Page 14 of The Magic of Discovery
“I think you’re right. We would have felt something more if the spellcaster had done the same level of magic they completed around the border in Kingstown. Speaking of, a couple of us should head over there and check out that perimeter and the warehouse, just for an alibi. If shit does start up, at least we’ll have a rock solid cover,” Cam said.
“I’ll go,” Sloane volunteered, which did not surprise me one bit. That mage was the worst at relaxing. He was constantly looking for work, a project, anything to give him purpose. He knew no level of chill.
His eyes flicked to me and held my gaze for a beat too long before looking back to the other guys.
Hmm, he might need a session soon, too. Fuck, I hope so.
“I’ll go with him. I can get a read on the people in that area, too. See if anything feels off.”
“Okay, Fischer and Sloane, head out there tomorrow. Not like we have any other leads to chase down right this second,” Cam ordered, looking back to his notes.
Kai started chuckling, his gaze locked on his phone again.
“Goddamnit, Kai. Are you texting that woman?” Sloane asked, a hint of snark laced in his tone.
“Bet your white ass I am. Gods, did you see her today? She’s a goddess. She’s funny, and she ate my food with so much enthusiasm I thought my cock was going to hit the underside of the picnic table. And that ass.” He groaned and ran his palm from his forehead down to his chin.
Cam laughed and shook his head; we were all used to Kai and his love of women.
“Bro, even Bagheera was all about her. He’s lowkey obsessing right now!” Kai exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
“Sheisa beautiful woman. I won’t deny that, but there’s something about her that’s throwing me off. I noticed it yesterday when she showed us the apartment, but I figured it was just because I was off my game and exhausted from China and the road trip.”
All of the guys sat up and looked at me now. I wasn’t the kind of dude to cry wolf over anything, so they always listened if I had concerns.
“Don’t keep us in suspense, Fish,” Sloane practically growled, and I raised an eyebrow at him.Not the time or the place, asshole.
“I can’t get a read on her. I got nothing. Zero emotions, no feelings, no colors coming off of her. She’s like a ghost. So either she’s actually some sort of zombie, or she has mental shields on the same level as our boss and Johnny,” I explained, dragging my hand through my hair. I couldn’t get shit off Larson or our handler, either. The training we’d gone through taught us all how to build our mental shields, but those two were masters. Very frustrating.
“Seriously?” Cam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Well, that certainly is interesting. What could she be hiding though? You can read what she’s thinking clear as day on her face.”
“Or she’ll just tell you to your face after she runs her fingers through your luscious locks.” Kai’s laughter boomed, and everyone joined in for several moments before the mood got serious again.
“I’m serious. A corpse might have more emotions to read,” I shrugged. “So, yeah... she’s a puzzle. And I fucking love solving puzzles.” I grinned at nobody in particular.
“What all do we know about Saige?” Sloane asked the room.
“She’s twenty-seven. Owns The Mystical Piglet magic shop. Has lived in Emerald Lakes her entire life. Biggest town she’s been to is Kingstown. Lives just outside of downtown on family property in a cottage. Her grandma lives in a smaller cottage on the back of the property, and they’re very close. Her phone was buzzing today, and she ignored all of the messages. I’m guessing an ex. She’s a green witch, loves all things earth connected. Pet arctic fox, male, named Maven. He’s lazy and cranky, but they love each other. She hasn’t referred to him as her familiar, so I believe he is truly just a pet.” Kai spilled out so much information we all looked at him like he was the Saige Whisperer.
“What?” he asked us when nobody spoke up.
“When the fuck did you find out all of that?” Sloane barked.
“What the hell did you think we were doing when I was grilling, you dickhead? I was getting to know our girl.” He smiled, pleased with himself.
“Ourgirl? K, do you even know how to have one girl?” Cam lifted an eyebrow, crossing his arms across his barrel chest.
Kai just flashed an animalistic grin, popping his shoulder in a lazy shrug as if to say, ‘challenge accepted.’
Smooth, smooth shifter.Leave it to K.Ourgirl does sound nice, though.I shook my head and smiled softly. We hadn’t talked about potentially sharing a woman for several years, and when it did come up, we were typically drunk off our asses. I’d given up hope on that dream a very long time ago, right around the time I realized I would never be able to have a normal relationship thanks to my affinity.
Cam’s deep voice pulled me from my internal thoughts, and I was grateful for it. That kind of thinking could lead me into a dark spiral.
“Okay, enough. Watch her. Fischer, see if anything changes in the next few days. Keep us posted.” Cam stood up from his chair. “I’m heading to bed.”
Everyone slowly started heading the same direction. It was late, and I just hoped my brain would be able to shut off so I could actually get some fucking sleep.
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