covencraft 04 - dry spells (39 page)

“If you could bottle that, you’d be rich. Do you know what a pain in the butt it is to dry your hair?”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” He dropped his hands to his side.

Jade turned her head up to face him and it looked like maybe she tried to smile, but then her eyes went glassy and sharp. Her eyebrows crumpled and her lips thinned as she tried not to cry.

“I’m really glad to be back.”

“I’m really glad to have you back.”

She bit at her bottom lip, nodding. She breathed out slowly, exhaling like she was blowing out a candle from a great distance.

Paris paused, not sure he should ask, but needing to say the words. “What happened in the Dearth, Jade?”

“Not much, actually. It’s really…” Her hands came up to gesture around herself as she struggled for words. “Hollow,” she settled on. She crossed her arms over her body and rubbed at her biceps. “I didn’t get, like, accosted or anything. And I’m not even really hurt. I’ve had worse growing up,” she said, in reference to her childhood abuse. “I’m mostly just tired. Mostly.”

“Why don’t you sleep some more and we’ll talk when you wake.”

Her eyes slid sideways to the closet. “Yeah.”

“You don’t have to sleep in the closet. I mean,” he clarified, “of course, if that’s your wish, you may do whatever you like, but I’ll stay here. If that’s what you want.”

Jade looked at him again, her pale eyes unsettling in their clarity and intensity. “Does your mother know where I am?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Jade took a deep breath and moved herself backward on the bed. Paris leaned over and helped with the blankets that were left on the bed, getting her settled underneath. “And you don’t have to go anywhere, right?”

“No, I’m not needed anywhere else at the moment,” he answered. He should be watching Sakkara He should be trying to get more information out of her. Was this the end of her time in his life? Did she mean to return to her demon mistress? Were there any other surprises for which he should brace himself?

Jade closed her eyes only for a moment before she opened them again. “I’m really here, right?” She frowned. “I mean, if you’re a figment of my imagination, you’ll probably tell me what I want to hear anyway, but… I’m back on the right side, yeah?”

The king-sized bed was so large, Paris’d had to crawl up next to Jade to help her settle in. It was extremely undignified, but he didn’t mind.

“I’m not sure how to convince you, but yes. You’re back.”

“You should say something that’s really
you
, but that I wouldn’t think of myself.” She laughed at herself. “A ridiculous and probably impossible request.”

Paris thought he would give it a try anyway. “I find it quite extraordinary that, given his history and the fact that he’s a lizard, Bruce only carries the scent of your magic and nothing from the sewer in which he was found.”

Her face went sympathetic and affectionate. “Right? Plus, his scales are really soft.”

“Surprisingly so.”

Jade nodded, her eyes going a spacey and vague. “I really missed him.” She relaxed back into the pillows. Suddenly she reached out and fisted the fabric of his dress shirt, twisting the cotton tight in her hand. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t,” Paris said, although he thought she might already be asleep. He was loathe to wake her. He shifted closer to her on the bed, and pulled out his phone, preparing to reply to some emails and texts while she slept.

#

Jade woke up hot and confused; her heart pounded madly in her chest as she tried to figure out where she was. She reached out a hand toward the heavy weight next to her, but snatched it back when she realized it wasn’t Bruce.

Paris was stretched out next to her, on top of the covers, asleep. Jade blinked and looked at the clock, but since she hadn’t looked before she fell asleep, she wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious. She turned back to Paris. His hair was a little too long at the moment; like he was overdue for a haircut. It seemed to perpetually be the same length and she bet he had all his hair cuts scheduled out a year in advance. But somehow, he must have missed one. His dress shirt was wrinkled with creases and folds in the crisp white fabric. It looked odd on him. It was open at the collar with just the top button undone. His chest rose and fell rhythmically as he slept; a perfect metronome. His phone rested on his chest, just below where his ribs splayed out slightly; the light in the top corner blinked, no doubt signifying missed messages.

Jade needed a moment to wake up. Her mind felt sluggish and thick. She lay there and let her thoughts drift toward Lily, Seth and, of course, Medusa. She thought about Lily and her insistence they talk about their assault. Jade couldn’t remember the last time she’d allowed herself to think the word. She thought about Seth and his desire to change Medusa, to help her overcome her trauma. She thought about Medusa and her refusal to change. It was Medusa’s right to stay as she was, a right Jade understood; it was how she’d been living herself for years. And yet there was a fragile want within her for something more. But that want was tempered by fear. Fear that she would try and not get what she wanted anyway. Fear that she would try and succeed.

