Page 27 of Simon Says

CHAPTER SIX

As suspected, Rosieand Deliverance didn’t need to prepare the device to admit them. Their qualifications, as elementals, were like blanket passes to anywhere, without a need for special equipment, credentials, or invitation. No preparation. No fanfare. They simply stepped through.

“After you,” Deliverance said.

Rosie had the gifts that come with being half witch, half demon, but she was more than that because her raw talent had been channeled and controlled, honed and expanded. She’d had the benefit of people who could help her practice skills such as the one she needed right then. Tracking.

She let her sight go slightly out of focus to see if she could pick up a trace of the energy Simon had left behind. To Rosie it was as clear as a sparkling stream of pixie dust. They followed it to the farmhouse.

“Oh, aye. He was here,” Angus said. “You must be the friends he was hopin’ to find. Left with my Colleen just an hour ago.”

“Where did they go?” Rosie asked.

“Edinburgh.” He eyed Deliverance. “Lose your shirt?”

Deliverance looked down and grinned. “Yes,” was all he said.

“Thank you,” Rosie told Angus.

As they walked away, she said, “I can handle it from here if you like. But if you want to come along, you need to grab a shirt on the way to Edinburgh.”

“I’ve cleared my calendar for a day with my granddaughter. I’ll step out of the passes at Slaters and borrow a shirt.”

“No. You won’t ‘borrow’ a shirt.” She used air quotes. “You can afford to buy a shirt, Grand.”

“Oh, alright.”

It was niceenough weather for Rosie and Deliverance to be having coffee at the Roxbury sidewalk café when they saw Simon turn the corner. He wasn’t looking their way. Instead he was focused on the building that was Black Swan Headquarters in his world. What he was looking at in his reality of the moment was not Black Swan though. It was Lloyds Banking Group.

“There he is,” Rosie said.

“I’ll be damned. You were right.”

“Of course I was right. Home would be the first place a normal person would go. No need to tax the tracking skills. Common sense rules.”

“Show off.”

She laughed. “Let’s go get him.”

Simon felt ahand on his shoulder and heard a familiar voice. “Gotcha.”

“I’d be lying if I said I’m not relieved to see you. How’d you find me?”

“Angus said you were on the way to Edinburgh,” Rosie said.

“She said you’d go here first thing,” Deliverance added. “Looks like she has your number.”

Simon smiled at Rosie. “Grateful.”

“I should chew your ass,” she said.

Simon’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. He was not accustomed to being addressed in that way. “Pardon?”

“Your ass was supposed to be sitting in grass when I got back. Remember?”

He took in a deep breath. “Yes.”

“What happened with that?”

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