“Shaw’s disappeared.” Teag turned away from his laptop in annoyance. “He hasn’t shown at any of his usual spots—or his house—in several days. His car hasn’t moved or been on any traffic cams. There’s no activity on his credit card or bank account. No calls made or data used on his cell phone. He’s gone dark.”
Teag’s hacking abilities often crossed into dubious legality. I still remained amazed at his ability to find information, even though I knew his Weaver magic helped him weave random data into answers.
“Can we do a tracking spell?” I brought my cup of coffee over and sat next to Teag.
“I asked Rowan. She tried, but she thinks he’s got a deflection charm helping him evade notice. She says he’s ‘slippery’—as in the magic can’t hold onto him long enough to pin down his location.”
“Maybe we need to try again to draw him out.”
Teag gave me a look. “Whatever you’re thinking about doing, I don’t like it.”
I stared right back at him. “He’s dangerous on his own and doubly so working with the djinn. If we pick the time and place for the fight, it’s on our terms.”
“Didn’t we try that once? It didn’t work.”
“This is different.”
Teag sighed. “I’m going to regret asking, but what are you thinking?”
“We check out more of the places we thought the djinn was hiding. Maybe Shaw’s with him.”
“That’s a terrible plan,” Teag said, and I could tell he was worried. “We don’t know for sure how powerful Shaw is, but he’s desperate, so he’s not going to hold back. He’s made it clear that you’re a threat. You’ve had warnings. He’s going to try to kill you the next time.”
“I know.”
“Cassidy—”
“That means he’ll show up this time.”
“He’s a witch. He can do magic from a distance. We don’t know if he’s got something that belonged to you as a focus point. He doesn’t have to be in sight. You could put yourself at risk—maybe get badly hurt—for nothing.”
I had considered the risk. I just didn’t have a better idea.
“What’s our alternative? Believe me, I’m not crazy about being a target. But how else do you propose to get him to show up? You and Donnelly and Rowan would be watching. I wouldn’t be alone. And I’ll have my athame and the walking stick and Bo. I won’t be defenseless.”
“If Shaw has a deflection charm good enough to make him ‘slippery’ to Rowan’s magic, then even Donnelly might not spot him before he can strike,” Teag countered.
“If the djinn is close to being strong enough to feed from a disaster, then the clock’s ticking. Look at all the harm Shaw and the djinn did just with their ‘art sale.’ I’m afraid if we wait, they’ll get even more powerful and harder to stop—and more people will die.”
I hadn’t expected Teag to like the idea. I’d even hoped he would come up with something better. From the set of his jaw and deep frown, I knew how much he hated the plan—and I sensed his frustration at not having a better option.
“Have you talked to Rowan and Donnelly? Can Rowan get any help from her coven?”
“I haven’t mentioned it to them because I wanted to run it past you first,” I admitted. “I know we tried something similar, but I think Shaw is likely to be more desperate now. As for the coven—I don’t know. The more witches involved, the more possible it is that Shaw will sense that it’s a trap.”
“I hate it—but I don’t have a better idea, and the longer we wait, the stronger the djinn gets,” Teag said, clearly annoyed. “Let’s talk it over with Rowan and Donnelly and go from there.”
* * *
Rowan and Donnelly hated the plan just as much as Teag did—but no one had a better idea.
So I ended up letting myself into the empty office and hoping no one saw how much my hands shook. I had my athame up my sleeve and the antique walking stick clipped to my belt. Bo’s dog collar wound around my left wrist, and I took comfort from the jangle of his tags.
Teag, Rowan, and Donnelly watched from several vantage points, hidden by charms to keep Shaw from noticing their magic.
The door swung open at my touch, and I stepped into the musty foyer. The office had been closed after the owner’s death and felt cold and empty.
I locked the door behind me, figuring that Shaw would find a way in. I didn’t need to be surprised by anyone else. My hand rose to the agate necklace at my throat. Bracelets of silver, onyx, and braided spelled string also held protection. In the pocket of my jeans, I had an ancient agate spindle whirl that amplified my touch magic. My jacket pockets held salt and iron filings, in case Shaw could manipulate ghosts. I’d left my deflection charm at home since this time, we wanted Shaw to find me.
Between one heartbeat and the next, Shaw seemed to appear out of nowhere with a cocky smile I wanted to wipe right off his face. Whatever distraction he had used was a good one since I doubted even he could just “poof” himself from one place to another.
