Hot Magic (16 page)

“I want my comfortable world back.”

“Life has more in store for you than mere comfort, Julie.”

“You’re sounding like some sort of ancient philosopher, Bas. It doesn’t suit you. And don’t shortchange comfort. It has a lot going for it.” Julie leaned back in her seat, frowning. For no reason at all, because he certainly didn’t represent comfort to her, she asked, “How come I haven’t seen Harry all week?” She tried to sound casual.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t keep many people informed of his activities. Heidi, his administrative assistant, only knows enough to schedule or cancel meetings.”

Julie hadn’t seen him since the night that Marguerite had dismissed her as a danger. Obviously, she’d been a duty that had been discharged.
 

“You want the last piece of bacon?” Bas held out the plate toward her.

“No. Go ahead and take it.”
 

When Bas picked up the bacon, part of the paper towel stuck to it. He started to flick it off, then stopped and stared at the now-empty plate, a funny expression on his face. He yanked the paper towel totally off the plate. “Where did you get this?”

Still thinking about Harrison, Julie barely glanced at him. “The grocery store. It’s the new super-absorbent type.”
 

“This.” His voice came out tight and low.

Julie looked more closely. He held the white plate with stars on the border—the one she used to bring donuts to Harrison. “Oh. That used to belong to my grandmother.”

“No.” Bas looked at her, certainty on his face.

“That’s what my mom told me. What’s so special about that plate?”

“This is the Sky Plate. It’s said the Elves fired this centuries ago as a gift to a favored Shadow Walker king. Shadow Walker royalty has used it ever since to hold the sweet cake and the vinegar shared during the binding ceremony. Fifty years ago it went missing and hasn’t been seen since.” He picked up the plate carefully. “It was thought lost during the war.” Bas gently set the plate down. “Where is Jean Dancer?”

“She’s in Chicago,” Julie answered automatically. Her mind was still grappling with the possibility that elves were real.

“No school today. We’re going on a field trip.”

J
ulie stood on the doorstep of her mother’s classic Chicago two-flat and rang the security buzzer that would alert her mom to the fact that someone wanted entrance. After several attempts, she turned to the man beside her. “She’s not home.”

Bas looked up and down the street, as if she might appear. “Where else could she be?”

“Just about anywhere. The last time I saw her, she mentioned an emergency with the Gigis. But that was when she left Ann Arbor.”

Bas’s gaze sharpened. “The Gigis?”

“A group mom is involved in.”

“That explains her absence. You should be very proud of her.”

“I should? I mean, of course, I am.” Julie gave up on the buzzer and glanced at Bas. “Uh, how exactly have you heard of the Gigis?”

“Word is spreading quickly about this group. The Gigis are setting an example that all Triad members should follow.”

Julie walked down the cement steps onto the narrow sidewalk. Bas loved to cook and he never talked about a girlfriend. Maybe she should have suspected…still, she felt a lingering sorrow for womankind. “I’m glad you feel that way, though I don’t know that I agree that all Triad members should follow Mom’s example. Everyone has a right to choose their own lifestyle.”

Bas shook his head. “In some respects, yes, but being Triad carries with it certain duties.”

“Are you saying I have a duty to follow in mom’s footsteps?” No one had mentioned this aspect of the Triad before. She looked directly into his eyes, so dark a blue today they almost looked purple.
 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” His lips curved.

“Bas, are you telling me to become a lesbian?”

His smile froze. “No.” He said the word slowly.

 
“Then what are you talking about?”

“Let’s start again. The Gigis are a group of Triad members consisting of Dancers, Walkers and Penumbrae, a rare gathering of Threes. I’m hoping it’s a sign that the Rift is closing and our people are starting to trust one another again.”

“Are we talking about the Gay Grays—a lesbian support and activist group for seniors?”

“Yes.” Bas nodded. “Though they are also warrior protectors, keeping the world free of demons.”
 

“You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No.”

“My sixty-plus-year-old mother fights demons?”

“The Gigis are gaining in effectiveness as they use their power more.”

“Hell.” She wanted to use stronger swear words, but her shocked brain couldn’t think of any.

“No, right here in Chicago.” He must have taken pity on her dazed look. He gently took her arm and turned her to face the deserted street. “What’s different about this neighborhood since the last time you were here?”

Julie tried to focus her thoughts—her mom, a demon warrior!—as she looked up and down the block. She frowned and looked again, noting the quiet, well kept facades of the houses and the cars parked bumper to bumper at the curb. Everything seemed normal, except…she narrowed her eyes and looked again. “I can’t put my finger on it, but something gives me the creeps.”

Bas nodded. “It’s the people, Julie. There are no people outside.”

“You’re right! Nobody’s walking a dog. There aren’t any joggers. Kids aren’t skateboarding or hanging out on the porch steps.”

“People are staying inside because they’re scared. It’s urban warfare on the streets these days.”

“I didn’t realize things had gotten this bad,” Julie whispered. Nightly news stories flashed into her memory, making her aware that she should have been paying more attention. “I need to get Mom out of this city.”

“Your mother is needed here. Violence grows everywhere, including Ann Arbor.” Bas pulled her toward the alley beside her mother’s house. “Come on, let’s get back to your lessons. I’ll find Jean later.”
 

Julie followed along, though part of her wanted to tear Chicago apart to find her mother so she could yell at her. “Mom ran away from the Triad. Why is she doing this?”

“When you run away from who you are, most times you end up back where you started.”

Bas really needed to get a job writing Chinese fortune cookies. “Why doesn’t she tell me?”
 

 
“My guess is that she wants to protect you.” Bas tugged her around the corner of her mother’s building, behind a garbage dumpster.

“Keeping someone ignorant doesn’t protect her.”
 

