Devon Monk - Magic in the Shadows

“I’d like that,” Nola said.

Shamus turned to me. “Good afternoon, Allie.”

I nodded.

Then he slugged Zayvion in the shoulder. Zayvion didn’t so much as flinch. “See you soon, won’t I?” he asked.

“Of course,” Zayvion said with smooth Zen calm.

I had a feeling they had both just said a lot more to each other than was obvious.

And then Shamus let himself out. I could hear him whistling down the hallway and down the staircase.

Nola was no dummy. Even though she didn’t know a lot about magic, she knew when the mood in the room had suddenly changed.

“Do you two need some time in private to talk?” she asked.

Can I just say that I loved her? Honest. Down to earth. No bullshit Nola. Loved her.

“If you don’t mind,” I said.

“I’ll be back in the bedroom if you need me.” She walked off, and Zayvion and I both stared at each other until we heard the bedroom door shut.

“Tell me why you Closed Cody,” I said.

“Because it’s my job.”

“Don’t,” I warned. “I am so not in the mood.”

He held still a moment, considered me. Finally, “He’s been a part of the Authority for a long time. But he wasn’t Closed. Someone put a hit on him, years ago, when he was turning witness for those magical forgeries he was involved in. We don’t know who did it, but they broke him, his mind. And just a few months ago James used him to work Blood magic, Death magic, dark magic, to kill your father and hurt you. . ”

Zayvion took a deep breath, looked away. His gaze finally returned to my face. When he spoke, he was very calm. “The Authority approves of Nola looking after him. And Sedra. . she thinks living away from magic will be the best thing for him. Might even give his mind some time to heal, if it can heal. But before he could be given into Nola’s care, he had to be Closed. The traumas and the memories of how to use magic taken away. So no one can use him again.”

“So you just erased the parts of his life that you didn’t think were good enough? That you didn’t think he could handle? How kind of you to make that decision for him.”

Um, yeah. Sarcasm. I had it.

“I don’t need your approval to do my job,” he said, flat, cold.

We spent a little time glaring at each other.

“Are you going to tell me what happened to Davy?” he asked.

I didn’t know whether the change of subject was a peace offering. But it was common ground, maybe better ground, for both of us.

“I found him half dead in Cathedral Park. Tomi Nowlan, his ex-girlfriend, the Hound, was there with a knife and a burnt circle of ash.”

“The disks,” he said.

I nodded. “She was working dark magic, I think. Shadowed colors in indigo and red. And then things, creatures came out of the circle.”

“She opened a gate.”

“And that’s bad, right?”

He nodded. “The creatures are called the Hungers. They exist only on the other side of magic, in the realms of death.”

“Well, I think they’re setting up a vacation home in Cathedral Park.”

He spared me a brief smile. “I need to go.”

“Are we going to hunt them?” I asked.

“No.

We

aren’t going to do anything,” he said. “Shamus and I will take care of them. It’s what we’re trained to do.”

“No,” I said. “Hell, no. You are not going after those things alone. I am going with you. I have to learn how to kill a nightmare sooner or later, right?”

“Allie. .”

“Consider it on-the-job training.”

“Bad idea.”

“Why? Keeping me in the dark about these things will not keep me safe,” I said. “Not anymore. Not if I’m going to be a part of your world.”

“Nola?” I said over my shoulder.

Zay caught my wrist. “Allie, listen. The disks are involved. The only person out there that we know of who has a disk is the Necromorph. He knows your dad is in your head. And he is willing to kill you.”

“I can handle myself.”

“That’s not my point.”

“Then point,” I said.

“Did you ever think that hurting Davy, involving Tomi, and calling you to the park to watch Tomi release the Hungers might have been planned? Might have been a way for the Necromorph to draw you to him?”

“That’s crazy. If he had wanted me there, why didn’t he show up?”

“I don’t know. Maybe something didn’t go the way he expected it to.”

I thought about Tomi’s shock. How she had seemed really out of it. So much so that even her spell casting had been jerky. Maybe she was the weak link in the Necromorph’s plan.

“He doesn’t want me, Zay,” I said.

“No, he wants your dad. And you’re giving him to him.”

Nola came out of the bedroom. “Did you call me?”

“Yes,” I said. “We’re leaving.”

“Going to tell me what you’re up to?”

“We’re going to go Hound the place where Davy was hurt. I gave a bunch of people my home number. Two men Hounds named Sid and Jack. One woman Hound named Bea. And also the nurse at the ER. I asked that they call me if they hear about Davy, or if they need someone to sit down at emergency, waiting to hear about him. Do you mind handling phone duty?”

“I can do that. But first.” She strode into the living room and then came back. “Take these with you.”

I don’t know what I expected. Maybe a cell phone. Or a gun. Nope. Nola dropped two palm-sized cookies in my hand. Oatmeal chocolate chip, and still warm.

“Come home safe,” she said.

I took the cookies. “Lock that door and do not open it for anyone but us. Call 911 if something funny happens. Call Stotts too, if you need to. Be careful, okay?”

“Me?” she said. “It’s not me who’s mixed up to her eyeballs in magic.”

I gave her a quick smile and then headed out the door, not waiting for Zayvion to catch up to me.

“What?” I asked him once he was striding alongside me.

“Aren’t you going to share those?” He pointed at the cookies.

I bit into one of the warm cookies. Delicious and moist and buttery. “Absolutely not. You probably already ate a dozen of these.”

“Your point?”

We jogged down the stairs. “So, how hard is it to take care of these Hunger things?” I asked.

“It’s not easy. Hardest to do it so no one notices. I think you should stay here.”

“Not on your life.”

We hit the lobby at a fast walk. “How hard will it be to find them?”

“We know how they move.”

“And what, exactly, do they do?”

“Hunt people and magic. Then consume. Kill.”

Comforting. “Car’s this way.” I dug in my pocket and tossed him the keys. He caught them and we strode out the door to the back parking lot.

I realized last time I’d been in this building with Zayvion, he’d been nearly passed out from exhaustion. “You are feeling okay, right?” I asked as we hit the cold late-afternoon air.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Shamus has his uses.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Like mitigating burn-out. He’s really quite good at what he does. Just don’t ever tell him I said that. I’ll deny all knowledge that this conversation ever took place.”

I shook my head. “You like him, don’t you?”

“Like the brother I never got around to killing.” He flashed me a bright smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Killing?” Shamus walked out from behind some bushes in the parking lot. “You mean the brother who has saved your sorry ass a hundred times. A little respect, here.”

“That was respect. You’re still alive. Do you have everything?” Zayvion asked.

Shamus pulled one hand from behind his back. A strange collection of leather and silver and glass dangled between his fingers. “I’m always ready with the ass saving, now, aren’t I? Apologize.”