Page 38 of Shadow Running
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By the timeI got to the office, it was eight-thirty, and Orik was there, sitting at the front next to Dante, showing him baby pictures.He flashed me a guilty grin as I peeked over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry?—”
“For what?Showing us pictures of Alyson and Sonjia?They’re adorable.”
And they were.Usually babies looked like blobby lumps that burped, spit up, and cried.But Alyson and Sonjia were shockingly cute, born with a thin layer of platinum hair.Their eyes were brilliant blue, though that could change, from what I gathered.And they looked…aware.They had two incredibly intelligent parents, though, so that didn’t surprise me.
“So, what have I missed?”Orik asked.
“A lot.Did you fill him in?”I asked.
Dante nodded.“Yeah, except for your news about the owner of the haunted house.I thought you might want to do that.”
I sighed.“Lock the front door and let’s have a staff meeting.Is Carson here yet?”
“He’s in his office.So, how’s Penn?”Dante asked.
“She was asleep when I—” I stopped as the door opened and Sophia walked in, followed by Penn.“What are you doing here?”
Penn shrugged.“I was going to the magic shop to buy the components to cleanse the house, remember?”
I started to say something but she shook her head.
“Please, don’t ask.No word yet, and if I don’t talk about it, I won’t break down.Working on your uncle’s house will give me something to focus on.”
“Are you sure?”I asked.
Penn sighed.“Yeah, I am.I can do this, and it will allow me to feel useful and not helpless, you know?”
“All right.”I wasn’t sure how I felt about Penn attempting magic, as upset as she was, but if she thought she could, I’d take her word for it.
“Hey,” Carson said, emerging from his office.“I have a few tidbits about Give A Hand Up.Want to meet in the—” He stopped when he saw Penn.“Penelope, I didn’t know you were here.I’m so sorry about your mother,” he said.
She nodded.“Thanks.I can’t talk about it right now, but thank you.”
“Why don’t we meet in the breakroom?”I herded everyone back, and we gathered around the table.We had some leftover cookies so I set them out.I had finished my latte that I bought before meeting with Seton, and so made a second one.It felt like a caffeine-motivated day.
We settled around the table and I brought out my notes.“Okay, I have news about Greg, too.I’d like to start, if you don’t mind,” I said to Carson.
“You have the floor.”
“Well, Benny’s got a friend named Winston.He’s a tweaker, I think, but he saw Greg out back of the bar we met at—it’s a dive called the Crock & Drop.I have no idea what’s behind the name, but it’s in south Seattle.Benny and I met him there last night.He said he and Greg were heading to the bar a week or so ago.Greg stopped in the alley to pee.Two men appeared—Winston said they looked like men but not men.He thinks they’re aliens.They took Greg by the hand and walked down the alley, then all three vanished in a blinding flash.”
Dante snorted.“Aliens now?What’s next?”
“I don’t know about who they were—or what—but I walked into the area Winston claimed they vanished and, dude…the energy was unnerving.It made me dizzy.It’s got to be more than magical residue.”I shook my head.“I doubted his account, but when I felt that energy, I tell you—something’s up.Something happened there.”
“I should go there,” Penn said.“I can suss out energy.”
“I don’t want you overexerting yourself—” I started to say, but she cut me off.
“Kyann, my mother’s dying.There’s absolutely nothing I can do to help.I can’t stop it, I can’t even see her—I can’ttalkto her because she’s so out of it, she wouldn’t hear me.Let me work.Let me do something that feels like I’m making a difference,” she said.
“All right, I hear you.”I wanted to protect her, but I couldn’t create a shield to protect her from the pain.And I, more than most, knew how soothing work could be.“Okay, what about this—you, Dante, and I will drive over there.After that we can take you down to the magic shop?Then, I’ll drop you back here and go meet my uncle for lunch?You can figure out what else you need before tackling Konstantine’s house?”
“That sounds like a plan,” Dante said.“Penn?”