I took a step back into the main foyer. Last night, Rowan had hidden hex bags around the first floor, dormant spells until she triggered them—a bit of insurance. We weren’t sure how much effect they would have on Shaw, but we figured they might at least sap his strength.
“We’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” Shaw moved slowly toward me. I saw a spark of blue light in his eyes and realized we had made a big mistake.
We.
Shaw had allowed the djinn to possess him, making him double the adversary we expected.
I jangled Bo’s collar and felt the energy shift as a ghostly golden retriever appeared at my side. Bo snarled, baring his teeth. My athame slid down under my sleeve into my hand.
“You’ve been quite an annoyance.” Shaw barely gave Bo a second glance. If he registered that the wooden spoon in my hand was a wand, he clearly didn’t see it as a threat. “Should have known when to mind your own business.”
“That doesn’t run in the family,” I replied. “Was the pop-up gallery your idea? Or are you just the body, and the djinn is the brains?”
Poking the bear probably wasn’t smart, but I didn’t want to stand here and glare at each other all night. I also hoped that if Shaw focused on my smart-ass remarks, he might not notice the hex bags. He had tipped his hand when he became visible, so I hoped Rowan, Teag, and Donnelly knew the game was on.
“My partner says your pain was delicious,” Shaw said with a creepy smile. “He wants seconds.”
“You can both go to hell.” I raised my athame and blasted Shaw with a bolt of power. It took him by surprise, and he dodged—right into Bo’s lunge. Bo might be a ghost, but he’s got real teeth, and he got a good bite on Shaw’s forearm before being shaken loose.
Shaw flung out his hand and sent me tumbling, but I came up in a crouch and promptly fired off a second salvo with my wand. This time my quick reflexes surprised him, and I hit him in the shoulder making him curse and fall back several steps. I didn’t know whether being possessed by the djinn would increase his strength, but I knew the bond would eventually weaken and tax his reserves if we could keep him busy long enough—without me getting killed.
Shaw tried to throw me around again, but I dodged as Bo attacked, sinking his teeth into Shaw’s thigh. Bo backed off before the witch could strike him. I managed to avoid getting tossed around. I rolled and came up in a different spot, getting in another blast before I threw myself out of the way before Shaw could retaliate.
Hosting the djinn might tire Shaw, but he could borrow the creature’s energy. I was on my own and likely to fade faster, so I really hoped my friends showed up soon to back me up.
Come on, come on, I silently urged my witchy friends.
Both doors slammed open at the same time. Donnely stormed in from the front as Rowan swept in from the back, already chanting. Teag followed with the silver net in hand.
That cost Shaw precious seconds of focus. I sent a controlled stream of fire from the walking stick, careful not to set the house on fire.
Shaw screamed and clearly forgot to stop-drop-and-roll. As he flailed, Donnelly and Rowan closed in. Bo circled Shaw, head down, growling.
Donnelly thrust out his hand and clenched his fist, freezing Shaw in place and extinguishing the flames.
“He’s possessed by the djinn!” I shouted.
Rowan neared the crescendo, and Teag stepped up, ready to throw the silver net, Shaw screamed. His body arched backward, and his features contorted in agony. I watched in horror as Shaw’s body shriveled. Teag lunged forward to cover him with the net, but just before he made contact, a plume of blue light streaked from Shaw’s open mouth and vanished through the ceiling.
Shaw’s emaciated corpse fell to the floor, looking like he had aged a millennia.
None of us moved for several seconds, frozen in shock. Unsure the danger had passed, we stayed alert, ready to fight at the first sign of threat.
“He’s dead.” Donnelly relaxed from a fighting stance. “His soul is gone—and so is the djinn.”
Rowan finished a binding spell to assure Shaw wasn’t suddenly “reanimated.” For good measure, Teag kept the body covered with the silver net.
Bo’s ghost looked up at me, and I ruffled his ears before he vanished.
I watched Shaw’s corpse like he might suddenly jump up and attack, but as moments passed without incident, I finally let myself believe the battle was over. Just in case, I kept my athame trained on the body.
“What happened?” My voice was quiet, although it was just the four of us.
Donnelly moved closer and ran the flat of his hand just above the body from head to hips. “Shaw was using a lot of magic, probably borrowing energy from the djinn. He didn’t count on all of us ganging up on him and putting up such a fight. When it became clear he was going to lose, the djinn stole Shaw’s remaining magic to give itself enough power to break free and escape.”
