2 Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo by Liz Schulte Page A

of hilarious. What the hell happened when you and Olivia disappeared?”
    “What? I didn’t disappear.”
    “You did too. She put her hand on you and poof you were both gone.”
    “They weren’t gone,” Sy said from the doorway. “Olivia is a guardian. She was healing Selene. That generally makes them invisible to mortals.”
    “Oh, and Holden. Is he a guardian too?”
    Sy laughed. “Are you okay, coz?”
    “I’m great,” I mumbled. “Can you cancel my meeting with Jaron tonight? I’m not up for another memory. I already have too much to think about.”
    “Sure. If you need anything, let me know.”
    I sat up. “Are you really going back to castle?”
    “It’s already arranged. I spoke with Sebastian and the girls. Selene, I want to help. We all want to help. We’ll be fine and figure all of this out. Besides, I don’t think Cheney’s guilty. I like him and I like the way you are when you’re with him—less cautious and more alive. I think the two of you will work things out.”
    “I hope you’re right.”
    “Now I say we get some ice cream and wine and watch chick flicks.”
    It was hard to argue with such a solid plan.
     

 

     
    I walked into the gym right on time but with heavy circles under my eyes. Sleep was a fickle lover, taunting me, but never taking me all night long. And while I’d tossed and turned, a new question had assailed me. Why hadn’t the bond affected me before I knew about it? Sebastian looked up and gave his typical greeting. After I sat, he said, “So are you going to tell me the details?”
    I shrugged.
    Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “One of you has to. Cheney won’t say anything, but he paced the hallways all night. All Katrina said was that you’d be staying with Sy for a while—wouldn’t tell me why. What can be so bad?”
    I bit my lip and shook my head. If Cheney didn’t tell him, then I wouldn’t either.
    Sebastian sighed.
    “I do have a question though. Why didn’t our bond affect me my whole life?”
    “The bond was with your elf half, which was dormant. Whatever spell you were under was strong enough to suppress the bond along with your memories.”
    “So if Cheney died while I was a human, would I have died too?”
    He frowned. “I honestly don’t know.”
    I chewed on my fingernail. Interesting. “But if I had died, he would have as well.”
    “Are you so angry that you’re thinking about becoming human and killing him?”
    I gave a one-shouldered shrug. If he killed Michael to scare me into staying with him, I might consider it.
    Sebastian laughed. “Let me know if I need to look for a new job.”
    “It’s not funny.”
    “Selene, you and Cheney fight. It’s what you do, but neither of you are bad people. You’ll work through whatever happened.”
    Though I had my doubts, he was missing the point. “It’s not about our fight,” I muttered.
    He looked back at me, his expression serious again. “Care to elaborate?”
    I shook my head.
    He gave me a strange look and his expression softened. “You can trust me.”
    “Of course I can, you’re only Cheney’s advisor.”
    And like that, his face was back to normal. “Well, if you aren’t staying here, then you better be able to transport yourself.” He knelt across from me. “Elf magic is different from human magic in that it’s innate. A part of you. You don’t need words or circles to cast a spell.”
    I nodded, but it didn’t make sense. I’d spent years learning how to cast and what he was suggesting broke all of the rules.
    “It’s like your telekinetic ability. How do you control it?”
    “I, umm, hmm. Well, I guess I just, you know, will it to happen.” It was harder to articulate than I imagined, but Sebastian nodded encouragingly. “So you want me to will myself into another room?”
    “Yes, we’ll start there.” He stood up and offered me a hand.
    I tried and nothing happened. I was so tired, and I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to do anything. My