Wicks. But leaving town hadn’t crossed my mind. Why was that?
“Verity?”
I’d been quiet too long. “I’m here. Cooper, is this what you do? Just run from place to place every time they find you?”
“I’m duty-bound to engage as little as possible.” His voice was suddenly clipped, almost hostile. I’d struck a nerve. It seemed Cooper didn’t like running.
“Why?” I asked.
“I can’t risk them getting… what they’re after.”
“Your vitality?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Well, I don’t want your life,” I said. “I won’t run.”
“What are you talking about? You hate it there. You didn’t even want to go, when they first called you.”
“I know, but…”
But what?
Cooper was right. A week ago, the idea that I would insist on staying in Bristol would have been ridiculous.
But I brought Cillian Wick here.
“But he said something about Bristol,” I said. “Cillian, I mean. He said he’d never sensed this much vitality in one place before. It sounded like a threat.”
And I can’t leave Bristol to be devoured by a new devil.
“He said what?” Cooper sounded alarmed. So it was a threat, and one I should take seriously. “Verity, are there others of your kind, in that hometown of yours?”
“No other half-humans, if that’s what you mean. Not that I know of, anyway. But we’ve got kind of an odd history. There are a lot of witches here. Going way back for centuries. There’s definitely more vitality here than your average place.”
Cooper swore. “Why didn’t you tell me that when you left?”
“It didn’t cross my mind.”
“It didn’t cross your mind ? When you were running from people who survive by draining vitality?”
“Hey!” I said, giving in to a flare of indignation. Who did he think he was, talking to me like I was an idiot? “Excuse me for not being as well-versed in your enemies after two encounters as you are after a lifetime! And I have you to thank for this, you know. You’re the only reason we even got on this monster’s radar.”
Now it was his turn to be quiet too long. “Cooper?”
“I’m here. And you’re right. Sit tight, I’m coming to you. What’s the name of your hotel? I don’t think you ever told me.”
“Are you insane? You can’t come here. That’s what they want, they’ll catch you!”
“The name of the hotel?”
It was clear from his tone that he was coming, no matter what I said about it. I gave him the address for the Mount Phearson, so he could put it into his GPS.
“I’ll write some spells,” I said.
“Look for me around this time tomorrow,” said Cooper. “Avoid any contact with them until then, if you can. Be careful.”
“You too.”
As soon as I set my phone down, I pulled out some paper. This would be a delicate business. Luckily, I had the background for it: my magic had always been focused on protection, and I’d lived most of my life in a hotel. I knew a few things about inns. Their peculiarities, their rules. Their advantages and disadvantages.
I’d studied a lot of magic theory, during my teenage years. Especially after what happened with Max. I wanted to be able to defend myself if Miss Underwood (or Asher Glass) came after me again. As ever, I turned to books for answers, working my way through all of the Bristol Public Library’s unusually large section on the occult and witchcraft. Even the obscure books that nobody else had checked out in years.
I learned back then that places have a power, an energy of their own. Entwined with that of people, but also different. Your home, for example, is where your magic will be strongest. It’s the easiest place to protect yourself, and the most dangerous place for your enemies.
Inns, on the other hand, are meant to be neutral ground. Safe havens for all. People die in hotels all the time, of course, but rarely if they know how to use the place’s energy to their own advantage. This is especially true of older inns that
“Verity?”
I’d been quiet too long. “I’m here. Cooper, is this what you do? Just run from place to place every time they find you?”
“I’m duty-bound to engage as little as possible.” His voice was suddenly clipped, almost hostile. I’d struck a nerve. It seemed Cooper didn’t like running.
“Why?” I asked.
“I can’t risk them getting… what they’re after.”
“Your vitality?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Well, I don’t want your life,” I said. “I won’t run.”
“What are you talking about? You hate it there. You didn’t even want to go, when they first called you.”
“I know, but…”
But what?
Cooper was right. A week ago, the idea that I would insist on staying in Bristol would have been ridiculous.
But I brought Cillian Wick here.
“But he said something about Bristol,” I said. “Cillian, I mean. He said he’d never sensed this much vitality in one place before. It sounded like a threat.”
And I can’t leave Bristol to be devoured by a new devil.
“He said what?” Cooper sounded alarmed. So it was a threat, and one I should take seriously. “Verity, are there others of your kind, in that hometown of yours?”
“No other half-humans, if that’s what you mean. Not that I know of, anyway. But we’ve got kind of an odd history. There are a lot of witches here. Going way back for centuries. There’s definitely more vitality here than your average place.”
Cooper swore. “Why didn’t you tell me that when you left?”
“It didn’t cross my mind.”
“It didn’t cross your mind ? When you were running from people who survive by draining vitality?”
“Hey!” I said, giving in to a flare of indignation. Who did he think he was, talking to me like I was an idiot? “Excuse me for not being as well-versed in your enemies after two encounters as you are after a lifetime! And I have you to thank for this, you know. You’re the only reason we even got on this monster’s radar.”
Now it was his turn to be quiet too long. “Cooper?”
“I’m here. And you’re right. Sit tight, I’m coming to you. What’s the name of your hotel? I don’t think you ever told me.”
“Are you insane? You can’t come here. That’s what they want, they’ll catch you!”
“The name of the hotel?”
It was clear from his tone that he was coming, no matter what I said about it. I gave him the address for the Mount Phearson, so he could put it into his GPS.
“I’ll write some spells,” I said.
“Look for me around this time tomorrow,” said Cooper. “Avoid any contact with them until then, if you can. Be careful.”
“You too.”
As soon as I set my phone down, I pulled out some paper. This would be a delicate business. Luckily, I had the background for it: my magic had always been focused on protection, and I’d lived most of my life in a hotel. I knew a few things about inns. Their peculiarities, their rules. Their advantages and disadvantages.
I’d studied a lot of magic theory, during my teenage years. Especially after what happened with Max. I wanted to be able to defend myself if Miss Underwood (or Asher Glass) came after me again. As ever, I turned to books for answers, working my way through all of the Bristol Public Library’s unusually large section on the occult and witchcraft. Even the obscure books that nobody else had checked out in years.
I learned back then that places have a power, an energy of their own. Entwined with that of people, but also different. Your home, for example, is where your magic will be strongest. It’s the easiest place to protect yourself, and the most dangerous place for your enemies.
Inns, on the other hand, are meant to be neutral ground. Safe havens for all. People die in hotels all the time, of course, but rarely if they know how to use the place’s energy to their own advantage. This is especially true of older inns that
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