My parents leave, and Eziah and I wait for our taxi. And man, do we get some strange stares from the taxi driver? We didn’t think that through very well. Leaving the cemetery covered in dirt looks pretty guilty and suspicious.
We get out at the back of the casino to sneak into the underground car park and use the elevator to go straight to the apartment.
Once inside, we both shower and get changed into fresh clothes. I give Eziah some of Jonah’s before I chuck our clothes in the washing machine. Within seconds of hiding all the evidence of our outing, Jonah steps in. Eziah is going through one of the books taken from the Moon Goddess realm.
“Kyan said you would be here,” Jonah says. He looks at Eziah nervously. The windows still haven’t been fixed, but I know they would be worried about the hotel room first since this room isn’t supposed to be occupied with us going back to the manor.
“Eziah,” Jonah says, nodding his head at my brother.
Things are a little strange between them and I’m not sure if it is because of Kyan’s unease knowing Eziah is here or if he is suspicious. I go with suspicion as he plucks the book from Eziah’s hand.
“Why are you looking at spells and curses?”
Eziah shrugs. “Mom gave me homework,” Eziah lies smoothly with a shrug before snatching it back off him.
“Did you pack what you wanted to take with you?” Jonah asks, and I shake my head as he moves toward his room. He grabs a few changes of clothes and packs them, along with our phone chargers. He is awfully quiet, which makes me worry. Grabbing my pajamas, I place them in his bag when he leans down next to me.
“You’re up to something,” Jonah whispers.
“I will tell you when I am sure,” I tell him.
“Eziah knows this secret obviously,” Jonah murmurs, and I nod. “Kyan knows you’re up to something. He called me earlier, wanting to know why Eziah was in the city,” Jonah says, slinging the bag over his shoulder.
“What did you say?” I ask him.
“That you were having lunch and hanging out? I trust you, but if you need help with something, please ask,” Jonah says.
“Just not yet. I want to be sure,” I tell him.
“Come on then, I want to get to the manor before Kyan comes looking for us. I don’t think it is good for him to see your brother right now, not so soon after Lucas,” I agree and follow him out.
“Stay away from the windows. You know where everything is, so help yourself. I will drop Mara off in the morning so you can do whatever it is you are both up to,” Jonah tells him.
Eziah smirks and nods, grabbing the remote from the coffee table and turning the TV on. Jonah walks out and I give my brother my key in case he leaves to go anywhere.
“Had a thought,” Eziah says, and I stop while Jonah continues out the door.
“What?” I ask him.
“Dominic did the spell right, from that grimoire?”
“I think so,” I whisper, raising a suspicious eyebrow at him.
“Then wouldn’t he have it? You need to check the manor?” Eziah says, which makes sense. For him to have used the spell, he had to have known it, meaning he had to have a grimoire.
“I’ll find it,” I tell him.
“I will see if I can find anything in these books tonight. And I will see you in two days, maybe see if you can borrow a car,” Eziah says, and I sigh.
“Jonah works tomorrow. He will let us… wait, why two days?” Eziah chuckles.
“You will be preoccupied, you’ll see,” he laughs, waving me off to go home. I purse my lips, annoyed he won’t tell me. Shaking my head, I leave to find Jonah waiting by the elevator.
“Ready?” he asks.
“Yeah, let’s go home,” I tell him, grabbing his hand.
Marabella
When we return home, Kyan is in a strange mood, and I know it is because Eziah is in the City. Walking into the manor, I can hear the vacuum going upstairs, and Jonah sighs, taking the groceries Kyan asked us to grab on the way home into the kitchen. Carrying the duffle bag, I start walking up the steps to the second floor.
Lucas’s bedroom door is open, and I can see an extension cord running from the power outlet in the hall leading into Lucas’s old room.
Taking the duffle bag to the bedroom, I place it on the bed, knowing there is no point in putting anything away because Kyan will just wait for us to sleep before undoing everything I folded or hung up, only to redo it or hang them in a particular way. So I wait for him and help him.
Hearing the vacuum cut off, I wander back down the hall and over to Lucas’s room. Stopping at the door, I find Kyan is cleaning the room. The bed is freshly made, and I can smell the furniture polish. The old dusty curtains have been replaced with fresh ones, yet the old furniture that Kyan despised so much remains and is polished to look brand new. All of Lucas’s knick-knacks are set back in their original places. And Kyan is now cleaning the window tracks with a microfiber cloth.
Even while cleaning, he is in pristine condition, with not a speck of dust on him, yet he looks different with his white button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. So odd seeing a man of his status doing ordinary, mundane tasks like cleaning window tracks. I knock, not wanting to enter Lucas’s room while he is upset. I have been in here plenty of times when Lucas was alive, but feel it would be wrong to enter without Kyan’s permission.
Lucas was very proud of his baseball card collection and liked to show me them and his comic books that still sit in their plastic wrappers, never opened. It makes me wonder which one is Dominic’s room, though. I know it isn’t on this floor, and there are two more floors. Maybe I can ask Kaif later if he comes forward. If not, I might have to explore a bit. Kyan never minded when I looked around, although I never went to the upper floors unless I went to the Seance room. Kyan looks over his shoulder at me and pulls his latex gloves from his hands.