Page 37 of Fool Me Twice

“Laguerre‍—‍”

Before Roma can blink, Ez flicks her wrist to open a rift and disappears through it, leaving Roma alone in the middle of the Courtyard. Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, she ducks her head and strides back to her picnic table, praying that no one sees her rubbing at her burning eyes.

Her falafel nachos are cold by now. She can’t help but think that it’s a bad omen of things to come.

17

Ez is mildly irritated to find that the falafel nachos from Falafel Express are just as delicious as Roma claimed they would be. Desi is clearly in heartfelt agreement, her glamour doing nothing to disguise her enthusiasm as she shovels back pita wedges, and Obie, Cass, and JJ look fully prepared to come to blows if anyone tries to steal off their plates.

And Ez is alsomorethan mildly irritated that she’s barely taken two bites of her own tzatziki-covered goodness before a warm rush of power sweeps over her. Groaning, she drops her head into her hands as a mega-rift crackles to life across the Courtyard. “Really?Really?”

“Looks like it,” Obie says, already halfway to his feet. His shoulders are tense. “How much of a situation do we think this is going to be?”

Wearily, Ez gestures for him to sit down. “Literally not a situation at all. Trust me. JJ, can I commandeer you for this one?”

Cass stiffens the slightest bit, but he doesn’t protest. Even though he’d clearly prefer for JJ to be as far away from the action as possible, none of them want that mega-rift open for longenough to let a neophyte demon through. If JJ is the only human spellcaster available, then he’ll have to suffice.

JJ runs a soothing hand over Cass’s back before standing up. “Sure. Let’s get this thing closed and get back to our falafel. Frankly, I’m insulted that it interrupted our‍?—‍”

Abruptly, a familiar figure catches Ez’s eye. She doesn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed when she sees Roma jog up to the mega-rift, arms already outstretched like she’s about to try and close it alone. “Change of plans,” Ez says, putting a hand on JJ’s shoulder and bodily pushing him back into his seat. “Gutierrez can make herself useful.”

JJ’s jaw tightens. “You sure you’re okay?” he asks quietly, his eyes dark and concerned.

Ez ruffles his hair. He wrinkles his nose at her. “Not to worry, my young JJ. I’ve been dealing with your old buddy for weeks now. I can handle her wiles, and‍?—‍”

The Sanctum has been pretty clear that getting JJ back is a high priority.

Ez bites back the words. She already talked to JJ and Cass about how their former hunter is apparently still on the Council’s radar, and she doesn’t see any need to ruin this dinner outing even more. “And I’m sure she’s not still mad about that little jailbreak last weekend. Obie, take over the glamours for me, would you?” she finishes, and she doesn’t give any of them a chance to respond before snapping her fingers and rifting over to Roma’s side.

Roma starts with surprise when Ez appears. “When did you get here?”

Ez isn’t about to make the mistake of answering that question honestly again. She pointedly doesn’t look back at the table with her glamoured friends. “Public Safety called, and I happened to be available. You ready?”

Roma’s jaw twitches, but she doesn’t protest. “One, two, three‍—ages upon ages‍?—‍”

“In the name of Nostringvadha‍?—‍”

An uneasy sensation creeps down Ez’s spine as they work through their dual spells. Their incantations are the same, their magic is the same, but the mega-rift‍?—

The mega-rift feels different. Usually, Ez’s disconnecting spell feels like pulling a weed up by the roots, but this time, it’s almost like that weed is attached directly into the bedrock.

Like she can mostly wrestle it free, but part of it doesn’t want to disappear.

But her and Roma’s combined spells work just as efficiently as always. By the time they finish their incantations, the mega-rift is fizzling into nonexistence, and Ez lets out a slow breath, eyeing the hunter next to her.

Roma was more abrasive than usual the last time they met, but Ez is chalking that up to the fact that she knocked her unconscious just days prior. Now, almost a week after the jailbreak, Roma doesn’t look any worse for wear, but there’s still a faint line of tension in her shoulders.

Probably because of Ez’s reaction to her spotting JJ the other day. And Ez isn’t too proud to admit that shemayhave overreacted to that particular incident. After all, Roma didn’t look ready to kidnap JJ again‍—actually, she seemed genuinely happy to see him.

Like she didn’t tell Ez a mere week ago that the Sanctum is still out for JJ’s blood.

Maybe Roma’s affection for JJ has the potential to overshadow her knee-jerk loyalty to the Sanctum. Ez can hope, at least. “You were right about the falafel nachos,” she admits grudgingly.

Roma looks smugly pleased. “Of course I was. Andrew cooked them, after all.”

“That he did.” Even though Ez is only a stone’s throw away from her friends, she still peels open a rift‍—an invisible one this time‍—to head back to them. “Later, Gutierrez. Catch you on the‍?—‍”

Without warning, another wave of power roils over Ez. Apparently, Roma feels it, too, because she immediately stiffens, squinting in the direction of the surge. “What the hell?”

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