Chapter 4 Nico
NICO
Nico left Onyx outside Rowan’s and caught a rideshare home. Was Onyx booking his own car or flying back to the gallery?
Nico hadn’t seen his wings the night the demons had dropped off Harper and Ollie before going to the Realm of the Damned. He hadn’t even gotten a good look at Ash or Dante’s, too distracted by Onyx’s fury.
Would Nico see any of the demons in their full forms again? They were private enough that he doubted it. Especially Onyx.
A twinge of disappointment cut through him. Why should he care? He was relieved the meeting was over and to be away from Onyx’s biting remarks. He’d had enough for one day.
Nico lived around the corner from The Herb Emporium, in the Banks by the river.
The car dropped him in front of his apartment building, and he detoured to the coffee shop on the corner.
Nico was wiped out, despite having achieved so little, and he wasn’t looking forward to getting in touch with the Lockwood Coven.
After ordering a double espresso, he sat at a table outside. It would have been smarter to skip the bourbon, but he’d needed to take the edge off.
Now that Onyx was gone, Nico didn’t feel so… He couldn’t put his finger on it. He hadn’t been on edge exactly, more like his reactions were heightened, making him hyperaware. Usually, no one got under his skin, but Nico was still thinking about Onyx’s unwillingness to be polite.
Onyx’s abrasiveness was impossible to ignore, practically begging for Nico to smooth it out.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. Fuck. It was probably best to stay away from the pretty demon. He was likely a challenge Nico didn’t need, no matter how tempting it was to decipher what was behind his prickliness.
Draining the last of his coffee, Nico went home. He lived on the second story of a small apartment building, and sure enough, the smell of spices filled the hall between his and Lucia’s doors.
Nico’s smile died as he pulled his keys from his pocket and noticed his door wasn’t closed. It was open the tiniest crack. There was no way he’d left it this way.
He pocketed the keys and called on his magic, reaching out for the protective spell he’d placed on the apartment.
The protection was gone.
It had been a basic spell, not linked to intruder alarms he could sense from afar, but it would have taken a decent effort to break.
The hairs on the back of Nico’s neck stood as he slowly pushed the door open. Nothing was visible from the entryway but the coats hanging on the hook by the door.
Before he stepped in and rounded the corner, he sent a quick spell ahead. Any living being should register, as long as they weren’t cloaked. It was better than scanning for magic, in case the intruder was suppressing theirs.
The spell detected nothing.
Nico crept forward, pulse thumping. He was careful not to step on the squeaky floorboards and left the door slightly ajar.
He turned into the open-plan living and kitchen area. It was empty, but fuck, the place was trashed.
The furniture was upended, papers and books strewn all over the floor.
His PlayStation was tipped on its side, and games were thrown across the room.
Nico’s face flushed in anger. The rug was crumpled in a corner, a vase of dried flowers smashed, his food taken from the pantry and scattered on the countertops, spilling onto the ground.
He turned from the mess and inched toward his bedroom. The door was open, and no one was visible inside. Nico slipped into the equally trashed space. His clothes were everywhere, drawers pulled out of his dresser, mattress askew, and curtains ripped from the wall fastenings.
The bathroom was a mess, but also empty. Whoever had been here was gone.
Nico returned to the front door and closed and locked it. He had to recast his protections.
Fuck.
Who could have done this? His electronics were possibly broken but still here, so this wasn’t about taking easy-to-sell valuables. The intruder seemed to have been looking for something, but what? Something small?
Nico would have to go through everything to see if anything less obvious than the TV had been taken, but he couldn’t think of anything that would attract this kind of attention. He didn’t have rare magical artifacts or anything worth a great value.
Robbing The Herb Emporium would’ve made more sense. The stock was easy to resell, some items were powerfully enchanted, and he had cash on hand. Dammit, he’d have to check the shop.
Nico slumped against the door. He didn’t need this.
After a long moment, he straightened and went across the hall, knocking on his neighbor’s door.
Lucia flung it open. She couldn’t be more than five feet and was as old as Nico’s parents would have been. “Nico. About time you wandered over. Can you guess what I’m making?”
