Page 57 of Charming Her Monsters

“Be careful. If they are innocent, I won’t forgive myself.” Calder rubs his eyes and then decides he can’t watch and covers his face with both hands and tilts his head down, using his elbows to prop himself up.

He likes to pretend he’s such a hardass, but he’s softer than all of us. That’s exactly his problem. He knows he will melt into goo when Jade finally wins him over.

I wave to the guinea pig since he seems to be the most human-minded. “Come here. I won’t hurt you. It might feel uncomfortable, like someone petting you too hard. The more you fight me, the more it will hurt. I know you are brave, and I know you want to help Jade, so allow me to get some answers, and I will give you all the treats you can handle.”

Trouble rushes toward me with the mention of Jade, and even faster with the mention of treats.

“Ready?”

Trouble squeaks, and Calder confirms it. “He’s ready. He says he won’t fight it. He has nothing to hide except that…” Calder chuckles softly. “Except that he peed on the carpet when Jade warned him not to.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t share that with Jade,” I promise.

The shivering mass of fur settles and closes his eyes, awaiting my mental probe.

Despite their small size, a magical creature’s energy is sometimes bigger than the average human. I wonder if it’s because their magic is just naturally bigger or because humans don’t really connect with the world around them. I think it may be the latter. Human’s natural magic has become diluted in the last several decades as technology has replaced thinking or being with nature. However, I’ve noticed that engaging their minds is beneficial for them.

Nevertheless, all the magic in a creature as small as this one has been concentrated. His brain is tiny. So I must be gentle, or I will accidentally squash it.

I decide instead of diving in, rooting around, and potentially causing damage, I should ask questions to bring the right thoughts to the surface. Then I will only need to skim his thoughts like I do with most people, without consequence.

“Remember back to when Floofer first joined you,” I instruct.

The image of Rob pops up, and I also sense irritation toward him. The guinea pig isn’t a fan of the warlock.

This is a good start.

“Did Rob bring Floofers to Jade?” I ask.

I get the impression that Rob first showed up in Jade’s life and then Jade found Floofer immediately afterward, outside of her home. Rob acted as if he didn’t like the magical creatures, but he almost completely ignored Floofer compared to the other animals.

“Did Rob ever take Floofer away from the rest of you?”

I don’t see an instance of that in Trouble’s memories, but that’s inconclusive. If Rob could put a spell on Jade, he could have done something to the creatures as well.

“Did you ever witness Rob asking Jade questions when she was possessed by a ghost?”

In Trouble’s mind, I hear the muffled sounds of Rob asking about names and locations of people. Jade’s voice sounds odd, just like it did when Osen spoke through her.

I need to know if Jade was thereduringthe murders. Maybe that’s why Osen thought he saw her there at his death in the alleyway. Either he saw her in the weeks when he was investigating, or she was actually there against her will during his murder.

“Did Rob ever take Jade out of the house justbeforea spirit possessed her?”

Trouble doesn’t think she was. He shows me a memory of her snuggling up to Sage and then a spirit rushed toward her, through the pendant, and into her body.

Shit. The pendant had been used as a focal point, just as I suspected.

It’s also interesting that the guinea pig can see ghosts. Though I had heard that even regular animals, especially cats, often can perceive spirits.

“Is the last ghost still with her? The grumpy one?” I ask about Osen, and Calder comes to attention, waiting for any response.

I get the impression that something lingers around her, but Trouble has sensed nothing definitive since the alleyway.

“Well?” Calder asks Trouble directly.

The guinea pig chirps out a response, and Calder deflates.

“He might just need a power up,” I try to console him. “Despite your claims, we haven’t been relentlessly fucking Jade, so if Osen’s still in her, he hasn’t had many meals yet.”

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