by Becca Blake
As soon as he got a look at us, the guard in front turned a shameful shade of scarlet. “Ah—”
“What the hell is going on?” I asked. “Why are you in my house?”
The guard turned his back to us and pulled out his phone. “Everything is clear here at the Collins residence. They’re, uh…” He rubbed his free hand on the back of his neck. “In bed.”
I couldn’t make out any of the words, but the muffled tone of Marcus’s voice was clear enough: he was furious. It was all I could do not to break out into a grin, despite all the stress of the night.
“Both of you get dressed,” our guard said as he slid his phone back into his pocket. He stepped out into the hall and waited beside my doorway to give us privacy, though he’d clearly been instructed not to leave us alone.
I waited until Jacob turned away before grabbing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of fluffy pajama bottoms with pink kittens on them. I hadn’t worn them in years, but they seemed like they’d be a good touch if I wanted to sell that I’d been doing nothing but lounging around the house all evening.
When I turned back around, Jacob had pulled on his black t-shirt and pants.
“You done in there?” the guard called over his shoulder.
“Yeah.” I stepped out into the hallway. “What’s going on? I heard loud noises coming from town. Is everything okay?”
The guard’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t offer an answer to my question. Instead, he gestured for us to follow him downstairs, past the splintered wood of my front door. He didn’t leave our side until Marcus Thorne showed up in my entryway.
For a long stretch, he said nothing. He stood there in silence, searching for any signs of something amiss. He glanced only briefly at his son with a disdainful expression before addressing us both.
“Commander Orion appears to have escaped from his cell.”
“How?” I asked, hoping the surprise in my voice was convincing enough.
“Powerful dark magic.” Marcus strode into my living room, evaluating everything. He ran his fingertips over the curtains and pulled them aside. “We haven’t seen anything like it in Haygrove for a very long time.”
“Orion used dark magic? Are you sure?” I asked.
“The town hall is burning to the ground as we speak. We’re doing our best to recover the security tapes to see what we can find.”
His gaze tore through me as he searched for a reaction, any muscle in my face that so much as twitched while he spoke. I could feel him waiting for me to mess up, to reveal that we’d been there, too.
When I said nothing, he continued. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice the alarms. I’m sure the sound travels this far.”
“We were a little busy,” Jacob said. “Didn’t hear a thing until your guys stormed in and interrupted us.”
Marcus’s mouth twitched as he looked at his son. “I see. So, is this where you’re living now?”
Jacob gave a noncommittal shrug. “I’ve been spending my nights here recently.”
“As much as I love discussing my sex life with my partner’s father, maybe we could save this discussion for the morning?” I said.
“Of course,” Marcus said. “As soon as we’ve had a chance to search your home thoroughly.”
“Why?” I asked. “We had nothing to do with this.”
“He was a very close friend of your family, and we have to be thorough in our investigation.”
“I assume you’ve searched his house as well?” I asked.
“Our team there just finished up. It doesn’t seem like Orion stopped at home, so we’re checking other places he may have been.”
“If Orion stopped here, I wasn’t aware of it. What about our protective detail? Did they see anything?”
“They didn’t see anything tonight, Miss Collins. Not a thing.”
Marcus assumes a lot more than he knows, Celia had said.
How much did he know, and how much had he guessed?
“It doesn’t sound like you have much reason to search my home, honestly. But I have nothing to hide, so do what you have to do,” I said, shrugging. “Just do it quickly. I’m tired, and I’d like to get some sleep tonight.”
He raised his hand, and my house turned blue. The glow bathed everything in light, from the walls to my own body. I lifted my hand and watched it shimmer over my fingers before it faded away, and my living room returned to normal.
“What was that?” I asked.
“A spell that will allow me to see through invisibility,” he said. “As I understand, you’re very proficient in that ability.”
“So I’ve been told.” I crossed my arms and leaned back against the wall.
“Now, let’s have a look so we can make sure you’re not hiding anything.”
Marcus Thorne moved through my home with an authority that made me feel like I was the one who didn’t belong. An entourage of bodyguards followed him from room to room, surrounding him in a protective circle as they aided his search.
I followed behind them, watching as they tore through each room with determined efficiency. He wouldn’t find any evidence of Orion, who I hoped was now safely on his way to Omaha, but I hated the idea of him digging through my belongings unattended.
Marcus paused in my bedroom to glance at the disturbed sheets, then crouched down to check under my bed. He pulled out the clothes I’d been wearing earlier in the night. His forehead creased with concern as he held them up to show me. “It looks like these were taken off in a hurry.”
“Yes. They were,” Jacob said dryly.
If nothing else, I appreciated his dedication to our alibi.
At that, Marcus’s face contorted in a distasteful sneer, and he dropped my clothes on the floor without taking the time to examine them more closely. If he had, he may have found dirt or even recent bloodstains that would have been more difficult to explain away.
