He shrugged. “Neither did I until she showed up one day saying that she was backing off from Lorica duty for a while. Said she needed to help her grandma at the shop.”
That’s right. Madam Chien was the diminutive yet headstrong proprietor of an apothecary out in Little China. A mage and martial artist herself, Madam Chien cared deeply for Prudence, and I knew that the feeling was mutual. If she needed time off to be with her grandma, then I wasn’t going to probe any further. That was between them, and probably Gil, I guess.
At the Boneyard, I showed Carver the black dots that Izanami’s touch had left in my skin.
“Think of them as bruises,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Dustin. She’s a death goddess. She didn’t need to touch you to kill you. A look would have sufficed.”
I shuddered.
“And she is correct. The world needs you alive, to settle this.” His expression went heavy, and he placed a hand on my arm. “I know this is a lot to bear, Dustin. But you must know that your friends are here to support you through this.”
I gaped for a moment. That sort of mushy talk wasn’t characteristic of Carver at all. So I only pressed my lips together, careful not to ruin the moment, and nodded.
“Now, as for this list. I’ve made a copy,” he said, gesturing to his eye. The thing had so many uses: scrying, telescopic vision, and apparently it worked like a digital camera, too? Note to self, I thought. If I ever lost an eye – knock on wood – I would have to hit Carver up for the recipe on making a magical bionic one for myself.
“My understanding, as is yours, is that it is meant to guide you through enchanting an artifact, one meant for sealing, for erecting a barrier against the Old Ones. This must be exciting for you.”
Something gleamed in his eyes then, and I caught it, too. I saw a flicker of the professor Carver always wanted to be. If there was one thing he enjoyed more than kicking my ego into the dirt, it was teaching, and knowing that the rest of us were learning from him.
“Rest for now,” he continued. “We will examine this in detail in the morning.”
And like a good boy I followed orders, retiring to my bedroom – where, for some reason, Asher was already waiting.
Chapter 15
“Fun night?” he said. He was peering at the stuff on my shelves when I caught him – not touching, mind you, because Asher’s polite like that.
I thought back to Izanami’s true face and grimaced. “Fun. Yeah. That’s one way to put it. What’s up?”
He shrugged. “Nothing huge. I just wanted to ask you something I didn’t get to back in Latham’s Cross. Your mom, Diana.” He pursed his lips, like he was hesitating, but quickly pressed on again. “I’m sure you miss her.” He gestured at one of the framed pictures on my shelves. “This is her, right?”
I nodded. “Yes, to both of those questions. I miss her a whole lot.”
“Right,” he said. “Right. I miss my mom, too. Explains why I just can’t let go of her, you know?” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“No,” I said. “I get that. It’s completely understandable.”
I hadn’t known until that moment that Asher still spoke to the shade of his mother. I saw it in action when I first met him. Well, I didn’t really see anything, per se – only Asher could see her. And he’d explained since then that it wasn’t actually her spirit. Mrs. Mayhew had moved on long ago. This was only a facsimile, a recording of her memories.
“Thanks,” he said. “I mean in a way it feels like I’m honoring her memories, but in others, it’s like I’m keeping her here. I know she’s gone, you know? But I don’t know if it’s helpful to hang on to her like this.”
I sat on the edge of my bed, patting it to get him to join me. “Something’s up,” I said. “Or you wouldn’t be talking like this.”
“It’s,” he started to say. The mattress dipped as he sat. “It’s nothing. Kind of embarrassing, honestly.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Listen. You’re basically a little brother to me. If you can’t tell me what the problem is, fine – that stings a little. But there’s always Sterling.”
“That’s just it,” Asher wailed, falling backwards onto my bed with a soft thump. He threw his hands over his face, massaging his temples. “This isn’t something I can talk about with my mom, and Sterling would just make fun of me for it. And Gil – well, he’s great and all, but he’s not close enough for me to ask about something like this. And – ”
Asher babbled on, saying a whole lot of something about nothing, his skin turning ruddier and ruddier as he went on. Was he blushing? Man. I knew what this was about. I thumped him lightly in the stomach with a fist.
“Shut up. I know what’s going on.”
His fingers parted, and he peeked out from between them with one guilty-looking eye. “You do?” he said meekly.
“Your crush on Romira.”
He sat bolt upright, his eyes huge. “How did you know?”