From the corner of my eye, I watched Asa reclaim control. The absence of shirt didn’t bother me one bit.
“The daemon wants to ensure Rue cares for him too.” Asa proved he’d heard the tail end of our conversation. “He’s more likely to assume control without warning during the fascination.”
“You’re doing it too.” Clay tilted his head to one side. “Referring to your other form as another person.”
A faint smile twitched in his cheek. “Am I?”
His nonanswer only served to make me more curious about him. Fascination was a good word for it. My thirst for all things Asa was only growing as we spent more time together. I would have cracked open his skull and peeked at his brain to learn all his secrets. If that was a thing. And if it wouldn’t kill him. It was this side of creepy too. Best keep that thought to myself.
Clearly, I had spent too much time around zombies to have brains on the, well, brain.
“They’re so weird.” Colby twitched her wings. “Do all grownups act that strange when they’re dating?”
“Yes.” Clay backed from the room. “You got it right, staying a kid. I would go back in time if I could, and I was never a child. I would just like to erase some of the things I learned as I got old.”
Only the tightness in his lips hinted there were other things he would like to undo. He was such a good man. The best. But he was at his master’s disposal. Always. When he was ordered to act, no matter the atrocity, he had no choice but to commit it. To fight it was impossible. The magic animating him would seize control of his body and force him to fulfill the order to the letter. I had seen it for myself.
“I bet there’s a spell for that,” Colby said thoughtfully as they left. “We should Google.”
Alone with Asa, I couldn’t stop my pulse from skipping at his proximity.
“I need to touch base with the girls,” I said, “let them know I’m coming home.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“They expect me to obsess over the shop details,” I reasoned, “and Nolan is supposed to be in Africa.”
“Are you certain the girls don’t know?” He kept his tone neutral. “That they don’t remember?”
The details of the night they were abducted had been blurred enough for them to heal. Their trauma stemmed more from the fear they were forgetting details than what they recalled. It was the lesser of two evils, I knew that, but it was horrible to cause them to doubt, to wonder, to dread.
“I trust them.” I gathered clean clothes. “They would come to me with any concerns.”
Jaw tight, he let it go. I could tell he didn’t want to, but I couldn’t entertain the possibility I would lose two members of my makeshift coven.
No.
They were more than that.
Much more.
Like Clay, they were family.
“All right.” He mulled it over. “We’ll confront Nolan, see what he has to say for himself.”
“We have video evidence we can use to pressure him into a confession.”
“What about the footage of Mrs. Gleason shooting him?”
Expression blank, I studied him. “What footage?”
Rough laughter rumbled through him, an understanding I would never supply evidence that might be used against her one day. Though she was careful to stick to trespassers, she did have a reputation for an itchy trigger finger.
“We have to figure out if he’s Nolan first.” I shooed Asa toward the door. “Leverage only works if we have the right type.”
“Have you caught him on film since the incident?”
“He’s camping on the property.” I shook my phone to explain that was what I had been doing earlier. “I’ve got hours of him sitting in a tree, staring at my house.”