Snowflakes spiraled down from the sky, staining the ground with speckles of white. Well, it was more like grey, if I was being honest. I eyed the snow with distaste. Winter was still clinging to life, far beyond the point of annoyance. My car chirped as I unlocked the doors, the headlights flickering to on. With a shriek of tired hinges, I pulled it open.

“Are you even listening to me?” The phone screeched in my ear.

“Yeah, I am. Really. I’m coming. I’ll be home soon.” The sound of the outside world fell away as my car door slammed shut, proving my words.

“Okay. Good.” Keira’s voice was quiet, like she was lost in thought. “You were late, so I just wanted to check in.”

I smiled thinly. “Yeah.”

My sister hesitated. “...Is everything all right?”

I glanced back over my shoulder, fastening my seat belt

The bulk of the hospital loomed behind me, a dark wall against the grey sky. “It’s fine,” I said at last, turning the key. The engine roared to life. “I’m on my way.”

“You don’t sound like it’s fine. What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” I said. “How’re things going there?”

From the heavy, deliberate way she paused, I knew she wasn’t entirely fooled. But then she sighed. “Oh, you know. They’re...the same as always. Nox and Brendon are working on tightening up our perimeter.”

“Oh. Good. Aedan’s still there?” I had questions - things I needed to ask, things he’d put off for long enough.

I think Keira knew it, too. “....Yeah,” she said at last. Her voice wobbled, like she’d half-turned away. “He’s watching soaps with Jake.”

“Oh, great,” I muttered, turning out onto the road. “Just what we needed. Two of them.”

“He likes it,” Keira said, her tone tolerant. “It’s not a big deal.”

“To you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” I said. Half of me wanted to chuckle - and the other half wanted to groan. It was none of my business, I whispered to myself. Let them be. They’re both adults. But, on the whole, I thought I’d been pretty accepting about the whole matter. A few cracks at her expense weren’t too much for me to get away with. “Sounds like a quiet night, then.”

God, it really did. It sounded wonderful. With everything that had happened over the last year - my run-in with Aedan at the McDonald’s, discovering the damned magical creations known as relics, and getting sucked into the middle of the local turf war over the things - I’d been hoping against hope for something a little normal.

“Yeah,” Keira said. “You know how it is. Long day at work. I think everyone’s a little tired. Jake looks like he might fall asleep. Kai sort of set the couch on fire, so Tyler’s lecturing him again. And I think if Amber sits around on her phone another day I’m going to-”

“Wait, what?” I snapped, sitting a little straighter as my normal evening evaporated out from around me. “One of those things is not like the others, Keira. What did Kai do, now?”

“It’s really not a big deal.”

“He set the couch on fire?”

“Sort of?” she said, her voice rising. “We got it put out. No big.”

I groaned, wincing. It had taken months to find a couch that was decently comfortable. “Fine. I’ll...I’ll be home soon.”

“Cool. Do you think you could stop and pick up-”

“No.”

“Oh, come on.”

“No,” I said, more insistently. “Don’t light anything else on fire before I get there.”

She chuckled under her breath. “Whatever. Okay.”

My headlights cut a path through the twilight, casting the road into brilliant light.

“See you soon.” Before Keira could argue, I tossed my phone into the passenger’s seat. It bounced once, its screen going dark, and came to a halt atop the sheaf of papers resting against the cushion.

My eyes locked onto the sheets. Just like that, my good mood vanished. I stared a moment longer, feeling the pit of my stomach sink, and then turned back to the road.

With the tinny, worn-down sound of the radio drifting through the car, I hurried for home.

----------------------------------------

The house looked just like it always did, I noted with more than a little relief as I pulled up in the drive. The roof wasn’t peeling back anymore, thanks to our efforts, and there was a fresh coat of stain on the wooden siding. But it still sprawled out at the end of our single-lane driveway, tucked in among the trees where no one would see.

Privacy was important, given the messes we seemed to find ourselves in on a regular basis. The last thing we needed was a group of spectators to a magical shootout, or to have the neighborhood kids wandering over in the middle of a crew coming to invade. The fact that the house looked untouched was more unusual than I really wanted to think about.

Of course, I thought sourly, it sounded like the actual damage was on the inside.

