Page 114 of A Shade of Myself
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Was trackingdown the Ascendant the best course of action or one that would doom us all? Mom, Dad, McMurtry, how many more would die if I kept poking into the past?
Would I be next?
I was so preoccupied that I didn’t register Laurent had led us back to the car until he butted my hip. “Right. Yeah.” I unlocked it and he grabbed his shoes in his mouth, trotting back into the forest to shift.
When he returned, I was staring out the window making pro and con lists in my head on what to do.
“Mitzi?” Laurent fastened his seat belt.
“Hmm?” I blinked to attention.
“I’m picking Tatiana up from the airport tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?”
“No, I’ll meet you at her place.”
Laurent and I didn’t talk much on the way back to Hotel Terminus to get his truck, but it was a comfortable silence, and I was relieved when I dropped him off that all awkwardness between us was gone.
It had been a long day and I barely made it into bed before I was asleep.
* * *
With Sadie still at Eli’s place, the house felt empty and cold on Friday morning, despite it being a hot, sunny day, so I hit up a café. The buzz of caffeine and the energy of the other customers were comforting after that creepy Casino.
Ryann messaged that her Lonestar colleagues in Boston had a solid bead on Learsdon. They were going to apprehend him and then transfer him to Vancouver, where I’d get my shot at him. The trouble was I was no longer as certain of my plan to interrogate him as I had been. Actually, I wasn’t certain of anything.
Should I try to find the Ascendant? Should I wait because according to Emmett it was seeking me out? A magic amplifier couldn’t track people down, could it? How did this fit into the prophecy?
Those questions were frustrating enough but what about the case? Should I get Tatiana’s agreement to kill Edvin and break the illusion on the twins even though my former client had said no?
The truth was that Giselle had struck a deal with a demon to take her sister’s life because she wasn’t happy with her own and destroyed Gigi’s life in the process.
Whether for the rush or dreams of that one big score, my parents weren’t happy with what they’d had either. I rubbed a hand over the sting in my chest. Why hadn’t I been enough? Had they even thought about consequences or how selfish their actions were? They’d ruined my life every bit as much as Giselle had with her twin.
So where did that leave me?
I took a sip of cold coffee and grimaced. All actions had consequences. I accepted that fact when it came to my job, but this case had been closed. To move forward, especially with Edvin’s threat to Sadie, would be selfish and irresponsible.
Still, I couldn’t help sending Giselle a final text. I know it feels impossible but your dancing career doesn’t have to be over. I’m sure there’s a way out of this, but only if we confront this demon and put things to right. You wouldn’t have to feel out of place in something you earned. Think about it, okay?
She never responded.
Perhaps the past was better staying in the past. If I didn’t pursue the Ascendant, then the only loose end was James Learsdon, and provided he hadn’t blabbed about me, that would be tied up soon as well.
Could I be happy just living in the present and letting the past go? Letting this case go?
Emmett texted that Tatiana was on her way home from the airport. I grabbed my car keys, pulling up to her place to find Laurent unloading suitcases from his truck. I nodded at the open front door. “How’s her mood?”
He placed a blue case next to its match on the curb, but before he could answer, something glass shattered in Tatiana’s foyer.
“Raymond, you idiot!” Tatiana’s bellow could be heard a block away. “It reeks like a distillery in here.”
Laurent grinned. “It’s a treat.”
“Oy vey.” I steeled my shoulders and headed up the front walk. “Wish me luck.”
My eyes watered at the stench of vodka. Five intact bottles sat on the bottom stair along with a dozen floral scarves.
