Page 93 of Throwing Shade
Laurent listened thoughtfully, then left as I rummaged through the fridge.
A few minutes later, I returned with a cold beer.
The golem was pressed up against the wall with Laurent’s claws at his throat.
“Did you tell Naveen that Miriam was Banim Shovavim?” Laurent’s eyes were wild.
I’d told Laurent to snap Emmett out of overthinking, not terrify him—and I wasn’t entirely sure this was an act. The only thing I had the bandwidth to deal with right now was finding Jude. I’d trust Laurent not to take it too far.
Emmett cowered. “I didn’t think it would matter.”
“You were wrong,” Laurent growled.
Emmett’s breathing was raspy. Perfect.
“Where’s Jude?” I said.
Emmett swung his head at me, but his eyes were replaced by cosmic swirls of stardust. “With the dybbuk.” His voice took on a languid cast.
“Mei Lin is—”
I shook my head at Laurent to stay quiet. “Where did the dybbuk take her?”
“Not take,” Emmett said.
“So Jude went willingly?”
“No.”
I tapped my foot. Not taken. Not gone willingly. This was the freaking riddle of the Sphynx. “What is Jude doing?”
The golem patted his chest, then his hands dropped to his sides.
“You mean literally making another like you? With fucking divination powers?” I white-knuckled the beer bottle. Had creating this perfect golem become an obsession where murder was justifiable? Pain shot up the side of my head and I relaxed my tightly clenched jaw. “Did she get hold of another Banim Shovavim?”
Emmett stared ahead for a moment before shaking himself out of his stupor, edging away from me with wide eyes. “I don’t know.”
Laurent mopped up the bloody smear. “There a problem?”
I swallowed hard. “Jude and Zev used a Banim Shovavim with necromancy magic to give Emmett his divination magic. The man didn’t survive.”
Laurent paused, leaning on the mop. “But you’re not a necromancer.”
“I’m not worried for myself. They killed someone. Or doesn’t that matter because he was a BS?”
“You’re very loud,” Emmett whispered and slid down the wall, hunched into himself.
Laurent scrubbed at a stubborn patch of congealed blood. “When it comes to magic and power, none of us matter. The bloodsucker would have done the same to anyone.”
“How could Jude cross that line? Is she doing it again?” She was one of the people I trusted most in this world. An aunt to my kid. How could I have misjudged her character so badly? Sighing, I handed Emmett the beer. “Here. I’m sorry. I’m really not mad at you.”
Emmett took the bottle, then jerked a finger at Laurent. “Was all that bullying just to scare me?”
“Yeah. Needs must.” Laurent wrung out the mop, then did another pass over the floor.
“Did I help at all?” Emmett said.
I shrugged helplessly, wishing I could discern how far my friend was willing to go. “We always suspected Jude was with a dybbuk and making a golem. It’s the exact same scenario Zev was told to begin with, but Jude wasn’t at the substation. Unless Mei Lin stashed her somewhere else?” I rubbed my eyes. “I’m missing something. How many other golems has Jude made? There were other body parts at her studio.”
