Page 86 of Gray Dawn

“The hotel. We need to coordinate with the Kellies.”

His swallow was audible.

“They know you’re not to blame.” I hooked my lips up in a grin. “However, I would recommend taking Arthur a tumbler of fresh, body temperature blood and Kelly some Kung Pao chicken with a quart of hot and sour soup. Apologies always go down easier with food. Not thatIthink you need to make nice, but I can’t speak for them. Plus, it never hurts to bribe the folks in charge of case assignments.”

A guard arrived a few minutes later and let Isiforos out.

I walked him through the building, to the curb, and put him in a waiting SUV.

“Clean up, eat something, rest.” I smiled. “Then get your butt back in black and to The Spinnaker.”

We had a lot of work to do.

The pine cratestood three feet taller than me and four feet wider, and the only thing that kept me from ripping the door off with magic and flinging it was the fact Clay didn’t need tobreathe to survive stasis. Still, it caused my heart to beat harder to find him trapped in an airless box. Even if he didn’t know, I did.

The location I chose for this awakening was strategic. We were out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing in sight but grass, grass, and more grass. A sea of the stuff. It was serene, in its way. Isolating too.

Clay would have no choice but to listen to us if he wanted a ride home. That, or he could ignore us for the half day’s walk to the nearest town. I was hoping, with Colby present, her face wet with tears, he would see reason. But, I had to admit, that was also what worried me. The tears.

“I brought crowbars.” Derry handed one to each of us. “Let’s get him out of there.”

Marita, Blay, and I put our backs into prying off the front while Colby flew loops over the top.

“Are you sure he’s okay in there?” She held a stylus in her hands. “He’s not…?”

She would have chewed her fingernails to the quick if she had any.

“He’s okay.” I said it as much for my benefit as hers. “I promise.”

Wood splintered as we gained leverage, and a cold sweat drenched my spine. A tiny gap was all we needed for Derry and Blay to slide their fingers in. They pried off the front and tossed it aside, then each took one of Clay’s elbows and lifted him out of the box.

The second he touched down, Colby plastered herself to his scalp, sobbing her heart out.

“We’ll take care of the mess.” Marita clamped a hand on my shoulder. “You take care of him.”

As the Mayhews carried off the crate to return to their storage courier, Blay and I got comfortable.

“Rue pet.” He offered me a length of his hair. “Pets make Rue feel better.”

“Mmm-hmm.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure it will.”

While I played the role of the sucker I was, Colby got to work redrawing Clay’sshemwith exquisite care.

“Here we go,” she whispered, finishing the final loop, holding her breath as his innate magic began thawing him. “Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay.”

Her chant nearly broke my heart, but the worst was yet to come.

“Hey.” He spotted her first. “What’s with the tears, Shorty?”

The familiar intonation, the warmth, thelifewas back in his voice.

“Clay.” She flung herself against him again and held on with everything in her. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

That was when he noticed we stood in a field with nothing around us for miles, and his face crumpled as he locked his gaze with mine in a silent question. Always the same one.

What have I done?

In the past, I had hidden episodes from him when I could get away with it to spare him more pain. I couldn’t this time. There were too many witnesses, and he would wheedle Colby down until she broke.