Kicking my boots against the brick steps to clear the snow, I grabbed the handle, letting myself inside.

A chorus of hisses greeted me, spurred by the wave of cold air that followed on my heels. Greyson’s dogs charged me, tails wagging. I leaned over, giving one a scratch.

“Shut that door,” Jake snapped from alongside me.

I stepped the rest of the way in, kicking it closed, and glared at him sidelong. “Already working on it.”

“It shouldn’t still be this cold,” he muttered darkly, snuggling down deeper in his overstuffed armchair. He’d wrapped a blanket across his lap, burying his hands in its folds.

“It’s Michigan,” I said, still staring. “It’s cold here.”

“I get that. But why doesn’t it stop, already?”

There was no arguing with that sort of logic - and I really couldn’t debate the matter when I’d complained about the same thing earlier that night. Setting the sheaf of papers down on the counter, I started peeling off my coats.

“Did you have a good day at work?” Keira said. She sat on the couch - alongside Aedan, whose eyes were firmly glued to the TV. She elbowed him. He lifted his hand in a wave, radiating pure disinterest.

“Not bad. Not great. I’m a little behind on a few things. My boss isn’t thrilled.”

“Oh.”

It was all I could do to keep from shuddering at the thought of the pile of work that waited for me back in the office. It wasn’t like I had a lot of choice about how I spent my time, of late, but my work had paid the price.

“Just quit already,” Amber called from the far side of the room. She’d curled up on the floor, tucked between a bookcase and a chair. Giant slippers wrapped around her feet. Her eyes were fixed on her phone, glued to something playing out on the screen. “Problem solved.”

“Are you going to pitch in for food?” I said, glaring.

“No.”

“Then I guess I’m keeping my job.”

“Suit yourself.” She fell quiet, still totally focused on the phone.

A flicker of movement from the corner of my eye - Aedan, lifting a can to his lips. “You’ve got the magic of mind control, Jonny,” he said, tearing his eyes off the television for long enough to shoot me a look. “This seems like a you problem.”

“I’m not going to magic my boss,” I said, beginning to frown. “Don’t suggest something like that.”

“I’m just saying. Get over yourself.”

His arm was around Keira’s waist. I tried not to stare at it, tried not to glare at it like a venomous snake. The black char coating the well-cushioned seat back distracted me instead.

“So. How, exactly, did this happen?” I said, crossing the living room. The whole back of the couch was burned, I saw. My fingers danced over the char, exploring the damage. I scowled. It wasn’t good.

Jake groaned. “Do you even have to ask?”

“Kai was being Kai,” Brendon said. I glanced up. With Aedan and my sister nestled in on the couch, cuddling, I’d almost missed the others. Brendon and Nox sat in the kitchen, head to head with papers spread out across every the inch of the wooden surface. Brendon didn’t give me even a second’s attention. His fingers flew over the text, tracing out line after line. “Don’t really know what to tell you, Jon.”

I pursed my lips, taking in the rest of the room. Brendon had a bit of a grudge against Kai - one that I kept hoping would begin to fade, now that Brendon was starting to find his stride - but I couldn’t argue that he was right. Kai had been a good addition to the team, and he’d be a hell of a weapon once he figured himself out, but until that moment of revelation, he was dangerous.

“I take it Tyler’s with him?” I said slowly, still staring at the black-stained couch.

“Yeah.”

I looked up. Nox was staring back at me, his watery brown eyes half-hidden behind his glasses. “He’s not happy,” Nox said, holding my stare. “He thinks Kai will attract too much attention. He thinks he’ll burn the house, next. Or someone in it. He thinks they’ll be too much trouble to keep around, and you’ll-”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I don’t think he told you all of that,” I said, cutting Nox off before he could say anything else. It was my turn to hold Nox in place, pinned by a look. “Stay out of people’s heads.”

“I don’t think he minds,” Nox murmured under his breath, finally dropping his eyes to the ground.

“I mind. He deserves some privacy.”

“Stop bullying the kid,” Amber called, still staring at her phone.

“He’s not bullying,” Jake said, drawing surprised glances from the rest of us. Actually getting involved? I hadn’t expected that from the sleep-worker. “There’s no reason to go snooping in your allys’ heads.”

