“By the time I caught him sleeping outside my store he was fifteen and barely weighed a hundred pounds. I couldn’t leave him out on the street.”
“Because you’ve got a good heart,” Lorna said and looked at her with a smile. “That’s obvious by all you’ve built down here.”
She’d tried, she really had. Her father had always sworn she was nothing and would never be anything, all because she’d been born a girl. His disappointment in her had been embedded from the first day she took breath, because that had also been the last day of her mother’s life. Those thoughts made her feel melancholy on top of the odd sensations she’d been experiencing while standing here talking to Lorna.
“Yeah. Well, I guess we’ll figure out what to do for him. I mean, I don’t mind him going above with me on shopping trips and things like that. I just worry that one of those enforcers will recognize him and we’ll have trouble getting away if they give chase.”
“Because of his limp,” Lorna said. “I know. But you won’t be able to hold him down here forever. I learned a long time ago that when people set their minds to doing something, they do it, no matter what.”
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s true. He tried to talk me out of going for that knife the other night but I was determined—” Ravyn’s words trailed off as the palm of her hand tingled.
She’d been feeling a little dizzy while talking to Lorna but had thought it would pass as it had when she was in her bedroom. But now she looked down at her hand. It looked normal, but it felt like she was holding something, even though it was empty.
“What knife?” Lorna asked.
When Ravyn didn’t immediately respond the woman came closer, taking Ravyn’s outstretched hand in hers. “What’s wrong? You hurt?”
Ravyn’s head snapped up, her gaze meeting Lorna’s. “No. I don’t think so.”
Lorna nodded. “Maybe you should go sit down and I’ll bring you some food and coffee. You still look sickly.”
Ravyn swallowed as her legs began to wobble again. “No. I’m fine. I’m not sick anymore. I was feeling better and I went to see Happy but he said he couldn’t help me. But I don’t know why I went to see him in the first place.”
“Hmmm, yeah, we’re gonna get some food in you. Probably dehydrated from those days you were sick.”
Lorna continued to talk as she walked Ravyn into the cafeteria where she slid into one of the chairs behind a table closest to the kitchen door.
“Sit right here and don’t move. I’ll be back with some coffee first and maybe a couple of aspirin. You keep squinting your eyes like you’ve got a headache or something.”
Ravyn didn’t bother telling Lorna that she didn’t have a headache. She was trying to remember something because there were gaps. From her argument with Cree about going above, to the time at Happy’s and then meeting with the Megs and Cree at the entrance to investigate, there were gaps in those conversations. And the tingling that had started in her hand was now creeping up her arm.
Something was wrong and there was an urgency to figure out what. She just didn’t know how to do it.
Chapter Twelve
“I’m going with you,” Steele said late Saturday morning when he’d joined Magnum and Reese in front of the Office.
The two were headed to their SUVs, preparing to drive into Burgess to check out the hotel where Steele had been staying.
“I thought you’d get some rest today,” Magnum told him.
“No. I’m coming with you,” Steele repeated.
“You sure about that, man? You’ve, ah, been through something,” Reese said.
Steele didn’t spare the other Drakon his dark look. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
Magnum came closer, clapping a hand on Steele’s shoulder and speaking in a lowered tone as Reese shrugged and climbed into the driver’s seat of the SUV.
“I really think you should take it easy for a couple days. Let me see what’s going on. I’ll keep you posted.”
Steele shook his head. “No. This is my case. My dream. I don’t need you to keep cleaning up after me.”
Magnum released an irritated sigh. “I helped you out last night because I could tell you were struggling. This woman isn’t Opal but I know why you did what you did. It’s cool, I got this. You just go rest.”
Steele slowly pushed his brother’s hand away from his shoulder. “Nah, man, I got this. You cleaned her mind, so she won’t remember me or the dagger or anything from the past week. So we’re good on that front and I thank you for that. But the rest, I’m going to see this through. Those mummies came for me and I’m going to show them what happens when they come for a Drakon.”
Steele didn’t wait for Magnum to agree, but walked past him to the next SUV, unlocked the doors and climbed inside. He started the engine with the push of a button and in seconds was backing out of the parking spot. Out of the rearview mirror he saw Magnum finally getting into the passenger seat of the other SUV and Reese pulling out behind him.
They drove along the highway in the designated lanes like everyone else, leaving the cloaking device to be used only in cases of emergency. Remnants of the hotel weren’t going anywhere. According to the early news broadcast there were fire investigators on the scene, a bomb squad and enforcers guarding the area. Thankfully there’d been no casualties, but there were some injuries, which only added more weight on Steele’s shoulders and more determination on his behalf to get this taken care of.
When they seemed to be stalled in some traffic, Steele pressed one of the programmed buttons on his dashboard and waited.
“Good morning, Mr. Eze. How are you today?”
“I want to know everybody she ever spoke to while at Twilight,” he said, foregoing the greeting.
“Fine. We’ll get right to work. And
