“‘Course you do. All supernaturals have secrets. Like I said, I’d keep yours.” He bent down farther as if he really might kiss me.
Sense snapped back into me. I was about to kiss him while talking about secrets? My secrets could kill not only me, but my deirfiúr as well. It hit me exactly what was at stake here. My family. Even my friends. I didn’t know how much those demons knew about my past or what it all meant, but they threatened everything I loved. Aidan knowing about my past threatened everything I loved. And it might be a threat to him as well. He’d be required to report us or face punishment himself. And we really needed to get a move on with finding the guy who’d stolen the cup.
I ducked away from him and slipped out of the bathroom.
“Thanks for healing my back,” I said as I ran into the bedroom. “I’ll meet you downstairs in a sec.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
As soon as I shut the door to my room, I remembered that I was filthy. Aidan might have gotten rid of the glass and closed the worst of my cuts, but I was still covered in blood and sweat. It itched like mad. Impatiently, I waited at my bedroom door, listening for him to leave.
When the apartment door finally opened and closed, I slipped out and went to the bathroom.
The floor was clean. He’d gotten rid of all the glass.
Hmm. He might be a threat to my safety, but cleaning the glass off my bathroom floor was pretty cool.
Ugh. I really needed to stop thinking about why he was cool. I raced through a quick shower, then threw on clothes. When it came time to put on my daggers, my shoulders slumped. My obsidian set was gone.
Damn. I’d really liked that pair.
I grabbed the copper-hilt daggers that I’d been using. After strapping on the dagger sheaths, I tugged on boots and grabbed a jacket, then ran out the door. I took the stairs two at a time, knocking on Nix’s door and then Del’s. They came out onto their landings by the time I was at the bottom.
“Ready?” I called.
“Yeah,” said Nix. “Meet you on the street.”
I went out. The morning had turned dark and dreary as rain clouds rolled over the sun. That seemed about right, since things were definitely taking a darker turn.
Aidan stood in front of my shop, talking on the phone. He nodded once, then hung up a second later. The repair guys had finished putting up the plywood and were enchanting the entire front of the shop. Blue light glowed from their hands as they ran them over the edges of the plywood.
“This holds up against pretty much any incursion,” Aidan said. “You or your friends will be the only ones who can enter.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Footsteps sounded behind me, and I turned to see Del and Nix coming.
When they reached us, Del stuck her hand out at Aidan. “I’m Del. Didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. Thanks for healing me.”
Aidan took her hand. “No problem.”
“We’re coming with you to find the thief,” Nix said.
“We can take care of it,” Aidan said.
“It’s personal now,” Del said. “We don’t take kindly to people stealing from our shop.”
“Fair enough.” Aidan reached into his pocket and pulled out the glass ball. He handed it to me.
“Thanks.” I might not need it anymore since the Magica we sought now had the Chalice of Youth, which I’d been able to find once before, but I’d take any help I could get.
I held the ball close to my chest. Mordaca’s magic seethed within the glass, reaching out and twining with mine. The scent of cigar smoke and the taste of whiskey flooded my senses, but the dark feel of her magic didn’t make me nervous anymore. The tracking charm had worked once before, and I knew her magic wasn’t actually evil.
I envisioned the Magica I was searching for, adding the chalice for good measure, and waited for the familiar thread to wrap around my waist and pull me.
Instead, I got a general sense of the world map, with emphasis on Scotland. Damn, he’d gone so far.
I lowered the glass ball. “He’s on the west coast of Scotland. Near the Isle of Skye. Once we get there, I can get a better read on him.” I looked hopefully at Del. “Do you have enough juice to transport us?”
She frowned and shook her head. “Sorry. The trip from Nicaragua was a long one. I’m burned out for at least a day, possibly two.”
“It’s fine,” Aidan said. “I ordered that the jet be returned to Magic’s Bend last night. It should be fueled by now. I’ll call.”
Del looked at me and mouthed, “He has a jet?”
I just shrugged. It was ridiculous that he owned a jet. Who really needed their own jet? But honestly, it was coming in really handy. Any delay in retrieving the scroll was bad, but I’d accepted that if someone had read the scroll, we’d have to kill them.
“We can take my car,” Aidan said as he dialed his phone.