Page 74 of Deadly Lineage
“Sorry, Franklin.”
Boone didn’t have anything to be sorry about. Regardless, I appreciated the sentiment and answered, “So am I.”
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Erasmus
I’d been staring at my phone for a good twenty minutes while I debated the merit of calling Pops before or after asking Aurelia if she was willing to wear a contact charm. I suppose she didn’t have to wear it—as long as she had it nearby, that was good enough. Most chose to place them on some type of jewelry. From what I understood, they were fairly simple charms, or at least well within the purview of most warlocks. Pops was better thanmost. The charm would be easy. The request wouldn’t be.
He'd made one for me and Momma when I was younger. When activated, he was the one alerted. The problem was that he was all the way in California and unlike fairies, brownies, and evidently djinn, warlocks couldn’t cross vast distances by thought alone. Like nearly every other species, their travel was limited by physical transportation.
“I should probably ask Aurelia first,” I said aloud, believing I was alone. Aurelia had a sneaky way of proving me wrong.
“Ask me what?”
Despite my jolted heart rate, my body barely twitched. Without thought, I answered, “If you’ll wear a damn bell.”
“A bell? To what end?”
I choked on a laugh. “To a hopeful lengthening of my life, because one of these days you’re going to give me a damn heart attack popping up out of nowhere.”
“That is a very dramatic description,” Aurelia argued.
“Not as dramatic as I wish it were.” Dropping my phone on the coffee table, Aurelia’s appearance solved my dilemma. Patting the couch cushion beside me, I said, “Have a seat and take a load off.”
“You wish for me to sit beside you?”
I cringed at the word. I wasn’t Aurelia’s master, so even if I used that particular phrasing, it wouldn’t make her comply. Still, I answered, “I’d like it if you did, but the choice is yours.”
Proving she wasn’t used to being offered choices, Aurelia stood for a moment before shaking her head and answering, “I prefer to stand. I do not tire like you.”
“That’s convenient.”
“Doubtful. Djinn would not have been useful if we exhausted ourselves. Our witch creators made certain that would not happen.”
My cringe was automatic. Speaking with Aurelia was a veritable minefield of unintended slights. “Sorry.”
Aurelia cocked her head. “I do not see why you should apologize. However, I have begun noting that is a common practice among those with empathy. Peaches apologizes constantly for events that were not of his making. At first, I found it irritating. Now I simply ignore it.”
I made a mental note to put a lid on apologies Aurelia might findirritating. “Fair enough,” I answered after some thought. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You may do as you want. Just as I may.” A touch of pleasured zeal licked the edges of those words.
Clearing my throat, I wondered again how Peaches could be comfortable giving Aurelia so much autonomy. Then again, sofar, it was working out well. One could only hope that streak continued for as long as possible. I didn’t envy Peaches the day he had to rein Aurelia back in. I’m not sure who it would hurt more.
“You said you wanted to ask me something,” Aurelia prompted, pulling me from my dark musings.
“Yeah. I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it, and I want you to know that I understand if you say no.”
Aurelia’s eyes momentarily lit from within as her attention became more focused. “Indeed, you have my attention, necromancer Boone.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I related today’s earlier happenings and Franklin’s thoughts on the matter, as well as his idea about the contact charm. Aurelia stood there, face impassive, giving no hint regarding her thoughts.
After laying it all out, I spread my hands wide and said, “So there you have it. What do you think?”
Aurelia remained stubbornly silent. My palms began sweating and my foot jiggled with nerves. I wasn’t certain why I was nervous. I didn’t think Aurelia would react violently to the request, just… Well, I suddenly realized how much I wanted her to agree. Not because I was that frightened, but more because I knew what a relief it would be to Franklin. I wanted to give him that.
