Chapter 27 #4
“I could wish it…” Caspar said, and then doubled back. Wishing it meant that he’d have to give up the last wish, and then he’d have to decide if he wanted to be a djinn or not. Everyone else at the table seemed to understand this point, and didn’t push it.
“I may know someone,” Katja said after a long silence had passed.
She bit her lip as if she was confessing a terrible secret.
“She used to be a contortionist back in the 1990s, and worked at fairs in between jewel heists. If anyone knows how to get into a place like this and get past any kind of high-tech gear, it’s her. ”
Katja took the iPad and opened a new search bar for Ultima Vez.
A tall woman with slender hips in a multicoloured unitard came on the screen.
In one photo, she held a leg behind her head and was half-lowered into a box for a magic show.
In another, she gripped the edges of a trapeze and soared through the air.
Her body was slender and flexible—exactly what would be needed to bend and contort over lasers and odd surfaces.
Dark, curly hair framed her face and made her dark brown eyes stand out.
Her sharp jawline and heart-shaped face was wholly familiar to Caspar, so much so that when Katja confessed they were cousins, he wasn’t surprised.
“Cousins, huh?” Natasha said. “Cute.”
“Yeah, but we never got along. I haven’t spoken to her in ten years.”
“What makes you think she’d be willing to help us, though?”
“Everyone has a price. The last I heard, she hung out at a bar around the Ottawa valley, close enough to the museum. She may have even hit this place up before. If not, she can figure out most locks and security systems, in addition to being the flexible person who usually grabs the jewels and runs.”
“This is great, then,” Malek said. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Again, even if she doesn’t help, at least we know where the crown is,” Katja said. “And what type of enemy you’re facing.”
“You’re?” Malek said. “Not we?”
Katja laughed awkwardly. “Um… I’m not entirely sure it’s best for me to tag along on this adventure.”
“But she’s your cousin, and you’re our medic,” Malek said. “You also know way more French than me, so we’ll need you if we head into Montréal, where they hate speaking English—especially to a bunch of misfits like us.”
“You are all smart and capable people. I expect you’ll be just fine.” Katja smiled and glanced at the group forlornly, but still packed up her things. Caspar was surprised to find that he wanted her to stay.
“What will we do if we run into more gargoyles?” he asked.
“Then you’ll need to figure out how to protect yourself. I suggest asking Natasha. Speaking of which,” Katja added, “is it possible to have someone escort me to my car? For safety only, of course.”
When Katja’s gaze fell on Natasha again, no one seemed surprised but Natasha.
She eventually smiled and extended her hand.
Katja took it as they headed out the door, their conversation now muffled.
With the two of them gone, William gathered the dishes from the table and began washing them—using his powers or actual soap and water, Caspar had no clue.
Caspar and Malek were the only ones left at the table, facing one another from either end.
“Hey,” Caspar said.
“Hey,” Malek echoed. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. Your hand?”
“It’s okay. It’ll heal up soon enough.” Malek shrugged with his bandaged hand and then bit his lip. “I wanted you to know that I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“For dragging you into this.”
Caspar sighed as he rose from his spot at the end of the table and walked over to sit right in Malek’s lap. He curled a hand through Malek’s hair and smiled down at his eyes. “I’m pretty sure this is the one and only time I’m going to experience looking down at you.”
“Maybe. You could be taller than me soon. Abe was. Only a fraction, but he was.”
“Huh. I didn’t know that. See, when you apologized, I thought it was going to be for not kissing me all the time. For not telling me everything. But I get it.”
“You do?”
“I’m holding back just as much as you. I’m just as scared as you.”
Malek nodded as he curved his palm around the small of Caspar’s back. “We could both lose everything if we fuck this up.”
“Or we could get everything we ever wanted. It’s a fifty-fifty bet. I liked those, back when I was at McGuinty’s.”
Malek laughed. “Knew I should have asked you about that Irish pub sooner.”
Caspar chuckled along with him, but soon grew serious.
They shifted closer together, their mouths hovering so close Caspar could feel Malek’s rushed breathing.
It didn’t matter that they were still at the table, that it was barely eight at night, or that William was in the room.
Everything else became muted as they brought their lips together.
And then, as Caspar was growing to expect, something else tore them apart. Katja and Natasha’s stomping footsteps echoed down the apartment hallway until they reached the door.
“What’s wrong?” William asked.
“My car. My goddamn car was stolen. And this was left in its place. Under a rock.”
Caspar tore his body away from Malek’s so he could examine the crinkled piece of paper in Katja’s hand. All he saw was the Chaos Star, the kind that most Cartel members were branded with on the back of their necks.
It felt as if his eye was being removed all over again.
“Fuck,” Malek said. “The Chaos Mages.”
“Oh yeah,” Katja said. “I’m coming with you guys to Montréal. Now, it’s personal.”