Page 20 of Shadow Seeking

CHAPTER SEVEN

After Dante left,I went to check on Murdoch. As I opened the door, Jangles came racing down the hall and leaped around me, into the bathroom. I froze, waiting, as she bounced up to Murdoch, but the expected fight didn’t come. Instead, he purped, she turned and ran, and he followed her.

“I give up. If you two want to be buddies, that’s good. I’m still putting you in the bathroom for the night, Murdoch,” I said, carrying the dishes over to the sink where I rinsed them and stuck them in the dishwasher.

Then, I grabbed the sweeper and quickly ran it over the floor, sucking up any stray crumbs. When I returned to the living room to dust, Jangles and Murdoch were curled up together on the sofa. I stared at them for a moment, then chuckled.

“All right, you two win. You’re already best buddies, so I’ll let you be.”

I finished cleaning, locked up, turned on the security code, and headed for the bedroom. I removed my makeup, then stripped out of my clothes and popped into the shower. As I lathered up, I replayed the conversation with Dante.

He was right, I was afraid to let people into my life. I’d seen my demon nature come out twice, and I had no clue on how tohandle it except for stuffing it down and keeping a tight lid on it. I had thought, several times, that aspects of my nature might be useful, but only if I could learn how to handle it and keep the out-of-control parts in check. If there was some way to do that—some way to train myself—then I’d be willing to learn.

I kept the two times I lost control under lock and key. I hated remembering the rage, and the anger…the lack of remorse. I wasn’t sorry that the men I had attacked were dead, but I didn’t like being swept under a tide of rage, because that meant I had given up control—and if it happened with strangers, could it happen with someone I cared about?

I scrubbed my skin, using pumpkin swirl bath gel—one of my nods to the season—and rinsed off, then dried my hair. It was so long and thick that I had to blow dry it or it would stay wet all night. When it was almost dry, I braided it back. It would finish drying into a cascade of waves by morning.

Finally, I sorted through the closet, choosing a pair of leather pants, a blue corset, and a short black bolero shrug for the next day. After sliding under the covers, I perked up as both Jangles and Murdoch jumped on the bed, curled up at the bottom, and began to sleep.

“I guess you needed a friend, too,” I said softly, stroking Jangles as she snored. “Maybe we both need somebody,” I added, setting the alarm. As I fell into a deep sleep, I realized I was smiling.

Come morning,the cats were acting like they’d always been together.

“I guess you have a new home, Murdoch. Angela will be grateful for that. I don’t know how Letty was with you, but you’llget plenty of food and attention with me,” I said. “And when Penn moves in, both of you’ll be getting the royal treatment. She loves cats. But you have to leave her bird alone. She has a parrot, and he’ll make mincemeat of you if you bother him.”

Once again, Murdoch gave me a long look. Jangles groomed herself, then started on him, holding him down to frantically lick his head. He huffed, but let her do it.

I grabbed a sandwich for breakfast and a quad-shot latte, then headed out for work. We had a busy day, and I had a lot on my mind.

The morning was cold and wet, with the wind whipping the boughs around like they were streamers on a breezy day. As I parked and stepped out of my car, the tangy smell of wet earth filled my nostrils. We were close enough to the greenbelt that, on wet days, the smell of cedar and fir filled the air, along with the scent of decaying leaves and moss and mushrooms, all combining into the pungent smell autumn brought with it in western Washington.

It occurred to me that it might be nice to take a walk over to the greenbelt during lunch, if the rain let up. Right now, the drops splattered to the ground, breaking as they hit the pavement. But it was supposed to clear, at least partially, near noon.

I entered the building and waved at Ami, who waved back as she peeked out of the salon door. “Hey, getting ready for the day?” I asked.

She nodded. “You still on for Friday at 5:00?”

I nodded. “Yeah. My nails can use it.” I held out my hand. I’d broken two nails while I was chasing down Benny. I always had her file them down and put on gel polish to harden them up. I didn’t bother with fake nails—I was too hard on my hands. But I tried to keep them from getting raggedy, and I liked color. I usually opted for black polish, or cobalt blue, but I thought Imight go festive and have her paint a couple of autumn leaves on them.

“See you then,” she said, waving as I hit the stairs. I seldom bothered with the elevator—running the stairs was good exercise. I worked out once or twice a week, as well, spending two to three hours at the gym every week.

As I entered the office, Sophia looked up and waved from her desk. “Hey, boss!” She held out the mail.

I took it, skimming through the pages. Same old, same old, except for a letter from our landlord that he was planning on raising the rent when the lease came up for renewal. However, he was also promising to insulate the building and upgrade the heating system, so it sounded like a fair exchange to me. New furnaces could be expensive.

I slid onto the front of her desk, resting my hip on the surface as I sorted through the rest of the letters. “Did you get in touch with the Windchime Magical Academy yet?”

Sophia tapped her appointment book. “You’re in at 2:00 pm today. Don’t be late.”

I set down the letters, impressed. I hadn’t expected her to produce results quite so quickly. “You work fast.”

“That’s what you pay me for,” she said. “Your contact is a Philip Groveletter. He’s the vice-principal there. He’s likely to become the new principal, as well, according to my sources.”

“Who don’t you know?” I asked. Sophia seemed to have connections everywhere.

“That’s a good question,” she answered with a laugh. “Remember, your nine-thirty’s Tana Weathers. She’s the representative from the Supe Community Action Council. Do you want a staff meeting this morning?”

We had a meeting almost every morning, but given not much had changed since the day before, I shook my head. “Maybe thisafternoon. Okay, I’ll be in my office. And, I think we should all be present when Tara comes in. This could be a serious matter.”

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