Agatha
"I should go home soon," I say as Penelope picks up another of the Mage's journals. She's trying to find if there's any mention of what the Mage did with Simon after Lucy died.
"You're welcome to stay here tonight. You can have Simon's room and I can make Shepard sleep on the sofa- if he ever gets back," she adds as she looks at the time on her phone again. He was supposed to be back a half hour ago and hasn't been responding to Penelope's texts. I told her he's probably still on the Tube and doesn't have reception.
I clear my throat. "I mean home to California."
Penelope looks up at me. "Why? You just got here."
"You know I only came here to get my wand and visit my parents for a few days. I never planned on staying longer. I would have left already, but I wanted to help Simon find out the truth about Lucy," I explain.
"Yeah, but we still need to figure out why Watford was attacked again and this page Shepard is getting translated could be the answer!" She's looking at me excitedly. I swear she and Simon should start a new Scooby Gang with all the mysteries they take it upon themselves to solve.
I sigh. "I know Penelope, but I never came back to be a detective. That's what you and Simon do. And I guess Baz now, too. I just want to get back to my normal life with my Normal friends."
"But you're part of the team Agatha! What if we need you to flirt with someone to get information again?" she asks, raising her eyebrows at me.
"Again? When have I ever flirted with someone to get information?" I challenge, folding my arms across my chest.
Penelope turns to look back at the journal in her lap. "Baz got a very interesting text from Dev yesterday..." she starts. "He said you promised to meet him outside the club if he helped distract your mum." Penelope's face breaks out in the smuggest smile I've ever seen.
I narrow my eyes at her playfully. "If I promise to stay a few more days- and I really only mean a FEW more days Penelope- will you promise never to speak of that again?"
She reaches her hand out to me. I shake it as she says "Deal."
"Ok then. Hand me the journal over there with the information on the Humdrum. I think I saw something yesterday about Simon in there." She passes it to me and I lean back against the sofa on the floor.
I'm about halfway through the journal when Shepard calls from downstairs. Penelope buzzes him in and unlocks the front door to the flat.
When Shepard walks in, he's rubbing his eyes as if he has a migraine. He looks tired.
Penelope either doesn't notice or doesn't care because the first words out of her mouth are "What did Jack say?"
"He had meetings all day, but he said he should be able to get back to me after work. With the time difference, that may be closer to midnight." He starts rubbing both of his temples in small circles.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
"I have a bad headache. I guess I didn't drink enough water or something," he says as he puts the laptop bag down and pulls out the journal to return to Penelope.
"Do you want me to spell it away?" Penelope asks, already picking up her gem from the table.
"No, I'm not sure that would work anyway. I think I'll just go lie down for a bit if you guys don't mind." Penelope frowns and drops her hand as he walks over to Simon's room. I go and get him a glass of water and pull a bottle of aspirin out of my purse.
"Here," I say as I place the glass and pills on the nightstand next to Simon's bed. "Let us know if you need anything else." I walk back to the living area to sit with Penelope and close the bedroom door behind me.
Simon
"Baz really- I'm fine," I say from the shower. I peek around the curtain and see him standing in the doorway with his arms folded.
"You're sure? I could go hunting later. After you're asleep," he says as I go back to rinsing off.
I know he's worried about me after everything we discovered today at the cottage. There's been a lot of that lately. One of us finds out a horrible thing about our past, the other isn't sure what to say, and then we work through our feelings by snogging. Hopefully we can get out of this pattern. Except the snogging. I definitely don't mind that part.
I turn the water off when I'm finished and dry off. I wrap the towel I'm using around my waist and step out of the shower.
Baz takes me in for a moment and I see his mouth open slightly. I walk up to him and slip my fingers through the belt loops on his trousers and gently tug him towards me. I lean up and kiss him deeply, feeling his lips warm under mine. He unfolds his arms and puts them around my back, holding me closer.
A few minutes later, I feel him pull his face away and lean his forehead against mine.
"Yeah I should probably go now," he says a little out of breath.
I move my head and kiss his cheek. "Wake me when you get back?" I whisper.
Baz smiles and then forces himself to turn around and walk out.
I put on some pajama bottoms and one of Baz's old football uniform shirts before I start looking around the kitchen for something to eat. As usual, I'm starving.
When I open the fridge, Baz's old uni schedule falls off the door. I'm about to put it back up with a magnet when I see a familiar photo that was hidden behind it.
I lean over to get a closer look. It's the picture we found when I cornered Baz in the Mage's office. It's a photo of him in the Watford nursery with his mum holding his hand.
He looks so different in the photo- not just because he's so young, but because he wasn't a vampire yet. His life would be so different if the Mage- if my father hadn't…
I turn around and toss Baz's old schedule in the rubbish bin and reach for the stack of photos from the cottage sitting on the counter. I find the one of my mother holding me and place it on the fridge next to the photo of Baz. His mother is to his right and mine is to my left. The photos are just barely overlapping so that Baz's free hand looks like it's reaching out to me.
The boys in these photos had so much ahead of them to lose, but I smile knowing that they found each other in the end.
Penelope
"Here!" Agatha calls out, pointing to a journal page. I move to read it over her shoulder.
Martin informed me that there are small places around Britain where magic has started disappearing- almost like a hole. He and a team of magical scientists are looking into it. They don't seem too concerned yet. The holes are only about the size of an acre. But I fear this is a warning sign of the dangers to come.
Simon's not ready. I haven't seen him do any magic since before Christmas, and that was over two months ago. I need to keep him tucked safely away until his magic comes back- away from any mages who could discover his power and use it against our world.
"Simon said he was left at a children's home in March of 1998. That's when the Mage must have first tried to hide him," I say scanning the page again.
We hear a thud come from Simon's room and then loud footsteps. Shepard bursts through the door and yells "We have to get to Simon and Baz! Now!"
Baz
I park my car outside my flat. I was going to call Simon on the way back to see if he wanted me to bring him anything to eat, but I forgot my mobile in my bedroom. I haven't had time to shop for groceries since we've been back and even a fully stocked pantry can't satisfy Snow for more than a few days. I ended up picking up a few snacks for him, though, when I stopped at a petrol station tonight.
I grab the bag of food from the front seat and start heading towards the building. I pick up my pace when I start thinking of where I left off with Snow in the bathroom. It's not until I'm on the last flight of stairs when I smell it.
Blood. Specifically, Simon's blood.
I drop the bag I'm holding and run the rest of the way up. When I get to the landing, I think my heart stops beating. My door is halfway open and the Sword of Mages is lying on the ground outside of it. There's a small smattering of blood on the floor, too. I already know it's Snow's.
"Simon!" I yell, as I slam the door open. I pull out my wand and race through the flat. There's no one here.
I find my mobile resting on the dresser- 12 missed calls from Bunce. Almost as soon as I've picked it up it starts buzzing again.
"Baz? Are you with Simon? Are you ok?" Bunce nearly yells into the phone. She sounds like she's in a car.
"He's gone. Simon's gone." I feel the room start to spin as the panic takes over.
"We're almost there. Hang on," Bunce says into my ear.