Chapter 25

25

ROMAN

W e arrived at an abandoned house about a mile or so away from Grandma's house. The streets were quiet, not a soul in sight. Most of the other houses were abandoned, too.

"What is this place?" I asked as Grandma parked up.

"I used to come here to practice my spells as a child," Darcy answered. "My parents were fully human and didn't like me showing off in the house."

"Showing off?" Grandma said.

He opened his door. "Our relationship was strained. They didn't know how to be parents to a witch. They struggled. It hurt. It still hurts. I haven't spoken to them since I became a rat."

We might be besties, but I didn't know a thing about Darcy's past.

"I'm so sorry," I said.

Without another word, he got out of the car, closing the door. He opened the front passenger door, helping the agent from the front seat.

My poor bestie got himself tangled up in too many of my problems. I owed him hours and hours of talking time. And he'd get it in spades at the first opportunity.

For sure.

The agent's name was Liza. Grandma wanted to take her to hospital but she insisted on coming with us. Darcy helped her off the street after a demon stomped on her hand—right before she banished it. My grandma wasn't happy about it but conceded for the time being. Which meant she wouldn't be quiet about it for long.

God, how I've missed you.

I caught Grandma looking at me in the rearview mirror. She smiled, then exited the car.

Darcy led Liza around the back of the house down a dark alley. Grandma and I followed side by side.

"Can you smell lemons?" she asked.

I sniffed the air, getting nothing. "N-No."

"Strange seeing each other like this, isn't it?" she added.

The sound of her voice made my soul weep. "Yeah. Yeah, it is." I bit my bottom lip.

She was the healthy woman of my youth, not the one I'd watched leave this world. The grandmother who raised me with her strength, her warmth, and her keen sense of right and wrong.

Ha! What a dickhead I turned out to be despite all that. But we wouldn't go there. I was too tired, to overwhelmed. Second by second, my adrenaline cooled down, forcing me to take in the current situation.

"I'm so sorry this is happening to you," she said. Her eyes fell to the dagger. "It breaks my heart to see you like this. At any age."

We reached the back garden, Darcy helping Liza into the back door.

I didn't know what to say to her. All this time, I'd have given anything to see her face, to sit down and chat and do crosswords and look for ways to never allow her to leave me again. In reality, I was tongue tied. Even though I'd lived with this version of her, it felt so different for so many obvious reasons.

This time is over…

"Shit…"

If Teenage Me swore, she'd be taking him down a peg. But not me.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Sweetheart… The word echoed in my head. I loved it when she called me that.

"Let's get inside," I said.

She nodded, going in first.

After the longest series of deep breaths, I followed her into the empty house. Well, aside from one battered sofa in the open plan living room/kitchen, along with some electric candles. Liza lowered herself into the sofa, thanking Darcy for his trouble.

Peeling brown wallpaper, exposed floorboards—everything about this place was grim. But it was also spacious, a perfect place for alone time and to practice magic. Moldy stink aside.

Darcy appeared in the doorway leading to the hall.

"What if your teenage self shows up?" I wondered.

He didn't look happy. "They're not here."

My blood ran cold. "Huh?"

"Xavier and young Roman aren't here."