Page 89 of A Subtle Scar

“Baby, are you okay?” I asked and took his face in my hands to make sure she hadn’t gotten him after all.

“Sure,” he said. “You? She kicked you pretty hard.”

“All unscathed, but I’ll show you if you want to check,” I said.

“Seriously, Hermes.” Ronny tsked, but he was also smiling.

“I’m okay too, by the way, thanks for asking,” Detective Rice said. She was dusting off her pants, her knee having also smudged the ward circle the necromancer had set.

I looked at the detective’s right hand. “Oh, you got the evidence too. Well done.”

She shrugged. “You learn a steady hand under pressure in this job. Lesker?”

The doctor looked at her, his phone pressed to his ear. “Calling for an ambulance. We should cuff her, just in case.”

Chandler wiggled free of Ronny’s hold. “I need to go make a call. Deacon?”

“Here,” the necromancer said and went so far as to raise his hand. He stood just outside the door, two more police people and the FIS press lady behind him.

“Did you see the ward I used to release the spell?”

Deacon nodded. “Yes. Strong silence ward.”

“You should be able to do that one. When you make a spell for it, be sure to add some sibilants into the wording, okay?”

The necromancer’s eyes went wide, and his jaw slackened, dropped. “Uhm.”

Rice cleared her throat. “You’re leaving?”

Our boyfriend nodded. “Just a hunch. But I’ll be taking those two.” He pointed at Ronny and me. The rush of his commanding tone did things to me, and to Ronny as well, I could tell.

“I’ll take you anywhere, baby,” I said. “But please, will you let me—”

“Work now, blowjobs later,” our boyfriend said.

He wascruel. I was afraid my pants wouldn’t be able to handle the strain.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Everyonceinawhile, I got to a point in a case where everything just clicked. Pieces of the whole were still in the shadows with this one, but it was clear enough.

“Keep me in the loop, please?” Jasmine asked as I walked past her, the two gods in tow.

I gave her a thumbs-up as I dialed.

“Medical Examiner’s office, this is Florence. How may I help you today?” the familiar voice on the other end said.

“Darling, where are we going?” Charon asked. I held up a finger to my lips as we headed back to the capital crime unit.

“Florence. This is Chandler. Is Dr. Kurtz in?”

“You sound urgent. Sure, she’s busy with our newest addition to the old lady name club.”

“Right. I’ve not been fully filled in. This one’s name is?”

“Rosemary,” Florence said. “Dr. Kurtz? Agent Chandler. I think it’s urgent.”

There was a bit of rustling, and the three of us got all the way to the stairwell before Kurtz came on.