Stone trotted out of the bathroom and sat next to me, staring at the door.
I wondered if it was going to hurt to have Zayvion so far from me. I closed my eyes and thought about him.A warmth filled my chest like a glowing orb. I had a tactile knowledge that Zayvion was alive, and a part of me in a way he never had been before, soul to soul. It was a good feeling, a gentle knowledge. It probably should have freaked me out, since I wasn’t sure I was all that good at that kind of commitment, but I wasn’t up to worrying about it.
I rested my hand on Stone’s smooth head. “What a mess,” I muttered.
Stone cooed his soft vacuum cleaner sound.
“Speaking of messes, what am I going to do with you?” I asked him. “Do you sleep?”
He tipped his head. I didn’t think he understood me, but he trotted across the floor and into my bedroom, where he curled up in the corner, the curtain draped over his back, his big head rested on his arms. He didn’t close his eyes. He just stared and looked very much like a nonbreathing statue.
“Close enough,” I said. I thought about taking a shower and decided against it, and for coffee instead. I checked my phone messages-there were none-and looked for a note from Nola. Nothing.
As I was pouring the fresh brew into my favorite mug, the handle of my door jiggled. Then keys slipped into the lock.
Only Nola and my manager had keys to my apartment.
The door opened and I heard Nola’s voice.
“. . just for tonight, okay? Go ahead, you’re okay.”
I walked out of the kitchen and leaned against the doorway. “Hi.”
Nola smiled at me. Next to her was Cody. He looked a lot like his spirit self, thin, pale. Blue summer eyes. But behind those eyes was a childlike hesitation. He somehow looked much younger than his ghost.
He looked at the room and at me. Recognition lit his face. “Pretty.”
I smiled even though I no longer had my memory of actually meeting him. I did, however, remember how I felt about him. Sad, I think. Maybe even protective.
“Hi, Cody. It’s good to see you again. Would you like to see my house?”
Cody looked over at Nola, who nodded encouragingly. “Go ahead. She likes you.”
Cody smiled. “Pretty.” He wiggled his fingers in the air again. “Magic.”
Wasn’t that interesting?
He wandered into my living room, holding his hands against his chest, as if afraid to touch anything.
“How’d it go?” I asked Nola.
“Long. Difficult. But everything’s taken care of. I picked up some dinner. Have you eaten?”
She wasn’t carrying anything but her purse.
“Not really.”
I heard footsteps and the crinkle of a paper bag. Then Detective Paul Stotts was there, two bags in his hands.
“Hello, Allie,” he said.
“Hello,” I said to one of the last men in this city I wanted to see right now. “Come on in.”
He walked past me into the kitchen, where he proceeded to unpack cartons of Chinese food. Nola shut the door.
I probably should have panicked. The head of the MERC was in my house and so was the gargoyle who’d followed me home. But after tonight, it would take more than that to get me to jump.
From the other room, I heard Cody’s delighted cry. “There you are! I missed you.”
“You’re staying for dinner, aren’t you, Paul?” Nola asked.
He shook his head. “I can’t tonight. How about breakfast tomorrow?”
“Sure.” She took off her coat and hung in on the back of my door.
Detective Stotts strolled out of the kitchen and stopped next to me. “I don’t have any leads on the case in St. Johns yet,” he said. “Someone destroyed the crime scene. The evidence is gone. But we have some promising information.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to look surprised. Trying not to look like I was dating the guy responsible for destroying the crime scene.
“Have you heard anything more about Davy?” I asked.
Nola answered, “Just that he’s stable. Sid said they’ll call here tomorrow.”
I took a drink of coffee and wondered whether I’d have time to go see him in the morning. Probably.
“Have you thought about my offer?” Stotts asked me.
Offer? I frowned. Finally remembered. He wanted me to work for him. I hadn’t thought about it since my life had taken the short road to crazy town. It seemed like a really bad idea to take a job Hounding for a cursed secret magic police officer, with everything else on my plate.
Which would mean he would ask another Hound to work for him. Maybe Sid, Bea, Davy.
An image of Davy’s broken, bloody body floated through my head.
Shit.
“I thought about it,” I said. “And I’d like to take the job.”
He nodded. “Excellent. I’ll have the contract drawn up. Come by the station and we’ll go over the details.” He held out his hand for me.
What the hell. I shook it.
“Welcome to the force,” he said. “I hope this will be a long and productive career for you.”
The irony was not lost on me. “Thanks.”
Stotts turned to Nola, and the whole police-detective demeanor changed. “Congratulations,” he said softly.
Nola beamed. “Thank you. For everything. It would have taken me days to get through all the legal tangles.”
“My pleasure.” He bent and gave her a brief hug.
I suddenly felt like the three of a crowd, so I walked off, leaving them their privacy.
I found Cody sitting on the floor of my bedroom, his arm around Stone’s neck, chatting away at him, like he’d just found a lost friend.
And maybe he had.
“Everything okay, Cody?” I asked.
He smiled at me. “Sleeping. That’s okay. He’ll be back.”
That’s great
, I thought. How was I going to explain that to Nola?
“That’s great,” I said, with a lot less sarcasm. “Dinner’s ready. Come on out and we’ll eat.”
“Eat?” His face clouded over.
“After dinner you can have a cookie with a secret note in it.”
“Cookie?”
“That’s right.” I held out my hand for him.
He stared at my hand, then patted Stone’s head and took my hand.
At his touch, magic stirred in me.
“Pretty,” Cody said. “Magic. Like me.”
“Think so?” I asked him. He nodded and nodded.
I led him out of the bedroom and shut the door. Nola had already set the food out on the little table for the three of us. Stotts was gone.
Once he saw the food, Cody didn’t need any more encouragement. He sat down and contentedly began eating it with a spoon.
“So,” Nola said, as I took my seat to one side of her. “How was your day?”
“You don’t want to know.” I got busy with the chop-sticks, and for just a little while, pretended like everything in my life was back to normal.
Chapter Twenty
We made up a place for Cody to sleep on the couch, and Nola slept on the living room floor on an air mattress she’d been smart enough to buy.
I slept in my own bed, alone except for the gargoyle who was silent and still by my window.
When morning rolled around, I heard Nola and Cody get up. Heard them each take a shower. Smelled coffee being made. But I pulled a pillow over my head and ignored it all. I was every kind of tired that had a name. And it wasn’t nearly light enough outside for me to drag myself out of my warm blankets.
A soft knock at my door, and then Nola’s voice. “Allie? Cody and I are going to go out to breakfast with Paul. After that, I might get Cody some clothes to take to my place. We won’t be home for a while. Coffee’s fresh in the kitchen.”
Then I heard her patiently coaxing Cody into his coat, and a knock on the door that I could only assume was Detective Stotts. His voice was low and gentle in greeting, and then Nola and Cody and Stotts were all gone, the door shut and locked behind them.