Sin & Spirit (Demigod of San Francisco #4)(61)

“Or else they got on a plane and are no longer in the area.”

Bria shook her head, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Henry was in charge of looking into that possibility, and he does not fail. She’s in the area. Somewhere. We just need to find out where. How’s Mordecai?”

“He’s Mordecai. That guy has been on the brink of death more times than you’d care to hear. He’s crawling his way back to health.” I pushed my cup away and dropped my face into my hands. “I brought this on them. I’m the reason these kids can’t catch a break. I’m the only reason they were in any danger at all.”

“Nah. They were in danger because of Kieran. If you are going to lay danger at someone’s feet, you might as well choose the right pair.”

“Something is going on outside, Lexi,” Jack said quietly, waiting in the corner. His eyes were solemn, his voice subdued—I knew he was responding to the loss of himself. Of his life. The dead mourned, too, maybe more than the living.

I’d offered to push him over the Line, but he felt responsible for Daisy. He wanted to hang around and help. He just didn’t know how.

I turned to find Frank on the grass, his hands on his hips, arguing. He flung his hand at the window, as though talking about someone inside.

“Want me to go sort it out?” Jack asked, and I knew he didn’t want to. That would be admitting he had more in common with Frank than he did with us. The guy was dead; he didn’t need to be depressed too.

“No, it’s fine. Frank only listens to Kieran and me,” I said, sliding off the stool. “You’d just be annoyed.”

A glimmer sparkled in his eye. He stepped forward, flexing his spectral muscles. “We’ll see about that.”

I stopped from huffing. I should’ve used a different excuse. Jack was going through a post-living crisis, but he was still Jack, and he didn’t like being told someone wouldn’t listen to him. Now I would have to pull off the spirit repellent then quickly reapply it before Frank caught wind of the change and decided to make himself at home. The whole exercise still required a lot of effort.

We got outside in time to hear Frank yell, “You don’t belong here, that’s why.”

The other Spirit Walker stood in front of him in human form, his sideburns accenting his strong jaw, his hair pleasantly tousled, and his lips pulled up in a grin. “And I suppose you do?”

“Yeah. That’s right. I do. Her mother asked me to watch out for her.” Frank spread his arms.

“And how have you been doing that, exactly? By yelling at the good guys and running away from the baddies?”

“What’s going on?” I asked. Jack stood at my side, his hands on his hips, flaring his huge biceps.

The Spirit Walker chuckled softly. “Not a thing. I was just waiting patiently for you to stop doing nothing and ask how you could help your kid. Frank was keeping me company.”

“He’s a smug jackass,” Frank said, scowling.

“Kieran can’t be thrilled with how suave and attractive this guy is,” Jack murmured.

The Spirit Walker’s smile intensified. “It’s as if you don’t think I hear you.”

“I wish I didn’t hear you,” Frank replied.

“What did you say about helping my kid?” I asked, motioning for the other two to shut it.

“I said you should ask how you could.” The Spirit Walker slipped his hands into his pockets. “Instead, you’ve been letting your Demigod do all the heavy lifting. He’s making strides—I checked up on him. But he’s not working fast enough. You’re the key to finding her in time, not him.”

“Finding her in time…” I struggled to breathe. I felt a spirit hand on my shoulder, and I didn’t have the heart to tell Jack about the no-touching rule.

“Oops. You’re not gonna wanna do that, haus.” The Spirit Walker made a motion, and even though he didn’t actually touch Jack, Jack pulled his hand away as if he’d been burned. “You’re unintentionally greedy when you just lose your body. You’ll suck up all her energy, and then she can’t go and fix your mistake.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” I said automatically, seeing Jack’s face fall.

“Eh.” The Spirit Walker waggled his hand. “Fifty-fifty. Which is something we need to go over, Lexi—I can call you Lexi, right? I feel like we’re close enough now. You need to learn how to protect yourself from Hades’s minions. But first, there are more important things. Like being a hero.”

“A really smug jackass,” Frank grumbled.

“How?” I asked, ignoring Frank. “And why couldn’t you tell me all this sooner in cat form?”

The Spirit Walker looked around. “Because the damn thing keeps running off on me. I should’ve picked a dog. They aim to please. A big dog, so it’d be easier to find in the jungle you got around here. Anyway, you have a missing person on your hands. I can show you how to locate her.”

“How?” I asked again, blinking away moisture.

“Are you ready for your next lesson?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer before he started walking. At the back of the house, he sat down on the grass and crossed his legs. I followed, my heart pinging around my ribcage. Jack stood off a ways, his arms crossed, with Frank a little behind him, apparently giving him backup. I felt Bria starting out of the house, working her way around to us.