He made his way around the bed and picked up the weapon harness Jacob hung on my headboard. His frown deepened. “Your second holster seems to be empty.”
“I must’ve left the other gun at my place,” Jacob said coolly. “It’s not like I really need it while we’re off duty, anyway.”
“I suppose not.” Marcus hung it on the bedpost and began pacing around the bedroom once more.
“Are you satisfied?” I asked. “Like I said, Orion’s not here. I haven’t seen him since his trial. Now, if you’re done interrupting my night, I’d like to get back to sleep.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’re both very eager to return to bed.” He stopped in front of Jacob on his way out of my room. “This isn’t what I was expecting when we assigned her as your partner. I suppose it’s a good thing to have a partner you get along with so intimately.”
Just hearing that word from Marcus Thorne’s lips made me shudder.
He did a final sweep of the downstairs and paused once more in the kitchen. He’d already searched everything, but something new seemed to have caught his eye.
As he made his way over to the window, the breath caught in my throat.
He ran a finger across the disturbed line of dust on the windowsill. With the grey coating on his fingertip, he spun around to face us. “Were you aware your window was open?”
At a loss for words, I simply shook my head.
“I’d suggest keeping it closed this time of year. You’ll let out the warm air from inside.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I managed.
He wiped his finger off on the ruffled blue curtain above the window, then handed us a small piece of paper. The business card was plain white except for Marcus’s name and phone number in simple black text.
I tried not to laugh at the absurdity of his own son needing a business card to contact him, though I supposed it was just for show. That was all this search had been, really. He knew we were involv
ed in Orion’s escape somehow—he just hadn’t figured out the details yet.
“If you learn anything about Orion’s whereabouts, please give me a call. I’ll see you both at your trial later this week. If you’re able to give us useful information to help us catch him, I’m confident I’ll be able to clear your names.”
Once he and the others left, I let out a shaky sigh. “I hate that asshole.”
“Believe me, you’re not the only one.” Though it wasn’t directed at me this time, the anger on Jacob’s face reminded me of the day we first met, when he slammed me against the wall and tore into me for saving his life.
The sudden reminder chilled any warmth I’d been feeling toward him.
“You should get to sleep,” I said, nodding toward the couch. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
I hurried away before he had a chance to respond. On my way back upstairs, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my pajamas, and I pulled it out.
Enchantment done. Meet me tomorrow at the lab.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day, our protective detail tailed us through town as Jacob and I stopped at the cafe for breakfast. After we ate, we headed to the training center for a sparring session. It helped to pretend it was a normal morning, and not just for the sake of the men following us around. Staying busy was a good distraction, one I needed badly.
Though Orion should have made it to Omaha hours ago, I hadn’t heard anything from him. I tried to tell myself that if hunters had found him, Marcus would have stopped by to gloat by now. Still, I couldn’t help but worry that his silence meant something was wrong, and I hoped he would reach out soon.
I also couldn’t stop thinking about how empty my bed felt after Jacob and I parted ways for the evening. His body had been so warm against mine in the brief time we’d lain beside each other, and I didn’t want to admit to myself how much I had wanted to invite him back upstairs.
There were a million reasons why that was a terrible idea, but that didn’t stop me from spending the rest of the night staring at the ceiling as I thought about him.
“Are you alright?” Jacob asked after he landed another hit on my arm.
Realizing I’d let my thoughts wander yet again, I rubbed the spot where he hit me with the training sword.
“I’m fine,” I muttered. “Just thinking about last night.”
He lowered his voice and turned his back on the guards, who were still watching us from across the gym. “If it’s about us climbing into bed together, don’t worry about it. I know you were only doing what needed to be done. It was a good idea.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Thinking about last night could have meant a lot of things, and I wasn’t sure how he knew exactly which part of the evening I had on my mind. Maybe he’d been thinking about it, too.
“I don’t think this training session has been very productive.” I readjusted my ponytail and wiped the sweat from my brow. “We should call it here. I have another stop to make before we head back to my place.”
“Whatever you say.”
We left our training swords in the weapon rack and grabbed our bags. Our next stop was the alchemy lab, and I’d been dreading it all morning. The enchantment was the last thing keeping us in town. Daunting as it was to leave Haygrove behind, delaying the inevitable would only make things worse.
The guards followed us inside the alchemy lab, as they had at every other stop we’d made. Jacob sat down in the waiting room while I checked in with Judy at the front counter. As she buzzed the door open for me, one of the guards moved to follow.
“Hold it,” Judy said. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No,” he said. “But I can’t let her out of my sight.”
“Sorry—only one person can go back at a time.” Judy pulled up a game on her screen and leaned back in her chair.
“Orders from Marcus Thorne—” the guard began, but Judy cut him off.
“I don’t care who the orders are from. Dr. Moran takes his work very seriously, and he doesn’t tolerate distractions. The rules apply to everyone,” she said. “I got in enough trouble last time I let someone back when I wasn’t supposed to. You stay out here.”
