Page 64 of Oracles Always Win

IwishedIknew.

Gagehad told me about magic this morning, andIhadn’t had enough time to make sense of everything.ButnowIsaw extraordinary things happening all around me.LikewhenCarterJonesambled toward the thickest part of the trees and bushes until he was nearly hidden from view.Thenthe air around him shimmered and suddenly a gigantic bear—the animal kind, not the human kind—appeared whereCarterhad been.Amoment later, there was more shimmering and then a human-shapedCarterwas there again.Hestepped out of the foliage looking better than when he went in.

Igaped as others did the same thing.

Werethey healing themselves like that?Thatwas pretty wild.

Ha.Wild.

Likeawildanimal.

Imight be losing my mind.

Itwas a familiar feeling, oneI’dhoped was behind me.

Butpeople were already looking a lot better than they should in such a short amount of time.Ihad expected more people to be thrown into ambulances and hauled away, but it appeared supernatural beings were a hardy and resilient bunch.Noone had been rushed away yet.

ThankWarholfor that.

Afterthe fire was extinguished andIknew everyone would be okay, it was time to get some answers.Atthe top of the list was finding out if my inn was salvageable.Mylife was tied up with this old place.Ifit was wrecked beyond repair, then everything about my life was going to change again.I’dneed to find somewhere to work and live.Everythinghad been upended when my mother died, andImoved toWillowLake.Inever wanted to go through another life-altering change like that.Itwas too soon to do that all again, but what choice wouldIhave?

“It’stoo dangerous,”Gagesaid.

“I’mnot going inside.Notyet.ButIneed to see.Sure,I’mnot a structural engineer, butIcan look and see if any of the walls on the back side of the inn are still there or not.”

Thedemon frowned but didn’t say anything, although his fingers clenched and unclenched like he wanted to grab me, throw me over his shoulder, and carry me off like he had when the first bomb exploded.

“Youcan come with me, orIcan go alone, butIneed to see.”

Gagenodded abruptly, but before we’d taken two steps,Jeremy,Adrian,Ash, andDillonarrived in a rusty pickup truck.Theyall jumped out.AshandDillonwent toVan, whileJeremyandAdriancame our way.

“Howcan we help?”Adrianasked.

“Mymagic.It’ssupposed to heal, right?That’swhat we think, right?Letme…”Jeremy’sface was ashen as he eyed the injured people sprawled around us.Hisface scrunched up like he was concentrating, then he scowled. “Itisn’t working.Whydoes this freaking magic never work whenIwant it to?”

“Jer,”Adriansaid softly. “It’sokay.Youcan’t force it.”

Gagerested his hand onJeremy’sshoulder.Ididn’t like him touching someone else.Jealousywas a foreign feeling.Ishoved the feeling down because it was clear the touch wasn’t sexual or intimate.Iblamed my out-of-control emotions on my shock.It’dbeen one hell of a day.

“Thereare ways to help without magic,”Gagesaid softly. “Yourpowers are still new and there is much we don’t know about them.It’spossible they can’t help in this situation, so, likeAdriansaid, trying to force it won’t help you or anyone else.”

WhenJeremyfrowned but nodded,Gagereleased his shoulder.Heturned his attention toAdrian. “Webelieve the wolves in the hills are responsible for the bombs?—”

“Bombs?Fuck…”Jeremy’seyes bulged.

“Didyou find out anything in your interviews today?”Gagecontinued, ignoringJeremy’soutburst.

“Nothingsignificant.Iwould have told you before if we had.”Adrianshook his head.Ashe spoke, his gaze tracked the black cloud marring the otherwise beautiful sky.

“That’sfine,”Gagesaid, although the tightness in his jaw suggested he was disappointed with the lack of answers. “Goand findIsaacandNelson.They’vebeen helping.Theycan tell you what still needs to be done.”

Adrianseemed surprised by that, andIsuspected it would normally beGagewho gave orders and directed people.Buthe hadn’t left my side yet, as if he was my new bodyguard.Although, with people apparently out to get me,Iwasn’t complaining.

AdrianandJeremynodded and left us to find the others.Jeremywas still squishing up his face like he was concentrating or constipated as they walked away.Iturned to the inn and moved toward it.

“Whereare you going?”

“Wetalked about this,”Ihuffed. “Ineed to see what it looks like.”