Jade looked over at Paris again. In his sleep, he looked vulnerable and she had a flash of panic that anything could have happened to them: Sakkara could have shown up, Seth could have arrived, or god only knew what else. She should have set runes before she went to sleep; she should know better. Flipping back the covers, she mapped out a protection rune in her head, intent on using whatever she could find in the first aid kit and the bathroom. She took two steps from the bed and felt a rush of Paris’ magic course through her, making her chest clench.

Paris sat up like he’d been shot, relaxing when he saw Jade standing next to the bed.

“Sorry, I meant to warn you. Protection circle.”

Jade rubbed her sternum. It hadn’t hurt exactly; more like a deep, reverberating thrum against her bones. She nodded, taking in a deep breath.

“It’s broken now?” Jade asked, hesitant to move.

Paris nodded, rubbing at his eyes. “Yes. I made it to be easily broken from inside in case you wanted to get out. I didn’t want you to feel trapped.”

“I didn’t. I mean, I don’t. Feel trapped. By your magic.”

He looked at her intently, his eyes very blue and sharp. Oh fuck, she was already making a mess of things. “I have to -“ She jerked a thumb behind her and scurried to the bathroom, shutting the door quickly behind her. She turned on the faucets so it would seem like she was doing something. Something other than leaning against the door, watching the sink slowly fill with water as the drain struggled to keep up with the water flow.

Jade pushed herself away from the door finally and busied herself brushing her teeth with the hotel-provided amenities. Her stomach growled as she did and she realized she was hungry. Now that she thought about it, she was thirsty too. And her arm and leg hurt. She’d gotten used to not feeling anything in the Dearth. She spat into the sink and continued to viciously brush her teeth, reveling in the feeling of them being scrubbed clean. She brushed out her hair, thinking how Paris had dried it the night before. His magic had surrounded her, along with the scent of cedar chips and mint. Her hair was a mess now; without being properly blow-dried and her sleeping on it to boot, it had gone frizzy. Happily, she found some hair elastics in the vanity kit provided by the hotel. They weren’t the no-tangle-no-pull kind she favored, but they would do. Hair finally tamed into something passable, she took a deep breath and left the safety of the bathroom. Paris was seated at the small desk, looking out of proportion. She was so used to seeing him behind his large Coven desk.

“So,” she said, leaning against the doorjamb. He set his phone on the table, face-down as soon as she spoke, giving her his full attention. “The Dearth.”

She tried to explain it to him. Arriving there. The vastness of it. The strangeness. She glossed over her interactions with Seth, not sure how to categorize them. Paris listened carefully, only speaking when he didn’t understand or to ask a clarifying question. Now that she thought about it, Jade realized how boring the whole thing sounded; she went on a road trip across a bizarre desert. There was magic shit. But mostly it was just a long stretch of being on edge and anxious.

So, kind of like a Tuesday at the grocery store.

“And then?” Paris prompted.

Jade shook herself out of her thoughts. She’d stopped her narrative just after she and Seth had passed through demon Customs. She felt bad for giving away her talisman, even though she felt she didn’t have a choice. “Well, then I met Medusa,” she blurted. She touched her fingers to the hard patch of skin at her neck.

“What happened?” Paris asked. “How did you survive? You didn’t call on Lily?”

“No, I… Seth told me…” Jade shrugged. “She’s what you expect her to be.”

Paris frowned. “How did that help you?”

“I…” Jade stammered. She couldn’t articulate it to Paris. Not now. Maybe not ever. How could she tell him that she understood how Medusa felt? That she knew what it felt like to be hurt in that way, hurt so badly? That perhaps Jade herself would have asked for the same kind of power Medusa had, if she’d known it existed. Her throat hurt and her vision went blurry. There was no reason to cry now. She was back, she was safe. She shook her head.

“I’m sorry. I want to know, but I don’t need to know. You don’t have to answer if it’s difficult.”

Jade thought maybe she wanted to. Someday. Just not today.

