Page 82 of North Bound

‘Thanks, Damon.’

‘You okay after what Reve did?’

‘Yeah. I’m fine.’ He’s far from okay about any of this. The flashes of memories are distracting. His brain is foggy and that’s not going to help Scarlett. He has to be focused. It’s one thing his body being recharged by Damon, but his mind is a mess.

‘Listen, I need to talk to you before the others get here. I keep getting this... feeling I guess. I know the person who blew up my sleigh.’

‘You remember?’

He shakes his head. ‘Not like a clear thought. More like a memory that’s stuck. I can’t get the fucking thing out.’

‘You want me to try?’

‘You think you can?’

He shrugs. ‘Won’t know until I get in there. The thing is, I can only access your fears, all the bad shit in your head.’

‘If I do know who it was, I guarantee the memory will be in there with all the bad shit.’

‘Lie down.’

Nick stretches out on his bed and tries to steady his stomach. He’s seriously off kilter and it’s messing with his body. Letting Damon into his head probably won’t help get him straight, but he has to try.

‘Now keep eye contact.’

‘Will do.’

Damon rests his hands on either side of Nick’s forehead and focuses on his eyes. Less than a minute later Damon curses and lets him go.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Something is blocking the memory from me. It’s like there’s a fucking wall around it.’

Nick sits up and leans back against the headboard. ‘Fuck it! This isn’t done, Damon. This is about my magic. I’m absolutely convinced of it. Can you get Eve to check all the records for every Santa before me?’

‘Check for what?’

‘I have a horrible feeling there’s another way of taking my magic. There’s no other reason to keep coming at me like this. No other reason to push me like this by taking Scarlett. One of the team wants my magic, Damon.’

The Boogeyman crosses his arms and looks at him without saying anything for a few minutes. ‘You meet the team. I’ll talk to Eve.’

‘You don’t think I’m overreacting?’

‘You don’t overreact when it comes to the contracts and the team. Other parts of your life maybe,’ he adds with a quick smile. ‘But no. You might be right. Don’t know who, but I’m sure they’ll make themselves known soon enough.’

Nick can’t wait for that moment. He just hopes he gets to Scarlett first. If anything happens to her he’ll never forgive himself.