Nox cleared his throat, eyes darting guiltily to the side. “W-Well, I didn’t have to go snooping,” he said, his voice low. “Really. I didn’t mean to see. I didn’t- I can’t always-”

“You’re fine, Nox,” Amber said. Finally, she slipped her phone into the pocket of her hoodie, pushing herself to her feet. “Not everyone has an off switch, Jon. You should understand that much.” Her hazel eyes darted between mine and Keira’s. “If Tyler wants to scream his worries for the world to hear, that’s on him. Don’t get mad at Nox for being close enough to hear.”

“I-I could take it off. While I’m home,” Nox said. His hand slipped up, clutching at his chest. He’d be wearing the same pendant as always, I knew, a bit of crystal cunningly worked into the shape of an owl.

Amber stiffened, twisting to face me. “No way in hell am I letting you-”

“Calm down, Amber,” I muttered, shaking my head. “No one asked him to go that far.”

“Can we take this down a few notches?” Loren said, her voice low “Why’s everyone so angry?” She slipped out from the side room, joining Brendon at the table. She was growing her hair out, I saw, pulling it back into a messy ponytail. “Oh. Hi, Jon.”

“Hi,” I said, offering the crew a wan smile. “Look. No one’s asking Nox to go deprived for us, Amber. No one wants that. It was his suggestion, not mine.”

“And no one’s going to take him up on it,” Keira added on, shooting a sharp look my way.

“Right.”

Amber stood wordless, her lips pressed into a thin line. From what Nox had told me when we first accepted them into the crew, they’d had issues in the past. I hadn’t really thought anything of it - they were just two demis, in the end.

Turns out, it isn’t quite that simple when one of the demis has the power to walk in your thoughts. When nothing is secret and nothing is safe, people get uptight. When demis get uptight...well, couches wind up scorched and people get into arguments. Not exactly ideal.

I just waved a hand, averting my eyes and grabbing the door to the fridge.

“Jon,” Aedan said, perking up. “Mind-”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, grabbing a beer.

Whipping it at his head was probably a little mean. It’d probably make a mess, too, one I’d have to clean up. But, it wasn’t like a bit of beer would make the fire-marked couch any worse off, right?

A sliver of disappointment curled through my belly as Aedan’s hand snapped up, lightning-fast, and snatched the can from midair. “Thanks,” he said, smirking at me like he knew my game.

I pulled another beer out for myself, letting him have his moment. “It’s not like I could take Nox’s relic away, anyhow,” I said softly, staring at the cabinets.

The beginnings of the hushed conversations behind me came to an abrupt stop. “Jon?” Keira said at last.

I glanced back. They were staring at me - all of them. “O-Oh,” I stammered. “I just mean, Nox’s abilities are- a little important, right now.” I offered Nox and Brendon a smile, tiny and forced. “Both of your abilities.”

Nox didn’t twitch. Brendon, on the other hand, went a bit pale about the ears at my words. It was an adjustment, I knew. He’d spent so long being useless, dead weight that actually being vital to someone’s success was probably giving him whiplash.

Even still, it was impossible for us to deny our need. Greyson had been our security net, our shield. With the old finder’s powers, we’d been able to see enemies before they got to us. Before they got close. He’d been a big part of the reason Jake and I had been comfortable building the crew - and without him around, things were different.

Naturally, we’d gone and picked a fight with the biggest jerks in the region right before we let our finder get picked off. The net result was us, left sitting with our asses hanging in the breeze.

We’d had to scramble, searching for any sort of an alternative. It was far from ideal, but what choice did we have? Nox could read minds. We’d tasked him with reaching as far as we could, trying to pick off malicious intruders if they made it within his range. Of course, I thought darkly, that made it especially hard for me to complain about him overhearing Tyler accidentally.

Brendon’s abilities in foresight and prediction were increasing steadily with every scrap of information we shoved down his throat. Sure, his eyes were a little glazed over, and he spent far more time sitting at the kitchen table than was probably healthy, but he hadn’t complained.

There were limits to how much stress anyone could take. I made a mental note to maybe not remind him of how screwed we were if him and Nox messed up. “You’re doing great,” I said, my tone bright. “Don’t worry. Both of you. Yeah.”

