Page 14 of Facet

“Fuck, Mom, why is that the first thing you ask me?” I rolled my eyes and placed the joint back to my lips. As I drew in a deep drag, I watched one of her perfectly sculpted dark brows arch.

“Damien, watch your mouth. And I think as a mother to a handsome and slightly wild young man, that is a legitimate concern. Are you using condoms every single time and are the women you sleep with on birth control?” There went that eyebrow again and my face heated.

“First of all, I’m almost thirty years old. Therefore, I believe I can talk how I want, and what I do in my sex life is none of your concern,” I snapped back. Part of me wanted to throw back at her that she wasn’t always interested in being a mom as I was growing up, instead always looking for her next great love.

“You’re twenty-eight; please don’t make me any older than I already am,” she replied with a smirk. She knew damn well she didn’t look her age. My mother had great magic, and she used some of it to keep her youthful appearance.

It’s another reason why we weren’t overly close the older I got. It’s not like I could have her around my friends as I got older. Hell, she damn near looked younger than me now. How did one explain how their mom legit looked younger than they did?

“Can we get to why I called?”

“I wish you would. And don’t lie to me. You know I can tell when you’re full of shit.”

Another of my mother’s innate gifts—the ability to detect bullshit from her one and only son. Surprising since I didn’t think she knew me at all.

“I have a favor.” I sighed heavily. Then I stubbed the joint out on the metal siding behind me. I hesitated.

“Damien?” she asked, concern etching her previously smooth brow. She knew damn well I didn’t ask her for shit.

Finally, I shook my head. “I need to know if you can do a location spell,” I muttered, unable to ask what I really wanted to know.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Why?”

“It’s for a friend.”

“Who are you looking for? Because sometimes people don’t want to be found,” she whispered, concern shadowing her gray eyes.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, then told a partial lie. “I’m looking for the biological family of a girl I’ve known for a while.”

Relief seemed to wash over her. “Oh. I can try to do that.”

“Also, some weird things have been happening to me. It’s kind of scaring the shit out of me.”

“What do you mean?” she choked out. The brief flash of fear I thought I saw in her gaze made me wary.

“My eyes are doing weird things,” I hedged.

“Weird like?” Her gaze narrowed.

“Like they’ve got molten silver in them sometimes.”

She stilled. “Anything else?”

How did one explain to a mother that was emotionally absent most of one’s life that a darkness seemed to be creeping in on them? I scrubbed a hand over my mouth. “There’s something wrong with me.”

“Besides your eyes?” Her tone was subdued.

“Yeah.” I swallowed hard. “There’s this dark… anger. A violence that is clawing against the edges of my soul. It’s making me want to do things that are completely out of my character.”

“Have you been wearing the necklace I gave you?”

I lifted it from under my shift and held it up so it swung in front of the camera. “There’s something else.”

“You’re just full of surprises tonight,” she muttered.

“Last week… I was at a job site.” My mother didn’t know exactly what my chapter did. “There was this guy. I had gone out in the alley to make a call. He tried to rob me, and I… somehow, I killed him.”

She appeared startled. “Somehow?”

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