“Perhaps we should call Dr. Gellar and get her to expedite your medical tests.”
“Do you think Bruce is okay? Her voice came out muffled from her blocked nose and partially covered mouth. “Can you call Callie and ask her if she can go check on him?”
“I think I should call Dr. Gellar first.”
Jade frowned. “I’m seeing her Monday anyway. But Bruce might need help now.”
Paris frowned back at her. “I doubt Callie can make it past your demon locks.”
Jade paused and then stretched out her magic, willing it to travel as far as it could. She should have changed her locks before to let Callie in. How else would Bruce get help if he needed it?
“I don’t think using your magic is a good idea right now,” Paris said, kneeling by her side and putting his hand back on her shoulder. She shamelessly pulled some his power, hearing him suck in a sharp breath when she did, but he didn’t pull back, nor did he remove his hand. With that little boost, she could feel her locks even across the distance. Jade turned their tumblers in her mind, tweaking and reshaping the spell, feeling it slide into a new arrangement. The magic was still sluggish and slow. It had the sense of an old lace doily - fragile and flimsy. She reeled her magic back, releasing her grip on Paris’ power at the same time.
“I think it will let Callie in now,” she said. “Will you call her and ask her to check on Bruce?”
Paris looked displeased, his lips pressing together thinly as he stood, but he pulled out his phone and called Callie, quickly asking her to check in on Bruce and letting her know Jade’s demon locks shouldn’t be a problem. However, he then called Gellar and asked the doctor to request a rush on Jade’s lab results.
Jade hit the side of his leg with the back of her hand. “You’re such a tattletale,” she said as soon as he got off the phone. She pulled the bloodied tea towel away from her nose and dabbed at her nostrils a few times, confirming the nosebleed had stopped. “It’s just a nosebleed. I haven’t had one in a while. I get them sometimes when I’m stressed, not only from magic stuff. It probably doesn’t even have anything to do with-” she waved her hand around, not sure how to say, ‘with all the crazy going on in my brain. You know, that crazy I haven’t told you about.’ “Stuff,” she finished lamely.
“Then it should be simple enough for the good doctor to rule out anything once she gets your blood work. Which she’ll get back sooner now.”
Jade rolled her eyes, scrunching her nose as she did. It already had the dry, crusty sensation that would plague her all day due to the nosebleed.
“Besides, even if you do get them regularly,” Paris said, eyeing her dubiously. “You also get them from too much magic.” He pointed to the cracked glass pane.
“I’m going to have to ask the landlord to replace that now.” Jade slumped as she sat. That was just one more thing to go on her ‘to-do’ list.
“That’s hardly the most pressing concern of it.” Paris paused, looking down at her. “What happened?”
Jade shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just… thinking and it happened.”
“Thinking of what?”
“Of things! Stuff and things and moving and packing and I didn’t sleep well last night and-” she waved her hands around. She stopped, taking a deep breath. “Is there room in the car for the rest of these boxes?” Jade asked, wanting to change the subject.
Paris’ jaw worked for a moment as he watched her before he darted his eyes quickly around the room. “Should be. Just enough.”
“Then let’s just finish and go.”
She turned her back to him, moving toward another set of boxes. He didn’t move from where he stood and she thought he would push her for more, but he only sighed. Moments later, she heard him pick up the box by the front door and head downstairs to the car. Her eyes drifted over to the doorway and she had to remind herself to get back to work.
It took two more hours of silence other than, ‘pass me the packing tape gun’ and ‘no, that box doesn’t look full, but it’s heavy. That can’t go in there,’ before they were done.
Paris stood behind Jade in the hallway as she took a long, last look at the apartment. It didn’t look much different, even with all her stuff gone. She felt transitory - like she was some kind of ghost, not a real person. Just an image moving from place to place without leaving any trace.
“Are you ready to leave?”
Jade nodded but didn’t turn to leave.
“Come, Jade. Let’s go home.”
