Page 36 of A Trial By Blood

He offered me a sexy smirk, flashing his dimples, then Warrick released me from his bear hug, and we all headed inside. We gathered in the kitchen, where Mom, Else, and Mags were already sitting around the table. Art was making tea, and Bram stood behind Mags, looking kind of antsy for reasons unknown.

“Have you seen Ren?” I asked Willow. I hadn’t seen him since he was here with Willow, the day everyone thought I’d died.

Willow leaned on the counter. “Yeah, I spent some time with him last night. Watched some TV, hung out.”

My sister’s familiar had been through something that had broken him, something that he survived when the odds of him coming out the other end weren’t good. Ren was a fox shifter, and for nearly two years, he’d been living in the forest, choosing his animal form over his human. Recently, that’d changed. He was still quiet, unlike the old sociable Ren, and he didn’t like being around a lot of people. But he was sleeping at his old place, a small apartment in the basement of his family’s funeral home, instead of the forest, and working again. Which meant Ren spent most of his day with the dead. We weren’t sure this was a good idea after what he’d been through, but he told Willow the dead were all he could handle right now.

There was no missing how happy Willow was that Ren was letting her back into his life. Their time apart had been incredibly hard on both of them.

Not that I’d know first-hand, since I didn’t have a familiar—and considering how old I was, I’d resigned myself to the fact that I never would. That he was now able to actually sit and just spend time with Wills? “That’s huge.”

“I know,” she said, pouring herself a cup of tea, then joining us at the table. “So, I have some gossip,” she said, changing the subject. “This isn’t common knowledge, but the demonology research and artifact department of the museum was robbed two nights ago, then the next night, one of the guards went missing.”

“Really?” Mom said. “What was taken? How did you find out?”

Something twisted in my belly.

“I had a call from Trotman. The council is concerned, and they asked me to look into it. He didn’t go into details, except that several priceless—and dangerous, in the wrong hands—demon artifacts were swiped.”

Goose bumps lifted all over me. I rubbed my arms. Nathan Trotman was one of the only councilors we trusted. He’d been a friend to us in the past, and if he was worried, there was definitely something to be worried about.

“But that’s not all, apparently, a private collection was also hit and at least one piece was taken. You know, that old mansion on Davenport Road, the one that’d been empty for a long time? Well, someone from the family moved back in, and they reported it to the council in case what was taken was found during the investigation.”

“So you don’t know what kind of demon artifacts were taken?” Else asked.

“Nope,” Wills said and then sipped her coffee. “But I’m not liking where this is going, honestly.”

Mags leaned forward. “Are you going to help?”

Willow glanced at Warrick, who was scowling. “No, and I feel kind of guilty about it, honestly. But besides Trotman, this coven doesn’t really have any friends on the council. I’m not prepared to stick my neck out for them only for them to shit on us later. And it’s one thing to search for stolen items, it’s another when people start going missing.”

“Fuck feeling guilty. You don’t owe those pricks a fucking thing, dove,” Warrick rumbled.

Relic pulled out the chair beside me, sat, then turned to me and raised a brow. “So what about you?”

“What about me?” I asked.

“You were called by the mother, yes?”

It wasn’t that I’d forgotten about it, but the way I understood it, you’d know when your task was starting, like a calling…

Shit.

Like the urge to go into the city in the middle of the night, like dreaming about a hideous demon when you ignored that urge. Shit. Shit. Shit. “I was, but I don’t know what my task is yet.” The grip in my gut sank deeper and twisted. And for once, it wasn’t hunger.

Everyone went quiet.

I looked around the room, taking in their concerned faces. “What?”

Else took my hand. “We’re just worried, that’s all, pumpkin. You’ve been through so much already.”

And I’d been so ill all my life that I wasn’t half the witch my sisters were. I didn’t have a specialty. I was barely proficient with the basics. I wasn’t much better off now than I was when I was lying in that bed as weak as a kitten.

Relic draped his arm across the back of my chair. “You want someone to help, babe? I’m there. You need someone to bust some heads or break down a wall…” He winked. “Whatever you need, I’m your hound.”

My belly chose that moment to growl. Two days was as long as I could hold out between feeds, and Luna was due with Ronan’s blood any time. Embarrassingly, at the thought, my fangs extended. Unlike my wings, which I’d been practicing folding in and out every day, I still didn’t have any kind of control over them.

Relic’s eyes dipped to my mouth, not missing the sharp points before I lifted a hand to cover them. His eyes darkened before he shifted in his seat. “You need someone to feed on, babe? I’ll happily offer up my vein as well.”