Chapter 10
Dude, where’s my ring?
Drew slept like the dead; his foray into Hell had completely taken it out of him.
When he finally woke, Zach’s side of the bed was empty but still warm, so he hadn’t been alone for long.
He stretched, hearing a satisfying pop from his spine, and then slumped back down and burrowed further under the blankets.
He had no idea how long they’d been gone for.
Was the passage of time in Hell the same as in this realm?
Zach had said something about that, but after all that had happened, he couldn’t recall the details.
Drew wasn’t even sure what day it was. It had him feeling completely out of whack, and although he had no personal experience with it, he thought this must be what being jet-lagged felt like.
It was enough for him to decide that going back to sleep for another hour or so was a great idea, and if he happened to have uni today, well, that was tough. He wasn’t going.
There came the clicking of nails on the laminate flooring, followed by an inquisitive bok, and a moment later, Leila peered around the doorway. Having found her quarry, she crossed to the bed, flapped up onto the mattress, then climbed on top of Drew and promptly went to sleep.
Drew was happy his familiar was on the same page as him.
He drifted for a short while, only to be woken sometime later by Zach’s voice.
“I figured we’d expect a call from you this morning,” Zach said. There was a pause, then, “Yes, we got your note, but we were exhausted and needed to rest. Calling you wasn’t exactly our priority.”
Drew was glad it was Zach dealing with Kensington. He was feeling too sleepy to get yelled at right now.
“There was a bit of an incident, but it turned out alright in the end.” The Grand Master must have asked what had happened, and Zach, bless him, was trying to prevent Drew from getting in trouble with his magical mentor.
“Are you sure you need specifics?” Zach sighed.
“Drew was attempting to make dinner for our anniv—really, Kensington, is all the yelling necessary? What’s done is done.
We managed to get back from Hell unscathed and—”
There was another long pause, and Drew winced as he imagined how mad Kensington must be. He really wasn’t looking forward to his next meeting with him.
“Are you quite done?” Zach asked in a tired voice. “Look, he made a mistake. These things happen.” Zach hummed and then sighed once more. “Fine. What time should we expect you?”
Drew groaned and pulled the blanket over his head.
His plans to laze about in bed were about to be derailed by an irritable wizard.
There was movement above him and then sharp claws scratched at the blanket, followed by another bok.
Drew lifted the blanket and allowed Leila to climb under with him, and she nestled into the crook of his arm.
“I’m hiding here today, Leila,” he said into their dark little haven.
“No you’re not,” Zach said from the doorway.
“La la la, I can’t hear you!” Drew sang.
The blanket was pulled off him, and Drew winced against the bright light. Zach stood at the foot of the bed, but he was more amused than angry. “Come on, Drew. It’s time to get up.”
“Do I have to?” Drew whined. Leila made an unhappy grumbling noise, echoing his sentiment.
“Yes. As I’m sure you overheard, since you’re hiding like a naughty toddler, Kensington is going to be gracing us with his presence.”
Drew tried to tug the blanket back up, but Zach held tight. “Can’t you deal with him?”
“I already have, and I’ve now got tinnitus thanks to his hysterical shrieking.”
Drew allowed his disbelief to show on his face. Kensington had a deep baritone voice, and he couldn’t imagine him shrieking. Growling, grumbling, roaring, and snapping, yes. But not shrieking.
“Okay, fine,” Zach conceded. “It was more volume than pitch that hurt my ears, but hopefully the worst of his ire will have worn off by the time he gets here. Now, come on. Up you get. I’ll make a start on some French toast for breakfast. It won’t be as romantic as an anniversary dinner, but it’s a step up from Cheerios.
Then while you’re getting ripped a new asshole by Kensington, I’ll do some washing and other chores so maybe we can go out to dinner tonight to celebrate properly. Sound good?”
Drew nodded and smiled. “Yes, thanks.” Zach turned and left the room, and Drew jumped up from the bed, leaving Leila with ruffled feathers, and darted over to the clothes he’d thrown in the hamper last night.
He found his jeans and dug around in a pocket, but to no avail.
“No, no, no,” he moaned as he began searching the other pocket.
“Fuck! Come on, it’s gotta be here somewhere! ”
Leila stood up on the bed and wandered over to the edge, watching him curiously. She made a small trilling noise as Drew continued to panic.
“Where is it?” Drew cried, as even the tiny coin pocket came up empty.
