Seretis sat in the front of Pellini’s truck for the drive to Tessa’s. Despite the scorching heat and auto fumes, he kept the window rolled down, at times leaning out with the same delight I imagined Sammy held for the activity. His demonic lord aura and Spanish-soap-opera good looks drew more than a few interested stares, but if any traffic accidents ensued because of the spectacle I was unaware of them.
Bryce drove right by the house without slowing, doubled back after another block, then once again continued past it before returning to pull into the driveway and kill the engine. Eilahn parked her motorcycle beside us, then leaped into the branches of an oak in order to act as lookout. After we exited the truck, Seretis made a slow turn to take in the neighborhood then looked over Tessa’s house to assess the warding.
“Formidable,” he said after a moment.
“Do you think you can undo it all?” I asked, fidgeting as my stomach rumbled.
One side of his mouth kicked up in a smile. “I can.”
“Good, because right now I’m craving waffles.”
He let out a low chuckle and moved closer to the house. “Here, I will unweave the aversions.” He made a few subtle gestures with one hand. “Better?”
“No more desire for waffles!” I announced with a smile. “I mean, no more than usual.” It was too bad Seretis had such a short time to spend on Earth. I very much wanted to see his reaction to the Lake O’ Butter pancake house.
Seretis continued forward while Bryce trailed him by a few steps and kept watch for potential interference from unfriendlies. I remained several feet back to be certain I wouldn’t get zapped, sort of like following someone clearing a minefield. Fortunately we had a kickass minesweeper, and it took less than a minute for us to reach the porch.
Seretis’s lips twitched in amusement at the cheery Welcome! sign on her door. “Tessa most assuredly did not want visitors.” He scrutinized the warding then made a single sweeping gesture with one hand, in a single second destroying defenses that took many hours to lay. “There are alarm sigils placed throughout the protections, but I am disabling those as we proceed.” He opened the door, stepped in and took stock. “The only way Tessa Pazhel will know the warding has been stripped is by direct observation.”
I nudged Bryce with my elbow. “Your friend comes in real handy.”
“Yeah, he’s all right,” he said then gave an exaggerated sigh. “Now if I could just get him to stop dressing like a complete dork.”
Idris shot Bryce a startled look, but Seretis laughed. “You envy my panache.”
It took no time at all for Seretis to clear the hallway and continue on to the library. The door was ajar, but I knew it bristled with wards that rendered the physical lock little more than ornamental.
I snapped my attention toward a scrape of noise from the back of the house and drew my gun as Bryce did the same. I caught his eye and angled my head toward the sound in a We’ll check it together motion. Yet before we were halfway down the hall, Carl stepped out of the kitchen with a wrench in his hand and a tool belt around his waist.
“Kara?” His eyes went to the people with me, especially Bryce who remained alert and ready with his gun trained on Carl.
I lowered my gun. “He’s cool, Bryce.” I leveled a wry smile at Carl. “I’ve almost shot you in this house a few too many times. What are you doing here?”
“Fixing a plumbing leak,” he said with a vague gesture toward the kitchen. “Noticed the dripping last night.”
Bryce and I holstered guns, and I made quick introductions. Bryce and Idris were easy ones, but Seretis was a different matter. “Um, this is a friend from out of town. Larry,” I said, seizing the first name that came to mind. “He’s another arcane practitioner.”
Carl wasn’t looking in Bryce’s direction, or he’d have seen the eye roll followed by the incredulous Seriously? expression Bryce gave me. Even Seretis flicked a quizzical glance my way, but fortunately Carl didn’t notice. He offered a faint smile. “Welcome to Beaulac, Larry.”
“Thanks for fixing the leak,” I hurried to say before Carl could ask any questions to which I could give more dumb answers. “We’re doing a little, um, arcane maintenance.”
“Sure thing,” he said. “Should I leave?”
I gave the others a questioning look, but everyone seemed content to follow my lead as far as whether to trust Carl. I wasn’t sure if Seretis could read the arcane-immune Carl but, either way, the demonic lord didn’t appear bothered by him. Whew. Felt good to have another potential ally in all this shit.
“We’ll be working mainly in the library and attic,” I told Carl. “I’m sure we can stay out of each other’s way.”
“Good deal,” he said then returned to the kitchen.
Seretis made short work of shredding the wards protecting the library. We all filed in, and Idris went straight to work on the valve. Bryce let out a low whistle as he took in the horrific majesty of my aunt’s library. Shelves covered every vertical surface, all crammed with books, scrolls and papers. Books lay in tumbled disarray on the floor and in precariously balanced stacks on the heavy oak table. A crystal chandelier fit for a ballroom hung in the center of the room.