Page 144 of Demon's Bluff

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Page 144 of Demon's Bluff

“It came in like the tide every morning. It was you.” He stared at me. “You brought it in!”

Brad gathered himself to stand, and Pike put a hand on his shoulder. “And she pushed it out. Brad, she pushed it out for good. You’re back.”

The distressed man sank down into the couch, his haunted gaze going from me to Scott.

“She pushed the fog out,” Pike said again firmly. “She risked her life and the well-being of Cincy to dissolve it. It’s gone.”

Brad licked his lips, slumped and exhausted. “I know that. I was there, listening. I remember everything now. Everything you did. Everything you tried.”

His head snapped up, and I jerked, startled when he reached over the table, pulling me into an awkward hug. I froze, then relaxed as he began to cry, huge racking sobs. “I remember,” he said around his gasps for air. “I remember everything. Thank you. Thank you.”

“Okay, big man,” Pike said, and I patted Brad’s shoulder when he let go, clearly embarrassed as he sniffed and wiped his face.

“I’m sorry,” I said as Brad sat before me at a complete loss. “I didn’t know what it was when I invoked it.”

His wet eyes met mine. “I know.” Brad took a shuddering breath. “I remember.” He turned to Pike, a new wonder lighting his expression. “You kept me safe. You were more kind than I deserve. Oh, God. Pike. I tried to kill you. For money. Because that’s what the family wanted.”

Grinning, Pike stood and pulled him into another back-slapping hug. “It’s okay. You want a beer?”

Brad blinked at us, looking a little thin, a little worn. But his eyes were alive. “I want everything!” he shouted, and I found I could smile. “I want to do everything! I want to remember everything!”

“Well, let’s go!” Pike said, mirroring his joy. “I’ve always wanted a big brother, and now I have one.”

Pike draped an arm over Brad’s shoulder to lead the unsteady man to the stairs. At the top, he glanced over his shoulder. “Thank you,” he said, lips moving soundlessly, and I put a hand to my mouth so I wouldn’t cry. It was done.

“Brad!” someone shouted as they descended, and I blinked away the tears as the waitstaff began singing,“We’re glad you’re back. You left too soon. Come sit at the bar. We’ll all make room.”It was the death day song, and it seemed oddly appropriate as he had returned from a living death. They all knew him, had cared for him. Loved him. He was loved.

“He could still press charges,” Scott said, clearly annoyed.

My smile vanished.You are a troll’s ass. No, you are the zit on a troll’s ass.Lips twisted wryly, I plucked the mirror from the plate and shook the water off. “So…I want to hear the words,” I said as I dried it on an almost useless cocktail napkin.

The ten-year-old before me took a slow, steadying breath. “You have been found exempt of the penalty of illicit magic. That you performed it will remain on your record.”

It was about what I had expected, and I leaned deeper into the cushion and took a sip of water from that cold bottle. “And my vacation at Alcatraz?”

“Is off the table as long as you keep your nose clean,” he said in his high voice, and I stilled my bobbing foot.

“Not likely, but okay.” My gaze dropped to the paper bag at his feet. “You still haven’t told me where Elyse is.” Scott had made no move to leave. He wanted something. Perhaps he thought he could trick me into doing something illegal?Not happening, you little pissant.

“She’s fine,” he said, rubbing his baby-smooth chin as if it had stubble. “That was really fast. I take it you prepped most of it earlier?”

“At dawn.” I drummed my fingers on my knee. “You demoted Elyse? That’s hardly fair, considering all she did was have an opinion the rest of you don’t like.”

“We disagree all the time. The difference is that this time we are disagreeing about you.” Scott pulled the paper bag closer, his tawny head down as he opened it. “And we didn’t demote her. She voluntarily removed herself after losing her lead position.”

No wonder she hadn’t answered any of my texts. “You fired her?” I pushed up from the cushions. “Who’s the lead member? You?”

“She voluntarily removed herself,” he said again, not answering my other question.

He wouldn’t meet my eyes. My gut was tight, and I forced myself to relax. “Voluntarily,” I muttered. “I’ll believe that when I hear it from her.”

“She broke our trust.” His little-boy arms tense, he struggled until he dropped a heavy book on the table. It was mine. The one I had left in the morgue when he had attacked us. I knew it. Recognized it.And he’s not leaving here with it.

“I didn’t spell Elyse,” I said again. “She saw for herself the hell of theever-after and the anger that escaping it eased in the demons. She witnessed firsthand the pain that every single elf alive had to endure just to survive, and that helping Trent find a cure erased that fear and pain. She learned to trust me in the ever-after, and that trust saved both our lives. That’s not brainwashing. That’s educating. Scott, don’t kick her out,” I pleaded, inching forward to sit on the edge of the couch. “The coven is her life. What is she going to do? Go back to Seattle?” She could teach, maybe. But not as a failed coven member.

“It was her choice.” A flicker of worry furrowed his young brow, and he set a hand on the book, pulling away when it shot a prickling haze at him.

Arms over my chest, I reclined deeper into the cushions. “What do you want?”




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