, of course.”
She nodded at Avery who made an elaborate bow.
“Why thank you, Madam Emma.”
I laughed at both of them and took a sip of my own coffee. Though she didn’t say so, I guessed that Emma had either called in sick or traded shifts with someone else to be with Kaitlyn the night before. Which was extremely unselfish of her, considering how much she and her mom needed the money. But coven-mates stuck together and last night, Kaitlyn had needed all of us—just as I had, I supposed.
It was good to have friends.
Kaitlyn herself was still looking a little wan and uncertain as she sipped her tea. I could see her growing more and more apprehensive as our breakfast time elapsed. I had seen her packing her tennis shoes and gym clothes in her satchel that morning with obvious reluctance and I knew she was dreading a possible repeat of yesterday’s PE class from Hell.
