Page 3 of Gray Dawn

“Noted.” I squared my shoulders. “Carry on.”

“You were human when you launched Hollis Apothecary out of your home, when you hired Camber and me, and when you gave us real jobs with actual responsibilities. You never treated us like we were dumb kids. Or food. Or playthings. Or spell ingredients. You treated us as your equals.”

“And when you two suggested I open a storefront…” I saw where this was heading, “…I listened to you.”

“Exactly.” She dug her nails into my hands. “So, listen to me now.” She stared into my eyes, right down to my soul. “You’re not worthless without magic. You’re not powerless withoutmagic.” She risked a hesitant smile. “You’re still you. Still Rue. Still my mentor and…my friend.”

Tears stung the backs of my eyes as I reeled her in for the bone-crushing hug I had been wanting to give her since she first stepped off the plane. “Thanks.” I sniffled against her cheek. “I’m glad you’re here.”

A cool wind tore at the tent flap, and Asa walked in dressed in white from head to toe. His hair had been braided into intricate loops accentuated by the rainbow flash of an opalescent hoop piercing his septum. The small studs in his ears glinted with a metal I couldn’t identify. Even his hair sparkled with glitter.

“I see you’re back from the land of Faerie.” Arden pinched her lips together, but a snorting laugh choked her. “I’ve watched all ofThe Lord of the Ringsmovies, but they didn’t prepare me for this.”

“I’ve been in meetings with my grandmother and a visiting scholar priest in The Holy Temple of Divine Reflection for days,” he explained away the flowy tunic and loose pants. “This is standard attire required for the children of priestesses while the council is in session.”

As the son of Priestess Callula and the grandson of High Priestess Naeema, he must have gotten a double whammy in the stylist’s chair to make him this shimmery.

“Days?”Arden gawked at him. “You were only gone three hours.”

“Three hours here,” I said to her on my way to him, “is about forty-eight hours there.”

“Are you serious?” A slow-building wonder brimmed in her eyes. “That’ssocool.”

As soon as my cheek hit his chest, I breathed in the green-apple scent of him and felt the caged animal in me quit its frantic pacing. A hint of sweet cherry tobacco laced his skin, and knowing Blay was home too let me breathe for the first timesince he stepped through the portal Dad anchored for him near the spot where Blay had burned the otdrel corpses to ash.

“Did your grandmother, or the scholar priest, have any good news for us?”

“He believes the only way to remove the Hunk is to behead you, but he also expressed concerns that the Hunk would grow stronger for bathing in your blood. There is also some concern it would view your death as a sacrifice made in its honor and become more sentient.” His slow exhale rustled my hair. “As much as I enjoyed visiting with Grandmother, the trip was a waste of time we don’t have.”

We hadn’t tried decapitation as a method of Hunk removal, true, but it wasn’t like it would sit idly by while I let the ax fall. Though, now that I thought about it, we hadn’t tried any potentially lethal methods since I got cut off from my magic. Who was to say, with it bound within me, that it could act even to save itself?

“We had to try.” I kissed the underside of his jaw. “We’ll just have to find our own solution.”

Dad had promised to work on one, and since he was one of the authors of the Maudit Grimoire, he had a better shot of breaking its hold over me than High Priestess Naeema. The Tinkkit choker she created for me had been twisted by black magic, which was Dad’s specialty.

“I heard Isiforos found the Kellies.” He tightened his hold. “They really carved out their own safe room?”

“They did indeed, which proves they knew the compound was rigged with explosives.”

“And they had enough warning,” he agreed, “to hide before the compound came down on their heads.”

Arden scratched her forearm, wincing when the scab flaked off and a perfect crimson drop formed over what was fast becoming a scar from her constant picking. With Colby gone,and my magic off the table, I would have to fall back on my white witch ways. A salve was just what the doctor ordered to soothe her irritated skin.

Comfrey and plantain leaf, lavender, and tea tree essential oils, with extra virgin olive oil and vitamin E.

That should do it.

Really, since this was Arden, who had worked at Hollis Apothecary for years, I should give her the recipe.

“I’m going to find Fergal.” She caught me frowning at her and hid her arm. “He has a job for me.”

Once she was out of hearing range, Asa angled toward me. “You should warn her about the Kellies.”

The last thing we needed was for her to get it in her head that because Fergal was approachable that the Kellies were too. “I plan on it. I’m debating how much she needs to know. Their history is messy.”

The old setup made fraternization next to impossible. It kept their interactions with other agents to a minimum. This new arrangement presented challenges, among them allowing for socialization that the Kellies might use to finagle their way out of confinement.

“Arden should know they’re two of the most prolific killers the Bureau has ever enlisted.”

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