Page 35 of Mending Mayhem
“It’s good to have you back,” he said to Mayhem, who gave a curt nod, his expression blank.
“Did you find the rest of the amulet?” I took a giant bite of my sandwich and tried not to moan. Savory chicken and sweet, tart cranberries melded together in a flavor explosion. Yum.
“We think so,” Miles said. “It’s shrouded, but the spell isn’t very strong, and…” He cut his gaze to Shade.
“It’s strong enough that BSM hasn’t found it yet.” Shade inclined his chin. “Only a naturally powerful witch could have sensed it like I did.”
Miles cleared his throat.
Shade lifted his hands. “Like we did. We shared vim.”
“Where is it?” I couldn’t have hidden the annoyance in my voice if I’d tried, but hey. At least I had something else to think about instead of the demon sitting across from me.
Dammit. He was still on my mind. The sigil on my forearm tingled, and I rubbed it to chase away the sensation.
Mayhem inhaled sharply, his gaze snapping to mine. “Don’t do that.”
Without a word, I picked up my glass and took a long drink. I wanted to spout off a my body, my choice speech, but it seemed the tattoo affected his body too. Instead, I squared my gaze on Shade and arched an irritated brow.
“We sense it at Patrice’s house,” he said.
“That’s why we aren’t positive,” Miles said. “Why would Patrice have it?”
“And why wouldn’t she say something if she did?” Ash asked. “You told her we were looking for it.”
“I don’t know.” A sinking sensation formed in my stomach. “You don’t think she and Chrys…?”
Shade laughed. “Patrice? She won’t even kill a spider. There’s no way she participated in a coup with a crazy person.”
“Did she ever hang out with you guys while Chrys was manipulating you?” I swallowed the sour taste from the back of my mouth. “We didn’t think Chrys was capable of this either.”
Miles cast his gaze to the ceiling, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t recall her being around during that time. She’s always been solitary.”
Ash nodded. “And she’s healed us more times than I can count. If she wanted to get rid of us, she’d have let us die.”
I took another bite of sandwich, chewed, and swallowed as my brain processed the idea. “You’re right. It’s ludicrous. You probably sensed the amulet’s magic there because Chrys used it to trap her in the basement. We need to scry again.”
“Or we could go to her house and ask her.” Ash rose and carried her sandwich wrapper to the trash. “No sense in wasting vim if we don’t have to.”
“Great idea.” I stood and tossed my trash in the bin. “Everyone, load up.”
Mayhem stayed at the table and crossed his arms. “I will remain here.”
My jaw tensed, my grip on my water glass tightening. “Fine.”
Ash looked from me to him, and back to me. “We don’t need the whole crew. How about you and I go, and the boys can stay here and recharge.”
“Recharge?” Shade shot to his feet. “It’s barely noon. I’m not taking a nap like a child.”
“She means our vim.” Miles gathered his and Shade’s wrappers and wadded them into a ball. “We had to break through the shroud to figure out where it was. I know that taxed you as much as it did me.”
“And someone needs to make sure these two don’t misbehave.” I looked at Mayhem, expecting a sarcastic quip or at least an eye roll. He gave me nothing.
Shade glanced at Miles and sank into his chair. “Yeah. We can do that.”
I started to say a silent thank you to Hecate, but with all the trouble we were having finding the damn amulet, it seemed like she’d abandoned us.
“Come on.” Ash took a plastic bag from the pantry, grabbed my jacket, and handed it to me. “I just texted and told her we’re stopping by.”