He starts to move away, appearing as a glob of gray making for the other side of the room, when he dramatically smacks his palm against his forehead, makes a hasty U-turn, and decides to rejoin us. A feigned move if I’ve ever seen one.
“Almost forgot, I have something for you.” He reaches into his pocket, and offers Lita something small, dark, and ominous. “It’s a tourmaline,” he says, urging her to take it from him.
“And why would I want a tourmaline from you?” She shifts uncomfortably on her stool, keeps her hands in her lap, unwilling to claim it.
“Because it’s a rare blue stone and it’s extremely valuable. I was meaning to give it to you before you dumped me. Yes, I said it. You dumped me, and you left me completely heartbroken. See how much I’ve grown? I’m able to admit that it was you who walked away and left me devastated by the loss. And while I know you won’t believe it, it’s important for me to remind you that not every moment with me was as bad as you’re determined to believe. I’m hoping this stone, given to you with no strings attached, might help to remind you of that.”
“I know where you got this,” she says.
“I’ve no doubt you do.” He shifts toward me, clucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Turning to her with a lowered voice, he says, “Don’t be a fool. Don’t let your pride get in the way of common sense. If nothing else, the stone is extremely valuable. You can sell it if you want. But I hope you’ll decide to keep it. It would really mean a lot to me.”
“All the more reason to flush it,” she says, watching as he places it on the table before her.
“Up to you.” He shrugs. “Though I hope you’ll reconsider.”
He makes to leave as Lita raises her arm, aiming the stone at the back of his head. But I stop her before she can release it, and force her arm back to her side.
“What’re you—crazy? I don’t care how much he claims it’s worth. You think I actually want this thing?”
“No. But Paloma might.” I keep my voice purposely low.
“Why? What do you see?” She leans toward me.
“You go first,” I say. “I don’t want to taint your impression with mine. Describe it exactly as you see it.”
She places it back on the table and rolls it from side to side. “It’s surprisingly large. Probably worth a fortune, like he said. It’s shiny, and perfectly polished and cut. It appears to be flawless, but I can’t say for sure. Oh, and the color is a really deep blue. It’s kind of mesmerizing. Or at least it would be if I didn’t know where it came from.”
“Is that all?”
“In a nutshell, yeah. Why—what do you see?”
“To me it looks just the opposite. Like a dark, murky, and ominous blob.”
She jerks backward. “Well, now I really don’t want it!” she says, watching as I scoop it right up. “And I don’t want you to have it either. I think we should ditch it. I don’t think it’s safe.”
“Not to worry,” I tell her. “The Richters can’t touch me. Besides, I don’t plan to keep it. I’m thinking we can drop it by Paloma’s as soon as we’re out of here and see what she makes of it.”
“Well, shouldn’t we go now?”
I shake my head and say, “Not when Greyson just got here.”
twenty-six
Daire
A soon as we reach the vortex, I look at Axel and say, “This is the part where you become less of a solution and more of a problem.”
He stares blankly. “I’m not sure I get what you mean.”
“Well, for one thing, are you even allowed to cross into the Middleworld for extended periods?” I ask, reminded of the time Paloma’s Wolf made the trip to the Middleworld to help restore her soul. He grew increasingly weak the longer his visit dragged on, forcing Leftfoot to rush hi
m back to the Lowerworld as soon as the task was completed. And I can’t take the chance that the same thing will happen here. I can’t be expected to race Axel back to the Upperworld when I barely escaped from there myself.
“I’m not an animal,” he says, tuning in to my thoughts.
“Right, you’re a Mystic. A Mystic who reads minds.”
He shrugs, clearly having no concept of just how annoying, not to mention invasive, his mental eavesdropping is. “And your other concern?”