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“I can tell you want to help me,” I said. “If you didn’t, I’d have focused my energy on breaking whatever spell you put me under instead of finding the killer. Then I could just out you and move on with my life.”
“No, you wouldn’t. You want this more than you want the alibi.”
That was true. This was personal. But it still didn’t excuse Elias’s evasion of my questions. I still couldn’t figure out what the hell he was. I was leaning toward mage with powers he probably shouldn’t have, but I wasn’t sure.
When he pulled into the parking lot of my apartment, a weight had settled into my stomach. I didn’t want to go back there, into that place of death.
“You okay?” Elias asked.
“No,” I admitted.
“Want me to go with you?” he asked.
“No.” I removed my seatbelt. “I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond before I opened the door and darted out of the car. Aside from my knife, there was one other possession I owned that was magical. I was kicking myself for not grabbing it when I first left.
With any luck, it was still there. If it wasn’t this whole plan was about to backfire before I even started it.
I raced up the steps, two at a time. Winded, I emerged onto my floor. The door to my apartment was closed and there wasn’t any haze from my neighbor yet. It was probably too early for him to have started his parties.
My hands were shaking and my chest felt tight as I approached my apartment. I didn’t want to open that door and see the destruction, but I had no choice. Lola had died for the stone. The least I could do was try to protect it on her behalf. It made me feel like I could honor her memory, just a little bit. Especially since she chose me for the job. It wasn’t something I’d planned for, but I’d follow through.
I turned the handle, the door opened. I hadn’t bothered locking up when I left. Everything was just as it was. Destruction and the lingering tingle of magic.
Taking a quick breath in, I closed off my senses, and kept my eyes forward. In and out. I was here for one thing.
I jumped over debris and sped to my room as fast as I could. All my drawers were removed from my dresser, their contents strewn around the floor. I started digging through the mess, searching for the tiny blue jewelry box.
Minutes ticked by, feeling like eternity as I continued to toss things aside, desperate to find the item.
Finally, I spotted it. But the box was open, the contents missing.Fuck me.Nothing could go the easy way, could it? I tossed clothes and set aside my broken guitar.
Please be here.
Finally, a glint of gold caught my eye. My pulse raced in anticipation and I used my foot to move a hoodie that was partially covering the item.
My shoulders relaxed as relief spread. I’d found it. Quickly, I picked up the gold locket. The chain was still in one piece, the clasp unbroken. Finally, something went right.
Carefully, I opened the magical locket, then dug the stone out of my pocket. As soon as I set the stone on top of the open locket, it was as if the heart shaped metal swallowed the rock hole, the moon stone shrinking to the size of a bead. I shut the locket then closed my fingers around it.
It was a valuable, amazing piece of magic. But it was also the only gift I had from my mom.
On my sixteenth birthday, my dad gave me the locket. He’d explained that it belonged to my mother and told me about it’s magic. He said she always planned to pass it on if she’d had a daughter.
I’d never used it once. I’d never even worn it. It seemed too special to touch. In my fear to have anything happen to it, I’d mostly forgotten about it to the point where I almost left it here.
What did that say about me? The only item that I had connecting me to my mom, nearly forgotten.
My throat tightened. When this was over, I wasn’t going to keep the necklace locked up anymore. I’d wear it with pride.
If I survived this thing, that was.
I clasped it around my neck. It was the first time I’d ever worn it. Tears prickled at the back of my eyes. I’d lost so much during my life. But I was still alive and I had to keep moving. That’s what my dad always said when I asked about my mom. She wanted me to live.
I took one last breath and swallowed hard, clearing the emotions from my mind. There was no way I was going to explain any of this to Elias. I tucked the charm under my shirt then left the apartment.
“Got what you needed?” he asked as I slid into the passenger seat.
