Page 8 of Hellfire

Blaze twitched again as if he hadn’t heard my return. Rapid pumps of his back said he breathed hard. Clenched fists on either side of the book implied he barely held on. Whatever troubled him was getting worse, not better with time. He refused to visit the campus psychologist and his earlier response indicated he didn’t want to talk about it, so I left it alone. We felt hopeless and ran out of options to comfort him.

Pretending not to notice his reaction, I waited for the coffee to drip, tapping my foot, checking the time again. One hour before I had to leave and get ready for my date. I felt like an asshole leaving him alone when he clearly needed his friends.

“Quit doing that, it’s distracting.” Blaze’s finger trailed the entries and he recorded odd ones in a notebook to report to Talon for further investigation.

Harmless motions like that never bothered my brother before. He returned from Camus’ castle a changed man. Talon, Luna, and I agreed to keep a close watch on him to make sure he didn’t fall into depression over his suspension and losing his magick.

Liquid dripped through the filter, and I thanked the coffee gods.

Maybe I could get him talking indirectly about a common interest.

“I’m edgy to get out of here because I’ve got a date with Luna this afternoon,” I confessed. “It’s our four-month anniversary.”

Date talk. We didn’t really get into that when it felt weird for a while there. I was over that now.

“You’re sentimental.” Blaze rested a forearm over the page to keep the book open. His eyes looked even icier in the fire and candlelight, the only light he’d allow in his grandmother’s office.Something to remind him of and connect him to his missing djinn powers.

“Admit it. I’m pussy whipped.” I snatched up our mugs, readying them for refills, adding sugar and cream to mine and leaving Blaze’s straight and black. Give me bitter and sweet any day.

A shit-eating grin took up residence on his face. “You’re pussy whipped.”

I cheered internally at getting him to lighten up.

Chuckling, I poured his top-up, setting it in front of the ledger he studied. “You’re free to date Luna now. Talon and I will welcome you to the club in no time.”

“You wish.” He lifted his mug, still shaking his head, smiling as he sipped at the burning liquid. “By the Veil!”

He dropped the mug, spilling some coffee on his chest and the desk, then cursing under his breath, grabbing tissues to sop up the mess. Without his powers, he couldn’t drink piping hot beverages anymore.

“Want some burn cream?” I asked.

“Nah.” He dabbed at the splotched, brown stain on his chest.

“You think you’re safe, but the pussy whipping sneaks up on you,” I said, a poor distraction from the pain creasing his brow.

“We’ll see.”

“You missed out on a good afternoon yesterday.” Another attempt at diverting his attention.

We all missed his company. Our brotherhood felt incomplete without him, even though we added a new member.

“I didn’t feel like coming.” Blaze went back to flicking the pages with a little too much ferocity.

Hint taken. I switched topics. “Found anything?”

“A few minor missing items.” He discarded the brown tissues in the waste basket and returned to his seat. “Candles, sage, ribbons, and crystals. That’s expected when teachers are in ahurry on their way to class and take items from the storage rooms without logging it.”

“Great,” I muttered. “There went our plan.”

“I’ve done it a few times.” Blaze fell silent at the reminder of his anguish.

I cut his sorrow down with another diversion. “No Fae dust?”

“Not yet.” Blaze buried his head back in the text, a man on a mission, his future dependent on this.

I took my seat and dove back into the task, jotting down any discrepancies in a notebook, dates, items, and quantity.

All the reading made my eyes blur, and I blinked and rubbed them. I forced myself to continue for another twenty minutes, until something caught my eye. “I think I’ve found something.”

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