Page 3 of Jacinth

He shrugged and made another move for the vodka. I continued to withhold the liquor and watched as Niko winced and held a hand to his temple.

“Seriously, you need to lay off this stuff.”

“Tell them to lay off me and I’ll happily oblige, golden boy,” Niko muttered.

With a sigh of surrender, I held out what he wanted, then moved Sky to his bedroom.

Thirty minutes later, I wandered into the garage where my makeshift veterinary clinic resided, casting an eye around at its current residents. Two stray cats I had come across whilst wandering around town slept in separate cages, and a dog who had been hit by a car shifted on a pillow in the far corner.

I had been waiting for him to pass for three days now, but he kept hanging on. I preferred the company of my animals. They were so much easier to handle than people, particularly my brothers. The fact that their lives were not tied up in the fabric of the fates was an added bonus.

Wouldn’t have to deal with one of the three coming after me for interfering. Necromancy was dangerous for more than just the recipient of the gift.

A shuddering breath left the poor beast in the corner, and all was still. I let out an echoing sigh of relief and moved into place beside him. One hand to the head, another to the heart, and the energy began to build. There was a slight resistance from the runes as the warmth of my ability rushed toward the cooling flesh.

“Rise,” I whispered and smiled as the glow from my hands suffused the body.

Healing.

Rejuvenating.

On a gasp, the dog launched himself from where he rested. A whimper of gratitude was all the warning I had before being overwhelmed with fur and doggie kisses. I laughed and scratched the beast, assuring him he was a good boy and promising to feed him the best cuts of meat I could find.

It was a relief, both to use my ability and the distraction from familial responsibility. This was something I needed after Skyler’s antics, especially considering the temporary absence of the amulet. It was a curious thing that I had let it out of my possession.

Incredibly irresponsible.

So, why had I allowed it?

CHAPTER 3

Jacinth

“I think this is for you.”Birdie held the amulet out toward me without bothering to turn around.

Trying to downplay my enthusiasm to get my hands on the beautiful, shiny jewelry, I drifted toward her and held my hand out. I didn’t care. I could take it or leave it.

I totally wanted to take it.

Give me, I thought desperately, as my twin kept it just out of reach.

“I know you, Jace. You aren’t fooling anyone.”

Damn. “You see right through me,” I joked, elbowing her as I snatched the necklace from her hand. “Get it? Because I’m transparent! I’m so punny!” I laughed at my joke and slipped the jewelry over my head.

“If you are going to start with the ghost jokes, I’m outie. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. You are definitely and unequivocally not funny. Hey...”

At the change of tone in her voice, I glanced up from admiring the gold piece around my neck. Her normally flushed skin had a similar gray pallor to mine.

“You all right, Birdie? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You...”

“What?” I looked over my shoulder, wondering if I had missed someone approaching.

“You...” Birdie tried again, pointing at me.

I glanced down and recoiled as my not-so-transparent hands expressed their shock by almost taking my nose off.

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