the rock and shut the door before scooting up to Rhonda as we neared the back porch. “Wait . . .”
She stopped at the lower step and looked up at me. “Huh?”
“You said—” I licked my lips. The hair under my ponytail was already sticking to my neck. At this rate I was gonna need another shower. I was already walking in that dream state of no sleep. “You said they kept Dags at the mansion? Like . . . as a prisoner?”
She looked sad. “Almost. Honestly, Zoë, I didn’t know what the asswipes were doing in the beginning. They snatched him out of the hospital after we got him away from Rodriguez—and he wasn’t used to the changes his body went through.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Cicadas buzzed from the brush nearby between Mom’s home and Jemmy’s. “What do you mean?”
“Well”—she shook her head—“when they took him from the hospital—he defended himself.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He made one of the members disappear.”
!!!
Oh. My. God. There was so much I didn’t know then about what that boy had gone through. From being branded by the Cruorem as a Guardian, to having the Familiars sealed in his palms, to Rhonda fusing the Grimoire to his very soul. And yet—when I’d seen him again that night, I’d nearly barbecued the house doing magic—
The softness he’d shown me. The care and the kind words. It was like none of what he’d gone through mattered. If any of his experiences left scars, he kept them on the inside, never bringing attention to them. “What—what did he do with that member? What happened?”
“They’re vague about it—” Rhonda looked irritated. “I had to scry to see for myself. And what I saw was unforgivable.”
I waited. Then leaned forward. “Care to share it with me?”
She balled her hands into fists, her backpack on her left shoulder. Her skin looked even paler in the June morning light, and I couldn’t see her eyes through the shades. “They came into his hospital room—six of them. One of them had a syringe ready. But Dags woke up—” She gritted her teeth. “He opened his mouth to say something, and one of them slapped a pillow over his face as the others held him down. They were going to shoot him full of something—but then the syringe and the one holding it vanished.”
I blinked. “Just . . . poof?”
“Yeah. Poof. It freaked them out. They ran out of there, and Dags managed to catch his breath and call Joe. We came and got him, then the council called and demanded he be brought in for examination. Bastards. Joe stayed with him, you know. Didn’t leave them alone with him.”
“Joe did?”
She nodded and looked at me. “There was one thing—”
And I never discovered what that one thing was as the back door opened, and Joe and Mastiff walked out.
Mastiff was a tall man—Joe’s height. With a medium build and close-cropped hair, his dark skin was smooth in the sunlight. I always thought of him as a young Denzel Washington. Same bright beautiful smile. Only this Denzel knew about the bad things.
Hell—he’d been shot by one. Daniel Frasier.
We looked up at them as Nona came out to stand to their left. “You two need to get in here for this. We have a problem.”
Rhonda and I looked at each other. “We do?” I asked.
Mastiff nodded and looked at me. His suit was impeccable— down to the starched white collar. An opposite to Joe’s more mountain-man casual. “Especially you, Zoë.” He sighed. “Daniel Frasier disappeared from the Mt. Sounder mental facility in Maryland three days ago. He was spotted in town last night, asking about you.”
I blinked. Daniel . . . escaped from a mental hospital?
Joe smiled. Meet your new bodyguards. He pointed to himself and Mastiff. The new Crocket and Tubbs.
6
I never watched Miami Vice . But I knew the characters. And these two were more like Starsky and Hutch. The remake version.
After Mastiff’s initial blow, Mom hustled us inside. Jemmy was there, puttering in the
She stopped at the lower step and looked up at me. “Huh?”
“You said—” I licked my lips. The hair under my ponytail was already sticking to my neck. At this rate I was gonna need another shower. I was already walking in that dream state of no sleep. “You said they kept Dags at the mansion? Like . . . as a prisoner?”
She looked sad. “Almost. Honestly, Zoë, I didn’t know what the asswipes were doing in the beginning. They snatched him out of the hospital after we got him away from Rodriguez—and he wasn’t used to the changes his body went through.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Cicadas buzzed from the brush nearby between Mom’s home and Jemmy’s. “What do you mean?”
“Well”—she shook her head—“when they took him from the hospital—he defended himself.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He made one of the members disappear.”
!!!
Oh. My. God. There was so much I didn’t know then about what that boy had gone through. From being branded by the Cruorem as a Guardian, to having the Familiars sealed in his palms, to Rhonda fusing the Grimoire to his very soul. And yet—when I’d seen him again that night, I’d nearly barbecued the house doing magic—
The softness he’d shown me. The care and the kind words. It was like none of what he’d gone through mattered. If any of his experiences left scars, he kept them on the inside, never bringing attention to them. “What—what did he do with that member? What happened?”
“They’re vague about it—” Rhonda looked irritated. “I had to scry to see for myself. And what I saw was unforgivable.”
I waited. Then leaned forward. “Care to share it with me?”
She balled her hands into fists, her backpack on her left shoulder. Her skin looked even paler in the June morning light, and I couldn’t see her eyes through the shades. “They came into his hospital room—six of them. One of them had a syringe ready. But Dags woke up—” She gritted her teeth. “He opened his mouth to say something, and one of them slapped a pillow over his face as the others held him down. They were going to shoot him full of something—but then the syringe and the one holding it vanished.”
I blinked. “Just . . . poof?”
“Yeah. Poof. It freaked them out. They ran out of there, and Dags managed to catch his breath and call Joe. We came and got him, then the council called and demanded he be brought in for examination. Bastards. Joe stayed with him, you know. Didn’t leave them alone with him.”
“Joe did?”
She nodded and looked at me. “There was one thing—”
And I never discovered what that one thing was as the back door opened, and Joe and Mastiff walked out.
Mastiff was a tall man—Joe’s height. With a medium build and close-cropped hair, his dark skin was smooth in the sunlight. I always thought of him as a young Denzel Washington. Same bright beautiful smile. Only this Denzel knew about the bad things.
Hell—he’d been shot by one. Daniel Frasier.
We looked up at them as Nona came out to stand to their left. “You two need to get in here for this. We have a problem.”
Rhonda and I looked at each other. “We do?” I asked.
Mastiff nodded and looked at me. His suit was impeccable— down to the starched white collar. An opposite to Joe’s more mountain-man casual. “Especially you, Zoë.” He sighed. “Daniel Frasier disappeared from the Mt. Sounder mental facility in Maryland three days ago. He was spotted in town last night, asking about you.”
I blinked. Daniel . . . escaped from a mental hospital?
Joe smiled. Meet your new bodyguards. He pointed to himself and Mastiff. The new Crocket and Tubbs.
6
I never watched Miami Vice . But I knew the characters. And these two were more like Starsky and Hutch. The remake version.
After Mastiff’s initial blow, Mom hustled us inside. Jemmy was there, puttering in the
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