Page 5 of Insidious Monsters
“I know. I prefer it that way.”
“Either way, this is an attack on our people, and we won’t sit by and let it happen.”
“But this Toby guy is dead now,” Nandi said. “The threat should be over unless…You think he’s part of a group?”
After six weeks of working with my handler, I was able to read his face. “You think there will be another attack soon, don’t you?”
“I think this isn’t over,” Quentin said. “The tattoo you described that’s hidden to human and supernatural eyes makes me think this may be some kind of cult or sect activity. There have been plenty such organizations over the course of history. Groups after power, using human sacrifice in their rituals. We could be dealing with something similar, except with humans being a protected species, the cult is forced to go for the next best thing, the mystics and psychics who are almost human but…not.”
I blew out a breath. “Well let’s hope Devyn and her team figure out what we’re dealing with. In the meantime…” I gently took Nandi’s hand. “You don’t go anywhere alone, okay?”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
“Okay, get some rest,” Quentin said. “August, you have your bio-check tomorrow morning, and we’re back to work on Monday, so use whatever time you have between now and then to relax.”
We had five more eldritch to find. Then I’d have my cure and Telarion and I would finally be separated.
The thought evoked a mixture of excitement and dread. My aberrant and I had been bound for almost four months now, and it was hard to recall a time when he didn’t live inside me, when his voice wasn’t a comforting presence in my head.
Being bound to Telarion now felt as natural as breathing, but it was also a barrier that stopped us from exploring the feelings growing between us. How could we know for sure if these feelings were real while we were so inextricably connected? We couldn’t, not until the Order of Yaga separated us, and for that to happen I needed to complete the task handed to me and catch the last of the thirteen eldritch that had succeeded in evading them so far. I also needed to find out who’d killed my mother, and to do that I had to translate the etchings on an eldritch gravestone and finish mapping the area around that rift.
The answers I needed were so close I could taste them, and nothing was going to get in my way.
* * *
Quentin leftus to our tea, claiming he had work to do.
I turned my chair to face Nandi. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “I’m an idiot.”
“Okay… Explain yourself.”
“I felt there was something off about Toby, but I chose to ignore it. I explained it away because I wanted to have something normal. I wanted to just go on a date with a sweet guy and have some fun, you know?”
“I get it, Nand. The last few months have been tough and filled with crazy.”
“It’s not even about that…” She trailed off and looked away.
“Babe? What is it? What’s bothering you?”
She took my hands and looked into my eyes earnestly. “Do you ever feel like you’re living someone else’s life? Like there’s something more, something you’re meant to be doing but you don’t know what that is?”
I wanted to understand her, to connect with her on this, but I couldn’t. I knew what I was meant to be doing. As sucky as it was, it was the right path and answers would be revealed eventually.
My thoughts must have shown on my face because she released my hands with a weary smile. “I’m going to grab a shower and then hit the sack. I’m exhausted.”
“Okay, babe. We’ll make a yummy Sunday roast tomorrow and have a family lunch.”
“Did someone say roast?” Uncle Fred entered the kitchen, salt-and-pepper hair dusted with melting ice. “Ah, warmth.”
We both turned to look at him, noting the sparkle in his eye and the smile that tugged at his lips.
I’d twisted in my seat to face him, and now I braced my arm across the back of my chair and leaned back to look him up and down. “Someone had a great night.”
“When do we get to meet the person who puts that smile on your face?” Nandi asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he sniffed. “I was simply out with some friends.” He poured himself some tea. “How was your evening?”
