Page 66 of Seducing Jenny
“Erm, I don’t know.” Grass fidgeted and shrugged. “I like this body.”
He smiled easily enough, but there was something in his near black eyes that told me he knew there was an issue. “How are the headaches?”
“They come and go.” Grass fed us an overly ripe cheesy thing that was disgusting and I internally gagged. “Weird. I used to love hyulin.”
I didn’t miss the suspicion that flickered in Surge’s eyes. “You hate hyulin. You like grinwin.”
“Right. Grinwin.” She scooped some pink pasty thing onto some dark bread. “Must be the headache.”
What is he talking about? I hate grinwin. Oh my god. He knows something is wrong.
He watched us closely as she popped the grinwin into her mouth. It was a paste made with fermented berries and boiled cina milk that had gone rancid from lemons. My tongue tried to avoid contact with it, almost spitting it out of my mouth. Grass fought not to react, chewing slowly while trying to look normal.
“That’s really good,” she muffled, while attempting to swallow it down without choking.
He smiled and nodded. “It is. Do you—”
Tiger and Mal joined us on the terrace before Surge could finish his sentence.
Tiger glanced over at me, his eyes warm and caring. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Not much,” Grass said through gritted teeth.
“I’m worried about these headaches, Jade,” Mal said, sitting at the head of the table on my right. “I want Surge to do an exam, just to make sure there isn’t a deeper problem.”
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted.
“Please humor me,” Mal said, gently pushing the issue. “Surge?”
“Absolutely.” The short man immediately stood up. “Come on, Jade. This won’t take long.”
“Fine.” Grass huffed irritably at Surge, then cast a sultry smile at Tiger and Mal. “You two have a good time together while I’m gone. I’ll be thinking of you.”
Mal kissed the back of my hand. “It won’t be the same without you.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
We followed Surge toward his lab, and she nearly fell down the spiral stairs.
Very casually, Surge asked, “How long have you had an ambulatory problem? Before or after the headaches started?”
“I don’t have any problem at all,” she said indignantly.
He opened the wooden door at the end of the staircase, and once it was closed, I actually felt safe. Surge, being a magician, was more attuned to the ebbs and flows of mystical things. I was confident that if anyone could fix this possession, it would be him.
His lab was like a dark apothecary’s workshop, with dried herbs and carved sticks hanging from every wall. Shelves were packed with glass vials of various potions and in the center of the room was a sturdy worktable.
I started to worry that if he was able to get Grass out of me, she might turn around and possess him. But then I realized that he probably knew how to fix that, too. Surge Footwick was a brilliant magician, and I trusted him completely.
He turned around and faced us, his expression more shrewd now that we were alone with him. “Jade, I know you’re hiding something from everyone.”
Grass tensed. “What would I be hiding?”
“I know what you are, and I know that’s worrisome for you because I’m a magician and that makes us natural enemies,” he said calmly. “But I’d like to think we’re friends. You know you can trust me, right?”
I realized he was talking to me as aconduit, as if we were natural enemies and I hadn’t grown so fond of him.
“Of course,” Grass huffed.
