Magic on the Hunt by Devon Monk Page B

and put myself in harm’s way. It wasn’t his fault.” And the good thing about all that was not one thing I said was a lie.
    Cody had already sat down and drank half a glass of water. He kept looking at Zay and smiling like he wasn’t sure whether he knew him, then switching that look to me and getting a wide, goofy grin. Me, he recognized.
    By the time we had all settled into our seats, Cody looked like he couldn’t contain his happiness any longer.
    “I saw him,” he said to me.
    “Saw who?” I switched into the closest thing I had to a mom voice—patient and interested but expecting most of the conversation to be nonsense.
    “I saw the monster.”
    Nola sighed. “He’s been saying that since we got to town yesterday.”
    “What monster?” I asked.
    Zay turned his attention to the menu, even though I knew he was listening to every word Cody said.
    “My monster.” He was still smiling.
    “Is he a good monster?”
    “Uh-huh. I like him.”
    I looked over at Nola. She shrugged. “I haven’t met the monster yet. But Cody promised he’d show him to me the next time he sees him.”
    Cody nodded. “He’s a good monster. Very good.”
    “Let’s not talk about the monster now. What do you want for lunch?” Nola asked.
    “Anything?”
    “Anything the restaurant makes.” She handed him the menu. To my surprise, he read it quietly to himself.
    It was hard to put Cody in a category. He was a man with a childlike mind, but he had been much more in the past. Brilliant. An artist with magic like no other. It showed in the grace of his slender fingers, now calloused and tanned from whatever work Nola had him doing out on the farm.
    His spirit self, the older, wiser part of him that had broken away when Zay Closed him, was now a ghost and attached to Mama Rositto, the woman in Saint Johns who had gotten mixed up in my dad’s murder. Well, her son, James Hoskil, had been charged for it. But now I knew James wasn’t the only one behind killing my father. Greyson and Dane had been a part of it too.
    Cody’s ghost seemed like an intelligent, kindhearted person, even though Zay had just said he was a real hellion. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that the living Cody knew how to read. I’d underestimated his abilities.
    “I like linguini. Chicken. And raspberry ice tea.” Just for a moment, I could hear the Cody he might have been before.
    Hell-raiser, Zay had said. Looking into those guileless eyes, it was hard to imagine Cody getting into trouble with anyone, much less the mob.
    “All right,” Nola said. “Linguini. It will take a little time before we get it. I’ll order you some bread too, okay?”
    “Yes.” Cody got busy running his fingers along the seam of his cloth napkin and humming quietly. Bach, I realized.
    “So how are you two doing?” Nola asked.
    I looked at Zay. Over the top of the menu, he flicked me a quick glance filled with heat and followed it up with a smile. “We’ve been staying busy.”
    I blushed. I didn’t have to be touching him to know exactly what was going through his mind.
    “Yes, we’re good.” I put my menu down. She was grinning at me. “Zay came up out of the coma a few days ago. Less than a week?”
    “Four days,” he agreed.
    “And he’s been staying at my house while he gets on his feet. The doctor says everything looks good for a full recovery.”
    “I’m so glad to hear that,” Nola said. “What kind of accident were you in, Zay?”
    “Magic.” He shrugged.
    “The people you work for?”
    “Yes.”
    Huh. I didn’t realize Zay had told her anything about the Authority. Or maybe he hadn’t. He’d stayed out on her farm for a couple weeks while I was unconscious. I’m sure the subject of who he worked for had come up over dinner. I’d just never been smart enough to ask him what his cover story was.
    “Maybe you should get out of the bodyguard business for a little while,” she said.
    “I’m taking a break for the next month or