“Yeah, you’re right.” I reached up and pressed my fingers to the lucky pendant I wore. It soothed me a bit, though I really needed to get into my trove full of lucky objects if I wanted to feel one hundred percent better. It was my own version of Valium.
“It’s particularly bad because only evil demons are attracted to the Ubilaz demon’s power,” Claire said. “That means that the worst of the worst are now acting unpredictably and weird.”
Great. Just my luck.
“I have a little time,” Claire added. “I’m obviously not going to turn you in. But you need to freaking fix this.” She looked at Roarke. “Before they bring this to his attention.”
The heart that had just sunk into my stomach rose back into my chest and started thundering. Holy fates, this was a serious rule break in Roarke’s territory, something that he really didn’t like.
Roarke nodded. “So if Del can control her magic and keep the demons from being attracted to her, Orson won’t be able to sense the disturbance in the demon power sphere, is that correct? She’d then fall off the Order’s radar.”
“I think so, yeah,” Claire said.
“Then that’s what we have to do,” Roarke said.
I gave him a small smile. “Okay. So I just have to learn how to control my powers while on the run from demons and the Order. No problem.”
Except I had no freaking clue how to do that. So, big problem. Very big problem.
“I have an idea,” Roarke said. “I have an acquaintance at Cambridge who might be able to help.”
Cass’s brows shot up. “The university in England? The all magic one?”
“They have an elite division of magical scholars whose life’s work is dedicated to mastering the control of various forms of difficult magic.” Roarke’s gaze met mine. “Maybe they could help you.”
“Wow, really?” I asked.
“I’ve never heard of that.” Suspicion laced Nix’s voice.
“No, they’re secretive. The whole university is on lockdown, their various colleges operating independently and often in secret.”
“I thought that was just because the town of Cambridge also has some mortals.”
“It does,” Roarke said. “It’s one of the few mixed cities in the world. But the university is fully magic. That’s one reason they’re so secretive. The other is that they don’t want everyone knowing exactly what they’re up to.”
“Then how do you know what they do, then?” Nix demanded.
Down girl, I wanted to whisper.
Roarke’s expression closed off, as if there was a story he didn’t want to tell. “Through my acquaintance.”
“Then we’ll come with you,” Nix said. “The way these demons keep showing up, Del needs the backup.”
“She does,” Roarke said. “But getting through the university and into my acquaintance’s office is going to be tough. Normally, you need an appointment to enter. We don’t have one. Cambridge is the Fort Knox of knowledge. To get in, we need stealth, not mass numbers.”
“You couldn’t just call your friend to get an appointment?” Nix asked.
“Acquaintance, not friend. And I tried, but he didn’t pick up. I didn’t expect him to, but I wanted to give it a shot.”
“So you’re heading into this Fort Knox with no idea if you’ll even be welcome? To see a guy who’s not even your friend?” Nix asked.
“I’ll do it.” I glared at Nix when she opened her mouth. “I have no control of this magic. And no idea how to even start. This is my best chance.”
Who was I kidding? It was probably my only chance.
Chapter Three
I showered and changed clothes in record time while Roarke grabbed a bite to eat at P & P. I traded my soaked T-shirt for one that I considered to be particularly lucky—a plain black one that I’d been wearing when a black cat had crossed my path. Contrary to some people’s beliefs, black cats were lucky. Especially if they had a long tail. This cat had had a particularly long and glorious tail.
Ever since then, this had been a lucky shirt. One of many, since I made a point to collect them.
For good measure, I popped into my trove and grabbed another lucky pendant. It was a match for the one I was currently wearing—a black pearl that had been enchanted by a tree spirit that I’d met in Iceland a few years ago. Doubling up on pendants meant doubling up on luck, so I clipped it around my neck. It rested next to the other lucky necklace and my comms charm. Maybe it was a bit over the top to wear two lucky necklaces and a lucky shirt, but with what was ahead of me, I figured I was going to need it.
I was probably somewhere on the edge of being a hoarder, but I didn’t figure I was there yet. Though I did try to show some self-control. If I let myself go wild with the lucky charms, I’d probably look like that little kid from the Christmas movie whose mom wrapped him up in the snowsuit and a million scarves. I’d be loaded down with pendants and charms and lucky this’s and that’s.
But for now, I was good.
With one last look at my colorful apartment, I tugged on a black leather jacket and slung my sword sheath over my back. It would have been great to get some potion bombs from Connor, whose mad skills with the cauldron made my fighting life so much easier, but he’d been out at a concert. None of the potions in his workshop were marked, and I sure as heck didn’t want to get them confused. Number one rule in potions—know what you were slinging.
I grabbed the sweater I’d borrowed from Roarke off the back of the couch and barely resisted giving it a sniff to get a lungful of his wonderful scent.
When I got down to the street, Roarke was waiting for me at the car. He leaned against the sleek black body of the vehicle, two coffees clutched in his hands. A thin sweater clung to his muscles, and my heart raced at an embarrassing pace.
I forced my gaze to his and said, “One of those for me?”
“Yep. Espresso, just like you like it.”
“Black as my soul?”
“Precisely.” He grinned.
I loved that he kept up with my jokes. He handed me the coffee. I took it, my fingertips brushing his. He pulled away like I’d burned him, his gaze turning opaque.
Despite the heated looks he sometimes gave me, and our even hotter kiss, he didn’t want to touch me if he could help it.
Frowning, I headed around to the passenger seat, sliding inside and tossing the borrowed sweater on the back seat as Roarke pulled away from the curb.
“So, do you have an Underpath that leads straight to Cambridge?” We’d use the same Underpath entrance we always did—the one in the alley next to Mad Mordecai’s tea shop in the Historic District. But on the other end, I’d love it if we could just pop out right in Cambridge without having to rely on one of his demon chauffeurs. I really didn’t want to see what one would do around me. Would it disobey Roarke’s orders?
“Yes,” Roarke said as he turned into the business district. Traffic was fierce since it was rush hour, and he weaved in and out of the other cars. “There’s an Underpath in a haunted pub.”
“Lots of pubs seem to be exits for your Underworld transpo-network. Why pubs?”