Page 114 of The Stone Secret
I hold up the cold case containing the vial. “It’s not that kind of analysis.”
But she knows this. She knows I wouldn’t be here if what I needed didn’t require her unique ability.
Her lip curls in disgust. “Urgh. I’m going to curse Pollock.” But she lifts the counter and ushers me into the back room.
The books in the store are neatly arranged on shelves and in displays, but back here, there is no visible order, just piles of texts on every available surface.
Calista clears a space on one of the tables, and I pass her the case. She pops it open and carefully retrieves the vial.
“Are you ready to catch me?” she asks.
“You could sit down.”
“Do you see a chair?” A hint of annoyance filters into her tone.
“I’ve got you. Just…please help me, the young wom—”
“Stop. Don’t tell me. The less I know, the better the reading. Okay?”
“Fine.”
She uncorks the vial and takes a deep breath. “Bottoms up.” She tips it back and swallows. “Hmmm, that’s kind of sweet and—” Her body goes rigid. “Oh shit, here it comes.”
Her eyes roll, and she collapses.
I catch her and carefully drop to my knees, taking her with me.
The fact that she’ll do this with me proves how much she trusts me. Proves that despite her prickly attitude, she believes me to be a friend. I’m not sure what I’ve done to earn so much trust, aside from almost dying and allowing her to save me, but Calista sees things. She knows things. And those things have allowed me into her inner circle.
Long minutes pass before her eyes snap open. Her gaze is glazed, though. She’s not back yet.
Several seconds pass, and finally she blinks and focuses on me. “Well, that was interesting.”
“What can you tell me?”
“The blood is a cocktail of elements. I see human and gargoyle.” She frowns. “Although the gargoyle element is weak. But that could be because of the fae element.”
“Fae?” Cameron has fae blood?
“Yes. The fae element is strong. I saw the moon covered in blood. I’m thinking maybe a luna line or even Baobhan sidhe? Could be both, mingled in a human bloodline and brought forth in the owner of this sample.”
If Cameron has fae blood, it would account for her strange behavior during the last omega moon, because the omega moons always coincide with a sidhe moon. “Thank you. This helps.”
“Don’t thank me just yet.” She sits up and sweeps her luscious locks over her shoulders. “There’s something else. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.”
“What do you mean?”
“Another element. But it’s hidden. Muted.” She wrinkles her nose in that way I recognize to be irritation with herself. “I don’t know what to call it. Sometimes this can happen with the blood of someone going through puberty or some kind of developmental change. Or if there’s a sickness or disease in the blood.” She taps her chin. “It didn’t feel like a disease, though. Diseased blood has a specific bitter tang to it, and this blood was sweet.” She stands and brushes off her clothes. “And that’s all. You can leave now. I have work to do.”
This is plenty. The fae aspect gives us something to work on. “What do I owe you?”
Her expression sobers. “Let’s leave it as an IOU.”
“I don’t like IOUs.”
“I guess you’ll just have to make an exception. Now if that’s all—”
“Actually, there’s one more thing. I need to know how to restore a ghost’s memories.”
