brother sneaking into your office? I thought we were past your trying to
protect
me.”
“I’m not—”
“Bullshit!” She smacked the fire door so hard that the sound echoed up and down the stairwell. “It
always
comes back to your thinking mortals can’t pull their weight against arcanes. Here I thought you trusted me enough to hold down the fort while you did your Fury thing, and you’re back here checking up on me
already
—and in secret—”
“Jeez, Trin, would you
shut up
for a minute and
listen
?” My exasperated tone and none-too-polite words had her doing just that. The way her lips trembled in rage signaled it wouldn’t last for long. “I
do
trust you to look after things. I’m
not
here to check up on you. This has
nothing
to do with police business and everything to do with my
Fury thing
, as you so charmingly put it. We’re just meeting here because the fewer arcanes who see me in my
new threads
right now, the better.”
“Oh.” Her voice grew really small, and her cheeks flushed. “Um, sorry for jumping to conclusions. It’s just—”
I waved that off. “I’ve given you reason to doubt in the past; I know that.”
“So then, what’s up with all the black? Not that it isn’t hot, but I thought—unlike your tats—Fury leather only came in one color.”
“Usually. With one exception. I—right now I’m serving as a Nemesis.”
She frowned. “What, like your snake?”
“Same name, whole ’nother ballgame. A Nemesis is like …kind of like a U.S. Marshal drafted by the godsto investigate and hunt down one of their number who has broken immortal law.” Trinity twitched at that. How she could
still
claim to be an atheist after everything she’d seen and heard was beyond me. “Just focus on the Marshal bit. I’m tracking down a badass for my arcane superiors. The new threads are temporary, and I’m on a deadline.”
She got a determined look on her face. “I could—”
I shook my head emphatically. “No, I’m sorry, but you can’t. I need you here, Trin. Honestly. It’s not busywork. Someone’s got to smooth over things with the pervert’s family.”
She sighed. “True, that.”
“And you literally
can’t
come where we’re going: Mortals wouldn’t survive the trip.”
She still looked none too happy but didn’t press the issue. “Fine, then, I’ll just get back to Kale and Mahina. At least I know you’ll be in good hands with Charlie.”
Something in her voice seemed odd, but I passed it off to residual prissiness from the whole being mortal thing. “Yeah, you saw how much ass he kicked at the illegal cloning factory.”
“Yeah, there
is
that. Seriously, though, watch your back.”
“You, too.”
She took off down the stairs—I assumed Kale and Mahina were waiting for her at Mass General’s arcane emergency room—and I decided to switch to mortal form to keep a lower profile the rest of my time in the PD. Probably should have done it sooner, but that damned Fury vanity streak had done me in; being a Nemesis was just so freaking cool. Yeah, yeah, I can be as big an idiot as anyone else.
I turned to open the door and head down the hall to my office. Or at least, I
tried
to, only to bounce backward when the door wouldn’t budge. “What the—” Instinct kicked in and I spun, expecting an ambush of some kind. Instead, I saw someone unexpected coming up the stairs behind me. My newly awakened and possibly traitorous grandmother, Nan.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SHOCK PUNCHED ITS WAY STRAIGHT TO MY stomach, and I staggered. Decades had passed since I’d seen her looking so hale and hearty, this lovely and
alive
. In the hospice she’d always been a frail pile of bones lying unresponsive upon her bed. The Oracles moved her regularly, of course, cared for her to the best of their abilities, but even among arcanes a coma patient was a coma patient. Now, however, Nan stood tall
protect
me.”
“I’m not—”
“Bullshit!” She smacked the fire door so hard that the sound echoed up and down the stairwell. “It
always
comes back to your thinking mortals can’t pull their weight against arcanes. Here I thought you trusted me enough to hold down the fort while you did your Fury thing, and you’re back here checking up on me
already
—and in secret—”
“Jeez, Trin, would you
shut up
for a minute and
listen
?” My exasperated tone and none-too-polite words had her doing just that. The way her lips trembled in rage signaled it wouldn’t last for long. “I
do
trust you to look after things. I’m
not
here to check up on you. This has
nothing
to do with police business and everything to do with my
Fury thing
, as you so charmingly put it. We’re just meeting here because the fewer arcanes who see me in my
new threads
right now, the better.”
“Oh.” Her voice grew really small, and her cheeks flushed. “Um, sorry for jumping to conclusions. It’s just—”
I waved that off. “I’ve given you reason to doubt in the past; I know that.”
“So then, what’s up with all the black? Not that it isn’t hot, but I thought—unlike your tats—Fury leather only came in one color.”
“Usually. With one exception. I—right now I’m serving as a Nemesis.”
She frowned. “What, like your snake?”
“Same name, whole ’nother ballgame. A Nemesis is like …kind of like a U.S. Marshal drafted by the godsto investigate and hunt down one of their number who has broken immortal law.” Trinity twitched at that. How she could
still
claim to be an atheist after everything she’d seen and heard was beyond me. “Just focus on the Marshal bit. I’m tracking down a badass for my arcane superiors. The new threads are temporary, and I’m on a deadline.”
She got a determined look on her face. “I could—”
I shook my head emphatically. “No, I’m sorry, but you can’t. I need you here, Trin. Honestly. It’s not busywork. Someone’s got to smooth over things with the pervert’s family.”
She sighed. “True, that.”
“And you literally
can’t
come where we’re going: Mortals wouldn’t survive the trip.”
She still looked none too happy but didn’t press the issue. “Fine, then, I’ll just get back to Kale and Mahina. At least I know you’ll be in good hands with Charlie.”
Something in her voice seemed odd, but I passed it off to residual prissiness from the whole being mortal thing. “Yeah, you saw how much ass he kicked at the illegal cloning factory.”
“Yeah, there
is
that. Seriously, though, watch your back.”
“You, too.”
She took off down the stairs—I assumed Kale and Mahina were waiting for her at Mass General’s arcane emergency room—and I decided to switch to mortal form to keep a lower profile the rest of my time in the PD. Probably should have done it sooner, but that damned Fury vanity streak had done me in; being a Nemesis was just so freaking cool. Yeah, yeah, I can be as big an idiot as anyone else.
I turned to open the door and head down the hall to my office. Or at least, I
tried
to, only to bounce backward when the door wouldn’t budge. “What the—” Instinct kicked in and I spun, expecting an ambush of some kind. Instead, I saw someone unexpected coming up the stairs behind me. My newly awakened and possibly traitorous grandmother, Nan.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SHOCK PUNCHED ITS WAY STRAIGHT TO MY stomach, and I staggered. Decades had passed since I’d seen her looking so hale and hearty, this lovely and
alive
. In the hospice she’d always been a frail pile of bones lying unresponsive upon her bed. The Oracles moved her regularly, of course, cared for her to the best of their abilities, but even among arcanes a coma patient was a coma patient. Now, however, Nan stood tall
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