“The djinn is still out there?” Teag asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Rowan replied. “We didn’t expect the djinn to be here, so we weren’t prepared to trap it.”
“It’s loose—but it’s wounded.” Donnelly rose from a crouch next to the body. “The djinn lost a lot of energy breaking free. It’ll strike easy targets to replenish itself, but we’ve bought ourselves time. Until the djinn recovers, it won’t have the power to cause a disaster. We have an opportunity that we’re unlikely to get again.”
That meant we needed to find where the djinn went to ground and go after him in his lair while he was weakened. If the creature had the chance to regroup, it would take its vengeance on us and wreak havoc to power up even more.
“What next?” I felt a little shaky now as the adrenaline crashed.
Rowan moved around the space, gathering her hex bags. “We should rest, eat, and go tonight. We don’t dare let the djinn have more time.”
“I agree,” Donnelly said as he and Teag made sure we had left no other evidence behind. As I kept watch, Teag bundled Shaw’s body in the silver net. He and Donnelly carried the corpse out the back door and put it in the trunk of Donnelly’s Lexus.
Only then did I finally believe Shaw’s threat had ended. “I’m not sure anyone will miss him, but we need to get rid of the body,” I pointed out.
“I’ll take it back to the Briggs Society,” Donnelly said. “The remains will be secured so that there’s no chance they can be used again.” Since he was a necromancer, I took him at his word.
“Take five hours to recover,” Donnelly said. “It will take the djinn longer—we dealt it a blow. Then we’ll finish this.”
Teag looked as tired as I felt. I called Maggie and asked her to close up, letting her know we were hot on the trail of the djinn. I left out Shaw’s death so Maggie had plausible deniability in case someone started asking questions.
“Congratulations,” she told us. “I’ll handle things here. Get your second wind and kick that djinn’s ass. You can tell me all about it tomorrow.”
* * *
By the time we all gathered to fight the djinn, I not only felt much better—I was furious over the unnecessary deaths and what the creature had put me through. I clung to that anger, letting it overwhelm any remaining fear.
I’d only dealt with the djinn for a short time and felt devastated in its wake. That stirred my pity for the Granthams and those who had been in the demon’s thrall much longer. I wanted to make sure no one else shared that experience and make the djinn pay for the harm it had caused.
Especially now that I knew it could feed off happy emotions just as well as sad ones, but found grief and fear to be “tastier.” This wasn’t about denying a creature the means to survive. Its tastes veered toward cruelty, and in my book, that meant it lost the live-and-let-live free pass to go about its business.
As it turned out, Teag and I were only partially right about where to find the djinn. Sorren and Donnelly were able to track him to the salvage yard behind the defunct gas station we had checked. I guessed that made sense if the creatures not only preferred abandoned places but also ones that were dirty and cluttered.
“He knows we’re here,” Sorren murmured as we entered the old junkyard.
Rusted chassis and random car parts littered the space. Saplings and weeds grew up between the metal carcasses. The owner had long ago left the rotting hulks to the raccoons and rats.
The site had been listed for sale for years—futile since the listing admitted that remediation was needed to deal with all kinds of chemical leaks. Oil, gasoline, transmission fluid, and God only knew what else had seeped out of the broken vehicles through the years, fouling the land.
That squared with the lore, which said djinn preferred “unclean” places. Since Charleston’s cemeteries were hot tourist attractions, they were rarely empty and always meticulously kept. But this salvage yard held poison and secrets.
I walked among the junkers, careful not to touch anything. They all had stories. Some bore the scars of collisions in their twisted steel and shattered glass. Others had been used up and cast off by the side of the road. No telling how many had been repossessed or surrendered from owners who died or grew too old or sick to drive.
The yard’s previous owner, “Big Bobby” Baucom, had been a shady character with ties to drugs, gangs, and organized crime. I figured that explained why the salvage yard gave off a skeevy vibe.
Glancing around again at the wrecked vehicles, I wondered how many hid bloodstains and maybe even a body or two locked in trunks.
My touch magic kicked in through the soles of my shoes, picking up powerful and tainted energy. This was a burying yard of a different sort, a cemetery where no one mourned the dead. A sense of gloom pervaded the heaps of scrap metal and tangled steel.
I could usually read a lot about a person from their car.
People spend more of their lives than they realize behind the wheel, under all sorts of circumstances in every mood and season. Excited vacationers, frustrated commuters, lost tourists, and weary salespeople all left their mark on the vehicles’ resonance. It might not rival the prime feast of a terrifying dream, but I suspected the residual energy could sustain a hungry djinn for quite a while.
