“Yeah, that’s great too but I’m actually talking about you and Curtis,” Loni said in a mild voice before she put down the ward she had been working on and grinned. “So seriously, I want all the details.”
“What?” Emma felt her cheeks start to heat up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I mean, we’re in the middle of a crisis here and I’m not sure that talking about boys is really appropriate.”
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” Loni retorted. “Not only is the crisis nearly averted but more importantly you two came back from the mall glowing like you’d been dipped in neon paint and then plugged into a power station. So I want details and I want them now. Was there kissing?”
Emma felt a tingle go through her as she nodded and smiled. “Yes, there was kissing. And even some talking. So do you really want to know what happened?”
“Do ogres like eating the eyeballs of their victims? Of course I do.” Loni eagerly leaned forward. It didn’t take Emma too long to fill her friend in on everything, though she didn’t feel it was her place to mention Curtis’s secret.
“Well, if I’ve said it once to Tyler, I’ve said it a hundred times. You and Curtis are perfect for each other.” Loni let out a dreamy sigh when Emma had finished. “And not just because of the star-sign thing, but just because it makes so much sense. Oh, and it also means that Tyler owes me a hundred bucks.”
“You put a bet on me?” Emma demanded.
“No,” Loni quickly said, then relented. “Well, yes. But only because I’m a hopeless romantic. Plus Tyler, cynic that he is, gave me really great odds. Are you mad?”
“No, I’m not mad,” Emma assured her. “Especially since I know how much you wanted to get those jeans you saw at the mall the other day, so I guess your ill-gotten gains will help pay for them. But, Lon, if you don’t mind, don’t say anything about it just yet. It’s just that until we know for sure that the darkhel is banished, I can’t help but feel uneasy. Like my stomach is all twisted in knots, you know?”
“I know.” Loni nodded just as there was a knock on the door and Tyler and Curtis appeared with a tray of burgers and a piece of paper.
“Well, ladies, I hope those wards are done because we come bearing food,” Tyler announced with a flourish.
“Great.” Loni reached for a burger. “But of course you know that if you ever call us ladies again, you will have to be disposed of in a most despicable manner.”
“I did figure it was a long shot,” Tyler admitted as he sat down on the corner of Emma’s bed and waved a piece of paper in the air. “Anyway, I also have a list. There are thirty-five males who are in the system as having B-negative blood.”
“Thirty-five?” Emma wasn’t a math genius but even she knew that she and Curtis would be stretched trying to keep an eye on them all until tomorrow when the darkhel was banished for good.
She ignored the food and immediately grabbed the paper and started to study the names of the people who were unlucky enough to have the wrong blood. Curtis leaned his crutches against the wall and limped over to join her. Being so close to him made her skin tingle and she shot him a shy smile.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” he replied in a murmur as he leaned over her shoulder and studied the list she was holding, his breath tickling her neck. “So who do we have here?”
“Too many people,” Emma retorted while only just resisting the urge to lean back into his chest. “Oh, but we can take Professor Luton off the list because he died the Christmas before last,” she said as she started to look through the names. “And didn’t James Anderson move to England six months ago to work in the London office of the Department? The darkhel definitely said that the Pure One was close by.”
“Well, that’s two less people to worry about,” Curtis said as he drew two neat lines through the names and Loni and Tyler joined them to examine the list. “And that means we need to go through this list and take off anyone who isn’t at Burtonwood anymore or who wasn’t here at least five years ago.”
“I see Chris Tripper,” Tyler said as he joined them. “And