said as I began to pick out the conversation. “Someone has been playing mind games with Zack.” Wings rasping from the cold, he lifted from my shoulder.
“Hey, ah, Landon told Zack that you’d kill him if you caught him in your church, so be nice,” I said.
Jenks jerked to a hovering halt. “Nice? Tink’s tampons, Rache. You never let me have any fun,” he said before darting up and away, but I suspected he was less concerned with messing with Zack, and more concerned about telling Trent to stop talking about me.
Alone, I worked my way up the last of the stairs, slowing as my head rose above the level of the floor. Zack was slumped at the small table where the girls and I ate breakfast, but Trent was in the kitchen, still sporting that tractor apron. My lips parted when I saw Quen standing across from Zack, arms over his chest as if in disapproval. He’s back? Where are the girls?
“Quen?” I said, my pity party easing. “Where are the girls?”
His smile thin, Trent wiped his hands on a towel. “With Ellasbeth. She has the entire week off, apparently, and for safety’s sake, I agreed she can have them until Tuesday morning. Jon took Quen’s place since I wanted Quen’s opinion on the baku.” He hesitated. “Isn’t that right, Quen?” he added pointedly to make Quen grimace.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said as I gave the older, battle-scarred elf a quick hug. “We need your help.”
“I’m pleased you’re all right, Tal Sa’han,” he said formally, and at the table, Zack nearly choked at the elven term of high respect. “Busy night?” he added, giving Zack a sidelong look.
Jenks circled Quen twice before landing on his shoulder as if to prove to Zack that he was a nice pixy. “We filled him in,” Jenks said. “He doesn’t remember nothing about the baku.”
“The Order probably wiped it out,” I said as I dropped back, and Quen’s expression darkened. “Is Bis here?” I asked as my gaze went to the top of the fridge, where he liked to stay, but the space was empty, and I shoved a stab of pain down.
“He needed some air, too.” Jenks sat on Quen’s shoulder and licked something off his chopsticks. “See, Rache. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Then why did I feel so bad?
“You just missed him.” Trent was busy at the counter, shoulder moving as he shredded a chunk of hard cheese. “He went to talk to his dad, but if you need him, tap a ley line and call him. He’ll hear you.”
“Okay.” At least we still had that, and depressed, I draped my new spelling robe over the back of the couch. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing unusual,” Quen said dryly. “The Sa’han is insisting on putting himself into needless danger. That’s why I’m here. I could have told, and did tell, him over the phone that I knew nothing about the baku.”
“Quen,” Trent complained, and the older elf arched his dark eyebrows to make Zack snicker.
Zack was probably why Quen had really left the girls to Jon, and I came into the kitchen. “What are you doing to upset Quen?” I said as I sent my arm around Trent’s middle, distracting him as he drained a colander of pasta. “Mac and cheese?” I guessed.
Trent gave me a sheepish look. “I loved pasta and cheese when I was his age,” he said, glancing past the open counter at Zack. “He looks hungry.”
My arm tightened around his waist. “Mac and cheese is not what’s bothering Quen.”
Quen pointedly cleared his throat, and I eased my hold on Trent. Pointed tips of his ears reddening, Trent dumped the drained pasta into a huge bowl and added the cheese. “He’s fifteen and his magic isn’t working. How much danger can I be in?”
My eyebrows rose, and Trent avoided my gaze. We both knew how much danger Zack could be. Those had been upper-level charms he’d been trying to hit me with. “Your magic isn’t working, either,” I said as I snitched a chunk of cheese. Trent’s mac and cheese was not the usual fare, and the sides of my mouth almost hurt, the cheese was so sharp.
“True.” Trent stirred the cheese in, then began rummaging in an upper cupboard for a second bowl. Setting it on the counter, he leaned in, breath tickling my neck as he whispered, “You’re going to tell me who that demon is later, right?”
I nodded, gaze flicking up to Jenks,