Page 16 of Licking Fire

“Yes?” He stared at the closed bedroom door.

“I think Zarek is right. I think this woman is the one for you. Call us back if you need us there. I haven’t killed an aemaemurous demon yet, and I’d love to get to add that one to my list.”

He snorted. “Yes, you are perfect for Zarek.”

“Goodbye, and don’t hesitate to call.”

Rayer disconnected the call and continued to stare at the door. Nearly an hour passed before he moved from the doorway. He went to the dining room, his intention to hang her wet jacket. He neared her bag and stopped as he spotted the spine of a journal sticking out. His throat tightened at the sight of it.

He’d seen one just like that, long ago.

Without thought, he opened her bag fully and withdrew the journal. As he held it in his hand, confusion filled his mind.

Rayer opened it, remembering long ago when the man he’d considered a close friend had started it. The journal was filled with information on Rayer. There were sketches of him in both human and dragon form. All the details he’d shared with Samuel were there.

What was Alondra doing with it, and who was she running from?

Timothy appeared next to him, a spring in his step. “She’s taking a hot bath now. I’m going to have some clothing sent over for her. Is there anything else you’d like me to order?”

Rayer eyed the old man, knowing he was up to no good. “You were in there a long time with her. Why?”

“Don’t be jealous. I’m old. She’s young.”

Rayer snorted. “I’m ancient.”

“Fair point,” said Timothy. “I sat in the chair, near the window, and let her pace and talk. She needed to tell someone everything she’d been holding in, and she trusts me.”

“I noticed,” said Rayer, disappointed that Alondra didn’t seem to trust him as much.

Timothy touched his shoulder. “Sir, don’t you sense it on her?”

“Sense what?” asked Rayer, confused and still off his game because of the way Alondra seemed to confuse his every thought.

Timothy smiled wide. “Magik. She’s got a bit of my kind in her. That’s why she trusts me, and why she was able to resist the push in my voice. In fact, her magik reminds me a lot of my sister’s, gods rest her soul.”

“The one who ran off and married the archaeologist and turned her back on the ways of magik?” asked Rayer, remembering when Timothy had told him of it all. It had been when Timothy was in his early twenties and had just started working for Rayer.

Timothy nodded. “Yes. One and the same. My family refused to acknowledge her union to a human and forbid any of us from having contact with her. By the time I’d wised up enough to know their reasoning was based on old ways, my sister had passed, and her husband wanted nothing to do with me. I can’t blame him. At the time, he’d lost not only my sister but both his sons and daughters-in-law as well. I guess they’d all been in a van, traveling together, when a semi went left of center. The only good thing was that the grandchildren weren’t in the vehicle. From my understanding, Samuel was left with a permanent limp and granddaughters to raise all on his own. Samuel wouldn’t let me come and meet the children. Said my sister didn’t want magik to be part of her family’s life, and he wanted to honor her wishes.”

Rayer froze. “Samuel? An archaeologist? What was his last name? It wasn’t Pallon, by chance, was it?”

Timothy nodded. “It was, but I don’t recall telling you that. I must be getting old. I heard he passed away not long ago, too. I should probably try to reach out to the children now.” He touched his chin. “Though I guess they wouldn’t be children anymore, would they? My sister has been dead nearly twenty years. The girls would be in their early to mid-twenties by now.”

Rayer swallowed hard and went back to Alondra’s bag, withdrawing the journal once more. He laid it on the table for Timothy to see. “Alondra had this in her bag. I recognized it as being Samuel’s.”

“How did you know him?” asked Timothy, lifting the journal and opening it. He skimmed the pages, his eyes widening as he did. When he set it down, it was with shaky hands. He looked toward the hallway. “She said she was twenty-four, about to be twenty-five.”

“Yes,” said Rayer, getting the same sinking feeling as Timothy.

Timothy went to the bag and began digging through it more. Rayer was about to scold him for the behavior when the man pulled out a wallet. He opened it and gasped, holding a driver’s license out for Rayer to see.

There, plain as day, was a photo of Alondra with the surname Pallon.

“She’s your great-niece?” asked Rayer.

“It would appear so.” Timothy returned her belongings to her bag and then looked at Rayer. “I think she’s supposed to be here with us, sir. I think powers higher than we can imagine set this in motion long ago. There is a reason she came seeking you.”

“So that she’d be connected to family again?” he asked, unsure he was following Timothy’s logic.

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