“For how long, do you know?”
“It’s hard to say. Oscar has a different metabolism than we do, obviously. But now that I’m putting this all together, I realize this might not be about Sailor at all. It’s more likely about you. Tristan tracked you down for a reason.”
“But I don’t understand—why would Tristan show up like this, after all this time?”
“According to what I heard, Tristan betrayed you—and his own mother, for that matter. Before you were completely healed, he tried to strike his own deal with one of the demons, and gave up your hiding place. I’m guessing you stole something from him before you ran, perhaps something he had promised to deliver to the demon.”
“Why would it take him so long to follow me here to claim it?”
“I believe it took him this long to become strong enough to go up against his old rival.”
“You.”
He nodded. “It’s also possible Renee’s been putting out feelers for a male counterpart, so he decided it was time to make a move if he could secure her backing.”
“So, you say I cried when I was there, with my father? Tristan’s spirit said something about the ‘tears of the daughter’. Should I suppose that was my lachrymatory?”
“It seems possible. Imagine what Renee could do with the salt of your tears.”
“But why wouldn’t I be able to cry now? I always thought it was a witchy thing.”
“I think it’s part of your coping mechanism, an inability to accept those memories, to delve that deeply into your own psyche. The same reason you’ve suppressed the memories.”
“Who’s New Agey now?”
He chuckled.
“Okay, let’s recap,” I said, and took a deep drink of wine. “Tristan comes to San Francisco from Germany to work with Renee, demands his bēag from me, then winds up dead at the hands of a doppelg?nger who looks like Sailor. But the doppelg?nger must not work for Renee, because she wanted to ally herself with Tristan to go up against you and me, to form her own version of the coincidentia oppositorum. So who would want to ruin Renee’s plans? Besides you and me, obviously.”
“We’re not the only ones in the magical community, Lily. I’ve got feelers out, but no useful information yet. Still, a man like Tristan might have other enemies.”
“Let’s start there. What more can you tell me about him?”
“As I said, he’s worked on the fringes for a long time. Known for betraying most of the people he’s worked with, eventually.”
“So maybe it’s someone from his past, come to settle a score.”
“Maybe.” Aidan sipped his wine.
“Or . . . Tristan never seemed like prime material for the coincidentia oppositorum, did he? I mean, he seems more like an underling, a guy who gets used. Maybe Renee gave him false hope because she knew he’d get the lachrymatory for her.”
“It’s possible. But does that tell us anything?”
“I’m not sure. . . .” Something didn’t seem quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I leaned back in my chair. The paella was scrumptious, but despite my earlier hunger I didn’t have much of an appetite. Aidan, in contrast, had finished his healthy portion and was now slathering butter on fresh sourdough bread, apparently relishing every bite.
“Who was the woman?” I asked.
“What woman?”
“You said you took over your responsibilities with the San Francisco magical community from a woman. She wasn’t . . . That wasn’t Renee, was it?”
He gave me a disgusted look. “Of course not.”
“Then who?”
“Calypso Cafaro.”
“Are you serious?” That shocked me. “I thought you and Calypso were . . . or that you had been . . . together?”
He gave me a slight smile. “‘Together’?”
“As in boyfriend, girlfriend . . . I don’t know what gave me that impression.”
“You’re right, of course. We were the coincidentia oppositorum, for a little while, anyway.”
“Does coincidentia oppositorum imply a romantic attachment?”
“Not necessarily, but it doesn’t hurt.”
“Wait just a gol-durned second. How come you’re going on and on about my romance with Sailor weakening me, but you claim it strengthened you?”
“Sailor isn’t the other half of the coincidentia—”
“Oppositorum,” I finished with a nod. “Okay, I get it. I guess. Are you sure this isn’t some elaborate plot to get me to go out with you?”
Aidan grinned. “You’re pretty special, Lily Ivory, but I wouldn’t court demons and the like just to get you in my arms. There are other, much more effective ways of accomplishing something like that.”
I looked away, trying to ignore his sultry gaze.
“Okay, so first you and Calypso were a thing, but then you took over completely. Was this with Calypso’s full endorsement, or was there a struggle?”
“She agreed, of course.”
“Freely?”
He had lifted his wineglass to his mouth, and now looked at me over the rim. “Is anything truly free in this life, Lily?”
* * *
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A while ago, Calypso had made vague references to wanting nothing to do with Aidan, but she had never given me any details. I knew I wouldn’t get much more information from Aidan, though, so I decided to let the subject go for the moment. I would raise it again with Calypso when I had the chance.
Aidan drove us back to the wax museum.
“I should come in with you and get my pig,” I said when he pulled up to my van.
“Why don’t you leave him where he is for the night? Let him sleep it off at my office. He’s more than capable of getting himself back home, as you well know.”
“That’s true. How does Oscar get around?”
“You’re quite the curious one today.”
“I’ve always wondered. And he tells me as much about himself as you do.”
“I find with this sort of thing it’s best to leave the details vague.”
“By which you mean . . . ?”
He chuckled. “I’m really not sure. He’s a miraculous little guy, on several levels.”
“I’m so glad he’s all right. He gave me a fright. So, what are our next steps?”
“I’ll continue to ask questions of the magical community, see if any useful rumors are flying. You should have Patience check in with the Rom community—I’m sure they’re aware of what’s going on with Sailor and will want to help.”
“She’s already on it.”
“Good. In the meantime, maybe you’ll encounter the doppelg?nger again, and get some answers.”
“Last time I ‘encountered’ the doppelg?nger, he tried to kill me.”
“Are you certain? He was chasing you, but perhaps he just wanted to chat.”
I gave him a look. He grinned in return.
“Obviously you need to be careful. But if this is a true doppelg?nger, it’s here for a reason.”
“You said it might be here for me. You don’t think it just wants to kill me?”
“No. After all, if that was what it wanted, why didn’t it kill you already? Why go after Tristan in the guise of your boyfriend?”
“Fiancé,” I corrected him automatically. “Or . . . what if it isn’t a real doppelg?nger? What are the other possibilities?”
“Endless. You could be hallucinating after eating LSD-laden baked goods.”
“Very funny. Patience was with me; she saw him, too.”
“Not to mention a shop owner in Chinatown.”
“And witnesses at the hotel the night Tristan was killed. Speaking of which, would you be willing to go back there with me, see what we can see?”
“So, is it Oscar or Sailor who will come back to work for me?”
I blew out a breath, but didn’t respond.
“Anyway, you have a day to figure it out. I have another obligation tonight. When you figure out which one will come back to work for me, we can go to the hotel tomorrow. Ask Patience if she’ll go with us.”
“Why Patience?”
“We need a necromancer.”
“Hervé’s a better necromancer. Though she did see something when she was in the lobby . . .”
“Bring them both, then. The more the merrier.”
* * *
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