Page 17 of That Mafioso Magic
They nodded. I went back home, gathered my half of the grimoire, and then we drove to Adrian’s private eye place of business. The parking lot was empty, which couldn’t mean business was going well. I knew he needed the money from the “past due” bills I managed to catch an eyeful of the last time I was in his office. I entered with Shi at my side. This time, I could sense Adrian’s presence, but it wasn’t nearly as intense as the first time.
“Mr. Tamir, I believe my partner told you that we couldn’t take your case,” said the guy sitting behind the desk. He looked to be Hispanic and I hadn’t caught his name the first time, so I didn’t know who was addressing me. Not that what he was saying mattered to me, because I had to speak to Adrian.
“Get your partner,” I ordered.
He rose. “Who do you think you are?”
“Xavier, it’s okay.” That came from Adrian, who had appeared in the doorway leading to his office. “He’s right, though, I can’t take your case.”
“Shi, stay here,” I said. I walked over to Adrian, pushing him back into his office and closing the door behind us. I could hear a bit of commotion on the other side, meaning Shi was making sure Xavier wasn’t going to interrupt us.
“What the fuck?” Adrian cursed, frowning as he backed up a few paces.
“Just listen. Someone made a second attempt on my life today. I need your help to find out who.”
“Why me?”
“Because.” I pulled my grimoire from my leather case and placed it on his desk, backside up so he could see the angel emblem. “Recognize this?”
Adrian’s gaze switched from me to the book. God, he was beautiful. I could still feel a longing for him. It was stronger now that we were face-to-face, but not crazy like the first time. I wasn’t burning up to be inside of him, but my balls were tingling with desire for him. Whatever it was that was going on between us, it wasn’t anything I was going to ignore.
He touched the angel on the grimoire. “My God,” he whispered, then he picked up the book and flipped through some of the pages. The pages that were once sealed together and had curled a bit apart last night were even more separate now, but not entirely free.
“Now, are you going to tell me that this is just a coincidence?” I asked, gesturing to the angel on the cover.
Adrian looked up at me and shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about this thing that happened between us. Wait here,” he said, then he placed my grimoire back on the desk and left the room. I could hear his partner, Xavier, asking him if everything was fine. “Yeah, Xavier. I’m okay. I’ll be back.”
Adrian was gone for about three minutes, then he returned carrying a book that looked like it was half of another book. He handed it to me and I looked down to see the front of the book bearing the emblem of a dragon completely identical to the mark on my neck.
“Holy shit,” I gasped, then brushed my fingers tips over the raised brass emblem. There was definitely something going on. I opened it and flipped through the pages that were half sealed. The other pages were blank, which was odd to say the least. I looked at Adrian.
“Why are the pages blank?” I asked.
Adrian frowned, then stepped forward. “They aren’t. just some are stuck the same way like yours.”
I looked at Adrian, then pointed to a page that was blank. “You say this isn’t blank?”
He shook his head. “It’s a spell for bringing light into darkness,” he said. “Xavier can’t see any of the spells either.”
“Ahhh, I see. Only I can see the spells in mine. Wait, did you see any when you looked at it?” I asked.
Adrian picked up my half of the grimoire and flipped through a few pages, then shook his head. “No.”
“Interesting. I’m starting to get some kind of understanding why we were drawn together,” I said. “I dreamed about you last night… or this morning.”
“Yeah, me too,” Adrian said, then he reached for the book, taking it from my hands, and I let him. He gave me my half and I took it. “In your dream, were you holding half a book like I am right now?”
I nodded, almost too stunned to speak, but I had to muster words, because we needed to explore whatever that dream was trying to tell us. Two people who don’t even know each other just don’t have the same exact dream about each other.
“Is everything all right?” I heard his partner, Xavier, call out.
“I’m fine, Xavier,” Adrian replied, but he never took his eyes off me. “So, what do we do? Do we put the book together like we did in the dream? What if everything goes white?”
“I think we have to. This book is bringing us together for a reason and we won’t know what that is unless we go the distance,” I said, holding out my half of the grimoire.
Adrian swallowed as if he was apprehensive to do it. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “The dream we shared is at this very moment. Let’s put the book together.”