Home. To Paris, that’s what the Coven was. Home. It wasn’t quite that to Jade, but she didn’t think this apartment had been either.
“I’m worried I’m forgetting something.” Her voice sounded loud to her even though she barely put any effort behind it.
“If you are, we can always come back.”
Jade nodded, but she didn’t believe him. With a sharp tug, she pulled the door shut and locked it, shoving the key under the door for the landlord. Down in the parking garage, Paris handed her car keys to her before heading for the passenger side.
“You could have sent these things with movers,” said Paris as he slid into the car. It had taken some serious work on his part to get all the boxes she had sent down with him into the backseat and trunk of her car.
She wrinkled her nose and then wiggled it a bit at the tight feeling inside it. “I don’t like other people touching my stuff. It’s weird. The things I’m taking are my important things. Things I like. Things I need.”
“Even the coffee pot?” he responded dryly. “I know you have one back at the Coven.”
She gave a weak smile, feeling like he was trying to humor her. “That coffee pot and I have been through a lot together. They don’t even make that model anymore. If it clunks out, I’ll never be able to replace it.”
“And the pillows?” He gestured to some truly bland and generic throw pillows she had decided at the last minute to pull off the sofa and bring with her.
“Those are for Bruce! He likes to sleep on pillows.”
Paris’ lips curled up in small grin. “He’s quite the creature.”
“I hope he’s okay.”
“Callie will call or text as soon as she confirms that.”
Paris seemed so sure of the answer. She wondered if he really was or if it was a sort of leader thing - the ability to fake the calm, cool exterior no matter what he believed. Jade liked to think she was getting to know him better, but she didn’t know him well enough to tell if he was lying right now and trying to make her feel better.
She wanted to know him better, but maybe she wasn’t ready. She gave herself a mental shake and focused on the task at hand - starting the car and driving back to the Coven. She had too much going on in her life at the moment for anything. Besides, Paris probably didn’t even think of Jade that way. You know, in a relationship kind of way. Not that she thought of Paris in a relationship way. She just… sort of thought it might be nice to spend more time with him. Without magic or demons or hexes. Just regular time where they didn’t talk about the Coven, or Jade’s magic or about some problem cropping up. Ugh. She was a mess. A relationship would be a horrible idea.
A sound from Paris had her glancing over even as she exited the underground parking garage of her (former) apartment, catching him yawning.
“I apologize. I’m quite tired.” Out of the side of her eye, Jade could see him blinking and widening his eyes in the way people do when they are trying to wake themselves up.
“You look kinda shitty.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m just saying,” Jade replied easily. Great, win him over with your sweet talk, she thought and then wanted to roll her eyes at herself. She’d just finished convincing herself that ‘no relationship’ was the path she was on. She again pushed those thoughts aside and stuck to stuff she did well. With one hand on the wheel she reached into the backseat and snagged a throw pillow. She pulled it forward, smacking it into his face a little as she did.
&
nbsp; “Here,” Jade said as she pushed it at him. “Catch a nap while I drive.”
“But how will I ever tell Bruce that I stole one of his pillows?”
“He’ll live. Besides, better make use of it now before he does some strange lizard thing to it. I don’t think I’ll get it back once it’s his.”
Paris pushed the pillow into the crevice between the seat and the window, slouching down a bit and tipping the seat back.
“If you need to switch off, wake me.”
Watching him get comfortable, she felt a surge of… something. It made her feel good that he trusted her enough to sleep while she drove, that he felt comfortable enough to be unconscious in her presence. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Maybe Paris was like this with everyone. Maybe it was nothing special. Just because it would mean something if Jade slept in front of him didn’t mean it meant anything to him. She shifted her shoulders down and back, stretching her neck and getting comfortable for the long drive. Her eyes darted to the radio and she was just about to ask if he minded some music, but when she listened carefully, she heard his breathing already falling into that slow, steady, even breath that people get when they’re asleep.
