Boundary Born (Boundary Magic Book 3) - Melissa F. Olson Page 0,77

as usual. “Nothing has changed, Lex. You haven’t changed. You just know something that you didn’t know before, that’s all.”

I kissed him then, because how could I not? He returned the kiss with enthusiasm, being careful not to touch the bruise on my face, and heat flooded into my numb body, reminding me of everything I already had. Then I opened my eyes for a second and noticed a rack of shovels and rakes. They seemed oddly familiar. I pulled back and looked around us. Where the hell were we?

It was obviously someone’s garage. And I’d been here before.

Then I finally put it together. Simon and Lily had needed to come up with a hiding place for Maven’s body, and they couldn’t take her anywhere that was connected to the witches. So they’d set up a new base of operations in a place Emil wouldn’t know about. A house they knew would be empty.

John’s house.

Chapter 31

I stormed into the house to find the Pellars. They were both in the living room. “I can’t believe you broke into John’s house!” I yelled.

“She’s back!” Lily said gaily. She was sitting in the easy chair in John’s living room, playing a game on her phone.

“The guy puts his spare key on top of the door frame!” Simon countered. “He deserves to get burgled, and look, we’re just picking up a little.”

That brought me up short. It was true—Simon was on his hands and knees on the floor, stacking toys into a pile. “What are you doing?”

“Just ignore him,” Lily said, dismissive. “He gets a little OCD when he’s stressed.”

“Or he’s stepped on five different Duplos and he’s sick of it,” Simon muttered.

“But he’s gonna figure out that you were here!”

“No, he’s gonna figure out you were here,” Quinn said mildly, coming up behind me. “And because you love him and Charlie so much and feel bad about your fight, you cleaned the house up a little.” I wheeled around to glare at him, but he just shrugged. “You have to admit, it’s kind of brilliant. John’s not Old World, and Charlie’s just a baby. There’s no reason for anyone to look for Maven here. And besides, your family’s safe in Florida.”

I wanted to argue that we were still putting them in danger, but I bit back my protest. We could move Maven right away, tonight—as soon as we figured out where to put her. But in the meantime I had more pressing concerns.

I checked my watch. It was a little after eight. I looked at Quinn. “Did they explain what’s been happening?”

He nodded. “Crystals, telephone to the dead, scary blue guy. I’m caught up.”

“I looked up the meaning of milites mortis,” Simon broke in. “The rough translation is ‘soldiers of death.’ Or possibly ‘knights of death.’”

“Fantastic,” I said.

“Yeah, but what does that mean?” Lily asked.

Simon looked at me. “You said this group kidnapped boundary witches, right?”

I nodded. “But Nellie wasn’t sure they were actually hurting them. There were rumors that you could make a lot of money if you joined them. Like it was a business.”

“This is a leap,” he said slowly, “but what if it was the business of making more boundary witches?”

We all stared at him. Simon held his hands up defensively. “I know, I’m just taking a shot in the dark. But if you were a boundary witch, and you were worried that there weren’t enough boundary witches in the world, what would be the best way to make more?”

“Kidnap the witches and force them to . . . breed?” Lily said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. It was the same unsettling word Emil had used to grouse about boundary witches not having relationships with other witches.

Everyone fell silent, and I could feel all of them deliberately not looking at me. If Simon’s theory was correct, there were people out there who wanted to force me to carry a baby.

“Even if you’re right,” I said, the rasp suddenly sharp in my voice, “what does the jolly blue giant have to do with this? Is he working for them?”

Quinn took a step forward, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. We’re not letting them take Lex. We’re going to find Emil and Mr. Freeze, and we’re going to shut this down. Tonight.”

Everyone nodded. I didn’t feel nearly as confident, but if it was an act, I hoped he’d keep it up for a while. “First thing, we have to go back to my place,” I said, half-expecting them to protest. “I have