Page 106 of Challenge Me

Chapter 28

Remi

Thought winds ahead through gathering shade;

Memory circles the ash of yesterday.

A single croak of warning, half-heard, afraid,

Then both are gone, leaving the silence of day.

“We’re here.” Amir’s deep voice cut through my dream.

It had been a weird one, full of confusing and contradictory bullshit. Ravens, utterly silent, pecked at my reflection in the water. A tree was inverted above me, the roots meeting the earth where the lake ended, but there was nothing there to cast its image. The water itself was calm, as though there wasn’t a lick of wind.

I looked down at my palm where I remembered trying to cut it open with a shard of glass in pursuit of wisdom before the world tree. But the glass had collapsed, spilling black ink into my palm. It slipped through my fingers and shattered my reflection and that of Yggdrasil. I was left with no blood and no ink, and worst of all, no wisdom.

If Thought and Memory wouldn’t speak, maybe the gods didn’t care to listen either.

I turned to look at the bar out the window. The driver had pulled up to the front, and I felt a familiar warmth when I saw the sign that identified this place as mine. Immediately, I unfastened my seatbelt and pushed open the door. Once I was on the sidewalk, I took a second to stare. It was still standing. Nothing terrible had happened to it. There were most likely no crazy ex-boyfriends lurking inside, waiting to pounce.

I turned to smile at Amir, hiked my thumb over my shoulder and took a step back. “Well, this is me. See you around, I guess.”

He lifted one brow as he stood. When he shut the door, the driver pulled away, and I made a surprised sound.

“Shit, did he just leave you?”

“I’ll call another one later.” He slung his arm around my shoulders. “I’m not dropping you off like you’re a shameful fling.”

“Hm. I am basically your Pretty Woman.”

“Not even close.”

Together, we walked up to the door. It was almost surreal when I stuck my key in the lock. Six weeks was a long time to be away, and even though everything appeared fine, I expected something to be waiting for me. Was there anyone who would put a hit out on me? Probably not, but if you weren’t prepared, you were a dumbass.

From my first look around, it was all intact. Clean too. But there was something . . . off.

Amir went to the pool table and ran his fingers along the wooden edge. He looked over his shoulder with a saucy expression. “Is it gross that people use this thing?”

I snorted as I moved behind the bar, taking in every inch carefully. “I think it’s great. Like an inside joke they’ll never have access to.”

“I could put it in my house and get you a new one.”

“No.”

“You really want it here?”

“It’s mine. I like things that have memory.” I had to turn around to hide my smile.

“You’re still thinking about selling it aren’t you?”

I waved my fingers to dismiss the question. Looking at the bottles, I made sure that they were all accounted for. I crouched and quickly scanned under the tables. When I checked beneath the counter, the holster there was empty.

Somebody was dying today.

“What are you doing?” Amir asked.

I took a steadying breath to curb the darkness. “Nothing, really. What about you?”