course. Of course I’ll stay. Have you thought about what you’re going to do next?”
“Pack,” Terric said. “Take care of some paperwork. Get drunk.”
“Singing my song, mate,” I said. “Well, except for the packing and paperwork thing.” I offered him the whiskey. He took the bottle, pulled the cork, and then tipped it up for a long, hard drink.
“Good,” he said, gesturing toward me with the bottle. “Thanks.”
He started off to his office. With my bottle.
“Just give me a minute or two, and I’ll be right back out,” he said.
Then he walked down the hall. With my bottle.
And shut the door. With my bottle.
Dash exhaled and folded down on a chair, his palms pressed evenly on his thighs. No more calm heart, his pulse was clattering. “Why?” he asked. “Why would the Overseer take this away from him? It meant . . . everything.”
“Dash, buddy. It’s going to be okay. Mommy and Daddy will still love you. They just can’t come to work with you anymore.”
“Fuck you, Shame.”
Had a little fire behind that. Good. Fire meant I wasn’t going to have to deal with tears.
“Honestly? It probably has more to do with me than him. I haven’t been pulling my weight lately.”
“Not everything is about you.” Dash tugged his cuffs, checked the buttons to make sure they were buttoned. They were. Then he got back on his feet. “You want any help packing your desk?”
“Hell, let’s just set fire to the thing. Nothing there I want.”
“So I can have the knife?”
“No. Fine. Get the boxes, Boy Wonder.”
Dash walked out and down the hall to the storeroom. I stood there for a bit, enjoying the aloneness. Except being this close to Terric meant I wasn’t really alone. I wandered over to my desk. Then I found myself walking instead down to Terric’s office.
I paused just before his door. I could see him through his office window. Sitting with his desk at his back, bottle resting on his thigh, other hand over his eyes, head bent.
I should probably just leave. Let him deal with this loss in private.
Terric lifted the bottle, but instead of drinking, he held it out toward me. Still had his hand over his eyes.
I opened his office door. Leaned there in the doorway.
“I don’t want the booze,” I said quietly.
“Yes, you do.” He took his hand off his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
“Yeah, I do.” I walked in, took it from his hand. It was a fair share lighter than it’d been just a few minutes ago.
Tipped it up, took a swallow. Booze went down hot, but the mouthwatering sweet of cinnamon and mint lingered on my lips. Life magic stirred the need in my belly. Terric had been drinking out of the bottle. I should have wiped it off before doing the same.
“I was good at this, Shame,” Terric said. He wasn’t looking at me.
I sat in the chair against the wall opposite his desk. “You’re still good at this.”
“We were amazing at it,” he said.
“True.”
He didn’t say anything else. I took another swig of the whiskey. Ignored my disappointment that the taste of life was gone.
A couple minutes ticked by in silence.
“So, if you don’t need anything,” I started.
“Just.” Terric turned, held my gaze. Blue eyes darkened by sorrow. “Would you shut up and sit here for a few minutes?”
I opened my mouth.
“Please.”
I closed my mouth. Handed him the bottle. He took another drink and handed it back, swiveling his chair so he could stare out the window.
I watched him for a minute. Thought about things I could say. Thought about things I probably should have said a long time ago.
Decided to just do what he asked and kept quiet. I even remembered to wipe the taste of him off the bottle before I took another gulping swallow.
Chapter 6
I left Terric in his office and took the half-empty bottle with me. Dash was moving around the office like a cleaning lady who wasn’t sure what to dust first.
A pile of empty boxes towered next to my desk. Enough to pack away the room, Terric’s office, and probably everything else on this floor of the building.
Lord.
“How about you give me a hand?” I said.
Dash walked over. “I wasn’t sure how much you wanted to pack.”
“I see that.”
I gave Dash the whiskey and he turned to place it on a windowsill. Eleanor was back in the room again, and seemed interested in some of the art on the walls.
“No. Drink,” I said. “You need to relax a little, mate.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Fine, then
Listened for the cork, swish of liquid, then cork before I spoke again. “There was something else brought up at the meeting today.”
I opened a drawer. So that’s where I left my gun.
“What?” Dash leaned against the windowsill, his shadow stretching out over the boxes.
“Do you know what Soul Complements are?”
“Two people who are a perfect match when casting magic.”
“Good. Anything else?”
“They’re usually perfect matches in life too. Partners, friends, lovers. But it’s incredibly rare to find that kind of match, especially with magic. Since being even a little unmatched can cause spells to destabilize and blow.”
“Very good. How many are in Portland?”
“Just Zayvion and Allie.” Pause. Quieter, “And you and Terric.”
“Gold star.” I glanced over my shoulder. He took another drink of the whiskey, then set it down on the far side of the windowsill, out of his easy reach.
“Why?” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.
“The government is suddenly all interested in Soul Complements and what they can do,” I said.
“Break magic?”
I nodded. “Overseer is suggesting we get the hell out of town. Out of the country too. Thinks we’re in a lot of danger.”
He looked over at Terric’s office. Worried.
Jesus. He didn’t just like Terric. He was harboring much deeper feelings for him.
It was strange to see someone fall in love with a person you were connected to. I found the best way to deal with it was to ignore the hell out of it.
Drinking helped too.
