“That’s not the only hole I want to jump in. A promise is a promise.”
Raven looked over her shoulder at him. “Do I know you?”
Gem swung her gaze toward Wyatt, who was examining the bottom of his sock. “Shep better hurry up,” he said. “I need medical attention.”
“What happened to your foot?” She bent over and tried to make heads or tails of the blood on his sock.
“I stepped on a nail, running over a pile of boxes. Instead of taking the short routes, Blue kept diving into alleyways.”
Blue strutted past him and slung her bag over her shoulder. “File a complaint.”
“I’ll heal your foot,” Niko offered. “You’ll need to wash the blood off first.”
Gem wondered if maybe she could have been of any help during their search. Even with Kallisto being a Jumper, he might not have been able to escape one of her energy balls if he didn’t see it coming. Viktor hadn’t hired her for her Mage skills, but Niko really had her thinking about what she could offer this team. Well, so long as she learned to harness those skills properly.
Niko crossed the room to stand in front of Viktor. “Is Kallisto dead?”
“You will never have to worry about him again.”
“Tell us what happened.”
“He trapped us in an alleyway. We shot him at least once before Claude reached him. Once we found our way out of the alley, we chased him for hours. Kallisto knew better than to fight a Chitah and risk a bite, so he jumped from one building to the next. Claude cannot follow scent trails on a Jumper when they use their skills, so Blue’s falcon tracked him. He depleted his energy with each jump, and we managed to shoot him three more times. But it was a very long chase.” Viktor rubbed his temple. “In the end, Claude finished him off.”
Niko bowed. “I am only sorry that I brought this threat upon Keystone.”
Viktor patted his arm. “Our past sneaks up on us when we least expect it. Only know that you have Keystone to look out for you. That goes for everyone. Your business is my business.”
Gem melted when Viktor smiled at her. She loved the way his eyes wrinkled at the corners.
Viktor drifted toward her and cupped her neck in his hands. Then he kissed both cheeks. “You look well, little one. I am pleased to see that you are alive and awake. It took courage to put your life at risk for another. Forgive me that we had to leave you alone.”
No one else understood his Russian words that were meant for only her.
“In English,” Gem said, not caring either way. She was just glad the crisis was over and everyone was safe.
He winked at her. “I have a dead tree to cut down later.”
“I think you should leave it,” Blue said. “Sometimes we need to see an ugly thing to remind us what happened.”
“Leave it,” Gem agreed. It didn’t have any special significance to her, but she also wouldn’t want anyone digging up the ground where they buried the opal.
Wyatt limped past her. “Good. Because guess who would have been assigned that task?” Without warning, his leg kicked out, and he slammed onto the floor with a sickening thud.
A marble went skittering across the floor and clacked against the staircase.
Wyatt grimaced. “I think I just broke my spinal column.”
Viktor gave him a cursory glance. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
Wyatt stared up at the lofty ceiling. “Niko, I’m gonna need to book an appointment with your healing hands.”
Gem knelt next to him. “What happened to the ghost? Did you find him?”
“He’s lost in the city now. He won’t bother us anymore. Without his buddy as a link to the living world, he’ll eventually forget all this.”
“You should have sent him to the netherworld.”
Wyatt rolled onto his side. “That’s not my area of expertise.”
While Niko helped Wyatt up, Gem headed upstairs to the back of the mansion. She found a cozy alcove with two chairs that overlooked the property. Sometimes in the morning, fog rolled in and created a lovely veil across the grounds.
She sat down and watched a flock of birds ascend from a tree in the distance. From her vantage point, she could see the burned tree amid the others. Its leaves were stripped and its trunk charred. The grass nearby looked like a blemish on Mother Nature’s pristine apron. So many strange emotions swirled through her. When Arcadius had tried to drown her in the pool, Gem had fought to live. Since her botched suicide attempt, it was the first time she’d been tested on how badly she wanted to hold on to this life. Gem had learned how precious life was. How wonderful. How painful and how glorious.
But destroying the book decimated all those realizations. It had been a suicide mission. Shouldn’t she have valued her own life more than trying to save someone who might have been beyond saving? Self-sacrifice went against everything her Creator had taught her. Margaret said that dying for another was a foolish waste of immortality. And if Niko hadn’t awoken, Gem would have died destroying a book. Both Viktor and Niko called her brave and selfless, but it resurrected so many old feelings that neither of them could truly understand.
Gem sat there for a long while, reflecting over the events of the past month.
“Forgive my intrusion. I followed your light.”
Gem looked up at Niko. “Have a seat.”
Niko took the chair across from her and turned his head toward the window. “It will be warm this afternoon.”
“How do you know?”
“Glass pops when the sun’s heat is strong.”
“Are you done healing Wyatt?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t want to socialize with them?”
Niko straightened his black T-shirt and crossed his legs. “Everyone is showering and resting. They had a long evening in some abominable conditions.”
She crossed her legs, mirroring his posture.
“Will you be in the pool tonight?” he asked.
Gem steadily rocked her foot. “I don’t think I’ll be swimming for a while.”
“When you’re ready, let me know. One should lend support to a friend in need.”
Gem hugged her middle. “Okay.”
“What do you see out there?”
Relieved by the change in subject, she steered her gaze to the open field. “Grass. Trees. Blue sky. That stray cat you sometimes like to feed. A few puffy clouds.” She frowned at her vagueness. “That’s not descriptive enough, is it?”
“Needn’t worry. That’s all I want to know. People rarely describe the view, so I can only wonder what lies beyond the window. I can’t smell the air or feel the wind from behind glass. I can only touch the pane and guess the temperature.”
“I’ll try to do better.” She looked at her blue toenails and decided she might paint them different colors later to match her outfit. “Someone needs to send Viktor an invitation to a party. We all deserve a night out and not just to sit in a bar. I’d love to put on a party dress and have Claude fix my hair. It’s an absolute mess.”
“A celebration would be a nice intermission.” Niko canted his head. “Why is it that you don’t drink alcohol?”
“That, dear friend, is a story for another time.”