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Raquel shook her head. "No, I don't think it's related. There haven't been any deaths or bodies. Nearly every elemental we've identified and have contact with has disappeared, but elementals are unusual-you understand. We've only been keeping track of them for a couple of decades now, so for all we know, this is common behavior. "
I nodded, relieved. No more violence. I'd have to tell Lend, make sure he knew that it wasn't just his mom who had disappeared. Of course, I wasn't sure if that made it sound better or worse.
Raquel took a sip of her drink. "It's too bad about the trolls, though. "
I gulped my hot chocolate, scalding my throat. "Yup. Too bad. Still, I brought in a dangerous paranormal, which was always the goal, right?"
"Of course, and you did well. I'm sorry it wasn't as easy an assignment as I promised. "
"Yeah, well, get Jack a GPS or something. He's a step above faeries, but only just. At least they never dropped me straight into a river. Don't give me any assignments near cliffs, okay? I shudder to think where Jack might toss me out. "
"Next time let him step out first. "
I laughed, shaking my head. "Good idea. "
To my surprise, she asked me about school, and it felt both surreal and perfectly natural talking with Raquel about my big Dracula essay, the English test I'd fallen asleep during that morning because of the troll adventure, and my complaints about Miss Lynn. I flashed back to all the times I used to pretend Raquel was my mom, daydreaming about doing something like this with her.
It was nice.
"And how is Lend?"
I looked down into my dwindling hot chocolate. "Not so great. I, uh, kind of didn't tell him I was working with you again. "
She raised her eyebrows. "And he found out. "
"Yup. You can imagine it didn't go over very well. "
She nodded sympathetically and took my hand in hers. "Lend and I certainly didn't start off on the right foot"-only Raquel would refer to Lend punching her and then us imprisoning him in an IPCA cell and interrogating him as being the "wrong foot"-"but he's always been good to you, and I have no doubt you two will be able to work this out. "
"Thanks. I-"
But her communicator beeping shoved us out of our little snippet of normalcy. She read the message and gave her there aren't enough hours in the day sigh, then looked up at me to apologize. I waved my hand.
"No worries. You go save the world. I'm gonna finish getting a cavity. "
She paused. "I really am sorry, Evie. Sometimes I worry that pulling you back in was the wrong thing to do. Perhaps it was selfish on my part. But I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. " She smiled, patting my hand. "I'll be in touch. "
"I know. "
"Let me know if you need any help on that essay. And if I can help with the Lend situation. "
When she left, I felt warmer inside from more than the cocoa. In spite of what a mess the last mission had been, things worked out. And having Raquel back in my life meant more to me than I'd ever imagined it would. That was worth a few near-death experiences in Sweden, right? Lend would understand. I'd make him understand.
One bus ride and three hours later I was exhausted from trying to figure out how to do just that. Lend hadn't given me a specific time when he'd be there, so I lay on the couch with my phone, shifting positions until I found one that didn't hurt my tailbone.
The previous night's adventures caught up to me, and I dozed into fitful sleep. A gentle hand brushing the hair away from my face woke me up. Lend crouched on the floor, eye level with me. "Hey," he said, his voice soft.
"Hey!" I sat up quickly-too quickly, and squeaked from the shock of pain.
"What's wrong?"
"Noth-" I stopped myself. "I bruised my tailbone pretty bad last night. "
"How?"
"I fell down on a step. "
"Where?"