The burned ruin of the owner’s house hunkered up front near the misshapen chain link fence. When Baucum died, the property had been caught in legal limbo due to the lack of a will and the needed hazmat cleanup. That probably qualified it as liminal space, a place “between,” which would also appeal to the djinn.
“Where do we even begin to look?” I scanned the heaps of metal.
The wind whistled around the wrecks, and the scurrying of small critters put my nervous system on high alert. This was a sniper’s paradise, and it was a toss-up as to who was hunting whom.
“Stay close,” Donnelly warned. We all carried even more protections than usual: charms, amulets, salt, iron, silver, hex bags, and bracelets made from spell-woven cloth Teag had fashioned. Rowan had spoken wardings over us, and Father Anne blessed us. It would have to do.
Despite bright moonlight and a few still-functioning security lights, a pall hung over the salvage yard. I caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of my eye and pivoted, unsure whether I saw the shadow of a cloud reflected in old chrome or the silhouette of a creature that could change shape at will.
He’s toying with us.
We stood in one of the few open spaces between the office and the first row of junked cars. Teag and I hurried to lay down a salt line as a perimeter while Rowan walked widdershins around the area, reinforcing protections. They might not hold off the djinn, but they would prove useful if he influenced other spirits or creatures.
Teag had his silver throwing knives, part of his martial arts discipline. He was a competition-level fighter, but most of our adversaries weren’t vulnerable to his blades. The djinn was, and Teag came prepared.
I had a machete and a shotgun with salt and iron rounds, in addition to my athame and walking stick, and Bo’s collar around my left wrist. Rowan, Sorren, and Donnelly might have knives for backup, but their magic and abilities were their best weapons.
Teag unfolded a metal frame from which he hung a piece of material he had woven, about three feet square. I knew he’d been working on it since we recognized the djinn’s threat. The yarns had been colored with dyes made from protective plants, spun with the seithr magic of ancient Norse seidrs. Containment spells and incantations were part of the warp and woof. Binding sigils and runes had been embroidered on top, and the knotted fringe held additional spells.
One thin thread hung below the others—a one-way entrance for a spirit to enter the weaving.
Sorren placed the frame outside the circle and stood beside it, taking a calculated risk to stay outside the area protected by Rowan’s magic.
Rowan marked sigils in the dirt and lit candles at the quarters. She started a low chant, and I saw the air sparkle as she raised the same sort of protective dome over us that sheltered us at the Grantham house. Most of her role tonight lay in maintaining the dome against attack. I didn’t envy her the task.
My athame was ready in my hand.
“Come out, come out wherever you are,” Teag sing-songed in a whisper.
A crash made us all flinch as a stack of three crushed cars fell over. All around the salvage yard, the sound repeated as pile after pile tumbled, and I suspected it was a show of power from the djinn.
Sorren prowled around the outside of our warded dome, lithe and lethal. He’s usually so good at hiding his nature as an apex predator that it’s easy to forget how dangerous he is. The djinn ignored that warning at his own peril.
The sound of breaking glass and crunching metal made me wheel in alarm. Sorren moved so fast he was difficult to track, but I knew he intended to harry and herd the djinn toward our “outpost.” In the glow of the security light, I saw two silhouettes moving faster than human speed and quickly lost track of them among the shadows.
Donnelly’s incantation made the hair on the back of my neck rise. A cold wind swept through the salvage yard. Metal trembled as if something beneath the stacks of cars and components struggled to be freed. The air around us dropped from chilly to frigid enough for me to see my breath.
Misty spirits rose from the poisoned ground and the twisted chassis. Animated corpses crawled out of the wreckage. Some might have been killed in accidents, but the wounds borne by others suggested a violent death and secret burial.
“Find it,” Donnelly told them. “Bring it to me.”
The ghosts flitted off to search for the djinn while the zombies shambled along the narrow pathways to herd it toward us.
Teag and I stood ready to protect Donnelly and Rowan so that their magic wasn’t interrupted. We weren’t as bulletproof as Sorren, so we didn’t dare chase the djinn through the salvage yard, and our magic worked differently, better one-on-one. Sorren might not need our protection, but Donnelly and Rowan were deep into their spells, vulnerable if the djinn found a way to breach the dome. Teag and I wouldn’t let that happen.
