“Why didn’t you give it to Noah or Shazia?”
I screwed up my mouth. “I’m not sure they’re the best people to hold onto it. I think you are.”
“How do you know I won’t give it to him?”
“I don’t, but I don’t think you will. I think you feel the same about Noah’s intentions as I do. If he finds out how to use it, he might decide to and I don’t want to risk him hurting anyone. He’s not the best one to possess the talisman, even if he does think he’s the rightful owner.”
“And I am?”
“Yes. I trust you.”
Gage placed the talisman on the coffee table and leaned back on the sofa. He assessed me like he was looking at something he didn’t quite understand. “That means a lot to me,” he said at last. “It means a lot that you trust me. Do you want to know what I’m going to do with it?”
“I’m not sure I do.”
“I’m going to hide the damn thing. Best that no one knows where it is.”
I smiled approvingly. “Good plan.”
“You want to know where I’m going to hide it?”
“No.” I wasn’t sure it was wise for me to know, though I had an inkling that I would be able to find it again, if I really needed to. I wasn’t sure how I knew that. I just did.
“Does anyone else know you have it?”
“Just you and me and I’d like to keep it that way.”
He pondered that as he picked it up again. “Thanks, Stella.”
I picked up my purse and swung it over my shoulder. I crossed over to my case, zipped it up and stood it upright. “You’re welcome. I guess I’ll see you at home,” I told him as I got to my feet. “Safe driving.”
“You want to ride with me a while? Two’s company.”
I thought about my suitcase, and how I hadn’t quite figured that into my shimmer home. And how Annalise would want to know everything that Gage hadn’t told her already. It occurred to me that my house would be very empty without Étoile in it, if she were staying in New York to lead the Council. It would be even emptier without Evan, wherever he was. And I still didn’t know what Kitty had decided or if she’d even heard about the job she interviewed for. I almost dreaded the idea of returning home. On second thought, perhaps shimmering straight back to an empty home wasn’t the best plan. I could always practice long distance shimmering another time. “Maybe a while,” I said, making my decision. “Do I get to pick the music?”
“We’ll take turns.”
“I’m not singing.”
“Your prerogative.”
“When are you leaving?”
“In an hour.”
“Can you pick me up from Étoile’s? Kitty might want to ride with us too.”
“Give me the address,” he said, handing me a pad of hotel stationery and a pen. I wrote down her address and peeled off the paper, returning it to him.
“You won’t regret this,” Gage called to me as I opened the suite door to leave. For a moment, I thought he meant the talisman, then he said, “I have rock music from the eighties.”
“Oh God.” I closed the door to the sound of him laughing.
I found Kitty reading a magazine and looking very much at home in Étoile’s apartment. As I shimmered into the living room, she gave me a bright smile. That’s what made me come undone after a morning of putting on a brave face over my sadness. Seeing my wobbling lip, she immediately sprang up, dropped the magazine on the sofa and took my hand in hers.
“Evan and I broke up,” I told her, hiccupping the words as my eyes filled with tears.
“You’re going to be okay,” she said, squeezing my hands. “But maybe you want to tell me what’s going on?”
By the time I’d filled her in with all the events of the past few days, she looked as shell-shocked as I felt. “Honey, for what it’s worth, I think you need a little space just to be you. I don’t think Evan’s going to give up on you. If you want each other, if you really love each other as much as I think you do, you’ll find a way back to each other.”
“I’ll be used against him.” I reached for the tissues and dabbed my eyes.
“Then you’re going to have to become the strongest witch there is. You’re going to have to make sure that no witch, demon or anybody else ever thinks they can mess with you.”
“You really think I can do that?”
“Oh, yes. I think you can do anything. Plus, I’ll make sure your manicure is the best an ass-kicking witch ever had.”
“This is why you’re my best friend. You say such nice things.”
“No, I’m your best friend because I tell you the truth and sometimes they’re nice things.”
“Someone’s coming,” I told her as my skin gave off the telltale tingle of an imminent shimmer. Barely a second later, Étoile appeared in front of us. One-by-one, Seren, David, Anders and Daniel appeared too, their hands linked together. I forced myself to give them my best happy face.
“Kneel before your new Leader,” said Seren in a solemn voice. Kitty and I froze, exchanging looks.
“Like hell,” said Kitty and Seren giggled.
“Dang.” She turned to Étoile. “I told you she wouldn’t fall for it.”
“I don’t have long,” I told them apologetically. “I’m travelling back with Gage and he’s coming by in—” I checked my watch “—forty minutes. Do you want to ride back with us, Kitty?”
“About that… I’m going to stay in the city. I was offered the job and Étoile said I can stay here.” My face fell. I would be going home to a very empty house. “I’ll come with you, but I have to be back here next week to start. I’m sorry. I know this is really bad timing. I could ask them if I can start later… Maybe I won’t take the job at all. There will be other opportunities.”
I could have selfishly asked Kitty to stay, but that wasn’t me. I had to be happy for her. So everything was changing and maybe life would seem a little worse for a while. But that would only make the good times feel even better. I had to learn to live alone again, and if things were going to get dangerous, Kitty would be safer elsewhere. “It’s perfect!” I said, plastering a bright and happy smile on for her. “You have to take the job!”
“It is?” She peered at me.
