Slowly a faint smile spread across my lips. “You got any ideas how to find those secrets out? Because I don’t even know where to start.”
“Start at home,” she said directly. “Max is your magical bodyguard, so somewhere in your grandmother’s house will be a contract. Fairies sign up a scrap of their soul to their employers whenever they join them. You find that contract, and you bring it here. There are certain rights we’ll be able to do to interrogate it.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Interrogate it? Isn’t it just a book?”
She shook her head. “It’s way more than that. It’s a sanctified magical document that uses a scrap of Max’s soul and your soul to bind him to you.”
I blinked suddenly. “Sorry? A scrap of my soul? What are you talking about?” My voice shot up high as I flattened a hand on my chest as if someone had snuck in and carved out a section of my heart when I wasn’t looking.
Bridgette nodded. “That’s how you’re bound to each other. It’s basic fairy law. Though,” she trailed off again, tipping her head to the side as she stared at one of the mushroom lamps, a ponderous look crumpling her usually smooth brow.
I wanted to press forward in my chair again, but I seriously would fall out. Instead, I ran my bottom lip through my teeth. “Though what?”
She shook her head, appearing to dislodge whatever thought was bothering her. Then she stopped and looked directly up at me. “Though it sounds mad, I’ve never really… I’ve never really thought Max was a fairy,” she finally said.
I had no idea what to do with that comment, so I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“There’s something about him….”
I nodded. Because, like it or not, there was definitely something about Max.
But rather than wallow in that thought, I clenched my teeth together. “So I find this book and bring it back here. Then we interrogate it. That will tell us what Max is? That will reveal his secrets?”
“It won’t necessarily be a book. It could be any kind of magical object, from a statue, to a ring, to a picture.”
It was a book. It was definitely a book. It was the book that always sat atop the desk in the attic. The so-called copy of my curse.
I was sure of it.
“But yeah,” Bridgette continued, “you bring it here, and there are several rights we can perform. It will be costly.” She controlled a grimace as she ran a hand down her stomach. “It will take a heck of a lot of magic, but it will be worth it.” Her mood changed as she grinned back at me.
I couldn’t help but smile in return. It sure was nice to have someone on my side.
“Alright,” I said as I pushed hard to my feet. “I’ll get the contract and bring it right back here. Do you have time this afternoon?”
She chuckled. “Sure, but it will probably take you some time to track down the contract—”
“I already know what it is. And I need to get this sorted,” I began as I tilted my head to the side and listened to the sound of the driving rain reverberating from outside, “today. Now, preferably.”
Bridgette rose to her feet and pushed a hand out.
I shook it.
“I’m here for you, sister. The whole coven is. We owe you. Good luck in finding the contract. And don’t forget, be on the lookout.”
I frowned. “For what?”
“For what your magic costs you. I don’t know why Max lied to you, but he did. There is no creature on Earth for which the cost of the force is not high.”
A thrill of nerves chased hard down my back, and I swallowed hard. But I still shook her hand. Then I whirled on my foot and walked away.
Bridgette wished me luck. God knows I’d need it.
Chapter 3
My thoughts were a swirling mess as I headed back to the car.
The rain was still driving down, drenching the city streets as if it were trying to wash them away. It pounded against my raincoat, made the thick waterproof fabric feel like nothing more than a sheet of paper. Water dribbled down my face, sloshed down my collar, and drenched me as if I’d taken an impromptu dip in a pool.
And yet, I didn’t care. A pixie could have jumped up and rattled its chains by my head, but I would have ignored it.
I was way too lost in thought.
My magic would cost me something….
Max had lied. What’s more, Max – or at least the shadow – kept pushing me to develop my abilities further. Was it just in aid of the public good – was it just to track down murderers?
Or was something more happening here?
I kept walking back to the car in a daze, taking my sweet time despite the fact every other living soul on the street was running for cover as the storm arced up into a violent, wet, windy frenzy.
As I reached my hand into my pocket to pluck out the keys, I felt my phone vibrate with a call.
I didn’t even bother to protect it from the weather as I pulled it out. And as I did, a thrill of energy tickled up my hand and escaped hard into my elbow.
“Chi, where are you?” Max snapped, tone tight with nerves.
“In the city, why?”
“Get back here. There’s been a murder,” he said without pause.
Instantly, my back seized up, a sinking feeling descended through my gut, and my mouth dried until it felt like Max had tipped sand into it.
“Murder?” I couldn’t control my tone