He went back to the first pocket and searched again.
After thoroughly searching through every nook and cranny of his jeans, emptying the laundry basket and shaking out each item of clothing, and even searching the floor of the bathroom, he was forced to admit the terrible truth.
He’d lost the engagement ring.
His throat tightened as tears threatened to spill, and he crossed to the bed and sank down next to Leila. “What am I going to do?” he asked brokenly.
She bokked and jumped onto his knee, settling her warm body down on his lap.
“Drew?” Zach called, then appeared in the doorway. “Oh, sweetness.” He hurried over and crouched down in front of him. “Don’t worry too much about Kensington,” he assured him. “He might be mad, but only because he’s worried. He won’t stay angry for long.”
Drew couldn’t admit that wasn’t the reason he was upset, so he simply nodded and wiped at his eyes.
“I’ve made you one of those flavoured sachet coffees you like,” Zach said gently. “Come and drink it while I whip up the toast.”
He followed behind Zach, wondering if it was possible he’d dropped the ring in the kitchen, or maybe he’d misremembered and he’d not actually had the ring in his jeans at all, but Drew knew that wasn’t true. He clearly recalled feeling the ring in his pocket at the inn before they’d gone to bed.
He must have lost it during their flight from the Shadow Blades.
He had a house now, but Zach had paid for it.
His boyfriend had also paid his university fees.
Drew didn’t have a car or lots of expenses, since he still lived as frugally as possible out of sheer habit, but that didn’t mean he was flush with cash.
It had taken him a whole year to save enough to buy the ring, and he didn’t want to have to wait another year until he could save again to buy a replacement one.
And he certainly wasn’t going to propose without a ring.
No, he needed to find the ring, so there was only one thing for it.
He was going back to Hell.
Drew forced himself to eat breakfast, even though it sat heavy in his stomach.
He couldn’t allow Zach to believe anything else was wrong other than Kensington’s impending visit.
Drew listened with one ear to the conversation, nodding and making the odd hmm in a show of participation, but his mind was whirring.
He’d need to go as prepared as possible.
He didn’t know his way around, and there was no guarantee he would arrive exactly where he planned to.
Drew would start his search where they battled with the Shadow Blades, then work his way back to the inn if needed.
He’d need food, a change of clothes, and possibly a weapon.
Oh, and chicken feed.
Once they’d eaten, Zach gathered the laundry hamper and disappeared downstairs to load the washer.
Drew hurried into the kitchen and pulled open the cupboards, loading his arms with any non-perishable food that would sustain him without being too heavy or that would require full kitchen facilities.
He loaded up on granola bars, a packet of jerky, several tins of tuna, and some pre-cooked rice sachets.
Taking it all back into the bedroom, he dumped it on the bed and then searched their shared walk-in wardrobe for his old backpack from high school.
It was larger than the one he used for university, as most of his textbooks these days were eBooks.
Drew packed the food into the backpack, added a zip-lock bag of poultry mix and a small water bowl for Leila, then filled the rest of the bag with a pair of jeans, a warm hoodie, two tees, extra underwear and socks, and a small throw blanket.
He found a small flashlight, then hesitated over the compact first aid kit they took with them when hiking.
Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, he added that in as well.
The doorbell rang, signalling the arrival of the Grand Master of the Nightingale Collective.
Drew took a last look around the room, trying to think of anything he might have forgotten.
“Shit,” he swore, slinging the backpack over one shoulder and scooping Leila up to cradle against him. “I need my water bottle.”
He rushed into the kitchen, aware that he could hear Zach and Kensington conversing in the downstairs hallway.
He needed to be quick or they’d prevent him from going.
His reusable water bottle was on the bench, and luckily, it was full.
He grabbed it, not wasting the time it would take to put it in the bag.
Instead, he forced himself to calm down, taking a deep breath as he sought his centre.
The front door snicked closed.
Drew began to draw on his power, and the barometric pressure started to drop.
The voices got closer.
In his mind’s eye, Drew pictured clearly the base of the rocky outcrop, a safe distance away from the ravine he’d left behind.
There were footfalls on the stairs.
Drew opened his eyes just in time to see Zach appear at the top of the stairs. “Drew?” he cried in alarm. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I left something very important behind.” Before either Zach or Kensington could do anything to stop him, Drew said, “ad inferos me reduc1.” And clutching Leila securely, he jumped into the vortex and was gone.
1. 'Take me back to Hell'