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“Smart man. Well, uh, thanks?” I didn’t quite know how to react. I’d been hiding this for so long and had even thought that I’d need to stop seeing my friends for a while and do the whole “these are new rats” charade again.
Tansy returned with Farah.
“I’m craving a mojito,” Tansy said, getting right to business. “Can you grab all the fixings for that?” She turned to me. “What about you?”
“Mojitos are fine.” I probably didn’t need any more cheapo wine.
Farah thirded the mojitos as well. Then we sat down on the couch, and Eamon left to go shopping. Tansy came and sat next to us.
“Now, from the very beginning,” she said. “Spill it, witch.”
Chapter 25
Sybil
“Congratulationsonfiguringouthow to break the curse, young witch.”
I gawked at the older woman on the screen. It took me a moment to process her words. “You’re Helen’s grandmother?”
“Yep. I’m Dolores, but you can call me Dottie. I still think you’re naïve for trying to help this naga in the first place, but oh well.”
Tansy’s mouth dropped open as she realized we were talking to the very witch who’d originally cursed Zayn’s grandfather. I hadn’t planned on staying at the penthouse for so long, but I didn’t relish going back home, so I’d stayed in another one of the penthouse’s guest rooms last night.
Farah had left in the morning to head back to New York, but only after we exchanged numbers. If I found Zayn, she’d be the first to know, and vice versa. I liked her. She was a good woman.
Tansy and I had been poring over the giant book on curses and blessings when the video call from the unknown number came in. Since I hadn’t gotten any more strange calls after my encounter with Nigel last weekend, I’d picked up.
“I still don’t know how you got that selfish prick to sacrifice something important for you, but I have to warn you that those nagas are tricksters. He might be proclaiming his love for you now, but don’t believe him. I adore my daughter, but spare no love for her father. I bet he told you he loved you, so you’d help him find the answer. It’s a lie.” Dottie slapped her hand down on her table. “Don’t believe it. And whatever you do, don’t sleep with him.”
Yeah, well, too late for that particular bit of advice. But that wasn’t what had me so confused.
“But I didn’t find any answer,” I admitted. “I didn’t break the curse.”
Next to me, Tansy pointed to the section on the page that listed making a personal sacrifice as a possible solution.
“Interesting.” Dottie adjusted her thick plastic tortoiseshell glasses. “So the naga figured it out himself. Where is he now?”
“He’s gone.” I pressed my lips in a firm line.
“Unbelievable. Like father, like son,” the older witch huffed. “He found something important enough to sacrifice for you to break the curse, but he didn’t love you enough to stay. I’m sorry, child. I cursed his grandfather so he wouldn’t break any more witches’ hearts. I didn’t mean to pass the problem on to you.”
“You said he needed to sacrifice something for Sybil,” Tansy said. “Why her?”
“Because she’s a witch and not a naga.” Dottie said it as if it was obvious. “Let it go, girl. It’s for the best he’s gone. You have your whole life ahead of you, and there are plenty of good men out there. Good luck.”
“What the hell did he sacrifice?” I asked aloud when Tansy and I were alone together again. I was worried now. What had the idiot done?
Eamon cleared his throat from the kitchen. “I wonder if it has anything to do with the reports I’ve gotten from the EA about a naga turning himself in.”
I stood and turned to see if he was serious. He was the dictionary definition of smug.
“You knew about this the whole time?”
“You didn’t ask,” he said mildly. Then he took a swig of his beer. “And I wasn’t sure what type of man this Zayn was. If he left you for any other reason, I’d have kept my mouth shut, but it sounds to me like he really did leave you to keep you safe. That was his sacrifice; he sacrificed you for you.”
“All right there, Mr. Poet. Real deep.” I walked around to where Eamon leaned against the counter. “Then I’m guessing they’re holding him. Can you take me to him?”
The EA and the human police both kept Eamon on their roster, and he had more access than I did at the EA. They only called me in for temporary wards.
