“Kayleigh….” Scout covered his eyes with his hand and then moved it quickly, probably remembering he’d just chopped up shallots for the noodles.
Her eyes widened as she watched him run water in the sink so he could stick his eyes under it, but her scowl didn’t lighten up one iota. “Look at him, Lucky. If I don’t look out for him, who will?”
Lucky sighed. Those gangs that had sat in his living room? Most of them had been thick with brothers and cousins. Whatever weirdo cult bullshit Scout had been describing, it couldn’t be argued that he and Kayleigh had each other’s backs.
“I hear ya,” he said, trying for honesty. “I… I really like your brother, okay? I had my reasons for being a douche, but they weren’t worth making you both feel like crap. I’m sorry.”
She eyeballed him up and down. “What were your reasons?”
“He’s being chased by the mob,” Scout told her, “because he’s got a lucky coin.”
She blinked once, but not in disbelief. “Can I see it?”
“Yeah.” Lucky pulled it out of his pocket. “But you can’t touch it. It… it gets hot when someone not me tries to touch it.” He chuckled nastily. “Scaggs Cawthorne’s lieutenant got a big ugly burn on his palm when Scaggs told him to take it from me. It’s the only fuckin’ thing that kept me alive.”
Kayleigh’s eyes widened, and he snuck a look at Scout to see what he thought of this.
“Good,” Scout said, nodding. “Karma is very cool with magic. In fact, there’s one school of thought that says magic is the ultimate karmic leveler. It was practiced to even the odds from the very beginning, and that’s why dark magic users are so seriously fucked. The entire purpose of the element of magic is to make sure the little guy has some recourse when he’s getting his ass kicked.”
“Show me the magic,” Kayleigh said, undeterred by Scout’s little lapse into philosophy. Wow, she was tough.
Lucky took the coin and set it up to flip. “Is there something you need to know?” he asked.
“Ask it if Alistair’s still looking for us,” Scout said.
“You told him aboutAlistair?” Kayleigh asked disbelievingly.
“Heads he is,” Lucky told him, caught up in the patter. “Tails he ain’t.” He flipped the coin. “Heads. Fucker ain’t given up yet.”
“Easy one,” Kayleigh muttered. “Ask it if he knows Jordan’s coven is intervening.” She looked up at Scout. “I’m worried about them. I don’t want them to get caught. He could strip away everyone’s power—”
“Except Jordan and Mack’s,” Scout said complacently. “Ask it.”
“Heads Alistair knows about the coven, tails he don’t.” And flip. “Tails it is. Your friends are safe.”
He watched Kayleigh’s shoulders relax. “Okay, then. Does he know we’re here?”
“Heads he knows, tails you’re safe,” Lucky pattered. The coin flipped, and he put his palm out to catch it, and it didn’t fall. Just hovered in the air a little.
“Huh,” Scout said, sounding as surprised as Lucky was.
“Uhm,” Kayleigh said.
“Sweartachrist it ain’t never done that before,” Lucky muttered. He frowned. “I think we asked it the wrong question.” He reached into the air and grabbed the spinning coin. “C’mere, you.” He set up to flip. “Okay. Let’s be simpler. Heads he knows, tails he doesn’t.” Flip. “Tails it is. Alistair doesn’t know you’re here. Okay. That’s good, ’cause he sounds like adick. Now, heads you’re safe and tails you got something to worry about out there that could hurt one of you.”
Flip.
“Tails,” he muttered. Well, shit. “Okay, heads it’s Scout, tails it’s Kayleigh.” And heads. “Kayleigh, you’re in luck. Scout, you got to leave.”
Scout snorted. “Hell with that. I like it here. Ask it if leaving will make me safe.”
Lucky stared at him. “Are you stupid? Something’s after you! Of course you’re not safe!” God—this guy! Couldn’t he see he needed to get the hell off this island? Lucky thought of something happening to Scout’s lithe body—and happy, sort of dreamy personality—and his balls got cold, they honest to God did.
“Well, ask it!” Scout told him. He was browning meat in a skillet while he spoke, and Lucky thought he had to have some serious skill there to be doing fancy shit for dinner while he was bossing Lucky around.
“Okay, smart guy. Heads, leaving makes you safe. Tails, you’re still in danger.” Flip. “Tails. Fuck. Okay, then. Is Scout in danger because of that thing we found today? That… that whozit. The soul trap. Heads, the soul trap is a danger to Scout, tails it’s something else.”
And the coin hovered in the air again.