I wondered how much Sorren and Donnelly had discussed strategy because the vampire incorporated the extra help from the ghosts and zombies while taking charge of the direction. Vampires are speedy, so he darted in one direction and then the next, hemming the djinn into the path he wanted, using the slower spirits and zombies to keep the djinn from straying.
The djinn hurled pieces of cars at Sorren and the zombies. Quarter panels, wheels, and fenders flew through the air and crashed to the ground. The creature threw some debris our way, forcing Rowan to send more energy to the protective dome.
I watched and waited for an opening. Bo’s ghost prowled the confines of the dome, letting everyone know he was on the job. I alternated salvos of fire and force whenever the djinn came into range.
Then Sorren ran at the djinn directly, tackling him. They struggled, equally matched, tossing each other around like rag dolls. I gasped, knowing that despite being immortal, Sorren still felt pain. The impact from his body hitting the old wrecks made me fear for his safety.
Rowan couldn’t keep the dome strong all night, no matter how long Sorren could battle the djinn or Donnelly could marshal his undead forces. The strain showed on her face, and now and again, she wobbled on her feet. Teag sent his energy into the fabric trap in an attempt to lure the djinn closer. So far, the djinn kept his distance, and whatever damage he might have taken from killing Shaw had not made the creature a less formidable opponent.
Sorren rose from where he had been thrown, bleeding from a gash on his forehead. His torn and bloody clothing made it clear the djinn’s attacks posed him a threat. Getting impaled through the heart with a scrap of steel or decapitated by a sharp-edge piece of wreckage would cause damage even Donnelly could not heal.
We couldn’t maintain the stalemate forever. That spawned a reckless idea, crazy and daring, that might just bring the battle to a close.
I saw the djinn hurl Sorren into the side of a bus and advance on him with a piece of rebar held like a lance.
“Cover me!” I yelled to Teag, and I stepped outside the protective circle.
“Cassidy!” Teag shouted, too late.
I grabbed the blank tapestry he had woven with one hand while the other still held the walking stick; the athame was tucked into my sleeve. Making contact with the fabric, my touch magic flared to full strength, picking up on Teag’s resonance, the worry that had gone into weaving the piece, and his hope that we would all come through the battle safely.
Come and get me, I thought at the djinn, raising my head in defiance as I still kept contact with the tapestry.
Now that its prize was within reach, the djinn reached me in a blur of motion and laid a hand on my shoulder.
His magic warred with my protective amulets and the pull of the tapestry as I fought to retain control. The djinn clearly intended to possess me, and I didn’t know how long my will or my amulets could hold out or whether I could somehow manage to force him into the woven cloth.
Bridging the space between the djinn and the tapestry put me in a dangerous position, but I couldn’t let my friends down.
I heard its gloating, inhuman voice in my mind, taunting me with threats and horrible promises. I knew my will alone wouldn’t suffice, but I had no intention of dying or becoming the djinn’s host.
We will work miracles together, a voice, rough as snakeskin, vowed.
I didn’t waste the psychic breath to respond, keeping my mental shields up as strong as I could make them, hoping that this gambit worked, silently apologizing to Kell in case I badly miscalculated.
Keeping a tight grip on the tapestry, with the djinn’s hand still clamped on my shoulder, I brought the walking stick up between us.
I pushed the tip against the djinn’s ribs and willed the fire into the creature’s body, hoping I didn’t incinerate myself along with it.
The djinn screamed.
I fought hard, struggling to keep the monster from possessing me. With magic fire consuming it from within, the creature had one escape—fleeing into the tapestry.
I felt his passage like fire in my blood and blisters on my skin as the djinn tore loose and hurled its essence into the nearest vessel that could contain it.
Teag, Donnelly, and Rowan suddenly gathered around me as they chanted and worked the spells necessary to bind the djinn to its new prison.
No longer essential to the capture, I sank to the ground. I felt utterly drained, my psychic senses scraped raw, skin heated from the too-close flame.
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. “What the hell were you thinking, Cassidy?” Sorren’s tone was harsh, but worry warred with fear in his gray eyes.
“He was going to kill you,” I whispered, finding even that to require monumental effort. “Couldn’t let that happen.”
“Archibald!” Sorren shouted.
I felt like I was floating, unencumbered by my body, no longer afraid. No threat loomed, and I couldn’t quite remember why that seemed strange.
Donnelly’s face suddenly filled my vision, bushy brows like thunderclouds. “I’ve got you,” he rumbled, and the same familiar power that had led me from the nightmare vision once again enveloped something deep inside, anchoring me and bringing me back to myself.
