AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After a few minutes of looking around, she strode toward a Ford that looked decades old and more than a little worse for wear. She pressed her fingers against the lock, and her magic rose. Within seconds, the doors clicked open.
I walked around to the passenger side. “Did you choose this one because it’s unlikely to belong to a councilor?”
“I’ll have you know this car is a classic Ford Fairmont and would be worth a pretty penny if it was in decent condition.” She leaned into the car and, a heartbeat later, the trunk popped open. “Best you get in the back until we’re clear.”
I eyed the rear dubiously. “Is that really necessary?”
“You’re not claustrophobic, are you?”
“No, but—”
“Then in the back you get. Whoever is out there has had plenty of opportunity to arrange a little surprise for us, so let’s try and spoil their fun.”
“What’s the point of me hiding when your unusual coloring will always make you stand out in a crowd?”
“I always travel with a fabulous hat to cover the glorious hair, and the jacket is reversible.” Mischief twinkled in her eyes. “It only takes subtle changes to go from standing out to background material, especially when there’s Sarr blood in your background.”
“Experience speaking there?”
“Indeedy. That line I mentioned was really only fine because we never actually got caught doing the dodgier stuff.”
I laughed. “Which makes me even more curious as to what you and Samuel got up to when you were younger.”
“Get me drunk enough one night, and I might just tell you.” She motioned to the trunk again. “Now, in.”
I sighed and obeyed. One good thing about these old cars was their sheer size, which not only gave you plenty of room in the cabin, but also in the trunk. It was almost big enough to party in.
Once I was as comfortable as I was ever likely to get, Saska slammed the lid down and, a few seconds later, started the car. I did expect her to stop and let me out at some point, but she didn’t, and we arrived at Hattie’s twenty long minutes later.
The minute Saska popped the trunk open, I scrambled out, then tugged my hood up. Melbourne’s shitty and changeable spring weather appeared to have followed me up to Canberra, because it was damn well raining again.
Maybe the weather gods are simply trying to make us feel more at home, Belle said, amusement evident. Eli said to ask Saska if she’s coming in for something to eat.
I repeated the question, and she nodded.
“I’ll tuck this beast undercover first, though, then do a check of the grounds and buildings to ensure nothing is amiss.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Isn’t that the reason we have the null guards? To ensure nothing is amiss?”
“Yes, but I prefer to double check. Always better to be safe than sorry. Found that out the hard way.”
She jumped back into the Ford and drove toward the large parking garage. I walked up the steps and made my way through the house to the kitchen. Belle was on the phone—to Monty, if her expression and happy thoughts were anything to go by—and Eli was pulling a quiche out of the oven.
I drew in a deep breath and sighed happily. “That smells divine.”
“It’s a potato crust bacon and onion quiche,” he said. “One of Ashworth’s favorites.”
I looked around but couldn’t see him. “Speaking of, where is he? I half expected him to start gushing all over me about the possibility of becoming a granddad the minute I walked in.”
Eli laughed. “I think he’s reserving that until we know for sure it’s happening. He’s in the study, doing some research on wraiths.”
I walked over to the coffee machine. After quickly skimming the rather large selection of pods, I picked out a caramel cookie one. I had a bad feeling a pot of tea wasn’t going to give me the energy boost I’d soon need.
“Any reason why? We already know how to kill it.”
Eli shrugged. “He said he had a vague memory of someone once saying there was a way to track the bastards using the energy of their aura.”
I shoved the pod into the machine and placed the cup in position. “Wraiths are technically dead, so they wouldn’t have an aura. Zombies don’t.”
