Page 37 of Take You Home

I‍—I can’t think of truths and lies that quickly!

They don’t have to begood,idiot! Just give me obvious ones!

All right, all right.Chester casts his eyes towards the ceiling, thinking.I have blond hair, I’m twenty years old, and I had three younger brothers.

Obie’s voice floats back into his head.I didn’t hear the middle one. That was the lie.Out loud, he adds, “You hadthreeyounger brothers?”

“Can we‍—‍?” Chester presses his fingers against his temples, annoyed. “Can we just stick with one method of communication, please?”

Obie rolls his eyes, but he shifts away from Chester, severing the telepathic link. Chester’s leg feels cold where Obie’s warm one was pressed against it. “Suit yourself. What was the middle one?”

“That I’m twenty years old. I’m twenty-two, just like JJ and Roma,” Chester says. “And yes, I had three younger brothers. Mikey, Tony, and Ricky.”

Obie presses his lips together. “And they’re all…?”

Chester looks away. “Dead, yes,” he says curtly. “Twelve years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Obie says softly.

Chester scoffs. “Sure you are.”

Obie’s eyes narrow. Without warning, his hand clamps down on Chester’s shoulder and his voice slides into Chester’s head.I’m very sorry for your loss. No one should have to watch their family die.

Chester’s heart stutters. If all the evidence so far points to them not being able to lie telepathically, then that means Obie reallyissympathetic to Chester’s past. That he reallyissorry about Chester’s family being killed.

Even though they’re enemies, Obie still feels for Chester’s loss. “Oh,” Chester whispers, and he hastily switches back to the connection.Thank you. Sincerely.

Yep.Obie takes his hand off Chester’s shoulder, clearing his throat. “Okay. So we can only lie to each other out loud. That’s good to know, I guess.”

Chester nods slowly, thinking through their telepathic conversation so far. His brain catches on a sticking point. “But I didn’t lie about the connection not working through rubber‍—not intentionally, at least. It wasincorrect,but it wasn’t a lie.”

Obie goes still. “That’s…” Abruptly, he pushes himself to his feet, taking a quick step away from the bed. Away from Chester. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s… not normal. Like, not normal at all.”

“Isanythingabout this normal?”

“No, but at least it seemed to obey basic magical laws before this.” After a long moment, he meets Chester’s eyes. “I need you to promise me something.”

Chester’s eyebrows shoot up. “Absolutely not.”

“Locke‍—‍”Scowling, Obie puts his hand back on Chester’s shoulder, his voice winding through Chester’s head.Promise me that you won’t tell the Sanctum how to request a copy of a spell from the Deep.

The words jolt through Chester. “We’re going to do it, then? You’re going to get a copy of the binding spell from the Deep?”

“As long as you swear through the telepathic link not to tell anyone, then yes,” Obie says. “I still don’t want this information getting back to the Sanctum.”

“But that’s‍—‍” Frowning, Chester works through everything they’ve discovered about the binding spell today. “That’s something that could potentially happen in the future. Even if we can’t say anything incorrect telepathically, that doesn’t mean it’ll force us to keep our promises.”

Obie’s jaw tightens. “Humor me, would you?”

Chester chews on his bottom lip, putting his thoughts in order.

And then, taking a deep breath, he sends those thoughts through the connection.I can’t promise that I won’t tell the Sanctum it’spossible,but I promise not to tell them anything about the specific steps you take.

Chester has to assume that Obie heard the words, because he pulls away his hand, letting out his breath in a hiss. “Good enough.”

“What changed, though?” Chester asks, squinting at him. “You could’ve requested that spell any time over the past two weeks. Why now?”

“Because this just got even more goddamn weird. In fact, it’s a level of ‘goddamn weird’ that I wasn’t even awareexistedbefore now. We need to break this binding spell before it does any permanent damage. For that, I’m willing to take the risk.” He winces. “Can we go to the Courtyard tomorrow after your shift? Or would going into town two days in a row look suspicious?”

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