Page 48 of Shadow & Stars
It took him a while to answer. “The day after he became a rat. He asked me to help him, but my magic is bullshit. It can’t do anything like reverse a spell. It just slows things.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I’m fully charged with Trace, I can focus on something to make it slow down. Lasts for a good while, too.”
Warlocks drew on Trace magic each month when it fell from the sky. They had no access to the witch-made Synth.
“Sounds useful,” I said. What a shame he couldn’t use it on the demon monarchs and Butterfly right now. That would help get the job done.
Jaz didn’t make eye contact, busying himself with his fingernails again. “I miss it.”
“How long were you with Darcy?” I asked, pining for my Synth magic.
After a minute or so, he relaxed. “Two years. Twenty of those months amazing, four of them horrible.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “What happened?”
Jaz blew out a long breath, hard enough to make his lips tremble “I’m a cardiovascular surgeon. One of the best in the country, right at the top of my game. The warlock boy who came from nothing made it big in the world of medicine. Only, I let my success go to my head. Thought I was a God. Lost my license in a malpractice suit, along with everything else.” He shook his head. “A stupid mistake I’ll never shake off. I met Darcy when I hit my lowest point, fell in love hard. Fuck. He really is the love of my life.Was.” Jaz got up and grabbed a bottle of water, gulping down half of it before offering it to me. “Want to try taking it again?”
“Maybe later.” I might be parched, but I wanted to hear more of this story. It helped hold back the constant probing of my grief.
Jaz remained standing. “Anyway, we met in a pub. He made the first move, asking me about my day out of the blue. Didn’t give a crap about me being a warlock. The rest is history. We fell for each other quicky. I moved into his flat, and we lived in bliss. I got a job at a pharmacy, and we even managed to put a deposit down on this house.” He sighed. “Until he asked me to marry him.” He finished the rest of the water.
“He proposed?”
“I freaked out. Went on a bender, didn’t think I was worthy of his love. Ended up sleeping with some guy… Why am I telling you this?”
I wanted to backhand him for cheating on my bestie. “You don’t have to keep going.”
“Surprised you didn’t know any of this.”
“Probably hurt him too much to talk about.”
By the look on his face, I think I landed that smack.
“He left me, of course. When he messed up that spell, I tried to help him, to win him back. As I said, my magic’s useless. He disappeared after that, his flat ended up being condemned. We lost the deposit on this house, and it ended up not being sold.”
And then Darcy crossed paths with me and started a new life, leaving all that shit behind. I didn’t throw that into the ring for the sake of peace. Yeah, this guy offered me shelter, but he’d also hurt my friend. The less I knew, the better. Anyway, I’d have liked to hear it from Darcy one day over a cup of tea. Not like this.
Okay, back to my recharge.
The roar of an engine sounded outside, followed by screeching tires. I got to my feet, a jolt of fear making my scalp prickle.
Recharge over, I guess.
“Jaz Stephens!” a man’s voice boomed.
Did I just hear the sound of a gun cocking?
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Jaz panicked, flapping his hands. “I’ve got to run.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I know you’re in there!” the man outside yelled. “Stop being a pussy and show yourself!”
Definitely not Jaz’s best buddy.
The warlock grabbed a bag and darted for the door, pausing on the landing. “If you know what’s good for you, get the hell out of here.”
