Page 41 of A Skirl of Sorcery
Tiddles lifted a front paw and started to lick it before delicately washing her face. A leprechaun seated not too far from us turned and stared, apparently bemused that I was talking to a cat. I ignored her.
‘Why didn’t Thane mention it?’ I demanded.
Tiddles changed position and raised a hind leg so she could groom her nether regions.
‘This isn’t a good time for family politics, not with everything that’s going on with Keres,’ I grumbled. The Barrow werewolves had stopped trying to kill Thane at every opportunity over the past few years and I’d thought they were softening their stance towards him. I’d obviously been wrong.
Tiddles paused in mid-lick with her shell-pink tongue sticking out, then continued her grooming. I rolled my eyes in exasperation. ‘We’re only doing this because I promised you we’d find him. After that, you and he will have to deal withCayden Barrow yourselves. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, I don’t want to get involved.’
The leprechaun raised an eyebrow before turning away. Thankfully she disembarked two stops before us.
With Tiddles on my shoulder, I stomped off the tram after muttering a quick thank you to the driver, then I stomped across the street, stomped past the crossroads and stomped down the road to the Barrow property. There was a great deal of stomping.
At least I was familiar with this area: I’d completed an EEL contract on a witch who had once lived near here, so I knew where the Barrows lived. I was aware that their pack didn’t enjoy the same sort of wealth or privilege as the MacTires, but I was still shocked by their residence. It was only three years since I’d last passed this way and the deterioration was obvious. The Barrow werewolves were not prospering.
In terms of design it was similar to the MacTires’ main house, albeit considerably smaller. There were gates in front that I knew led to a small courtyard and what looked to be three separate buildings inside. The gates, which had been stained and varnished once upon a time, were weather-beaten, the hinges were rusty and they looked as if a strong breeze might blow them down. The roofs of the inner buildings were visible from the street and they didn’t appear to be in much better nick: there were slates missing, copious amounts of slick green moss and a crumbling chimney stack. Oh dear.
Before I could thump on the gates and alert the residents to my presence, there was a loud cough from behind me. My body suddenly relaxed. That was Thane; I was sure of it.
‘See?’ I muttered to Tiddles. ‘I knew he’d be fine.’
She gave a warm purr, leapt off my shoulder and ran. I abandoned the Barrow gates in favour of following her as she disappeared down a narrow snicket. I arrived in time to see Thane shimmying down a drainpipe.
I crossed my arms and waited until his feet were planted safely on terra firma. Tiddles threw herself at him, leaping into his arms then rubbing her head across his chin in delight. Thane smiled and scratched her ears.
‘She missed you,’ I said pointedly. He didn’t look up. ‘We went to your silly bachelor pad this morning, as promised.’
Thane still wouldn’t meet my eyes. ‘It’s not a bachelor pad.’
I snorted. ‘If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…’
‘It’s a temporary place to crash, that’s all.’ There were two high points of colour on his cheeks. ‘The mirrored ceiling in the bedroom isn’t something I would have chosen.’
I raised an eyebrow; I hadn’t noticed that particular bit of his décor. ‘I broke in and looked around but I certainly didn’t do any more than pop my head in your bedroom to confirm you weren’t there. I’d been hoping,’ I said with a melodramatic sniff, ‘that we would go in there together. I was expecting hot sex, with or without a mirrored ceiling.’
‘There still will be hot sex,’ Thane said.
My tone was very, very dry. ‘Oh, will there?’
He finally looked at me. When he saw my expression, he relaxed. ‘I’ll make it up to you. The sex won’t just be hot, Kit – it will be sizzling.’
‘That remains to be seen, Thane.’
His eyes glinted. ‘You will scream.’
‘That might not be the flex you think it is.’
He grinned cheekily. ‘Trust me.’ His expression softened. ‘I’m sorry. I would have been there waiting for you but…’
‘But you think something’s wrong with your brother and you were worried enough to come here to check on him as soon as you woke up.’
Thane blinked. ‘You know about Cayden?’
‘I just found out.’ I uncrossed my arms. ‘How do you think I ended up here?’
‘I was so pleased to see you that I didn’t give it much thought.’ He was trying to butter me up, but it was clear that lack of thought was the recurring theme of Thane’s post-full-moon day.
I stayed focused on what was important and ignored my fleeting burst of warmth towards him. ‘Is being here a good idea? He attacked you last night. He would have killed you if he could.’
