Page 40 of Shadow Running
“True,” I said.“They scare me too.All right, shall we go shopping?”
“Yeah, I have my list,” Penn said.
We returned to the car and drove to downtown Seattle, where Jabberwocky—a magic shop—was nestled between a sandwich shop and a day spa.
There were no parking spots, so Penn jumped out of the car as I pulled up and stopped in front of the shop.“I’ll look for parking while you’re in there.Call us when you’re done,” I said.A car honked behind me, so I drove off the minute she shut the door behind her.
“What do you think?”Dante asked.“Do youreallythink aliens could be involved?”
“I’m not sure, and I’m not sure I want to know.But if they’re kidnapping the members of society who are the most vulnerable, we need to put a stop to it.”
I spotted a parking space two blocks away from the magic shop and eased into it.Dante got out and fed the meter—most parking meters around Seattle now worked on credit cards or with payment from a cell phone.“I don’t feel like walking back there.Penn can just call us when she’s ready,” I added.
“How is she?Really?”Dante asked.
“How would you be, if your mother had a brain bug that was eating away at her magical energy and leaving her…basically in a vegetative state?”I hung my head.“I wish I could do something to help.I hate feeling this way.I hate watching her go through this.”
“I understand,” Dante said.“I’m so grateful that Aunt Tilly is still sharp.She might not have the razor’s edge mind she used to, but she’s still sharp.”He paused, then asked, “And you?How areyoudoing?”
“I talked to Seton this morning about my uncle.I’m going to see if Konstantine wants to go with me for a joint session.It might be good for both of us.”I paused.“I also told him about Edward.He warned me not to go.He says it would be detrimental for me.That my inner demon might break out.Apparently, I’m looking for answers that I’m not going to find.”
“Good.I agree with him,” Dante said.
“Well, I promised him that I wouldn’t go,” I said.“If that makes you feel better.”
“I’ll text Carson and have him start looking for UFO reports to see if there are any that coincide with disappearances.And I’ll ask him to add up just how many people they think have vanished.We can’t be sure, but at least we’ll have a base number to go off of.”
“Thanks,” I said, leaning my head back.“I wish things felt more settled.Everything is up in the air and it makes me jumpy.”
While he contacted Carson, I closed my eyes.We stayed that way until Penn called for us to pick her up.As I returned to the magic shop, I thought about all the developments that had impacted my life lately, and Penn’s life, and I offered up a little prayer that maybe, just maybe, they would calm down and sort themselves out.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
I droppedDante and Penn off and headed to Garbo’s Steak House.As I parked in the lot and headed inside, the smell of roasting beef hit me and my stomach rumbled.I stopped at the hostess stand.“I’m meeting Konstantine Crow.Is he here yet?”
The woman checked her listings.“Yes, I’ll have someone take you to his booth.”She motioned to a waiter.We wove through the dining room to a booth on the side of the wall.Konstantine was there, and he slid out of the booth, standing as I approached.I sat down, and my uncle took his seat again.
The waiter handed me a menu.“May I bring you something to drink?”
“A latte, please—double shot.”
He nodded.“I’ll be back with your drink in a moment.”
As he walked off, I turned to Konstantine.“I’m so glad today worked for you.We’re in the middle of two cases right now—yours and another.We just bought the materials for my roommate Penn to set up a cleansing ritual over at your house.The case is more complicated than we first thought.”
“How so?”he asked.
I thought about how to answer.“The last victim’s curse?It was an extremely powerful one, and as far as we can tell, it was created by a family of witches that were feared throughout the world at one time.I don’t know if there are any of them left, but somehow Riana learned one of the ancient hexes and that’s what she used on Longworld.Breaking it’s going to be a chore.”
Konstantine nodded.“Logically I understand how energy and magic becomes trapped in a house.But…while I was growing up, I never noticed it.Maybe I’m just headblind.”
“Maybe,” I said.“Or maybe, the spirits just hadn’t had time to fester.”I paused as the waiter set my latte on the table.
“Are you ready to order?”he asked.
I glanced at Konstantine.“Do you know what you want?”
“Yes, but I can wait for you.”
