Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Erasmus
Aurelia was acting cagey, which was saying something.
Her eyes kept flicking around the kitchen.
I was at the stove, making mac and cheese.
It was a little early for dinner, but Franklin had texted earlier letting me know he was on his way home for the day.
I’d grab some smoked sausage and add it to the mix.
It wasn’t the best meal, but it would tide us over until later.
Her scuttlebutt (Gaia, that sounded wrong and right all at the same time) seemed content on Aurelia’s shoulder.
I’d yet to see the little thing’s eyes. It always seemed to be asleep.
Fuzzy Britches’s tail was wrapped around Aurelia’s left bicep.
Despite her slumber, that tail appeared tightly wound.
I wondered if Aurelia would consider a different name for her scuttlebutt as I absent-mindedly stirred the orange powder into the noodles.
I’d thought of making a double batch, but Phlox was currently asleep—or I thought he was. He’d disappeared back into the spare bedroom with Leon not long after Ray left. Phlox was still mumbling to himself about pompous fairies. I had to admit, Phlox was a creative curser.
There were a multitude of reasons I was thrilled Franklin was on his way home, not the least of which was how utterly bored I was.
I’d officially placed my necromancy business on hold.
I still planned to be available to law enforcement, but I didn’t want to take on anymore private jobs until this thing with Huxley was settled.
I had no idea what lengths Tenzen might go to and didn’t want to place anyone else in harm’s way. Considering we didn’t think he could get to me in my home, it made sense he’d make a play while I was out and about. Most of those incidents would be job-related.
Since I didn’t want to lead Tenzen to any other necromancers, I’d placed my search for them on hold also.
I went from being crazy busy to sitting on my ass with nothing more to do than worry.
That was not a conducive way to live a full and long life.
I already felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin.
I’d called Momma, but that had gone to voicemail.
I really did want to talk to her about her little meet-cutes with Aurelia.
Not that Momma would listen to me regarding how dangerous Aurelia could be.
Momma wasn’t a fool. It wasn’t na?veté that had her inviting Aurelia into her home.
As Momma had said time and time again, Aurelia was Aurelia, and she would do what she wanted.
There wasn’t a thing in the world anyone but Peaches could do to stop her.
“It has an interesting odor,” Aurelia said as she moved a step closer. “I am uncertain if it is pleasant or not.” Her nose wrinkled as she took another whiff. Given that reaction, I doubted she found it appealing.
“Some people love it, and others don’t.” I shrugged.
“Momma’s not much of a cook, and I was practically raised on box mac and cheese.
I think I turned out okay.” I shot Aurelia a grin over my shoulder, but that grin faltered.
Aurelia’s eyes grew shifty. If there was one thing Aurelia had never had an issue with, it was making eye contact.
Turning down the heat on the stove, I set the mac and cheese to simmer simply to keep it warm. I was a little surprised Franklin wasn’t home yet. Turning, I leaned my hip on the counter. I’d had enough. It was time to confront the djinn. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Aurelia answered a little too quickly. She still wouldn’t look at me. Instead, her eyes tracked to the door, as if she was watching and waiting for someone.
That thought made my heart race. “Did something happen to Franklin? Is he—”
“Your mate is fine.”
Adrenaline still riding high, I whispered, “Thank Gaia.” My heart wouldn’t settle, and I gripped the fabric over it, tightening my fingers. “There for a minute, I thought…” I didn’t even want to contemplate those thoughts.
“I saw your mate only a few moments ago. He was well at that time.”
I started to nod, but then Aurelia’s words caught up to me. “Why did you see Franklin?”
Aurelia’s gaze shifted to the door again, once more unwilling to look me in the eyes.
I turned the stovetop completely off and closed the distance.
I made certain to keep to our unspoken bubble of personal space.
“Aurelia, please look at me.” The uncertainty in her eyes didn’t ease my concerns.
Aurelia was never uncertain. “What’s going on?
Something’s wrong. I can see it in your eyes. ”
Aurelia’s eyebrows shot heavenward. “You are clairvoyant? How did I not know this? Are you keeping secrets?” The last was spoken with a layer of betrayal.
“No. It was a figure of speech. I can’t really see what you’re thinking.”
Aurelia’s body relaxed. Fuzzy Britches still seemed content with her napping. I was beginning to become concerned. I only had experience with one other scuttlebutt, but Trinket seemed a lot livelier than this one.
