“Don’t worry about me, Claude. I’m just peachy.”
“All the same, I think I’ll sleep in here tonight.”
“You’re barely dressed.”
He dropped his head onto his bicep and smiled.
“Is everyone else okay?”
His smile withered. “All but Blue.”
Gem’s blood ran cold. “What do you mean? She’s dead?”
“No, no. But she was badly injured.”
“Kallisto did that?”
“The lions. Niko was our last resort to heal her, but it seems that the fates have played a cruel joke. I’m not sure if it would have made any difference. She shifted on our journey back, but too much time had elapsed.”
Gem clutched the sheet, looking at him for answers. “What’s wrong with her?”
Claude sat up, his curls of blond hair mussed. After heaving a sigh, he lowered his gaze. “She’s badly scarred. A lion mauled her, and she couldn’t shift enough times. It’s… it’s bad. But you know Blue. She’s brushing it off and pretending nothing happened. All of this is my fault.”
“Why would you say that?”
He glowered. “I put on the mask you said was cursed. The one at the pawnshop.”
Gem had to stop and think. When she recalled their brief conversation at Pawn of the Dead, her shoulders sagged. She reached for his hand. “Curses don’t exist, you big goof. I wanted to get you back for teasing me, but I’m not very good at pranks. Sometimes I just don’t know when I’ve crossed the line. None of this was your fault. That was just an old mask.”
Claude looked relieved. “If you want to talk about anything, I’m here. If you can’t, I’ll still warm your feet,” he said with a low chuckle.
Gem giggled. Claude was so silly sometimes, and she needed that laugh after spending her day buried in guilt. It made her wonder what having a brother might be like, but she struggled with making deep emotional connections to others. It came with the risk of rejection or loss, and Gem had no coping skills in that arena.
“Are you up for an adventure tomorrow?” she asked.
Claude groaned and tipped over beside her like a falling tree. “I’ve had enough adventure for a lifetime.”
“Too bad. Viktor wants us to run an errand.” Gem patted his back and turned on her side to face the other way. “Good night, Claude.”
“Good night, female.”
She switched off the lights. “If you snore, I’m kicking you out.”
Chapter 3
“Faster!” Gem cried, thrilled by the rush of Claude’s red Porsche hugging another sharp turn. She loved speed, and Claude indulged her every whim.
He revved the engine, but a pedestrian walking a Great Dane forced him to slow down. She gripped the seat belt and sighed. Gem wasn’t good at dealing with stress, and as strange as it sounded, diversions like this helped her think more clearly.
Claude drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Where did you say this Relic lives?”
She held up the paper and stared at the address Viktor had scribbled on it. “Willowbrook Lane. Keep going. I think we’re almost there.” She pointed out the window. “Oh, look! Umbrellas.”
“You have the attention span of a goldfish.”
Gem couldn’t help it. She loved it when the men stood on corners, twirling their colorful umbrellas. It was commonplace in the spring and fall when Cognito got the most rain. The streets still had large puddles from the recent storms, but it hadn’t rained all morning.
Claude ducked his head and looked through her window. “Building seven?”
Gem sucked on the straw protruding from her strawberry shake. A drop of condensation from the cup plopped onto her bare leg. Shorts might have been overly optimistic for the cool weather, but teamed with a grey wool duster and the right boots, they felt great.
“Hmm. I thought we were going to an apartment building,” Claude remarked. “Viktor’s taking us to the fancy side of town.”
Gem admired the old townhomes. This was a section of the historic district that not many could afford to buy their way into. Also, the homes were difficult to come by since nobody ever moved, and some had been handed down for generations. Many higher authority members preferred townhomes to mansions because they required little upkeep and were in the heart of the city.
Claude slowed to a stop in front of a townhome with a paint job that looked like orange sherbet with vanilla trim. “You can get out here. I’m just gonna circle round until I find a parking spot.”
“Good luck with that.” Gem sprang out of the car and watched him speed away.
Cognito was the worst when it came to parking. Claude was particular about where he left his Porsche, especially when someone could easily sideswipe it on a narrow street. As she ascended the steps, her attention lingered on the potted plants on the patio. Purple flowers danced merrily in the breeze, still wet from last night’s rain and the humidity. Some of the petals had blown off in the storm and stuck to the concrete like bruises.
Gem rang the bell and heard a delightful melody that sounded nothing like a standard doorbell. She squinted at the frosted glass, curious about the sign on the door that said In Session.
“Hello?” She knocked a few times, then peered through the window and searched inside for moving shadows.
After a moment of hesitation, she tried the knob. It was unlocked, so she opened the door. It seemed rude to waltz into someone’s house, but this was important, and Viktor had called ahead.
“Hello? It’s Gem Laroux.”
She nearly dropped her milkshake when she caught her reflection in an oval mirror by the door. After blowing out a breath, Gem looked around. The main room had no television or stereo, just sage-green furniture surrounding a large oval coffee table. When she walked to the back and peered around the corner into a kitchen, she noticed a theme with oval-shaped rugs.
“Is anybody home?” she called out.
Gem hissed when a sharp current of energy snapped at her skin like a rubber band. She steered her gaze up to the ceiling and heard a commotion. Curious, she jogged up the stairs to check it out.
The second floor was a spacious single room with another set of stairs leading up to the third story. Never in her life had she seen an area rug so massive. All she could ponder was how on earth they’d gotten it up the stairs. It covered the entire wood floor, the gold designs on green fabric matching the color scheme downstairs. Light from tall windows on the front and back walls showered the room, and aside from a few beanbag chairs, the only other furniture was a circle of chairs in the center of the room.
Almost every single person occupying those chairs turned to look at her. Some looked startled, and others delivered scathing stares. The only one who seemed oblivious to her presence was a man with jagged streaks of orange light streaming from his palms. He whipped them around like spaghetti noodles, causing one lady to duck.
A large woman in a black flowy dress seemed to be mediating the group. She stood up and addressed Gem. “Is there something I can help you with? This is a private session.”
Oops. “Sorry to intrude.” Gem fidgeted with her long duster to cover her legs. “I’m Gem Laroux. We had a meeting scheduled?”