Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(13)

“Gabriel, have you met Alexa?” Brogan was all smiles, clearly used to his sullen teenage behavior.

At last he met my eyes. With a half nod, he said, “You have a pretty wild reputation. How much of it is true?”

“I guess that depends what everyone’s saying about me.” I shrugged. He was curious and trying hard to prove that I didn’t intimidate him. I had to admire his grit.

“Did you really make a vampire’s head explode?” He asked with undisguised interest.

I stifled a laugh. “Yes. Several.”

“And, did you really kick a demon’s ass?”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.” My expression turned sour. Hoping to redirect the conversation away from demon talk, I pulled my laptop out of its bag and slid it across to him. “So, you think you can do this? I’m completely lost.”

“I’ll give it a shot.” Gabriel’s mood lightened, and he grabbed the laptop eagerly. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”

He peered through a fringe of long, dyed-black hair. I waited impatiently while he clicked around on the keyboard. I had swiped those files months ago. Judging by how heavily encrypted they were, there had to be something worth finding on them.

“Oh yeah,” Gabriel murmured after several minutes had passed. “These are definitely spelled somehow. It doesn’t feel like serious magic, though. I’m sure I can break it.”

“What do you need?” Brogan asked, awaiting instruction.

“Maybe a gemstone. Lapis Lazuli should work.”

Brogan grabbed a large black box from a shelf and began to dig through the padded display boxes inside. I watched her with a knot in my stomach. Close to finally finding out what information Veryl had been hoarding, I was as excited as I was anxious since I expected to discover something I would rather not know.

“Here.” Brogan placed a royal blue stone next to Gabriel. It was the size of a small egg, streaked with gold that glinted brightly despite the low lighting in the back room.

“What does that do?” I asked, eyeing up the stone.

“It’s a truth stone,” Brogan explained. “It helps set the truth free.”

Gabriel ran a hand over the smooth edges of the stone. It responded to his touch by glowing a deep but vibrant blue. The room grew warm with Gabriel’s strong energy. I was drawn to it, unable to tear my gaze from him as softly spoken Latin tumbled from his lips.

After a moment, he paused, staring at the computer screen. I grew restless. I wanted to see it for myself. He shook his head and muttered a few obscenities.

“I’m surprised that didn’t work,” he mused. “The spell that was used is stronger than I thought. Let me try something else.”

Tapping his fingers against the tabletop, Gabriel’s thoughtful gaze fell upon me. I raised a brow in question, but his expression remained unchanged. He began to speak the words again, slower this time. Again, the stone glowed, brighter this time. I sensed a shift in the atmosphere, the build-up before a transfer of energy. Was it working?

Without so much as a stutter or a stall in his words, Gabriel leaned across the table and grabbed my hand. He uttered the last word, and an intense ticklish sensation shot up my arm. Our energy merged into one, directed by Gabriel’s spell. The crystal responded with a bright cerulean light that was nearly blinding.

“Sorry,” he said with a sheepish grin. He released my arm and turned the laptop toward me. “I needed a bigger energy source than myself. You’re obviously the natural choice. But, I think it worked.”

I dragged the computer over with the eagerness of a kid on Christmas morning. Holding my breath, I clicked the first file of the dozen or so. It opened without issue. I almost squealed with glee.

“Thank you,” I gushed. “You’re a lifesaver. I owe you one, Gabriel. Seriously.”

He sat back in his seat with a nonchalant shrug, but I could see that he was pleased with himself. “Sure. It was no problem. With power like yours, you could easily do stuff like this on your own. If you learned a few spells.”

“No thanks.” I smiled. “I’ll leave that to you guys. Spells are really not my thing. I’m more of a point and shoot kind of gal.”

I poured through the file, finding a blueprint of the FPA building as well as information on how to access the various entrances. That could be handy, as long as the FPA remained in that building. Clicking on another file, I was surprised to discover a copy of what appeared to be a contract. Raoul’s signature caught my eye, and my heart began to pound.

Without another look at the document, I backed up all of the files online and closed the laptop. This stuff was better viewed in private, where I could freely exhibit an emotional response to whatever I might find.

“I should go.” Gabriel stood up and stretched his lanky body. “If I’m late again, my mom is going to shit a brick.”

“How is she taking everything?” Brogan asked with a gentle smile. “Any better?”

“Nah, not really. I’m forbidden to do magic in the house. She’s been pretty freaked out since she caught me floating the cat.” Gabriel chuckled. “I’m glad that’s all she caught me doing.”

Brogan’s smile faltered, but she carefully twitched it back into place before the boy could notice. “Well, be careful. She’s freaked out because she cares about you. Don’t give her a reason to worry, and she’ll come around.”