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Pocus nods. “Yes, my friend. I have reinstated you as my VP. And together, we’ll overcome this. We always do.” Pocus pauses, his brows deepening with a thoughtful frown. “Do you think this has anything to do with the spell Tory used on you? Maybe like some sort of side effect?”
“I have thought about that and even read up on the Azharus spell. According to the book, its effects are more on the one who uses the spell than on the one on whom it was used. This whole gimmick has Edward written all over it. I think he might have found a way to steal the sight from me.”
“Is that even possible?” Pocus asks, his expression bewildered. “I thought the current seer had to die for the gift of sight to be passed on.”
“That’s true, or at least I thought it was. But almost anything is possible with dark enough magic.”
“This is just another reason we have to find Edward. Before he goes too far.”
Which is exactly what I’m afraid of…
CHAPTERTWELVE
Alligators are such fascinating creatures. But what’s even more fascinating is having an entire lake of them behind your house. Gator once told me that the alligators were his immediate family. He calls each of them by their names. The man never seems happier than when he’s talking about alligators.
Since arriving, I’ve discovered that the clubhouse is a collection of different oddballs, each mysterious and oddly charming in its own way. I never expected to have much to do with anyone other than Seer, the man I came to help. The clubhouse members have proved good people, friendly and respectful, despite their harsh exteriors. Abigail, especially, seems to be on a mission to draw me out of my shell. She’s constantly trying to include me in activities involving everyone, and not as subtly as she thinks.
I like it if I’m honest with myself. But liking it doesn’t make it easier to comply.
Hex has become something of a friend — the notion is still so novel that I have to consciously remind myself of it. The truth, though, is that these people are all growing on me, and I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.
This is not my place… And the time definitely has come for me to leave.
It’s been three days since I sent word to Mama, but I haven’t heard as much as a whisper from her.
No news is good news, right?
Once again, I can’t help but wonder at the good sense behind my actions. As far as I can tell, the spell worked. But the risks had been great. When I sent my message to Mama, I’d been tempted to lie about the methods I used to heal Seer. In the end, I’d told the truth. But would she approve? And if she doesn’t approve… my future hangs in the balance.
“Here you are.”
I turn around to see Seer walking toward me. He looks good in loose joggers and a black fitted tee that emphasizes the lean muscles of his arms. Unlike Pocus and most of the other members of the clubhouse, Seer is not a big man. Rather, he’s of average build, standing above me by just a few inches. To me, he’s the most handsome, with his dazzling blue eyes and long, black dreadlocks that are now packed up in a ponytail. Seeing him up and about like this, it’s getting harder to remember him lying lifeless on that bed. He looks so… full of life. And that alone makes it worth whatever consequences I have to bear–almost.
“We were getting worried,” Seer says, stopping by my side. His eyes seem to shine even brighter with the little smile on his face. “I didn’t know that you had an affinity for alligators.”
I smile as I watch a small female gator playfully nudge a much bigger male one with its colossal head, trying to get its attention. The male gator looks bored but rolls its little beady eyes in search of the female one whenever she stops her playful nudging.
I glance briefly at Seer before pointing toward the two peculiar reptiles that have kept my attention for a good amount of time. “Look at those two. They’ve been at it for a while now. It’s like unrequited love, don’t you think? The helplessly hopeless one in which one keeps trying to quit, but the other party won’t just let you go. They let you close enough to keep wanting them but far away enough not to have them. It’s a lot of heartaches, but look at that little one lapping up every bit of the attention he’s getting. It’s complicated and amusing at the same time. What do you think?”
Seer blinks rapidly at me, his dazzling blue eyes registering confusion and then amusement. “I… uh… Don’t know much about love.” He shrugs at me with a bashful smile. “Especially not between alligators.”
I laugh. “I’m sorry,” I say, flashing him an apologetic smile. “The alligator love story was so unnecessary. I just kinda get lost when I’m focused on a subject. Self-absorption is one sign of autism.”
“You’re autistic?” He sounds more curious than surprised.
“Only slightly,” I mutter, ducking my head. I clamp down on my lips, properly mortified. I don’t know why I blurted out that information. I usually don’t talk about my autism to people. I just let them go on thinking that I’m eccentric or whatever adjective they feel inclined to qualify me with. But with Seer, I want to explain myself.That’s never happened to me.
“You know,” Seer says slowly. “Now that I think about it, the little Mama seems pitiful. I say she turns around and sees the scaly brown dude who’s been checking her out the whole time.”
I blink up at him in surprise. “What?”
Seer points to the lake, and a huge, dirt-brown alligator has its gaze fixated on the green female gator. I bark out a surprised laugh, shaking my head at Seer. Somehow, he’d made me go from embarrassed to amused in seconds and so smoothly.
Seer smiles down at me, his eyes twinkling with amusement and something else–an evasive emotion I wish I could identify before it disappeared. I can feel myself drowning in the fascinating pool of his eyes once more. Their endless blue depths make me think of the serenity of the sea before the storm.
“You’re prettier when you laugh, mademoiselle,” Seer says, his voice breaking into my one-way thoughts. His mouth is curled up in a light teasing smile, but his eyes seem to hold a staggering intensity that is, once again, gone in a flash. “You make me want to crack dumb jokes.”
I chuckle lightly, shaking my head. “I see what you did there,” I say, returning my attention to the lake before us.