“You were home late,” Aedan said. I flinched. He wasn’t watching the TV anymore. His green eyes were fixed on mine, far too knowing for comfort. “And you’re in a mood. What’s up?”

“A mood? What’s that supposed to mean?”

He snorted. “You know damn well what I mean.”

Keira elbowed him, hard enough that it probably hurt. Aedan drew back, laughing. “Come on, Jonny. Don’t keep secrets.”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” I muttered.

“What, now?”

“It’s Jon.” I hesitated, my lips parted, and let his question hang in the air between us. No one said a word. They just waited, silently observing. Finally, I sighed and reached for the papers I’d set on the counter. “Things...aren’t going great, that’s all.”

Loren stepped away from Brendon, zeroing in on the papers like they were new information to shove down his throat. “What’s that?”

I handed the sheaf to her, leaning back against the wood-and-formica surface. “I stopped at the hospital on the way home. They called while I was at work.”

You could have heard a pin drop. Even Jake was paying attention, facing straight ahead and ignoring the television. “...And?” he said, speaking up when it was obvious I wasn’t going to take the lead.

“It’s Greyson,” Loren whispered, turning one page after another. “He’s…”

“They’re starting to throw in the towel,” I said softly. “Medically, there’s not much more they can do for him.”

Jake shook his head, beginning to scowl. “Fuck medicine. All we need to do is-”

“Where do you suggest we find a healer?” I said.

He froze. “W-Well. There are mercenaries, like Amber. Some of them are medics. We could-”

“With the marketeers and that Anke bitch breathing down your necks, I don’t think you’ll find someone willing to fix your ace finder up,” Amber said. She looked just as casual as ever, her hands shoved into her pockets, but her eyes were sad. “Not someone independent, anyway.”

“What about Hannah?” Jake said, more insistently. “She’s supposed to be healing him. She-”

“You’re the one she’s staying with,” I said. “So, what do you think? Is she taking it seriously?”

Jake scowled, forcing himself deeper into the cushions of his chair. He knew - it was written all over his face. I hadn’t expected him to take Greyson’s ever-increasing plight so seriously. Then again, he was the one who’d introduced me to the crotchety old finder. “I...yeah. I think she is,” he said, more quietly. “She’s plenty tired when she gets home. And she’s responsible enough.” His chin lifted. “Maybe Carl’s trying to-”

“I don’t think Carl is trying to screw us over,” I said. “I really don’t. He could have just let us dig a hole for ourselves with Noah’s crew. He didn’t. And I really do think he likes having a bit of stability around.”

“I guess,” Jake mumbled. His face turned to the side, resolutely away from us.

“What does this mean for us?” Loren said. Her face was white as a sheet, and even from where I stood I could see her hands begin to tremble. “W-Without him keeping an eye out, they might come back, right? Hunters. And you were talking about-”

“I don’t think you have to worry about Anke,” Aedan said.

Again, we stopped, turning to face him. He’d spoken earlier in the conversation, but there was a difference in his tone that couldn’t be ignored. Before, he’d sounded as carefree and feisty as ever, more looking for a fight than trying to talk. Now, though, there was a serious note under the words that was all business.

“Isn’t she the one who hired Glenn’s crew?” I said slowly. “And she was trying to get in on chasing Matt towards here?” I shook my head, still running the whole mess over in my head. “She’s chasing you. And here you are. Give a halfway decent explanation for what the hell you’re doing sitting here like everything’s fine, Aedan.”

He made a face, turning away. His ears were beginning to glow. “She’s already screwed the pooch once, is all. She got caught out, after she set Glenn on you. Since you’re alive, she’ll assume that you know it’s her. She’s more careful than to try that a second time. For a while, anyway. I’ll be out of here by then.”

“What?” Keira said, twisting to face him.

“Just for a while,” I heard him murmur, offering her a tiny smile.

“And, what,” I said, fighting back the urge to snap. “Let me guess - you’re still not going to give us anything more to go off than that.”

He looked back to me, shrugging. “Seriously, you’re fine. She and I go back a ways, that’s all. It has nothing to do with you.”

“That’s every bit as big a pile of bullshit as it was back when-”

“You need to watch for Noah before you even start to worry about Anke,” Aedan said, cutting me off. Any hint of a smile slipped from his lips, leaving his expression cold and sharp. “You’ve cost them a lot - money as well as pride. They’re not just going to forget about that.”

