“Such a Hufflepuff.” Jae murmured, digging into his omelet.
“Anyway...” Hugo interrupted, blushing when our attention focused back on him. “We can use the opportunity to follow one of Remi's leads.”
“Remi has a lead?” I perked up.
Hugo nodded solemnly. “There’s a club in Queens called Fool's Gold.” He said.
A smile spread on my lips. “I’ve been there!” I said excitedly.
“So it's a Demon hangout.” Hart's voice was dry.
“Don't discriminate.” Jae chided seriously.
“One of the Ifrit symbols was spotted on the security cameras, on the brick wall of the alley by the club.” Hugo elaborated.
Finally, a clue.
Somehow, Dr. Dan had found my new room assignment and posted a very in-depth itinerary to my door. I found the laminated A4 document as I left my room with a duffle bag of Frankie's clothes on Thanksgiving morning.
Hugo startled when he spotted me, but the movement was falsely casual as if he had been waiting for me. His greeting was stilted as we walked together, and I wanted to ask him what bug had crawled up his ass. Somehow, I behaved myself and stayed silent.
Dr. Dan had left the day before, driving to Queens to spend the night at his parent's house. Hugo and I decided to drive down early the next morning.
We rounded the fence and ambled to the SUV in silence. Jae and Hart were leaning against the vehicle looking calm, each with a duffle over their shoulders, sporting matching ‘Davenport’s Halfway Camp’ t-shirts.
“What are you guys doing here?” I wondered as Hugo popped the trunk for our bags.
Hart ignored the question and ducked into the backseat. Jae rolled his eyes.
“Did you think we'd let you both go to Fool's Gold without us?” Jae's violet eyes sparkled. “Besides, Remi's in Connecticut with Alicia and Warren has a conference call with the West Coast.”
Hart poked his head out of the open window. “Jae didn't want to be alone on Thanksgiving.”
“I thought you were Korean? Do they even have Thanksgiving.” Hugo wondered as he returned to my side.
“His Omma is Korean.” I reminded him. “You were born in the US, right?”
Jae's cheeky smile melted into a genuine and confused one. “You remembered.”
I shrugged, distracted by the empty passenger seat. I bounced forward and wrenched the door open while calling shotgun.
No one argued with me.
We made good time to Queens and were greeted by Daniel on the porch of the wisteria-covered baby blue house. The flower beds were perfectly tended, though the mailbox was dented. Matching the neighbors on either side, which implied that teenagers had vandalized the local area.
Hugo had briefed me on the Gardiner’s before we got out of the SUV, but his knowledge of the subject was formal. Two ex-Hunters, Elsie and Andrew Gardiner. They had two adopted children, Frankie and Daniel. Raised in Queens, away from the compound, both children had been the victims of attacks from otherworldly beings that resulted in the loss of their families. Both children later went on to become Hunters, like their adopted parents.
I had expected stoic and stiff people, like Daniel, but on steroids. Instead, I was swept away in a flurry of floral perfume, the grip of a full-body hug from a tiny woman, and a kiss on every surface of my face.
“Mom...” I spat out, feeling guilty for some reason, but unable to identify the source. Maybe it was because I was wearing her adopted daughter like an overcoat, and in a few weeks, she’d be standing on the same porch and hearing about her daughter's death.
... Yeah. That was probably it.
Elsie Gardiner gave me a strange look in response to my greeting, and I soon figured out why when she lovingly introduced herself as 'Momma G' to Hugo, Jae, and Hart.
Andrew Gardiner did not look up from his newspaper once. Daniel had disappeared.
The house was stuffed full of knick-knacks and unique furniture, a mixture between IKEA and old-world antique. The air was thick with the delicious smell of Thanksgiving dinner, and before long, I found myself seated at a dining table.
Sandwiched between Hugo and Hart, I stared at the glistening and crispy skin on the turkey. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.
Momma G made us hold hands and say grace. Jae did the honors with aplomb, switching to his bright-eyed gentle therapist persona. I wanted to laugh, and Jae definitely caught the curl of my lips as I restrained himself, because he kicked me under the table.
Dinner didn’t get interesting until we were all on our second portions, and the subject of 'The Calling’ was brought up—surprisingly by Frankie's father, Andrew.
The mild-mannered man asked about some of the most recent takedowns and then began to reminisce.
“I lived in Iowa. Cornfields for miles, and suddenly I hear a baby crying. Crazy, right?” The man took a sip of his beer. “You didn’t go into cornfields at night. It just wasn’t done, but that baby was howling. I followed the noise.”
“Bubak.” I supplied helpfully. Andrew nodded sagely in my direction, which gave the impression he had told Frankie the same stories many times.
“That's right, honey.” Andrew agreed. “They lure their victims in with a cry and then eat them. Gluttony demon. Fifth circle.”
Hart cleared his throat. “I was working as an animal handler for the New Orleans zoo. Caught a Shax Demon trying to mate with one of our Komodo dragons.” Hart's eyes sparkled with laughter.
“What about you, Jae?” I asked.
“I had just qualified as a therapist when one of my clients went completely catatonic.” Jae shrugged. “It’s not an interesting story, but I was able to pull her out using my empathetic abilities. Next thing I knew, I had the three stars.”
Hugo must have caught my desire to ask what the three stars were because he brushed his shaggy blonde hair away from his left ear and showed the formation of three white scars that looked like stars in a perfect triangle. My hand reached behind my ear to the raised skin behind Frankie’s ear, having not noticed it before.
Momma G glanced at Daniel, who was focused intensely on his plate. Food laid forgotten.
“Does anyone want more green beans?” The short woman asked brightly.
Daniel Gardiner pushed away from the table. His chair made a harsh screech on the wooden floor as he burst from the room like the hounds of Hell were on his tail.
My brows raised in question.
Momma G tried to smile, but it did not reach her eyes. She gripped her husband’s hand and turned to him. “Maybe keep the Calling talk to a minimum, honey-bun. Daniel doesn’t like to be reminded that Frankie was called, and he wasn't.”
The rest of the dinner was eaten in silence.
Every time I looked at Daniel's empty seat, I wanted to burst out of my skin with questions.
The guys had gone to the guest rooms to shower and dress before the club. Daniel had not come down after dinner, not even for dessert.
I lingered in the hallway, studying the various happy photos that lined the hall like they contained the answers to the universe.
Momma G caught me brushing my fingers against a framed photo of a red-headed Daniel, with a similarly afflicted woman stood behind him. The happy smiling human had her arms wrapped around the grumpy child like he was the key to her happiness and the only thing she had ever needed.
“Daniel told me that he joined the Hunter’s to follow you.” Momma G had crept up on me when I wasn’t looking.