Chapter 24 #2
I blinked while trying to marry the idea that Aurelia was fine wearing a smart watch but not a cell phone.
Having no desire to get into the semantics of modern human technology, I grabbed my phone, pulled up Lydia’s number, and hit send.
While it didn’t immediately go to voicemail, she didn’t answer either.
When prompted, I said, “Hey, Ms. Boone, just calling to check in. Please call me when you get this message.” I ended the call and stared at my phone, a chill slowly working its way down my spine.
“You say Ms. Boone told you she was going to work?”
“Yes. I believe she monitors others as they explore housing units.” Boone’s momma was a real estate agent and sold homes. Aurelia’s description wasn’t all that off.
“Does Boone know?”
“No. I came to you first. I did not want to…upset him.” Aurelia sounded confused by her own words, as if she either hadn’t meant to say them or wasn’t certain why she had. “I do not know if anything is wrong.”
I considered those words. Aurelia might not be certain, but there was a reason she was in my vehicle. “But you think there could be.”
Aurelia shifted. Fuzzy Britches didn’t so much as twitter.
“It is unusual behavior for Lydia Boone and I was…looking forward to our meeting.” Again, Aurelia sounded confounded by the words exiting her mouth.
“It is an odd notion and one I am not familiar with to expound upon.” Head twisted, Aurelia stared out the front windshield.
Her next words lacked emotion but made my stomach drop. “I cannot locate her.”
My knuckles whitened as they gripped the steering wheel. “What do you mean?”
Aurelia’s gaze tracked back to mine. “It is a simple enough statement.”
I swallowed down my irritation. “Simple for you, not for me. Please explain.”
Had Aurelia been human, she would have huffed. “I simply think of who I wish to go to, and I am there. I do not know how. It simply is.”
I had no clue how the witches of old crafted such a powerful creature and hoped like hell that knowledge had well and truly been lost to the ages or outright destroyed.
“We need to find her.” The only problem was I had no idea how. Maybe I didn’t, but I knew someone who probably could. Still sitting on the side of the road, I pulled up Warlock Holland’s number and hit send. It rang and rang, and all I got was voicemail.
“Damnit,” I cursed while waiting for the prompt to leave a message.
When it came, my words were curt. “Holland, call me as soon as you get this. I’m hoping nothing’s wrong, but Ms. Boone may be missing.
We need to find her ASAP. Also, I don’t think Boone knows yet.
” Hesitance entered my voice for the first time.
“Aurelia alerted me there might be a problem.” I hit the end button.
Wading through my spinning thoughts was like mucking through a swamp. I was too damn tired to think straight. The days of running on empty had caught up, and I couldn’t seem to hold on to a thought long enough to form a plan of action.
One thing was for certain. I needed to get home to Boone.
Hitting my indicator light, I eased back out on the road when there was a break in traffic.
“Aurelia, would you mind heading to Boone’s house, just to keep an eye on him?
I’ll be there soon, and we can hopefully tell him together.
Maybe he knows where his momma is, but I’d like to be there in case…
in case there’s something wrong.” I swallowed hard.
Nothing could happen to Lydia. Losing her would devastate Boone.
And not just him. Lydia was a well-loved individual.
When I glanced at the passenger’s seat again, Aurelia was gone.
I had no idea if she’d done as asked or if she’d fucked off to who knows where.
What I did know was that none of this sounded good.
Maybe nothing was wrong, and Aurelia and I were overreacting.
While I hoped that was true, it would be foolish to hang my hat on the thought.
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. They were words to live by as far as I was concerned.
The best-case scenario was that Lydia had forgotten and gotten tied up somewhere else. But if that were truly what was going on, then Aurelia should be able to find her. I didn’t need to understand how Aurelia’s magic worked to know what not being able to locate Ms. Boone meant.
If something had happened to her, then chances were good it wasn’t your run-of-the-mill human-on-human shitshow. I couldn’t imagine what kind of power would be required to hide someone from a djinn.
My hand slammed on the steering wheel. Why hadn’t Holland called me back yet? Boone’s pops’s phone was attached to his hip these days. He was so worried about his son that he didn’t want to be out of communication reach. That courtesy fell to me as well.
I turned off the main road, winding my way toward what wasn’t just Boone’s home, but mine as well. I was less than two blocks away when my vehicle bucked, grinding to a halt. The engine revved, pushing against whatever stopped me.
“What the hell?” I pressed down on the gas, revving the engine more. It was like something gripped the wheels and—
“Oh my God.” Shadows swamped me and blocked out the sun, wrapping me in its murky darkness. My head tilted back as I gasped for air, the oily blackness inching up my body, covering my head and eyes and finally my mouth and nose. I couldn’t hear. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.
Darkness was all I knew.