Bas drew Julie close as he prepared to pop them back to Ann Arbor. His bleak expression held none of the easy-going acceptance she’d grown used to. Julie froze, sensing something ancient, something powerful beyond imagination, a will that wouldn’t compromise.
 

Then Bas smiled, dispelling the feeling. “I disagree. Sometimes it does.”

H
arry showed up bright and early the next morning, just as Julie finished the last of the blueberry crepes Bas had made.

“You two look cozy,” he commented as he walked into the kitchen. He was dressed in a white shirt, tie and black pants, as if he’d just stepped out of the office.

“I thought I locked the front door.” Julie’s heart rate bumped into high gear. She set her fork down.

“You did. How are the lessons going?” The curt question was addressed to Bas, who stood at the sink.

Bas put the crepe pan into the sink and turned. “Fine. Julie is learning to sense energy. It appears she may not wield it in the conventional way of Sun Dancers.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Harry’s serious gaze turned to Julie.

“We’re exploring how her power works.” Bas winked at Julie, picked up a towel from the counter and dried his hands.

“What does that mean?” Harry’s sharp question raised the hair on the back of Julie’s neck. He looked at Bas, eyes narrowed. She could feel a crackling in the air.

“What do you think it means?” Bas asked. He put the towel down and shifted his weight, body square, hands loose at his sides.

Julie suddenly felt like she’d been placed between two bulls and someone had put a red flag in her hand. She gave Bas a warning look, stood up and walked over to Harry. “Hi. Have a tough week?”

He looked down at the hand she placed on his sleeve and some of the tension seemed to leave his face. “Yes.” He rubbed the back of his neck and she remembered the curse and Marguerite. No wonder the man acted grumpy.

“She’ll be out of your head soon,” she said softly.

He didn’t say anything, but the color of his eyes deepened. Her breathing hitched.

Bas cleared his throat.

Harry spoke to him without looking away from Julie. “Bas, are you available to make a trip?”

“I seem to be at your beck and call a lot, recently.” A hint of amusement tempered the words.

Julie started breathing when Harry stepped away from her.

He gave Bas a rueful look. “Sorry. I’ve been in Australia all week meeting with a Walker who lives in Melbourne, Oliver Clayborne. He’s agreed to assume the role of Lion of Australia. The Triad there, like everywhere else, is extremely wary of instituting a regional governing structure again, but Clayborne’s both charismatic and powerful.”

“I’ve met him. He’s a good choice,” Bas said.

“You’re a legend, Bas. If you show up and give him your approval, his road will be easier.”

Bas straightened. “I’m on it. This is very good news, Harrison.”

Harry nodded. “It’s a start.”

Bas walked over and put a casual arm around Julie’s shoulders. “Take the day off. Go somewhere with Harrison and have some fun.”

Julie glanced at Harry. He had gone still like a predator, his eyes fixed on Bas’s face. Bas wore an innocent expression as he gestured toward the window. “You might want to plan something indoors though. Looks like a storm is brewing.”

“Good-bye, Bascule.” Harry took Julie’s arm and drew her out of Bas’s hold.

Bas laughed as he popped out of the room.

Harry released Julie’s arm and walked slowly to the table. He sat, looking so tired Julie thought about offering him a bed. The image of Harry in her bed sent a frisson of heat through her.
 

She took a deep breath, walked behind the chair where he sat and touched his broad shoulders with both hands, because she had to. “You work too hard,” she murmured, and began a firm massage of the knotted muscles in his back.

His whole body stiffened, and then he dropped his chin to his chest. “No. I need to work harder. There’s too much to be done.”

“I’m glad you’re here now.” Somehow it was easier to talk to his back than his face.
 

He didn’t say anything for several long minutes as she gently kneaded his shoulder blades. Then, so softly she barely heard the words, he murmured, “I’m glad I’m here, too.”

His words were melted sugar, filling her with sweetness. She had a sudden, fierce desire to ease the load this man carried, if only for an afternoon. “What do you say we do something wild and crazy?”

Harry turned his head and gave her a speculative look. “What have you got in mind?”

T
asha waved good-bye to her three friends, her tennis racquet slung over her shoulder. She always played tennis on Tuesday mornings after her first class. Her muscles felt loose and limber from the energetic game. She walked across Palmer Field and up the gentle incline toward the group of brick buildings known as the Hill dorms. Scents from the lunch preparation wafted out of the cafeteria in Mosher-Jordan, the dorm where everyone who lived on the hill met to eat.

“Natasha.” Luc was suddenly beside her, keeping pace with her slow stroll.

Tasha’s heart seemed to pause in her chest before resuming its steady beat. “I thought you’d left town.”

 
“I did. I’m back. I want to talk to you.” He took her arm and drew her onto the grass, off the paved walk.

“You tried to hurt my mother.” She yanked her arm out of his hold. Her voice sounded more hurt than angry, which pissed her off. She cocked her tennis racket in a vaguely threatening manner to make up for it.
 

His eyes softened. “No. I wouldn’t hurt your mother. I wouldn’t have let my sister hurt her, either.”

She studied his face, looking for the truth. His eyes were clear and unwavering. His lips formed a tight line, with a slight droop that might be tiredness. The tilt of his head indicated pride and the thrust of his chin spoke of stubborn determination.
 

A tension in her chest relaxed. She had no logical reason to believe him, but she did. She lowered the racket. “What’s wrong with your sister? Why does she want to hurt my mother?”

Luc held out a hand. “Come have a drink with me. I’ll explain what I know.”

Grandma Jean would have a fit if she found out Tasha had gone anywhere with a Shadow Walker. And despite that fact that Tasha inexplicably trusted this man, she fully intended to keep to public places when with him. “Stay here while I run up to my room and stash my racket. Then we can head over to the League and grab something at the food court.”