Page 22 of Grave Robbing and Other Hobbies (Grave Concerns 1)

In the regular world, I didn’t have to worry about someone reading my mind. It just wasn’t a consideration. However, inthisworld, mages could manage it.

Which told me exactly what Grant was.

Mages were almost worse than other supernaturals. Vampires were clearly not human. Werewolves might pass for a while, butat least theirotherside looked like the monster it was.

Mages could pass easily for human and were, in many ways, the most closely related to humans. It meant a person had no idea what they were dealing with until they saw exactly what mages were capable of. Reading minds was just the tip of that very dangerous iceberg, of course.

He smiled as if my scolding didn’t matter. “Sure. It’d do you more good to learn how to block people, though. Not everyone is as upstanding as I am, willing to do as you asked just because you asked so nicely.” He tilted his head, his green eyes studying me. “Which makes me wonder why you’ve left so much to chance. No wards? Not even a charm to help keep you safe? Never learned to even feel when someone was reading your mind seems awfully stupid.”

“It isn’t stupid,” I snapped.

“No? So explain it to me.”

“If you walked past this house and it was warded to the teeth, what would you think?”

“That someone who lived here valued their life.”

I shook my head. “You’d know that whoever lived here knew about your world. You’d take notice. If you walked past it and felt nothing, though, you’d keep on walking. Trying to protect myself from your world only lets people know I’m aware of it. For a human,thatis far more dangerous. Sometimes a locked door only tells people there’s something worth breaking in for.”

He lifted his dark eyebrow then let his gaze drift over her from head to toe, as if forced to reevaluate me. “That might just be smarter than I’d given you credit for.”

The praise was unexpected and entirely unwelcome. I didn’t need him to tell me it was smart. I’d lived to thirty-five because I knew how to survive on the outskirts of their world. “So, as you can see, I don’tneedany wards on my house.”

He huffed before walking to my fridge and opening it as though he lived there, the arrogant bastard. “Sorry, but Kase paid me well to make sure you were protected. Flying under the radar is great and all, but that ship has sailed. Our world has taken an interest in you, and that means your whole unlocked-door theory is over with.”

I blew out a slow breath, grappling with my temper. “Well he clearly doesn’t understand boundaries, does he?”

“Vampires rarely do. They’re territorial and possessive and, for whatever reason, Kase seems to want you to stay alive. I’m here to ensure that. Once I have the wards up, almost nothing will be able to enter.”

“Almost?” The qualifier caught my attention.

He let out a dramatic sigh. “Right. Let’s run down the fine print. Upon setting up the ward, you will need to invite in any being of this realm. Once invited in, they will be able to enter again any time they want until that welcome is revoked.”

“Will I need some special spell to make it work?”

“What is this, amateur hour? No. Just a ‘come on in,’ works fine. If you want to revoke an invitation, in my experience ‘get the fuck out’ is quite effective. The ward works less well against humans, but any supernatural being will be unable to pass without an invitation. Expectations are anything noncorporeal, such as spirits, poltergeists, or any god or demi-god creature. Additionally, anything not of this realm, even if bound temporarily by a corporeal form from this realm, may be able to break the boundaries of the ward. You’re looking there at certain demons—again, usually smoke or mist-based—reapers, hellhounds, wardens—”

“You know, listing things that I have no idea about doesn’t really help.”

Grant pulled a water bottle from my fridge and twisted the cap off. “It comes down to this—it will keep out almost everything dangerous you’d have to worry about. You’ll be bound to the ward, so if someone tries to break it—and it is possible to break with enough time—you’ll know about it first.”

I thought about how Hunter had snuck into my house the night before, how Kase had broken in, how Troy had just walked in, not to mentionwhateverthat thing in my living room had been. Clearly my attempt to avoid the supernatural world wasn’t working, since they seemed apt at breaking in anytime they wanted, like my house was a train station.

“Okay,” I said with a nod. “Let’s ward this bitch.”

* * * *

Two hours later and I knew for sure I never wanted to be a mage. I’d expected lightning and fire and other amazing things like some light show.

Instead, it was a lot of quiet muttering and wandering through my house. I’d put my foot down when he’d opened my underwear drawer, though. The pervert hadn’t even bothered to pretend to be sorry. He’d only laughed and made a joke about warding panties.

“This is taking forever,” I complained from the couch as he stood at the front door, his back to me, his hands moving in strange ways that seemed purposeful and almost beautiful—at least if I hadn’t stopped caring so long before.

Grant didn’t answer right away, a delay that implied his task took all his attention.

Finally, he turned. “One more thing. I need your blood.”

“Whoa now.” I rose and took a step backward. “I thought I had to worry about that with Kase—not with you.”

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