“I see. Franklin will be here soon. His instruction was clear. He did not desire I speak to you until he arrives.”
That statement did not do my sense of calm a damn bit of good. If Franklin wanted to be present when news was handed out…that couldn’t mean the news was anything good.
Reaching for the countertop, I gripped it tightly as a wave of nausea swept through me.
My ears perked up when I heard car tires on my gravel drive.
I didn’t think. I ran for the front door, slamming it open and barreling through the screen door so hard it smacked the house and bounced twice before settling into its resting position.
I’d expected Franklin’s SUV. Instead, a truck I didn’t recognized trundled up my drive, throwing a fine sheen of dust into the air.
Even though I didn’t recognize the truck, I still expected Franklin to slide out of the driver’s side door.
The tall, broad figure that landed in my drive wasn’t at all who I expected.
“Pops?” I questioned as I jogged down the steps. “Why are you here?” Did this have to do with whatever Franklin needed to tell me? Gaia, this was getting worse by the second. “What happened?” My voice held an edge of panic that immediately caught Pops’s attention.
“What do you mean? I decided to hand-deliver your wedding rings. They seemed too important to send through the post. And besides, I wanted to see you. Things were fine when I left.” He slammed the truck door.
Two strides brought him to my quivering form.
“You’re shaking.” Pops’s large hands found my shoulders, and he rubbed up and down my arms. “Erasmus, tell me what’s got you so spooked. ”
I frantically shook my head. “I don’t know. Aurelia won’t tell me.”
“Aurelia won’t…?” Pops’s gaze tracked behind me, to the porch Aurelia was standing on. “What is that thing on her shoulder? Is that…?” Pops’s breath whistled through his pinched lips. “That pixie is a fool.”
“Or a genius.” I defended Peaches’s actions. “He’s still alive, so he must be doing something right.”
Pops grunted his reluctant agreement. He still didn’t like Aurelia. He never would. I didn’t need him to like her. I needed him to respect her power and not piss her off. “Pops, don’t pick a fight. Not now. Something’s going on. Aurelia’s acting shady and—”
“She’s a djinn. How can you tell?”
I smacked Pops on the arm. “I can tell,” I hissed.
“And something is wrong. Aurelia said she won’t tell me until Franklin’s here.
Do you know what this is about? Has Franklin called you?
” Franklin and Pops had an odd relationship.
I knew Franklin respected Pops, and in turn, Franklin had gained Pops’s reluctant admiration. It was no small feat for a human.
“No, I haven’t heard from… Wait.” Pops dug his phone out of his back pocket and cursed. “I forgot to take it out of airplane mode when I landed. I have a message, several in fact, but only one from Franklin.”
I waited, bouncing on my toes while Pops listened to the message. His blackened fingertips danced along the side of the phone, stilling not long into the message. Pops’s inhale was sharp, the grimace that accompanied it worse than worrisome.
“Pops, what—”
“Come in the house, Erasmus.” Pops didn’t wait for me to comply. His grip on my arm was firm but far from painful. “I need a map of the area.”
“I’ll get it.” I hustled to a nearby closet and rummaged through it until I found what Pops needed. Hastily unfolding it, I laid the map out on the kitchen table. I knew what Pops would pull out before it left his pocket. The only thing I didn’t know was who he was looking for.
“Who’s missing?” I asked. My brain was a jumbled mess, and I couldn’t think straight.
Pops’s dark eyes tracked over my head, briefly meeting Aurelia’s gaze before settling back on the map in front of him. “Your momma,” Pops said. His answer stole the breath from my lungs and from one second to the next, I found myself sitting in a chair.
“M-Momma?”
“We don’t know anything yet,” Pops tried to reassure. “Give me a minute, and I’ll know more.”
Pops was a master of his craft. I’d spent a lifetime watching and being in awe of his abilities.
Now was no different. I understood the words he spoke, but I couldn’t magically twist them like he could.
If I’d uttered those same words, absolutely nothing would have happened.
In Pops’s case, the pure white crystal dangling from a leather cord pulsed with light, illuminating the map.
I’d seen this before. Soon the crystal would sway from side to side, turning in a circle as it homed in on the individual Pops wanted to find, eventually settling on an exact point and landing on the map.
I sat there, anxiously waiting…and waiting…and…nothing. The crystal pulsed but didn’t so much as twitch.