kill your father and hurt you. . . .”
Zayvion took a deep breath, looked away. His gaze finally returned to my face. When he spoke, he was very calm. “The Authority approves of Nola looking after him. And Sedra . . . she thinks living away from magic will be the best thing for him. Might even give his mind some time to heal, if it can heal. But before he could be given into Nola’s care, he had to be Closed. The traumas and the memories of how to use magic taken away. So no one can use him again.”
“So you just erased the parts of his life that you didn’t think were good enough? That you didn’t think he could handle? How kind of you to make that decision for him.”
Um, yeah. Sarcasm. I had it.
“I don’t need your approval to do my job,” he said, flat, cold.
We spent a little time glaring at each other.
“Are you going to tell me what happened to Davy?” he asked.
I didn’t know whether the change of subject was a peace offering. But it was common ground, maybe better ground, for both of us.
“I found him half dead in Cathedral Park. Tomi Nowlan, his ex-girlfriend, the Hound, was there with a knife and a burnt circle of ash.”
“The disks,” he said.
I nodded. “She was working dark magic, I think. Shadowed colors in indigo and red. And then things, creatures came out of the circle.”
“She opened a gate.”
“And that’s bad, right?”
He nodded. “The creatures are called the Hungers. They exist only on the other side of magic, in the realms of death.”
“Well, I think they’re setting up a vacation home in Cathedral Park.”
He spared me a brief smile. “I need to go.”
“Are we going to hunt them?” I asked.
“No. We aren’t going to do anything,” he said. “Shamus and I will take care of them. It’s what we’re trained to do.”
“No,” I said. “Hell, no. You are not going after those things alone. I am going with you. I have to learn how to kill a nightmare sooner or later, right?”
“Allie . . .”
“Consider it on-the-job training.”
“Bad idea.”
“Why? Keeping me in the dark about these things will not keep me safe,” I said. “Not anymore. Not if I’m going to be a part of your world.”
“Nola?” I said over my shoulder.
Zay caught my wrist. “Allie, listen. The disks are involved. The only person out there that we know of who has a disk is the Necromorph. He knows your dad is in your head. And he is willing to kill you.”
“I can handle myself.”
“That’s not my point.”
“Then point,” I said.
“Did you ever think that hurting Davy, involving Tomi, and calling you to the park to watch Tomi release the Hungers might have been planned? Might have been a way for the Necromorph to draw you to him?”
“That’s crazy. If he had wanted me there, why didn’t he show up?”
“I don’t know. Maybe something didn’t go the way he expected it to.”
I thought about Tomi’s shock. How she had seemed really out of it. So much so that even her spell casting had been jerky. Maybe she was the weak link in the Necromorph’s plan.
“He doesn’t want me, Zay,” I said.
“No, he wants your dad. And you’re giving him to him.”
Nola came out of the bedroom. “Did you call me?”
“Yes,” I said. “We’re leaving.”
“Going to tell me what you’re up to?”
“We’re going to go Hound the place where Davy was hurt. I gave a bunch of people my home number. Two men Hounds named Sid and Jack. One woman Hound named Bea. And also the nurse at the ER. I asked that they call me if they hear about Davy, or if they need someone to sit down at emergency, waiting to hear about him. Do you mind handling phone duty?”
“I can do that. But first.” She strode into the living room and then came back. “Take these with you.”
I don’t know what I expected. Maybe a cell phone. Or a gun. Nope. Nola dropped two palm-sized cookies in my hand. Oatmeal chocolate chip, and still warm.
“Come home safe,” she said.
I took the cookies. “Lock that door and do not open it for anyone but us. Call 911 if something funny happens. Call Stotts too, if you need to. Be careful, okay?”
“Me?” she said. “It’s not me who’s mixed up to her eyeballs in magic.”
I gave her a quick smile and then headed out the door, not waiting for Zayvion to catch up to