I burst through the bathroom door ignoring the smack it made against the wall.
"Guys check me out." I blinked at them a few times waiting for the words of praise to come past their lips.
"As much as I don't mind checking you out," Ben winked, "where am I supposed to be looking?"
I growled and blinked faster at Damon, hopefully the investigator could understand a clue.
"Are you having a seizure? You might want to cover your legs. It gets cold at night."
"You guys are terrible." I blew out a breath and stepped back into the bathroom. what did my legs have to do with my cool eyes? Then I saw my reflection. My inner light dimmed and blew out leaving nothing for them to see. I sighed. Light and magic played tricks and I happened to be dead on my feet. Maybe I imagined it.
Dwelling on things never allowed one to move forward. So move forward I would. My bed called to me. Singing sweet promises of deep relaxing sleep and warm embrace.
I trudged to it, my limbs felt like concrete and I refused to do anything else. I flopped into its open arms with a dull thud.
"Did she just die?" Ben looked to Damon.
"Nope, just ran out of battery."
"I'm surprised her spunky package didn't fall sooner."
"Yeah, she is full of surprises."
I heard the click of the light and my place went dark except for the light coming in from the once bloody window. I shifted slightly on my pillow and snuggled into Luna's fur. She purred and at last I surrendered to sleep grateful to give up the battle.
It felt like seconds before my alarm went off and I groaned. I reached for it and enjoyed the few swears coming for my roommates. Music to my ears.
I did my best impression of a vampire rising from the grave. Because why not? Life's too short to be boring.
I surveyed my humble home looking for a place to walk to the kitchen and find some food. The homemade bread sat on the counter but I doubted these men would be happy with some toast.
I stood and froze. "Luna," I scoffed. "You are such a traitor."
She laid curled on Damon's chest her nose tucked under her fluffy tail.
I narrowed my eyes at Damon and ignored his disheveled and very attractive morning appearance. I found my front door unlocked it, disarmed the magic, and opened it wide.
"Wait." Damon whispered. "What am I supposed to do with Luna and where are you going?"
"I wouldn't recommend moving her. She is all teeth and nails in the morning. Might mess up your face worse than it already is." I lied.
"Do you need some help?" Ben offered.
"I'm sure I can manage a few food stuffs."
"You sure?" He flexed his arm muscles and the arms of his t-shirt practically became a second skin. "I'm good at carrying things."
I pinched the bridge of my nose and showed lifted my palm in and effort to stop him.
"I'll be fine. Give me five minutes."
I jogged down the stairs and found my coffee on the back counter of the kitchen. Lila always had it waiting and ready for me. Magic. She usually waited for me but she must be busy with Morse.
I scooped up the cup and sipped. Slightly cold, I'm sure for my antics the night before. Still delicious. I hurried and grabbed a basket and went into the walk in refrigerator. I grabbed eggs, some fresh veggies, some homemade cheese, milk, and some ham.
Omelettes would have to do. I grabbed another loaf of bread and hurried back up. I would go to the roof sometime today and gather what I had taken. I enjoyed going up there. Lila called it her rooftop farm and I called it the food maker. The neighbors on the street lent Lila theirs in exchange for fresh produce. It worked out well and probably kept a lot of people fed that wouldn't have done so well without it.
I navigated the way to my place and smiled. The place had already been picked up and luna sat in her favorite window.
"I see you still have your eyes." I placed my bounty on the counter and grinned.
"I didn't believe the untruths about Luna in the first place."
Ben laughed. "Sure you didn't. Need some help?"
"Sure can you chop up the veggies for me? I'm going to start the egg mixture. Cutting board is under the counter by the sink and the knife block is over there."
"I can help as well." Damon walked the two feet into the kitchen and the whole space shrunk.
"Yeah," I swallowed. "Grab the bread and slice some for toast please."
We worked quietly and like a well oiled machine. My stomached growled and I flushed.
"Don't worry about it. I don't mind growling in the morning. I'm pretty hungry myself."
"Better her stomach then the snoring from last night." Damon grumbled.
"I don't snore."
"Yeah, and I'm not standing in your kitchen making toast."
I looked to Ben to see if Damon's words held merit.
"You do snore, but its cute."
"Yeah, cute like baby demon." Damon offered.
I closed my mouth. I'd never seen a baby demon. Their race had a bad reputation in the world before we all joined together. They rarely if ever came out of their pocket realm.
"Whatever."
I slid the last omelet onto the place and brought it to the table. The toast made a buttery tower on one plate and I managed to find some orange juice in my fridge. Score one for Lila and her insistence that I couldn't drink just coffee.
"Wow, this is pretty good." Ben grinned at me.
"I like the toast, the other isn't bad."
Jokes on him. I happened to have made the bread. He didn't need to know that though. Messed with my tough girl image. I enjoyed cooking just hated the time it took. I had places to be and people to find.
"We need to get a move on. You guys can shower while I clean up. Then we can get to work."
"We can help clean up. After all you did the cooking." Ben seemed to pretty good about sharing duties.
"I appreciate it. Damon you go first."
We made quick work of the dishes and put away the rest of the ingredients in the fridge. I'd probably need it again. Damon came out followed by a billow of steam and Ben went next.
I waited for the shower to turn on and Ben to start singing something Country in the shower before I spoke.
"Why are you guys really here?"
"You stink of magic Katherine. It's coming off so strong I'm worried what kind of attention it will attract. It doesn't make me feel any better that Mary was discovered right next to where you live."
"I've always been fine."
"I know. I need to tie up some things at the office. I'll have to meet you later."
He stood and made his way out of my home. It felt bigger but way less warm. I enjoyed the company. Ben came out of the bathroom fully dressed and looking like some sort of heart throb.
"My turn." I grabbed some clothes and rushed past him. These men were going to make me crazy.
I stripped and turned. I froze and looked at the mirror. My eyes were glowing again and elaborate script flowed across my back.
"I need to see Old Man Han."
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