By the end of the day, Audra still hadn’t heard from Citrine. She’d called and left a few messages, but all she’d gotten back was a “talk to you soon” text. Citrine was incredibly reliable as an investigator—as much if not moreso than her partner Derek—but she didn’t communicate very well. Audra was used to it by now since she’d used them to track the ownership history of a few artifacts in an attempt to hunt down the rightful owners (and in one case, to explain to them in no uncertain terms that enchanting wine bottles to lower people’s inhibitions and then leaving them randomly around the Strip was not a good idea for a prank). So she tried to stay patient. Citrine would let her know when there was something to report, but not a moment sooner.

In the meantime, she busied herself with a few after work chores. She picked up some groceries and cleaned her kitchen. Then, on a whim, she called Beef. She didn’t really expect him to answer, since she figured he was still angry at her, so when he did, she ended up stammering like an idiot. It put him instantly on alert.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded. “Did something happen with that mountain of a man you were talking to earlier?”

“No, no, everything’s fine. I just expected to be talking to your voice mail is all. You took me by surprise.”

“Oh, well, I figured something was wrong, since you’re calling me.”

He didn’t say it in passive aggressive tones. Clearly, he wasn’t trying to dig at her, but it hurt anyway. Even moreso because she knew he was right.

“Why don’t you come over?” she asked on a whim. “I’ll grill up some hot dogs, and I got some pasta salad and beer. We can have an impromptu cookout.”

“That sounds really good,” he said cautiously.

“I should probably warn you that if I get a phone call, I might have to leave quickly. But I’ll explain as much as I can before I go.”

There was a pause as he thought this over. “So what you’re saying is that I should get my ass in gear and come over now, right?”

She smiled a little. Even just having a plan to come clean made her feel better. Things would be okay. She’d fix her friendship with Beef, and then she’d get the lamp back from Chad, and then…then she’d see what happened next. With Darius, and with her life.

“Something like that,” she said.

He didn’t answer. Just hung up the phone. She shook her head as she set her cell on the counter and went to the patio to fire up the grill.

 

By the time Beef arrived ten minutes later, Audra had put together a nice little impromptu meal. She might not have been much of a cook, but she knew how to entertain. She’d put some ambient music on Pandora and opened all the windows to let in the breeze. Chilled glasses awaited the beer, alongside a plate of cheese, crackers, fancy cured meats, and pickles. All she needed to do was fire up the hot dogs, and they’d have a nice meal going.

All the prep gave her something to focus on, because now she was nervous. Funny how the missing lamp made her concerned, but she felt completely confident in Citrine’s ability to keep an eye on Chad in a way that she could never do. So the thought of the lamp wasn’t half as nerve-wracking as the thought of telling her best friend that she’d been hiding a big secret from him all these years, and she could actually control the elements. What would he say? She was fully ready to demonstrate—she’d gotten out some candles, and she could make a mini rain storm over the sink, if she needed to—but what if he thought she was a freak? What if he was too afraid to be her friend anymore? She knew he wasn’t the kind of person to easily abandon friends, but once the worry caught hold of her, she couldn’t shake it.

By the time he knocked, she was trembling with nerves. She opened the door and tried to smile casually, but his expression was as bleak as hers. Suddenly, all of the pickles and beer seemed ridiculous, but she gestured toward the table anyway, hoping he didn’t notice how badly her hand shook as she did it. But of course he did. He shot a significant look at her fingers, shook his head, and fished one of the beers out of the ice.

“Something tells me I’m going to need this,” he muttered.

“Me too.”

Audra held out her hand, and he poured her a glass and handed it over before helping himself. They took their first few drinks in silence, and then he set his glass on a coaster.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” he asked. “It’s rude, I know, but the suspense is killing me. I’d like to get it over with so I can say, ‘Oh, that’s all. I knew that,’ and then you can be all, ‘Yeah, but I was worried,’ and then we can laugh at it like we’re in a cheesy sitcom.”

“I’d be surprised if you knew this one already,” she said. “It’s a pretty big secret.”

“A man can dream.”

“Yeah.” She took in and let out a shaky breath. Getting it over with sounded like a great idea, but now that she was here, she had no idea what to say. After a moment to gather her thoughts, she launched in. “I can control the elements. I can light fires with my mind. I can make it rain. I can call up sandstorms. That one time that we had that freak hailstorm on the way to Jacey Smith’s party? That was me.”

“I knew you didn’t want to go,” he said triumphantly. Then the rest of her speech seemed to sink in, because he looked increasingly more confused by the minute. “Wait. What?”

Her cell rang. Audra was so wound up that the noise made her jump, and she could have sworn that Beef did too. She shot him an apologetic look as she reached for it. Citrine’s number was on the caller ID. Finally.

“I’m so sorry, but I have to take this,” she said. He nodded as she answered, “Hey, Citrine. What do you have for me?”

“Well, your man spent most of the day applying for jobs, including one at Darius’s construction company. Isn’t that funny? No sign of your lamp, but he did make a reservation at a club tonight for drinks.”

“A reservation for how many?” she asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Two. I think he’s got a hot date.”

“What are the chances?” she muttered. “Well, can you and Derek tail him there? That seems like a prime opportunity for him to make a wish, if he’s looking to get some tail. He might wish that the girl in question doesn’t realize what an ass he is.”

“After following him around all day, I think that’s impossible. I think being an ass is in his DNA.” Citrine sighed. “Honestly. Humans.”