So, silence on the way back it was.
#
Paris didn’t so much wake up as drift gently into consciousness. He became vaguely aware of the car engine humming and the slight bumps as it hit rough patches in the road. He swayed slightly as the road curved left and then right, the car easily following the turns. He opened his eyes, squinting as he shuffled himself upward in the seat. Jade turned her head to quirk her lips at him in a slight smile and then focused her attention back on the road.
“Hey. You napped for about two hours.”
He looked down and saw a paper bag sitting on his lap. “What is this?”
“Snack. I thought you’d be hungry when you woke up.”
“When did you stop?” he asked, amazed he had slept through it.
“About an hour ago.”
He opened up the bag and smiled slightly when he saw what was inside. Double chocolate cookies.
“For your sweet tooth.” She gave him another quick glance.
“Thank you.” Paris wasn’t sure if the cookie was warm because it was still slightly fresh or because it had been on his lap, but either way, he took a large bite of the chocolate goody and chewed thoughtfully. There were two coffees in the cup-holders on the dash and he made a sort of questioning noise as he reached for one.
“It’s black but there are sugar packets and stir-sticks in the bag. I didn’t know how many sugars to put in.”
It was a slight juggle, which entailed holding the rest of his cookie with his teeth as he fixed his coffee. He heard Jade snort off to the side.
“There’s gotta be some kind of magic spell to do that easier.”
Paris secured the lid of the coffee and took the cookie out of his mouth. “Probably. But it’s just as quick to do it the old fashioned way.”
Paris settled back into the seat and focused on sipping the slightly cooled coffee and chewing the rest of his cookie. Though he was loathe to admit it, he had used the time at Jade’s apartment to snoop a bit, looking for further information about her, her past and the mystery of Lily. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or perturbed that he’d found nothing. There hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary. Not that he’d known what he was looking for, really, but it had just been an apartment with regular items - clothes, kitchen supplies, books. Although there had been a lack of personal pictures. Paris had seen the photos from her shoebox and he expected to see other ones around, or maybe a photo album. That in itself wasn’t too strange - so many photos were digital lately that not many people took the time or effort to print them out. Still, after seeing the ones in the box, kept so safe and close to Jade at all times, he expected to find others. There had been none.
Jade seemed so lost and sad for a moment, staring off into space while they’d been talking about the box he’d been holding (while not really talking about the box at all). He’d not even felt her power surge up before it suddenly slapped out, cracking the glass of the TV stand. That had been surprising, as had been the scent of grapefruit, which he’d never associated with her before. Jade was usually quick with her magic, but Paris thought he should have at least had some warning before her power sparked out. It had felt different as well. It had been more like her magic from when she first came to the Coven. Unfocused, disoriented and disorganized. While Jade still had a lot to learn, she had made significant progress and her power felt cleaner and neater now. The sharp crack that had slipped out had been harsh and tangled.
“How is your nose? It hasn’t bled again, has it?” he asked.
Jade shook her head, not taking her eyes off the road. “No. I told you, sometimes I get those things. They’re usually one-offs. Hey, can you check your phone and see if Callie said anything about Bruce?”
He did, passing along the message that Callie had found Bruce stretched out in front of an empty fireplace, napping. Feeling sorry for him, Callie decided to stay for a bit and conjure him a fire.
“She hopes you don’t mind,” Paris read from his phone, “but she’s also eating a bag of chips she found in your cupboard.”
Jade snorted. “She got suckered in by Bruce’s puppy eyes.” Jade frowned. “Lizard eyes, I guess. She can eat all the chips she wants.”
Hearing her familiar was safe, Jade’s shoulders relaxed, tension bleeding out. He could admit that he was relieved as well. Though he hadn’t said it aloud, Paris had been concerned Jade’s nosebleed meant they would find Bruce sick or hurt or… something. He wasn’t sure what. It all made Paris wonder if he should ask Jade not to use any more magic until they sorted this all out. What ever ‘it’ was.