I hadn’t liked Judy much the first time I came to the alchemy lab, but I had to admit—she was growing on me.
“I won’t be long,” I assured him. “Just picking up a dagger, so I’ll be right back out.”
He opened his mouth as though he might argue, but after another sharp, no-nonsense look from Judy, he slunk off into the waiting room with Jacob.
Judy buzzed the door shut behind me, and I walked down the hall to Ed’s study. He opened the door before my knuckles touched the wood.
“Riley Collins!” The alchemist greeted me with a huge smile, like I was an old friend he was thrilled to see after a long time away. He took my hand and pulled me into the cluttered study. “Come in, come in.”
I stepped around piles of papers and supplies and made my way to the table at the center of the room. He scurried around me and pulled out a box from a shelf below.
He opened it up and carefully pulled out a necklace. Its thick, clunky chain held a gold sphere with an emerald the size of a walnut set in the center. It was such a small piece of the emerald I’d given him, but the bright green was unmistakable.
“I had to do a ton of research for this,” he said, his words pouring out almost too quickly for me to follow. “Haven’t slept in days. I found a similar enchantment that was made in the past. Hardly functional, not optimal. But I was able to make adjustments to the formula and put it on this amulet for you.”
I ran a finger along the gold edges on the necklace. It reacted immediately to my touch, emitting a green glow that scorched my fingers. I gasped as I yanked my hand away, embarrassed that I’d forgotten one of the most important rules of demon hunting: don’t touch the mysterious magic thing.
“Careful!” Ed snatched the necklace away from me, gripping it by the chain. “Don’t touch the emerald until you’re ready to activate it.”
I looked at the red mark on my finger. “Will it burn like that when we use it?”
“Yes,” he said with a casual shrug, as though the burn on my finger was nothing.
I shook my hand, trying to distract myself from the pain throbbing in my fingertip. “Okay, so what exactly does this do for us? How does it work?”
“Five hundred feet. No opening portals or shifting through planes. Nothing in or out. Though, I suppose there’s nothing stopping anything inside from simply walking out, but hopefully you have a plan for that. Might be a problem. Sorry—time was limited, and I can only do so much.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, reaching for the amulet again. “This is great. How long will it last?”
“A hundred twenty minutes.” He looked down at his notebook, frowned, and jotted down numbers, double-checking strange math I couldn’t hope to understand. “Or maybe twelve. Not sure. Hard to say.”
I blinked a few times before I could manage a response. “The best guess you can give me is either two hours or twelve minutes? That’s a pretty significant difference, don’t you think?”
“One hundred and eight minutes is extremely insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe, you know.”
I gaped at him. He had to be kidding. Had to be.
“Alchemy is an art, not a science,” he said. “Well, mostly magic with sprinkles of science. It’s kind of unpredictable. This is the best I can do. Take it or leave it.” He dropped the amulet into a pouch and held it out for me.
I had no choice but to take it.
“And you’re sure this will work?” I asked.
“Yes, of course. It may need moonlight to work, since the emerald draws its power from the moon. I wasn’t able to test that.”
I rubbed my eyes. “Is there anything else
I should know before we use this? It won’t explode and kill us unless we recite a crazy incantation or something?”
“No. Probably not.” At my exasperated glare, he chuckled. “Art, not science. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“That’s really encouraging,” I grumbled as I stuffed the pouch into my bag.
“Ah—one more thing.” He held out a cloth wrapped around a long, thin object. “The dagger you came for.”
“Thank you for doing this,” I said. Despite Ed’s uncertainty about how the amulet would actually work, I meant it. He’d taken a big risk by doing this for us, and I wouldn’t forget it.
“Don’t mention it,” he said, waving a hand. “It was my pleasure. Though, it has set me terribly behind schedule.”
I saw myself out and met up with Jacob in the lobby. I found him leaning over the counter at the reception desk, chatting with Judy.
“Got it,” I said. I removed the fabric that was wrapped around the dagger and held it up to show him, making sure it was clearly in the guards’ view.
“Let’s head back to your place, then,” Jacob said.
As soon as we were outside, one of the guards seized me by the shoulder and spun me around. “Hand it over.”
“What?” I asked, pulling away from him.
“The dagger.” He held out his hand. “Marcus wants it.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
I gripped the hilt tightly, as though I was hesitant to give it to him. “Will I get it back?”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know. All I know is that he told me to bring your dagger to him if you picked it up. Are you going to give me trouble?”
“No.” As I passed it over to him, I made a mental note to thank Ed again for being so thorough.
We left the alchemy lab and took the long route home, back through the main stretch of Haygrove. We still had plenty of time before nightfall, and part of me felt like I needed to say goodbye to my childhood home, the town I’d lived in my entire life and might never see again.
Though, I was also curious to see what remained of the town hall.
