A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,52

happy about. “Myles and I are now part of your Scooby gang—it’s just like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Rainey and I love Buffy—the TV series, not the movie—and I snort over her reference.

But Zaid’s eyebrows pinch together. “Who is this Buffy the Vampire Slayer you keep talking about? Is she fae or daemon? And why does she call herself a vampire slayer when there’s no such thing as vampires?”

I bust out laughing along with Rainey and Myles, and Zaid only looks more confused. I actually have a tear—purely from laughter and not from grief—come to the corner of my eye, which I nudge away with my knuckle.

I peek over at Carrick, who has an amused expression as he just shakes his head before turning his back on us to settle at his desk again. He opens the book and when he finds me staring at him, he makes a shooing motion. “Go. Titus will take you all to your house to pack, then you can drop Rainey and Myles off at the Fantasia.”

Zaid, Rainey, and Myles head out of the office, but I don’t leave. I wait for Carrick to give me his attention from the book he’d opened again, and he does so with what I deem to be an overly dramatic sigh. “Yes?”

“What are you going to have Maddox do?” I ask curiously.

To my surprise, he doesn’t ignore me or provide a vague answer. “I’m going to have him pound the streets a bit, see if we can figure out more about the incubus you killed. Maybe backtrack from there.”

“He still owes you a favor?” I inquire with a bit of sweet sarcasm to my voice.

Carrick doesn’t take the bait, his tone matter of fact. “No. He’s going to be one up on me.”

“You two have a weird relationship,” I mumble.

“You have no idea,” he replies blandly as he bends his head back down again.

“When do you think we’ll go to Faere?”

He doesn’t look back up. “As soon as we find Pyke so he can take us through the veil.”

“Aren’t there any other ways?”

“Yes, but this is the easiest.”

Carrick stares at me, daring me to ask another question. I almost do so I can get under his skin, but I think I better leave well enough alone.

As it stands, we have a game plan, which means we are on our way to avenging Adira’s death and stopping evil from taking over the world. The enormity of my task should be paralyzing me right now, especially since this time yesterday, I was adamantly opposed to having anything to do with any of this.

It’s amazing how one event can change life’s trajectory, but the minute I knew Adira was dead, I became a different person.

Before I turn to leave, there’s one thing I should have done hours ago. “Thank you for coming to my house after Adira was killed.”

Carrick still doesn’t look up, but his shoulders stiffen a bit. “No problem,” he mutters, his attention riveted to that old book.

My gratitude given, there’s nothing else to do but move out of my house and into this condo, where I expect my life is going to get remarkably interesting.

CHAPTER 12

Finley

My first day back to work, and it’s been a bruiser of a day. First of all, I didn’t sleep well last night. It was my first night in my new temporary home. While the room Zaid had set me up in was plush with the most comfortable mattress and softest sheets, I tossed and turned all night because it wasn’t my home.

I was bleary-eyed when Zaid drove me to work—upon Carrick’s insistence—and he’ll be picking me up soon. I’m finishing out my day at One Bean, helping out on the machines and being close to the employees, mainly because the day started awfully when I had to tell the staff about Adira’s death.

I had to talk to them in small groups as the shop was open and in full swing when I arrived, Lisa, my day manager, doing a spectacular job of getting everything going just before the sun breaks. I then had to make phone calls to those employees who wouldn’t be coming in until after I left. An email would have been easier, but that would have been too cold and sterile. By mid-morning, I’d imparted all the bad news, which had put a pallor over the vibe inside, so I eschewed the work in my office to make my face visible to the staff and customers. My job today