Page 33 of Icy Heart, Empty Chest
He threw me a guilty look. “Sorry.”
I motioned to follow me towards the stairs. It was going to be a long night. I winced as I heard the sounds of his boots on the creaky wooden steps.
“Step as gently as you can, OK?”
A cat burglar, he was not.
I got to the top step and put my hand on the knob, turning it gently. I pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen.
Gleaming countertops and sparkling appliances greeted me. It wasn’t what I thought the bachelor pad would be; instead of immaculate, I was expecting jerky wrappers, expired milkcontainers, magazines everywhere. I guess “barely lived in” would be closer to the mark.
Looking at the expense of the appliances, I commented, “Must be nice to have a doctor’s salary.”
“You could. You could go back to medical school,” he offered.
“I always thought about the Healer’s Guild, honestly.” I had never told anyone that before.
He put his hand on my shoulder, towering over me. “You’d be brilliant at that.”
I shivered slightly at the contact. I never really used any of my nymph healing arts. It would take some very intense studying and learning. I toyed around with the idea every few months, looking at the program for those with natural healing abilities. I liked the idea of it but just never had enough motivation to commit.
“Focus, Damien,” I warned.
He ignored me. “I will fill out your application myself if I have to.”
“Damien! Heart first then school.”
He scowled. “You can’t ignore things forever.”
“I’m trying to get your heart back, you stubborn kelpie jackass. Time and place!” I hissed furiously. “New deal, I will tell you whatever you want, just not on a job site, OK?”
“Deal.” He still looked like he was glowering a bit.
Methodically I moved to the cabinets, checking the upper ones quickly. He did the same with the lower, not seeing anything.
The fridge had nothing exciting. He moved past me. “I’ll grab the bathroom.”
I moved into the living room. There was an immense bookshelf set up behind a shiny television set on the entertainment stand with a game console underneath it.
I looked wistfully at the various medical books. They would have been a fascinating read.
I shined my flashlight at the rows of books. If I were a heart, where would I be?
I looked to the bottom row. If a bigger book was hollowed out, maybe there? It would certainly be an unexpected solution.
I started flipping through. Six large texts later, he joined me.
“Start looking through the smaller ones. You never know what you can find.”
He moved to the opposite end and plucked a red book from the shelf. A small piece of paper fluttered into his hand.
“Cor, I think I got a safe combination,” he whispered excitedly.
Beginner’s luck.
He flipped through the book. “Looks like an old journal.” I stalked over and took the slip from him. 47-32-17. That was a combo alright.
He shot me a smarmy look. “Now you don’t have to crack a safe.”