Nico couldn’t help grinning at the older woman. She had gray streaked hair and wrinkles around her mouth and eyes from a lifetime of smiling.
“Smells like your pozole. How can you stand over the stove on such a warm day?”
Lucia shook her head and pulled him inside. “It’s like you’ve never cast a cooling charm. Besides, I’m never hot anymore. Summer is the season for my light sweaters.”
The woman did have an impressive array of cardigans.
“I run warm, so I guess I can’t talk.” Nico followed Lucia to the kitchen. “Did you hear anything out in the hall earlier?”
Her manner turned shrewd. “No, why?”
“Nothing. I was wondering if someone came by my place.” Nico wouldn’t worry her if there was no reason to think whoever broke in was a danger to anyone else, and it didn’t seem likely they’d rob Lucia if they hadn’t taken Nico’s TV or anything obvious.
Nico wasn’t even sure if he’d been robbed. Trashing his place felt personal.
“I didn’t notice anything, but the music was on and I had lunch out on the balcony.”
Lucia had protections on her apartment. Probably more complex ones than Nico. Her children were always in and out, the grandkids too.
Of the two of them, Nico was the lonely neighbor, though he disagreed with that assessment. He had friends, just not ones he invited to his place. That didn’t stop Lucia from looking after him like he was another one of her kids.
“Are you off to Emilio’s tonight?” Nico asked. He was Lucia’s son, who also lived in the neighborhood.
“He’s picking me up at four. You should come.”
Nico shoved his hands in his pockets. “Maybe next time. I have to stop in at work.”
“But it’s Sunday. Isn’t the shop closed?”
“It is. I need to check a few things, that’s all.” If The Herb Emporium had been broken into, he’d have to tell Harper. Nico hoped he wouldn’t have to. Harper didn’t need more stress after escaping his abusive coven.
“We love having you,” Lucia said as if she worried Nico thought it was a pity invite. “If you’d grown up across the hall, you and Emilio would have been great friends.”
Emilio was Lucia’s oldest child, and around Nico’s age. He had a feeling she was right, but Nico hadn’t grown up here. His parents had lived on the other side of the river.
“I’ll see if I can do next week.”
“All right.” Lucia turned toward the kitchen. “Don’t leave without your food.” She collected four containers of pozole, each a dinner-sized portion.
Nico took them. “Did you leave any for yourself?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “You can put a couple in the freezer.”
“I will. If there’s space. Sorry, I forgot to grab the clean containers to give back.” He hoped they hadn’t been broken.
Lucia opened the door. “Don’t worry. I know where you live. I’ll be ‘round the shop to pick up my potions on Tuesday. That handsome young man still working there?” She raised her eyebrows, face the picture of innocence.
“Yes. Like I said, Harper isn’t going anywhere. And he has a boyfriend.”
Lucia pouted. “I suppose getting involved at work wouldn’t be like you. It’s been a while since you dated. Unless you’re keeping secrets?”
“No secrets.” Onyx’s scowl crossed Nico’s mind, and he blinked him away. “I’ll see you soon. Thanks for dinner.”
She watched him cross the hall. “You’re welcome.”
Nico went inside and put the pozole in the fridge. Luckily, the intruder hadn’t thrown the contents on the floor like they had with everything from his pantry.
He gathered his magic and recast the protection spells on his apartment. It would be smart to get someone stronger to come around and beef up his security. Maybe he could hire a witch rather than ask a favor.
Once the protections were in place, Nico left his trashed apartment and walked to The Herb Emporium. Moving calmed him, even though he was only putting off cleaning his place and figuring out if anything had been taken.
The walk was too short to relax him completely. Nico couldn’t stop his muscles tensing as he raised the metal grate covering the shop’s entrance.
At a glance, everything seemed fine, and a quick inspection showed his protective spells were still in place. Nico unlocked the door and strode through the shop.
Everything was as he’d left it. His displays of dried plants and candles were as crowded as usual, but nothing appeared out of place. He checked the back room and the potions stocked behind the counter. All fine. He counted the cash and double-checked that all his log books were present.
Satisfied no one had been there, Nico locked up. He thought he’d feel relieved, but was instead left with a sinking feeling as he went home to face the mess.