Page 32 of Sins of Leo

Having noted his slick hair and changed clothing, she asked, “Did you have a good workout?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“You look…” Her brain blanked out as the wrong words to utter came in a flood—Delicious. Tempting. Sexy. “More pumped than earlier,” she replied, indicating his bulging arms.

“Well, you did tell me I should exercise,” he stated.

“I thought you were handling the journal,” she replied as she brought him a bowl of the stew. The crusty bread already sat on a cutting board on the table beside a crock of butter.

“It’s being taken care of. I brought it to Aquarius. He’s scanning it right now. It will take a few hours, though. Apparently, even Tower can’t make the process faster. Speaking of the journal, if your dad disappeared, then how did it come to be in your possession?”

“Once it became clear he’d never return from his last excursion, his personal effects were shipped to my mom.” Ruth sat across from him with her own bowl of stew and reached for the bread knife, only to jolt as her hand brushed his doing the same. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“How thick?” he asked, holding aloft the serrated blade.

“Any size is fine.”

As he sliced, she struggled to find something to say. “Your tower is pretty amazing. The kitchen it poofed into existence is perfect for cooking.”

“It always knows what a person wants and needs.”

“Does it have any limits?” she asked, buttering her hunk of bread.

“Some. It can’t create living things. Nor can it recreate machinery or computers.”

She pointed to her appliances. “Then where did these come from?”

“Most likely a warehouse, given they’re name brand.”

“You mean it stole them?” She paused with her spoon half raised. “Wouldn’t theft go against your whole Zodiac-hero thing?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think Tower has a concept of right and wrong. It seems to exist to ensure we’re well-kept and fed. Most likely it sees it as taking payment for the service we provide.”

“What about the ingredients it provided?” she asked, tasting the stew and almost groaning in pleasure.

“There’s been conjecture about whether Tower actually conjures certain items and food from nothing or, like machines and other complex stuff, takes them from elsewhere.”

“You said it doesn’t do living things, yet food is biological by nature so what’s the difference between that and, say, bringing me a cat? Couldn’t it just relocate a stray here?”

His brow furrowed. “We’ve actually had debates about that. Could be anything with the ability to think or feel is forbidden. Could also be the way it brings stuff doesn’t handle the trip well.” He cleared his throat. “Speaking of trips, Aquarius was studying that picture your dad drew. While he didn’t have any luck matching it to any known doorways, he did manage to identify the foliage depicted. Some kind of vine that’s common to South America and a flower that’s apparently rare and usually only found in the wilds of Chile.”

“The last place my dad went to,” she murmured, ducking her head and stirring her soup.

“You’re sure that’s where he was working?”

She lifted her gaze to his. “Very sure. I remember getting a postcard from Chile a few weeks before the picture.”

“I don’t suppose it gave a return address?”

She shrugged. “It might have, but it’s long gone.”

“Well, Aquarius is scanning the thing and making sure to bookmark any pages with mention of Chile or doorways. Hopefully he’ll have it done soon, rather than later.”

“Eager to find the secret entrance?” she remarked. Eager to get rid of her, more likely.

“You heard Sage. It’s important we get to it first.” A reminder of the recent attackers looking to get their hands on the last known details of her father’s journey.

“Why would anyone care about some ancient ruin? How could an ancient artifact cause trouble for the entire world?”

---