As I walked down the sidewalk, listening to car engines rumbling and laughter and loud voices coming from the seawall, I wasn’t sure why I felt so uneasy, but I constantly glanced over my shoulder.
My neck prickled. I got the feeling that someone was watching. I could feel it.
I didn’t know who, but I suspected that whoever had torn up my apartment wasn’t some random criminal. They were looking for something. They were looking for me.
The unease stayed with me as I walked to the restaurant’s parking lot. I spotted a bench under a green awning, and I sat to wait. Sooner than I expected, Brent’s silver Honda appeared and pulled up in the parking space in front of me. Brent stepped outside the car. He wore street clothes—jeans, a polo shirt, and leather dress shoes. His hair was slicked with too much gel, and I had a feeling it smelled of that natural wax crap he liked to use. He also wore a leather vest with his detective’s badge pinned to the front.
“That was fast,” I said, standing.
“I was speeding. There are perks to being an officer. Did you grab everything you need?”
I held up my duffel. “I packed what I could find.”
“Good, we should get going. The further you get from that apartment, the better.”
“Hold on, we can’t leave yet. We’ve got to go find Kull. He ran off a while ago and—” I stopped mid-sentence when King Skullsplitter himself appeared across the street. Still toting the sword, he walked toward the restaurant with a purpose, his eyes smoldering as if he were off to war instead of crossing toward the parking lot of the Island Burger Shack.
Brent’s eyes widened as he took in the guy.
“Why’s he packing a sword? Good grief, Olive, can’t you find anyone normal?”
“Kull is normal.”
Brent eyed me.
“I mean, when he’s not under any spells, in a good mood, and you know, when he’s not waging war or anything.”
“Uh-huh. So why’s he got a sword?”
“We stole it from a warlock, all right? Don’t give him a hard time. He’s not in his right mind at the moment. I already told you about the spell, so take it easy on him.”
“Will he try to kill anyone with it?”
“Do you want an honest answer?”
“Olive—”
“Look, he’s keeping the sword. There’s no way you’ll get him to let it go, all right?”
Kull spotted us, so he headed across the parking lot. He stopped when he reached us, towering over Brent and me, holding the sword, making my heart race. The two men stared each other down. Neither spoke, so I decided to break the silence.
“Brent, you remember Kull, right?”
“Hi,” Brent said and held out his hand. Kull only narrowed his eyes until Brent stuffed his hand in his pocket.
“Kull, this is the person I told you about. We’re staying at his place tonight.”
Kull worked his jaw back and forth. “I know who he is.”
“You do? Great. Then we all know each other. How about we get going?” I said.
“I like that idea,” Brent said and walked to the driver’s side door.
Kull stayed at my side without walking to the car. He held something out for me to see.
“Is that my pack?” I asked, taking a step closer. Sure enough, he held my bag. With any luck, my mirror would still be inside. “Where’d you find this?”
“On the beach,” he answered. “Not far from where the portal opened. It had items that stank of magic, so I assumed it must belong to you. It’s yours?”
I crossed my arms. “They stank of magic?”
“That is what I said, isn’t it? Does it belong to you or not?”
I snatched it away from him. “Yes, it’s mine. Thank you for returning it to me,” I said curtly.
The two of us climbed into the car. I sat up front in the passenger’s seat and Kull climbed in behind me, folding his legs behind the seat as best as he could. As we left the parking lot, I glanced down the road leading to my apartment, thinking about how much I would miss the place—remembering the outdated gold numbers tacked to the doorframe, the door’s ugly brown paint, and the planter box under the window with the long-dead Salvia flower stalks sticking up from dry potting soil. Sure, it wasn’t the cutest place ever, but I’d made it my home. Leaving it now, with the furniture ripped up and my belongings carelessly dumped on the floor, was harder to do than I thought.
The drive to North Houston during rush hour was a tedious process. Semis sped past, shaking the tiny Honda. When we merged onto 610, I broached the subject of the break-in, but Brent didn’t have much to offer. I got the feeling that he wanted to discuss it without Kull listening in, so we drove in silence.
After making it off the freeway and through the suburbs, we found Lake Houston. Its deep blue water sparkled under the evening sun. A few skiffs and small boats bobbed over the surface, creating waves in their wake.
Brent’s place sat at the end of a cul-de-sac, shaded by oak trees with moss hanging from their branches, blowing slightly in the wind. His house sat on stilts overlooking the lake. It was one of those modern places, with glass and stucco walls and a metal roof.
The house brought back memories I wished would go away. Brent and I had held a steady truce for the last several months, and we hadn’t dated for more than a year. The romantic aspect of our relationship had thankfully fizzled, yet I hadn’t been back to his place since we’d been together. The memories it brought back were unwelcome.
Sometimes I hated myself for leading him on when I’d known better. But that was all in the past. Brent and I were friends now. I was engaged to Kull, and even though Kull