Audra didn’t know what to say to that, so she let it pass. “So can you keep an eye on him? I’ll pay for it, of course.”

“Sorry, but we’re booked for tonight,” said Citrine. “We’re doing security for the vampire court. You’re going to have to keep an eye on him for a while. We can take over again after 2 AM.”

“Jeez. Do you ever sleep?”

Audra meant it as kind of a joke, but Citrine seemed to take it seriously. “I can go without sleep for about three days if I must. Although I assume Chad will get the lamp before then. Or you’ll run out of money.” She paused. “That was a joke.”

“Heh. So where is he going?”

“Barcelona. You know, the tapas restaurant right off the Strip? I made friends with the concierge and got it all set up. You’re in the corner. You should be able to see him in the mirror on the wall, but they’re going to seat him with his back to you.”

“Okay. What time?”

Audra took down all of the relevant details and thanked Citrine before hanging up. The moment she did, Beef exploded at her.

“Wait just a minute,” he said. “So you can light fires with your mind? And what does that have to do with tailing your ex around Vegas? And what do either of those things have to do with that big bald guy who looks vaguely like the Rock?”

Audra blinked at him, trying to put it all together in a way that would make sense. But that wasn’t going to happen, really. None of it made sense to her. Life had gotten so weird that she had no choice but to roll with it. At least he didn’t think she was nuts, although she should probably back up her claims before he started to doubt.

“Yeah, I can light fires with my mind,” she said. “See?”

She gestured toward the candles, snapping her fingers. They burst into flames with an audible hiss. The flames were tall at first, nearly reaching the ceiling, until she dialed them back to normal size. Her emotions were getting the best of her. She had to get them back under control, especially if she was going to have to demonstrate any more.

But she didn’t. Beef had a dawning look of comprehension on his face. “Your uncle could do the same thing. That’s why you had to come out here every summer. He was teaching you to be a…fire witch or whatever.”

“I’m called an elementalist. A mage who controls the five elements. How did you know?” she asked with relieved surprise.

“That one time you brought me along, I heard you guys talking about magic a couple of times. You stopped as soon as you realized I was there, but I heard a little bit. I thought you were talking about a game or a movie or something, but you weren’t, were you? It was all real.”

“Yeah. And when he died, he left me his business because I’m the only other one in the family with the talent. I use my magic to safely store dangerous magical artifacts. Only I lost one, and I’ve been trying to get it back. I think Chad took it to be a dick.”

Beef’s face went completely flat in a way that scared the crap out of Audra until he spoke. “If Chad is also an element—elementalist, I will jump off a cliff. That guy shouldn’t be trusted with a puppy, let alone magical powers.”

“Oh, no. I think he just took something. Anything. He doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into. The big guy is Darius. He’s trying to help me get it back.”

“Ah.” Beef nodded slowly. “And what is he?”

Audra thought about it for a moment. “I’m all for telling you my secrets. I should have told you a long time ago. But I don’t feel right telling you his. I hope you understand that.”

“Oh. Sure. Of course.”

But Beef didn’t seem upset at this. In fact, he seemed strangely happy about the whole thing.

“You’re taking this awfully well,” she said, giving him a skeptical once over.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I always knew there was something weird about you. And I have no problem in believing in magic, especially when I see it with my own two eyes. But honestly? I’m so relieved that you’re not dealing drugs that I’ll happily accept any other explanation.” He looked sheepish. “I’m sorry, Aud, but that’s what I thought was going on. I thought maybe your uncle had gotten into trouble, and he’d sucked you into it. All these shady characters and mysterious meetings and what looked like arson attempts…”

“I guess I could see how you’d think that,” she said slowly, trying not to feel offended. “But I wish you knew I had more common sense.”

“I deserved that.” He hung his head for a moment but brightened quickly. “But I think I get points for not freaking out about the magic. Hey, can you cook the hot dogs with the power of your mind?”

She chuckled. “If you don’t mind them burnt. But I think they’ll be better on the grill. I should put them on, shouldn’t I?”

He nodded, so she took a moment to do so. The grill was nice and hot, so they wouldn’t take long. Now that the cat was out of the proverbial bag, she realized she was starving. Fear had deadened her hunger, but now it was making its presence known. Her stomach wasn’t rumbling, but it felt like it was close.

After the dogs were settled, she went back to the table and helped herself to a wheat cracker topped with gouda. Her favorite. She stuffed it into her mouth whole and chased it down with beer.

“Such a lady,” said Beef, getting a cheese cracker of his own. “So what next?”

“Well, I’m going to have to go to the club and keep an eye on Chad. Darius—that’s the big guy—will come with me, I imagine. He’s the one who found the artifact in the first place, so he wants to help get it back.”

“What can I do?” asked Beef.

Audra almost automatically turned him down, but then she thought better of it. “Actually, there is something you can do. I should have thought of this before. I’d like to get an idea of where Chad might have hidden that lamp. Can you make some calls? Tell people we’re looking for a seller who supposedly had some things in storage, give his name, see if you can’t find a storage unit or something? He can’t have given it to a girlfriend yet, so he must have put it somewhere safe. I’m thinking a storage facility makes the most sense.”

“Yeah, I can do that. I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Oh, and one other thing?” He arched a brow. “Help me pick something to wear. I think I’m going on a date, and I don’t want to look like a schlub.”

“We’ll put together an outfit fit for a magical queen,” he said with a flourish.

“You are never going to let me live this down, are you?”

“Hell no I’m not.”