I clung to his presence like a lifeline, and it enfolded me. It felt like being wrapped in a warm cloak and walked to safety in the darkness. Then I was alone in my own skin, all traces of an intruder gone, overwhelmed and exhausted as my eyes fluttered shut.
“Is she—” Teag’s voice sounded far away.
“She’ll be fine,” Donnelly said, but I knew he wasn’t talking to me. “She channeled a huge amount of power, and it’s going to leave her soul burned for a few days, but Rowan and I can ease that and speed the healing.”
“She was protecting me.”
Even half-asleep, I heard the guilt in Sorren’s voice.
“Of course she was,” Donnelly said. “What did you expect?”
They might have continued to quibble, but I sank into a deep, dreamless sleep.
* * *
I woke on my couch—again. This was becoming a habit.
“I’m not a damsel in distress,” I grumbled, although I couldn’t quite remember why I felt like I’d just run a marathon while drunk. Baxter was lying next to me, and he wagged and snuggled once he saw me wake up.
“Of course you’re not,” Teag assured me. “You’re a badass hero who makes questionable choices about attacking one immortal creature to save another.”
“It sounds bad when you say it like that,” I sulked.
“You were magnificent,” Sorren added, “even if you terrified all of us. Thank you.”
Bits and pieces came back to me. The fight at the salvage yard. Ghosts, zombies, and the djinn. Sorren, bleeding and in danger. Teag’s tapestry, and the feeling like I was burning alive from inside.
“Drink this.” Teag helped me sit and pushed a mug of tea into my hands. “Rowan made it before she left. Says it will help ‘realign your energy streams,’ whatever that means.”
“How do you feel?” Donnelly shouldered past Teag to get a closer look. He put a hand on my forehead, but I somehow knew he was sensing my life energy, not just checking for a fever.
“Wobbly,” I confessed. “Scorched.” I looked down at my hands and arms, but the skin was unblistered.
“When you feel better, we’re going to talk about how you did that.” Donnelly drew back with a look that judged me satisfactory.
“Did what?” Parts of what happened still seemed a bit hazy. The tea soothed my throat and felt like a balm.
“You were able to use the emotional resonance from the walking stick not just for self-defense as usual, but you channeled the fire so tightly you burned the djinn from inside. How did you do that?”
“Beats me.” I retreated to my tea once more as I struggled to recall. I saw fragments of the fight, of Sorren being hurt and the djinn advancing with the rebar, terror as his ugly gray face loomed close to mine—and then fire.
“Rowan says there’s no lasting physical damage, and I detect no psychic or soul harm,” Donnelly went on. “You’ll feel drained for a while, probably have headaches, but all things considered, not bad compared to what could have been.”
“I called Kell and gave him a short version—he’s on his way,” Teag said.
I vaguely remembered that Kell was out of town, but not where he was. “Was I out long?”
“Nearly the whole day,” Teag replied.
“Thank you.” I looked up to see Sorren, who was remarkably undamaged. Vampires healed fast. “It was a reckless, dangerous thing to do—and it worked. I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if it hadn’t.”
“You’re welcome.” Sorren’s put himself on the line for us more times than I could count. Returning the favor didn’t seem that extreme. “The djinn?”
“You trapped him in the tapestry,” Teag said. “Donnelly and Rowan sealed him inside, and we locked it in an iron containment box.”
“The Briggs Society has yet another new piece of ‘artwork,’” Donnelly remarked. “Pity we can’t display any of the new acquisitions,” he added in a dry tone.
“So it’s over?” Tired as I felt, I couldn’t help a flare of optimism that we could close this case once and for all.
“Shaw is dead, and the djinn is captured,” Sorren replied. “Teag’s going to follow up on any other tapestries sold by the rogue gallery, and Moradi will keep an ear to the ground, but there won’t be a witch or a djinn feeding off those items or sending them energy. They’ll go dormant, and we can collect them as they come to light.”
I looked up at Teag. “No bruises for the wedding?”
He gave me a tired smile and shook his head. “I’m tired from the magic, but it’s nothing some sleep and food won’t cure.”
“Good,” I mumbled. “Didn’t want to explain that.”
“Go back to sleep, Cassidy.” Teag laughed. “I’ll stay with you until Kell gets here.”
I drifted off, hearing the voices of my friends in the background, Baxter next to me, and the djinn gone. For the first time in weeks, I slept without dreaming.