Chapter Thirty-Two
A paw scratched at my cheek, accompanied by the high-pitched whine of a canine with a full bladder. He had already tried several of his favorite methods—the nose licking, the incessant ear-barking, the back-and-forth bed-tromping. He was clearly getting desperate. And somewhere in my alcohol-marinated brain, I knew if I didn’t wake up soon, I would have a puddle of pee in my bedroom.
I groaned, and pushed myself to a more-or-less sitting position. The events of last night were muddled in my brain. There had been more drinking after the kiss, and then some more kissing, and possible thigh-stroking, though that part could have been a dream. Then, disappointingly, Kane had turned out to be a gentleman and helped me into a cab.
I was pretty sure the thigh-stroking wasn’t a dream.
I recalled stumbling home and struggling with my boots. The task of removing them before going to sleep seemed difficult and annoying. I seemed to have given up halfway, the left boot discarded on the floor, the right still on my foot. Pathetic.
“Mommy is disgusting,” I told Magnus.
He barked excitedly, and wagged his tail, probably already thinking of all the fire hydrants he would defile this morning.
I dragged myself to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, Magnus barking at me from below, trying to explain that I was confused, the front door was the other way. Then I returned to the bedroom, and put on my left boot. I’d remove them both and confront my socks after Magnus had his walk.
I grabbed the leash and tried to tie Magnus, but he began spinning like a deranged dreidel, excited beyond belief at the prospect of a morning walk, and leashing him became impossible in my hungover state.
“Please stand still,” I muttered with zero authority.
He stood still. A miracle. I clipped the leash on him and was about to leave, but then hesitated.
To Magnus’ chagrin, I went to my lab. There, on the counter, stood the black box and the dragon scale. Last night I couldn’t get the safe open to put them inside. Now I berated myself in anger. What if someone had broken in? I grabbed them both, went to the safe, and unlocked it, then put them in and shut it. Breadknife would come later, and I would give him the box and clarify that this was it. My debt was paid, and we were finally done.
Somewhere in my mind, the voice of a jaded, clear-headed Lou whispered that we weren’t done, not so long as he could threaten to expose my identity to my daughter and her adoptive parents. But I ignored that voice. Breadknife would leave me alone. He had promised.
Endless questions about the job popped into my mind. Who was Breadknife’s client, and what did he want with the crystal? Could it be the real Yliaster crystal? Did it hold a soul? Was that what he was after?
I reopened the safe, and took out the box. Yesterday it had seemed as if something was inside the crystal. But we had been giddy with excitement, feeling magic in the air. I wanted to look at the crystal in the morning light.
I turned the key in the lock. Opened the lid.
My heart sank.
The box was empty.
I pried the velvet out, thinking that maybe the crystal was somehow wedged underneath, but it wasn’t. Underneath, all I could see was the dark surface of the box. I looked around the lab’s floor, searching inanely, knowing I was ridiculous. The box was locked. There was no possible way it could have fallen out.
Only one explanation was possible, and it made me sick to consider. Someone had taken it last night. And the list of suspects was awfully short.
A sudden angry knock rapped on the shop’s door. I jumped in fright, my mind whirring. It was too early for a customer, and the knock was too violent to be a welcome face. This was Breadknife and his goons, coming for the crystal they knew was here. What would he do when I told him it was missing? Burn the shop? Torture me to find out its location? Tell my daughter about me?
All three, perhaps?
My recently purchased backpack was in the corner of the room. I grabbed it and quickly threw the box inside. I grabbed some of the potions in reach, not knowing if I would be able to return here anytime soon.
Then I opened the lab door. Magnus stood outside, his head tilted quizzically. Miraculously, he wasn’t barking at the door. I grabbed his leash, and walked him to the bedroom. Silently, I unlocked the window and pried it open. It squeaked noisily and I winced. It was raining outside, and I hoped the steady pattering of raindrops would mask the shrill sound.
Another knock on the door, and Breadknife’s voice hollered, “Lou, open up!”
I took Magnus in my hands, and he tried to twist away.
“Stand still, boy,” I whispered. “We’re going for a walk.”
Going for a walk were words he definitely understood. He wagged his tail once and stopped twisting. I eased him out the window, and then crawled out as well. The bedroom window led to a small alley, around the corner from the front door.
Not daring to even try and get a glimpse of Breadknife and his goons, I ran silently in the other direction. Magnus trotted after me, pausing to pee and yelping when I pulled him onward before he was able to finish his business.
Three blocks away, I took out my phone and called Sinead.
“Wha?” she answered.
“Are you home?” I asked. “I need to see you, now.”
“I’m still at HHT. I slept on the table. I feel awful.”
“I’m on my way.” I hung up and began running again, with Magnus in tow.