“And so you were successful,” Paris continued. “And you obtained the Osiris box?”

“Holy fuck, yeah,” Jade gushed, moving toward the closet. She rooted around for a moment, her hands searching through the duvet and the pillow before she felt the smooth wood. She came out of the closet, holding it out for Paris. He reached for it and hesitated.

“It won’t hurt you. It’s not, like, magic or anything. At least, not that I can tell.”

“You went a long way to get it.” His fingers hovered over the wood.

“Yeah,” Jade replied, not sure why Paris was hesitating.

“Thank you for trusting me with it,” Paris said finally, taking the box from her. He turned it over in his hands, examining it.

Jade shrugged. “Sure.”

“Sakkara-” Paris began.

“Is a bitch.” Paris’ eyes flickered up to Jade and she felt bad for about half a second until she remembered the feeling of the demon runes burning into her skin. She rubbed a hand over her shoulder and could feel those places where the runes had burned into her skin. She hadn’t looked at her shoulder in the mirror. She’d been afraid to. She had very little doubt she was now sporting some kind of half-assed demon rune scar on her shoulder. “Sorry, not sorry.”

“There is no need to apologize. Or, if there is, I should be apologizing to you.”

Jade was confused. “Why?”

“For Sakkara.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thankfully, we’re not responsible for what our parents do or I’d be in deep shit.”

“Lily said something similar.”

“Well, we did share a brain, so…” Jade trailed off, not sure where she was going with that. “She and Bruce are okay, yeah? I mean, I can tell that she’s okay, mostly,” Jade wiggled her fingers next to her head. “Up here, but she’s not
there
like she used to be.” She didn’t add that when she thought about pushing their connection, she could feel the start of a migraine, its feather-like tendrils tickling her grey matter.

“She’ll be glad to see you. Not as much as Bruce. He missed you.”

Jade’s chest clenched. “I missed him too! I only slept in the Dearth in a car and then here in the closet and it’s just not the same as when he hops onto the bed and presses up against you.”

“He’s a bit of a blanket hog.”

“You slept with Bruce?”

“He slept with me; that is, I was in your guest room and he availed himself of the bed. While I was in it as well.”

The look on his face made her want to tease him. He looked so earnest. “Relax, English, it’s not an accusation. I’m… glad he had you.” She looked around the hotel room. She missed her things. She missed her cottage and the fireplace with Bruce in front of it. She missed her coffee pot and her chipped coffee mugs. “What are we still doing here? Can we go home?”

Paris stood immediately, pocketing his phone. “Yes, let’s go home.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jade was too afraid to open up her mind to Lily - too leery of another migraine, too leery that Lily would feel what Jade had felt with Medusa and think it meant Jade was ready to talk about things.

But she wasn’t. She was ready to start thinking about things. Maybe. But that didn’t mean she wanted to talk about them.

Jade could sense Lily knew she was almost home. It was a feeling like a thousand butterflies under her skin, all fluttering in sync with one another. She clutched the Osiris box close to her, hoping to keep her hands still.

“Are you nervous?” Paris asked, glancing over from the driver’s seat.

“What? No. Just… happy and excited and…” She stuck her tongue out in what she was sure was completely a vulgar and unattractive way. “Blergh. I just want to be home.”

“I’m glad.” At his tone, she turned to look at him.

“That you think of here, the Coven, as home.”

Just then, he turned the car down the small street of her cottage and Jade could see Bruce bounding out her front door. He was awkward as he waddled, coming to sit at the edge of her property with his tiny lizard chest puffed out. He flapped his Elizabethan collar.

Jade couldn’t help but slap Paris on his arm. “There’s Bruce!”

“I see.”

Lily came out just after Bruce, standing in the doorway, looking anxious even from Jade’s distance. Paris barely stopped the car in the driveway before Jade was pulling the door handle, tossing the Osiris box on his lap and rushing out of the passenger side. Bruce tackled her on the lawn, knocking her to her side on the brown, winter grass where some snow still lingered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Paris dart forward as though to help her, but she shook her head, laughing as Bruce’s tongue darted out of his mouth, nipping at various spots on Jade; her arm, where her cut was still bandaged; her leg, where Seth’s large gash was - her neck, still with its strange patch of marble-fused skin.