He was hesitant to bring anything sensitive up, however, while she was driving. The magical spurt that had caused the glass to crack back at her apartment had been out of control and he didn’t like to think of what could happen if something similar should occur while they were on the road. Keeping to himself, they passed the rest of the trip in casual companionship with long bouts of comfortable silence. By the time they pulled into the driveway in front of Jade’s small cottage, Paris had managed to get a few emails done on his smartphone.
Jade seemed anxious to be back; Paris wasn’t sure why. Her mood lightened, though, when Paris spied a lumbering Bruce heaving his way out of a window on the main floor. Paris couldn’t understand how the creature managed to hoist himself up and then out. He thought he sensed magic around the window and turned to ask Jade about it, but stayed silent when he saw the way her face lit up at seeing Bruce. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her smile so open and wide. It made her appear years younger than she was. Bruce hobbled over and scratched at the car door and Jade quickly opened it up, not appearing to care about the paint job. Paris was certain if he looked, he’d find lovely gouge marks claw-distance apart, running down the entire door.
“Hey! There you are! Were you a good lizard while I was gone?” Jade’s voice was higher - the pitch the people tend to use with pets. Bruce’s butt did a sort of shimmy-wiggle that Paris assumed was his way of answering in the affirmative.
“And did Callie feed you some chips? I bet she did. I bet you totally conned her with your sad eyes.”
Callie had indeed texted that as she left Jade’s cottage, about an hour before, Bruce had been happily munching on some chips, still stretched out in front of the fireplace.
Crouched on the ground next to him, Jade went over his Elizabethan lizard collar and neck with careful fingers. Paris noticed when Jade found Bruce’s scaly spot. Her smile faded and her eyes went tight at the edges. The spot looked as though it had doubled in size. From the look on her face, Jade had realized it too.
“I brought you pillows,” she said conversationally, straightening up and smoothing out her jeans. “Pillows that are officially yours, so you can stop stealing mine.”
“Pffffff
t.” Bruce flicked his pink tongue out.
As Paris made his way around to their side of the car, Bruce waddled a few steps closer to him and presented his neck.
“Yes, Bruce. I see it,” Paris said lowly, bending over to deposit a few light pets on his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jade biting her lip.
“Gotta unpack, Bruce,” she said, her voice overly bright and cheerful. Bruce pushed past Jade and hopped into the front seat, grabbing the pillow Paris had used from the passenger side. He reversed out of the car, his butt waving side to side as he did, pillow firmly in his jaws.
Jade handed two boxes to Paris and took one for herself. She seemed to have a good idea of where things were in the car, despite not having been the one to load it up. Her directions were easy for Paris to follow - bring some items upstairs and leave that box close to the kitchen, put that box in the living room. They worked in relative silence, Bruce ever watchful from the fireplace, his chin resting on his new pillow.
Once the last of the boxes were in the cottage, Jade started a pot of coffee in the kitchen, using her older pot − the one she’d brought back with her. Bruce curled up under the kitchen table, his silvery eyes watching Jade as she moved around the kitchen.
“Hello, old friend,” she said dramatically, petting the coffee machine as it spat and gurgled. Paris rolled his eyes, catching sight of the pantry door, slightly ajar.
“Have you received any more visits from the demon?”
Jade pursed her lips. Bruce snorted.
“Jade.”
“It’s not like I’m keeping them a secret. I just didn’t get around to telling you because I know how you are.”
“If you’re not keeping them a secret, why are you so defensive?”
“Because this is how you are.” She gestured at his tense posture and firm gaze, waving her hands at him. “Seth’s just a creeper. A creeping creeper who creeps. He’s not going to hurt me.” She paused, leaning against the counter. “I don’t think.”
Paris took a seat at the kitchen table. “I would appreciate it if you kept me informed of his comings and goings. I don’t fault you for his visits.”
Double-Sided Witch (Covencraft Book 3) Page 17