Her mouth opened. Then shut. She said faintly, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Do not fret about me. Pick up the kids and enjoy your day, and I will see you later, if that is acceptable. May I use your computer while you bathe?”
“Of course,” she said, smiling at him. Her multicolored eyes glowed in the morning light. She looked so beautiful in that moment, unself-conscious in her nudity. The sheet was tangled around her legs, her hair stood up in feathery tufts, and her face was marked with sleeplessness, but this time she was not, by any means, pale. Her smile turned into a grin. “Do you know, I think that ‘thank-you’ sailed totally past you this time.”
He cocked his head as he considered her words. “Indeed.”
He kissed her fast and paused just long enough to watch pleasure bloom in her expression before he created clothing for himself, another pair of jeans and a black T-shirt this time, and he strode downstairs. It didn’t take him very long to find out where Therese lived. He checked Grace’s babysitting roster, memorized Therese’s phone number and used a reverse phone lookup to get her address.
He turned off Grace’s computer, then he dematerialized and streamed out of the house. Once outside, the sun was so bright and hot, he drifted for a while and basked as he soaked up the plentiful nourishment. When he felt quite energized again, he went in search of a certain nosy human.
A human who disrespected the bargain she had struck with his human. His lover, his Grace.
And if there was one thing Khalil hated, it was when someone disrespected or reneged on a bargain.
Therese lived in a modest-sized house with a fenced-in backyard, in a neighborhood with tree-lined streets. Khalil wasn’t very familiar with Louisville, but he did recognize in the distance one of the famous spires from the Churchill Downs racetrack. He surveyed the house and immediate area from above as he floated down. The driveway was empty. Therese appeared to be gone. Her house winked with flecks of Power.
It was as unwise to rush into a place filled with unknown magic as it was to rush into a place filled with unknown wards. Either Therese was a competent witch, or she knew someone who was, because all of the entrances to her house were spelled, front and back doors, her windows, even the chimney.
He studied the spells thoughtfully. They seemed like they might be sensitive enough to be triggered by his presence. He didn’t think they would hurt him so much as alert someone if he triggered them.
He was interested to know who they might alert. He was even more interested in the fact that the spells felt bright and shining, like newly minted coins. Why would Therese recently feel the need to spell her windows, doors and even her chimney?
Perhaps Khalil had not made a favorable impression on her when they met.
He lowered down and slowly circled the house from a few feet away at the ground level. The house was not so new. However, both it and the detached garage were nicely maintained, and the flowers and shrubbery in the yard were quite charming and well tended.
There. A small vent for a clothes dryer protruded from the exterior wall, a few feet above the ground. It was covered with a grill and an aluminum flap, but those barriers did not matter in the slightest to him. The vent was not covered with a spell. He thought perhaps someone should tell Therese about that.
He attenuated his presence and flowed into the vent, through the dryer, and materialized in a small laundry room. There were no living presences in the house, so he strolled out of the laundry room and found himself in a kitchen filled with a great many things.
The walls were covered with hangings and framed pictures. There was a rooster clock and a smiling creature made of cloth with denim clothes and straw for hair and button eyes. There were cartoon cows interspersed throughout. A red-and-white checked cloth covered the table where two small ceramic chickens sat, one with the letter S and the other with the letter P. A pink jar fashioned like a pig sat on the counter. The word COOKIES was printed on its round belly.
Really, he did not understand the pig thing.
The jar had a lid shaped like a puffy white hat. He lifted the lid and looked inside. It was, indeed, filled with cookies. How logical. He took one, sniffed it and tried a cautious bite. It was brown, sweet, and had a spicy kick.