moment,” he said in a gush of words. “We’re getting a little too close in the wrong ways. We just need to take a step back and regroup, I think. We work together, and I know you didn’t want to cross that line. And I’m… I live a solo life. For good reason. For an important reason. I don’t want to cross that line.”
The words were a machine-gun-fire affirmation of what I’d suspected he had been thinking. They were completely true, and more, they were responsible. I couldn’t help that they still hurt.
I tried my best to brush it off.
“Awesome, yeah, that sounds good, but wait before going out the door. I’ve got a visitor.” I pushed past him.
A man started when I pulled open the door, his brown delivery service uniform wrinkled and his truck crookedly parked by the curb. He eyed the scarred lawn for a moment before holding out a letter. “I’ll need a signature.”
“Allow me.” Mr. Tom stepped around me, took the letter, and held out his hand for the tablet to sign.
“Uhmm…no.” The man read his tablet. “Jacinta Evans. I need a signature from her.”
“Give the thing over to him,” Niamh said, passing by the door. “Since when do people like you care about your work?”
“Ignore that insufferable old woman.” Mr. Tom smiled kindly at the deliveryman. “Though she does have a point. I sign for the letters and packages at this house. It is my role. I am protected against those sorts of curses.” He took the tablet. “I’m sure you understand.”
“There is no way he understands,” I said, standing off to the side while Mr. Tom took care of it. I knew better than to fight him about it.
The delivery guy glanced at me from under his eyelashes, his eyes so pale blue they almost didn’t register as a color. He shrugged. “Whatever.”
Once the letter was signed for, Mr. Tom worked at the top, trying to open it.
“Would you…” I grabbed it. “I can open it myself, thanks.”
He scowled at me, sniffed, and re-entered the house. “Who would like some snacks? Caviar, anyone? The parents are gone and we have two new additions, so I think that calls for a little something extra.”
The delivery guy glanced at the tablet before making his way back to his truck.
Austin joined me on the front porch, pausing for a moment. “Sorry about that,” he said softly.
“What’s that?” I opened the envelope as the delivery truck started up.
“About what I said in there. Or…actually, the way that I said it. I came off as obtuse. I just have a lot of things going on right now. I don’t have a lot of time.”
“Austin, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” I pulled a second envelope out of the delivery envelope, this one square and a matte black. “You were absolutely right.” I met his eyes, tucking the delivery envelope under my arm so I could get at the other one. “We’ve been getting close in the wrong ways. You have your lone cowboy thing, and I want to keep things professional. We both know this.”
“It’s just…”
I peeled back the flap on the black envelope, looking up as the delivery truck started forward. The driver waved as I pulled out the card inside.
I waved back with the card before glancing down at it. My world went white and hazy for a moment.
“What is it?” Austin asked.
I pulled the delivery envelope from under my arm. It didn’t have an address on it. Not a return address or one for delivery.
“It’s from Elliot Graves.” I handed off the card as I ran forward. “Stop!” I sent a jet of magic, a wall, to drop in front of the truck. A hand lazily drifted out of the truck window, flicking. My spell vanished and, a moment later, so did the truck. Vanished like it had never been there.
“Oh crap.” Breathing heavily, I stopped on the sidewalk, looking down the street. “Was that Elliot Graves himself? He looked twenty! The guy I remember from before seemed like he was in his forties. With a goatee. That guy looked like someone completely different.”
Austin crouched beside me, then straightened up and shook his head. “No smell.” He brought the card to his nose, then the envelope that he’d taken from me. “No smells on anything. The best mages can alter their appearance.”
Austin looked down at the card before handing it over.