“Yes! Congratulations! I’m so happy you got the job and now you’re coming back, I can make sure you get a good send-off.”
“I hate to interrupt, but if you’re leaving soon, we don’t have long to talk,” said Étoile, as she took me by the arm and steered me towards her small office. “We’ll be right back.”
Instead of the neat space I’d seen before, paperwork was strewn across her desk and spilling onto the floor. Card boxes were stacked on every available piece of floor space, and some were stacked two or three deep.
“So it begins,” Étoile said, waving a hand at it. She closed the door and pushed the chair towards me, choosing to perch on the cluttered desk.
“Welcome to the world of admin,” I told her. “You got a filing system yet?”
“No, but I got the 101 on paper cuts.” I didn’t doubt it, even though she held up unblemished fingers.
“Yay for self-healing. So, what do I call you now? Leader?”
“I’m changing the title to ‘president’. It’s more in keeping with the shorter elected term I’m going to put in place. But enough of that, I’m glad you came by before you left. I wanted to discuss this with you yesterday, but now is fine. I knew the witches were backwards, but not technologically backwards. Did you know they haven’t computerised anything? There’s an entire room of boxes like this stacked floor-to-ceiling. Books, paperwork, rules. It’s a mess!”
“Do you need help?”
She looked sheepish. “Actually, yes. I want to offer you a job.”
“Doing what?” I took another look at the bulging boxes. “Please don’t say filing.”
“Not exactly. You’re good with computers and you’re quick. Can you help make sense of all this? We need a way to find informat
ion and make it available. Why should only the Council have access to information when this is meant for the good of us all?”
“Like some kind of online database?” I suggested.
“Yes. And maybe some kind of library system for the Council’s reading rooms. I plan to open them up so witches can come and read and study, or even access it online.”
“Like, tell one witch and only that witch will know, but tell them all, and the power expands?” I suggested.
Étoile looked pleased. “I knew you would get it.”
“I think I can probably create something. I can definitely input the data, but if it’s as much as you say, I’ll need help.”
“No problem. The Council is surprisingly well funded. I’ll make sure you get a decent salary for this.”
“And I can’t start until I finish my business course. Oh! And I have a week long photography course booked this summer.”
“We can work around that. Can you make a web forum so witches can communicate? I don’t ever want us to be isolated again. That was part of the Brotherhood’s success. We had no warning system, no way to communicate en masse.”
“I’m not sure my skills go quite that far, although I could try.”
“Lisette knows a witch who runs a security company with a cyber division. They’re based at The Amethyst. They can do the main work if you tell them what they need to do. I’d like you to monitor it too.”
“I can do it.”
“It’ll take a long time. A really long time. You’ll have to come to the city too. If you can bear to leave Evan.”
“We broke up, so that’s not an issue right now, and I’d really appreciate keeping busy.”
Étoile put down the papers she’d picked up and looked at me sharply. “What happened?”
“Can we talk later? I have a feeling I might need your help.”
“Absolutely. Just because I won’t be living at home, at your house, doesn’t mean I’m not here for you. As soon as you get your shimmer into full force, you’ll be able to come and go as easily as you please. You won’t be alone.”
A knock sounded on the office door. “Can I spend some time with my cousin? I didn’t fly all the way here for nothing,” said Daniel.
“Go,” Étoile urged me. “We’ll talk soon. I have to head back to your home soon to pick up my stuff anyway.”
“Or you could just leave it and come visit?” I suggested.
Étoile smiled. “You know, I might just do that.”
I made for the door. Stopping, I turned back. “Do you remember when I told you I overheard something in the library? I didn’t put it together until yesterday but it was Paige and Matthew Donovan. I’m sure of it.”
“I guessed as much.”
In the living room, our friends waited for us. Their conversations were full of the things they’d done and the people they’d talked to over the last few days. The atmosphere was high and euphoric.
“Come visit us in England,” said Daniel.
“In the summer,” added Anders. “Daniel has my spare room, but I’ll find space for you. You know you want to come.”
“And you have to visit the city often,” chirped Kitty. “We haven’t seen a single thing yet, and there’s so much to see.”
“Maybe I’ll do both,” I decided. “And you’ll all have to come to me too.”
Between working for Seren and David, and now Étoile at the Council too, along with my classes, and the trips I now planned, I knew I would stay busy. Étoile’s job might even be a blessing. As I looked through the open doorway to the small room stacked with boxes, I was sure, somewhere in all that, and in the Council’s private documents, I would find the answer to my demon problem.
I would practice my magic until it was perfected and I was powerful. When it came to standing up for myself and finding my way back to Evan, I was sure I would learn the answers.
The demons had better get ready for me. As soon as I discover their weakness, I will come for them.
About the author
Author and journalist Camilla Chafer has written for newspapers, magazines and websites throughout the world. She is also the author of the Lexi Graves Mysteries and author/ editor of several non-fiction books. She lives in London, UK.
Visit Camilla online at www.camillachafer.com for deleted scenes, chapter previews and more, and join her newsletter mailing list for new release updates and fun stuff.
You can also chat with her on Twitter @camillawrites and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/CamillaChafer
Also by the author
Lexi Graves Mysteries:
Armed & Fabulous
Who Glares Wins
Command Indecision
Magic Rising (#4 Stella Mayweather Paranormal Series) Page 28