Carrying the tome under my arm and a bottle of demon grog I snatched from the sorcerers’ stores, I banged on Craig’s door.
“Come on, open up.”
“Go away,” he growled from the other side.
“No, we need to talk about what I found, and the sorcerers are going to need us both soon.”
I heard the bolt slide back, and Craig appeared in the doorway, grinding his teeth and his face appearing to be in the midst of shifting again.
“You look like hell,” I said lightly as I stepped inside. “Have another vision?”
“Not as long and all I saw was Kate alone, watching… something.”
He growled in annoyance and sank to the floor, leaning his back against the stone wall. He hung his head, holding it in his hands, and for the first time since meeting Craig, I saw his more vulnerable side.
He was Kate’s protector, in our past lives and this one, and here he was, trapped and not able to fulfill his destiny.
I sat down beside him and shoved the book his way. “Found some interesting information out.”
“Yeah? Does it help us now?”
“Yes and no, but I found this, too.” I tapped his shin with the bottle of grog.
He smirked when he saw it. “Help yourself.”
He popped the cork out and took a swig. “Damn,” he sputtered. “Did you check to see how old this shit is?”
“Can’t be that bad.”
He handed me the bottle, and I took it, shifting the book towards him again. “Have at it.”
I took a large gulp and choked it down, burning my throat like I swallowed my own dragon fire. After a few gasps, I managed to breathe normally again and set the bottle aside. “Right, maybe the grog wasn’t such a good idea after all.”
“What is this?” His brow furrowed as he hefted it up into his lap. “I thought there was nothing about our past lives?”
“Before the plague,” I said, voice still raspy from the old grog.
“About who they were?”
“Yes, and it’s quite the story. I’ll tell you about it over something other than this grog.”