“Which means it could take some time so we need more macadamia nuts,” Ruby added.
Abel growled.
“And some beer,” Moose threw in, prowling toward the window, which meant prowling toward the bowl of nuts.
Abel caught Delilah’s eyes and growled again.
“Yuri, son, can’t she zap it with a wand or somethin’?” Hook asked.
“I’ve no idea,” Yuri returned. “I’m a vampire, not a witch. And no offense intended, Hook, but I’m six hundred and fifty years older than you so I’m far from your son.”
Aurora let out a nervous giggle.
“You get me though, yeah?” Hook asked.
“I do, indeed, get you,” Yuri replied, and Aurora let out another nervous giggle, this one she stifled.
“Honey,” Delilah said softly, and Abel watched her lean toward Aurora. “My man is two hundred years old. He’s lived his entire life around humans. Humans he watched being born and fell in love with. Then he watched them grow until they grew old and died. He only found out he had an immortal brother a few days ago. A brother who’s been looking out for him. A brother who could be in his life for the rest of it, which is a very long time. This is tough on him. If that stuff isn’t ready yet, maybe we should go so he could turn his mind to other things.”
Abel wanted to kiss her, but instead, for some reason, he looked to Jian-Li, who was sitting in a chair positioned at the end of the couches.
She was watching Delilah, her face soft, her eyes a mixture of warm, happy, and melancholy. But finally, since Delilah showed in their lives, the warm and happy were winning out.
“I—” Aurora started, then cried, “Oh! It’s happening!”
Abel tensed and Delilah shot back and leaned into his side, her hand coming out to grip his knee.
A poof of gray, green, and red smoke exploded out of the bowl with some green and red sparks. It lifted up, floating straight into the air before it disbursed at the ceiling.
Aurora leaned over the bowl.
“I…wait…but…oh no!” she cried and looked to her mother. “He’s blocked us!”
“Fuck,” Abel snarled.
“Goddammit!” Hook burst out.
“Let me see,” Barb said, leaning forward too. Attention never leaving the bowl, she lifted her hand her daughter’s way, palm up. “Athame, sweetheart.”
Immediately, Aurora reached for a knife on the table and handed it to her mother. Barb used the tip of the blade to stir the liquid in the bowl and they both mumbled over it.
Then Abel saw it happening and knew Delilah did too because he heard her gasp.
The image of a compass formed, undulating with the liquid but looking like it was spinning.
Barb pulled the knife out.
“There it is, there it is,” she whispered. “There!” she exclaimed.
He leaned forward, Delilah leaned with him, he felt everyone gather around them and lean in too, and in the bowl they saw a street map.
“Drat! He’s cloaked,” Aurora snapped.
“What’s that in the bowl?” Delilah asked.
Aurora sat back and lifted her eyes to Delilah. “A street map. Where he is. It should pinpoint him with some kind of beacon, but it isn’t. We just have that street map and nothing further. And that map could be anywhere.”
Abel heard a camera click and looked up to see Chen had taken a picture of the map with his phone.
He wandered away, head bent to his phone, muttering, “Let me see what I can do with this.”
“Use Abel.”
Abel’s head jerked back to look at Yuri, who said these words.
“I’m sorry?” Jian-Li asked.
Yuri looked to her. “Aurora said if she touched Abel, she could find his brother.” He cast his eyes down to Aurora. “Use Abel, my sweet.”
“He’s so digging on her,” Delilah whispered to no one, her lips tipped up, her gaze on Yuri.
“Use me,” Abel said, and Delilah turned her attention to him.
“I…well, I already did. I used your blood,” she told him.
“Try again,” he replied.
“Um…are you sure?” Aurora asked.
“Would it harm him?” Jian-Li asked.
“No, but it could take even more time,” Aurora answered. “I only didn’t suggest it before because the potion had been marinating and, as you know, should have produced results a while ago.”
Abel stood. “Use me.”
Aurora pressed her lips together, straightened from the couch, and moved to him.
“If we’re lucky, this will go fast. But if he’s blocked us, it may take a while,” she shared.
“Whatever,” he muttered. “Just do it.”
“Ladies, let’s help her out,” Barb called, moving from the couch to come close to where Aurora joined Abel.
Delilah stood and backed away to give them room as Aurora took his hand and led him to an open area. The other witches circled them.
“Ready?” Aurora asked.
“Yep,” he answered.
She nodded.
Then they started. Lifting their hands, all of them, they began chanting. It was disjointed at first, then they got it together and chanted as one.
It turned out Aurora was right.
It did not go fast. Green and red sparkling motes drifted up from their hands and floated all around Abel, but nothing happened.
They kept chanting and the motes kept coming, floating, blinking out, and disappearing.
More chanting. More motes. More nothing.
This went on for what felt like fucking ever and Abel trained his eyes on Delilah.