Page 36 of Oracles Always Win

Nelsonmade the best coffee.Itwas as dark and strong as his magic.WhenIreached the bottom of my mug,Nelsoncleared his throat.

“Weneed a plan,” he said.

“Youalready have one, don’t you?”

Heshrugged.Theshadow jumper always had a plan.Ifigured it had to do with his magic.Whenyou lived in the shadows, you needed to know where those shadows were and how to get to them.Sometimeshe took too many risks with his own safety, but so far, he’d always come through.

“Letme get another cup and you can tell me about it.”

Assoon asIwas back at the table with a fresh cup,Inodded forNelsonto begin.

“ThewayIsee it, we have three problems.Oneis to confirm the extent of the wolves’ involvement withBabette’soperation.Thesecond is to figure out what’s happened with the rest of those boxes and get the stuff back where it belongs.And, lastly, we need to help that bartender.Ifsomeone has messed with his magic, we can’t leave him like that.”

Inodded. “Okay.Iagree.”

“Thefirst two are linked andIfigure the best way to find out more is to do some recce.”Hepaused for a moment and met my eyes.Iknew whatever he was going to suggestIwouldn’t like. “I’llgo to the wolf pack and look around.”

“It’stoo dangerous.”Iset my coffee down harder thanIplanned, but what he was suggesting was risky, even riskier than his norm. “They’llbe able to scent you even if they can’t see you.”

“I’vebeen working withTeagueandAdrian.Teague’scome up with a scent blocker strong enough to foolAdrian’swolf.IfIcan hide from him, a wolf who knows my scent,Ican hide from any wolf.”

“Whatif it wears off?Whatif it rains or you sweat?”Icrossed my arms. “Idon’t like it.”

Nelson’smouth twitched.Hewas usually the stoic one, the one who didn’t like to reveal his feelings.Seeinghis mouth move even that much told me he appreciated my concern for him more than he would ever admit out loud. “Iknew you wouldn’t, but it’s the best we’ve got.Ifit helps, the forecast says we’re in for a sunny day but only moderate temperatures.”

“It’dbe better ifIwent to the wolf pack.Ican transport myself in and out before they even knowI’mthere, andI’mstrong enough to defend myself against the whole pack ifIneed to.”

“Nope,”Nelsonshook his head. “Youneed to help that bartender.Isaw how you two were eyeing one another up.Imight have misspoken whenIsaid whatIsaid about you and him last night, but it is obvious you’re attracted to him.Youhave an edge in dealing with him that the rest of us don’t.Heneeds help.Youare the best person to do that.”

Ididn’t say anything.DidIwant to reconnect withJake?Absolutely.I’dspent most of last night thinking of all the waysIwanted to touch and taste him.Ihad already decidedIwould see him today.Ijust hadn’t expectedNelsonto point me inJake’sdirection and saygo.

“Helphim,Gage.It’swhat you do.”

“Itwas strange,”Iadmitted. “WhenItouched him,Icouldn’t sense the nature of his magic.Withhim being an oracle, it should have been prominent, but it wasn’t.”

“You’vehelped all of us.Noneof us would be where we are without you.”Nelson’sfingers tightened around his mug.Itwas the only sign he was remembering how the two of us met. “You’reattracted to him, sure, butIbet you are also itching to help him.”

Iwasn’t surprised he’d noticed my interest inJake—both his problematic magic and the man himself.I’dbeen drawn to him, right from the start, and my reaction wasn’t typical.Notfor me.

It’dled me to impossible, crazy thoughts in the middle of the night.

Thoughtsthat sounded a lot likewasJakemy mate?

Iwasn’t ready to admit that one aloud yet, butIcouldn’t ignore my unusual fixation on the guy.Ifhe really was my mate,Ihad to think carefully about what that might mean for me.Asingle person wasn’t enough of a tether for a demon, and ifIbecame the tether for his oracle powers andIsnapped… he would be in a worse situation than he was now.

“Didyou talk this over with the others?”

Henodded.

“Becauseyou know the drill.OnceIcommit to helping someone,IdoubtI’llbe able to stop.”Mydemonic nature made me a good investigator, but it also made me a liability whenIbecame fixated on someone or something.IfJakedidn’t offer me anything in return for my help—and without knowing he was a supe or what that meant, why would he?—it would deplete my magic to fix his, which would leave my team weak.Theywere already vulnerable enough withDavinaandTeaguestill away.

“Wetalked.Weall agree.Wearen’t expecting any confrontations right away while we’re gathering information.Thereshould be time to replenish your magic before anything happens.”

Inodded.Thenmy thoughts drifted back to the strange wayIwas drawn to the magic inWillowLake.Goingto town to helpJakewas a good excuse to explore the magic there too.

“Fine.I’llcheck on the oracle, butIwant regular updates.”Istared at him until he nodded. “Takeone of the bikes.HaveIsaacdrop you off and he can stay close.Theminute something doesn’t feel right, get out of there.Bothof you.”

“Youwant me to ride bitch,”Nelsonsaid slowly. “BehindIsaac.”