“No one thinks they will,” Brendon muttered. His fists were balled up, planted firmly on the table. And then he stood, pushing the chair back with a clatter. “I think I’ll go catch up with Tyler and Kai,” he said, his voice hoarse. “It looks nice outside.”

It was absolutely freezing, in fact, as he damn well knew. But if he needed to clear his head, I wasn’t going to stand in his way. “Have fun,” I said, raising one hand in a wave.

The sound of footsteps against the linoleum brought me spinning around. Loren was on her feet too, following behind Brendon. “I’ll come with you,” she said, her voice low. “Maybe Kai just needs to talk.”

Or maybe she just wanted to talk to Brendon. I smothered a smile, shivering at the cold that rushed into the living room at their departure. Tyler and Kai were probably still arguing it out. I’d hoped that having the outer layer of his skin burned off would have made Kai a little more cautious. He was a bit skittish lately, it was true - but when your powers involved throwing fireballs, being jumpy wasn’t much better than being careless.

Any amusement I might have felt at Loren’s quick escape was dashed at the sight of Jake’s face. He stared at the door they’d disappeared through, his lips curling downward. Finally, he shook his head. “I should check on Hannah,” he muttered, grabbing his coat and surging to his feet. “S-She’s probably tired.”

“We could make room for you two in the house,” I said weakly. “Probably.”

He laughed under his breath. “Where, exactly? Sharing a room with you? No, thank you. And I don’t think Hannah wants to bunk with the masses either.”

“I guess. Have a good night, then.” There was nothing else I could say. I knew what his real issue was, and there was nothing at all I could do to help with that. He flashed me a morose smile, pulling his collar higher and vanishing into the dark.

The sudden departures left the room feeling suddenly empty and too-quiet. Spike leaned back into my ankles, whining. I leaned over to scratch his ears. Amber and Nox sat in one corner. She’d pulled her phone out again, but Nox watched me with wide eyes. On the other side, Keira and Aedan still sat side by side, pressed together.

I drew in a long, unsteady breath, glancing back to Nox and Amber. I’d been wanting to talk to Aedan for a while - alone. But he’d been nothing if not flighty, and it was just the two of them. Well, and Keira, but she probably had a right to hear it too.

The two mercenaries probably wouldn’t talk, I decided. It’d have to do.

“Aedan, can-”

“Man, it’s getting late,” Aedan said, speaking in the same instant. One arm stretched over his head, stick-thin and pale. The other masked a yawn.

A yawn I didn’t trust at all. He was on his feet in a flash, stepping towards the hallway with a grace that didn’t mesh with his supposed exhaustion.

“Aedan.”

“Night, Jon.”

“Stop.” This time, there was the barest hint of a command in my words - not enough to piss him off, hopefully. Just enough to slow him down. Or so I hoped.

He twitched, his upper half continuing as his legs froze in place. For a single instant, the horrible thought that he might topple over entirely ran through my head.

And then he wheeled to face me, crossing his arms. “Excuse me? What do you think you’re doing?” he snapped. His eyes were narrowed slits, angry and intense.

I jerked my chin towards the couch, where Keira still sat motionless. “Sit down.”

“I told you. I’m tired. I want to go to-”

“Can we stop playing games already?” I said, keeping my tone carefully neutral. Talking to Aedan was already an exercise in self-control. It’d probably wind up in an argument regardless, but I at least had to try.

He stopped. For a second, he almost looked...guilty. And then he looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you want to accuse me of something, try harder.” But despite his words, he flopped back down on the couch beside Keira. “So. What, Jon?”

I eyed him, taking it all in - the calculating way he looked at me, the grey bags under his eyes. I’d come to know the man well enough, over the last few months. I knew a bit about the way he worked, the way he thought, and I’d learned enough to know that Aedan didn’t do much if he didn’t think he was getting something out of it.

He’d gotten food and a bed from us, for a while. A warm bed. But Aedan was old. Ancient. He could find other ways to get food and shelter, and I didn’t doubt that he’d had plenty of sordid excitement in his day.

No, he was here for something else. Something more.

“Why don’t you start by telling us what you’re really after?” I said.