Page 4 of April's Fool
Within minutes, I had Cody out of the door, my concern for my friend speeding me along. The magicof the wards was off. It hadn’t tingled over my skin in welcome like usual. The lamp on the bedside table was off center. An imprint of a person was on the bed next to Cody’s feet.
Whatever was happening with Cody wasn’t over.
“Thanks, Damon. I’m lucky to have you in my life.”
“Anything for you, cutie. “You know that,” I said playfully.
The short drive to his office passed as Cody got himself ready and I thought about what I needed to do. First, I’d contact Parker and check that no other contracts were out on Cody. I thought we had an alert set up for his name, but things could slip through. Second, I’d do some digging into his work. Check out the other employees. It was where he spent most of his time, so it made sense to look there.
If I had to go into the coven for him, I would. Basil wasn’t there now, though it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he was waiting to take his place back. Rumors on the street said he hadn’t gone willingly.
“I think I love you!” Cody said as we pulled up outside the building. “Seriously, you saved my job!” He leaned into my space and pecked me on the cheek. I loved that about him. Despite what I was, he was never afraid of me.
I couldn’t resist reaching out and touching him. “If only you could fall in love with me, cutie.”
“Just give me time and I might.” He gave a flirty wink that we both knew wasn’t real. “Either that or I’m going to become a spoiled brat.”
“Never! You’re much too sweet for that. Knock ’em dead, darlin’. I’ll pick you up later on.” I planned on circling the block and ditching the car. Paranoid was better than dead in this business. I made sure to never be seen in the same vehicle for long, just in case.
“I’ll just get a ride share or something,” he said as he left the car.
“No chance. I’ll be here,” I vowed with a kiss.
Revelations
Damon
Cody had a crushon his new colleague. It was apparent as soon as the two were in the same room together that the new guy, Quill, liked him back. Quill was one of the few colleagues that genuinely liked Cody. The rest were all too busy trying to climb the ladder, unafraid to trample him on the way. It gave me too many targets to choose from.
All I could do was to keep watch on him. Help him keep his spirits up, even as he seemed to fade in front of my eyes. The flowers had cheered him, until they, too, seemed to wilt under the strange air in Cody’s apartment.
Watching my new friend struggle with something he was too scared to talk to me about made frustration burn in my gut. Instead of confiding in me, he was withdrawing, and I hated it.
Even the secrets of his past weren’t enough to draw him out. I had Parker working every angle to figure out what his family had done to him when he was born. Our theory was that Basil had been tasked withending Cody so his family could get the trust fund back. Apparently, it would revert to the family on his death instead of going to charity and they weren’t as solvent as they used to be after buying their way into another coven.
His emerging magic might be the block on him failing, but why would his family have done that to him and not his siblings? So much of this made little sense. I could tell we were missing a lot of information.
Watching Cody and Quill dance around their attraction to each other was difficult. It only got harder when Cody sweetly announced his date with Quill.
Naturally, I followed them on their date, neither one aware of my presence as they flirted. I could practically see them falling in love with each other, and I prayed to every deity I knew of to prevent Quill from hurting my friend.
Not that I was in love with Cody, but I loved him deep in my soul, even as his magic grew within him, making him something that I feared had been taught to hate.
My views made no sense, considering how deeply ingrained magic was in our culture now. There were healers alongside doctors in the hospitals. Spells served a variety of purposes, from security to cosmetics. Hell, I’d even used magic on Cody. Yet I’d always had this innate fear of it. I was more cautiousaround witches than any other supernatural being, for reasons I didn’t understand.
Of course, my upbringing hadn’t helped. I’d moved from foster homes to group homes, been adopted, and then returned when the family became pregnant. Some couples had made more of a mark on my psyche than others. Those families had hidden their prejudices from social services and encouraged, with stern punishments, a hatred of anyone not like them, especially witches.
Later, I’d discovered that those foster parents had come from witches and had their powers stripped, but it was too late to undo the conditioning, no matter how hard I tried.
Cody Valentine represented something I hated, yet, no matter how I tried to turn away from him, I continued to stay by his side.
I hadn’t planned on watching Cody with Quill. Somehow, I still found my way to the building that overlooked his own with a clear line of sight into his apartment.
The cameras I’d installed in his tiny space—truly, Cody deserved better than that dump, though it kept him humble and sweet—caught all the action, though, unfortunately, none of the sound. I saw through the feed on my phone the moment that their lips met, and a swell of purple magic.
My friend lurched back with surprise, not fear, on his face. Quill looked hopeful and concerned for Cody. Then he had wings!
A demon! My friend was a demon! Was that the reason for the contract on his life? Had someone figured out the secret?
