“I’m sure your girlfriend would appreciate me teaching you how to defend yourself,” I said, arching an eyebrow in challenge.
His expression returned to a state of frowning. “Sophia’s not my …” he paused before continuing. “We’re just friends.”
“Well, maybe if you’d like to be more than friends with her, I could help you with—”
“No, Darya,” he interrupted pointedly. “She’s like a sister. I’ve known her since we were two.” I realised he was horrified by the very suggestion. That shouldn’t have pleased me as much as it did.
“Oh. My mistake. I read that wrong then.”
“Does everyone think that I—that we …”
“That you two are banging?” I supplied, and a faint red tinged his cheeks. “I’m not sure. I just always assumed that since you two were together all the time …”
“You and Grace are together all the time,” he countered.
“Right, but I’m not gay, and besides, Grace is infatuated with …” I stopped myself before I finished the sentence, certain my best friend wouldn’t appreciate me revealing her crush on my sister, especially since she now taught at our school.
“Infatuated with who?” Peter questioned, clearly curious.
“Aren’t we supposed to be researching?” I shot back, bringing my attention to the book he’d given me. I focused hard on the text and felt the moment when Peter quit staring at me.
Almost an hour went by before he spoke to me again. “Anything?”
I shook my head. Peter blew out a breath. “Me neither. I’m not sure we’re going to find what we’re looking for in a book.”
“Where else would we find it?”
Peter scratched the side of his head. “I have an acquaintance who runs a stall in the Market Below. We could visit him tomorrow. I think he might be able to help us.”
“What kind of acquaintance?” I asked. The Market Below wasn’t somewhere I typically visited without my parents. It was an underground market where supernatural people peddled their wares. Originally, only vampires operated there, hence the subterranean location. Now, though, all variety of species did their business at the market, but it could be a dangerous place if you crossed paths with the wrong person. Or perhaps looked at them the wrong way.
“His name is Clay Kanumba. He trades spells to people for a price.”
“Maybe I should’ve gone to him in the first place,” I said, worrying my lip. “So, he’s a member of the Kanumba magical family?”
“Sort of.”
My brow furrowed. “What does ‘sort of’ mean?”
“Clay’s father had an affair with a demon, so he’s part warlock, part demon. He was never officially accepted as part of the Kanumbas, but his father insisted on raising him and giving him his name.”
“And you think he’ll be able to tell us what went wrong?”
“If he can’t, then nobody can,” Peter replied as he closed the book he’d been reading and began to tidy up his things. He gathered the stack of books next to me and walked to a shelf across the way to re-shelf them.
“Just leave them at the collection desk. One of the librarians will put them back for you.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind doing it,” he replied, his back turned to me. I took the opportunity to admire his broad shoulders, one of my favourite parts of him.
“Well, would you like a ride home? It’ll save you waiting around for the next bus. It’s been raining out for a while,” I said, glancing at the droplets of water softly trickling down the windowpane.
Peter scratched the back of his neck, and I’d started to notice it was something he did when he was uncomfortable. “Um, no, that’s okay. My house is on the north side. You’d be driving a good deal out of your way.”
“I honestly don’t mind. It’s my fault you’re here right now, so—”
“No, thank you,” Peter said stiffly, and I blinked.
Okay, so he didn’t want a favour from me; that much was clear. Or perhaps he didn’t enjoy the idea of being stuck in a car with me. Either way, he seemed weirdly awkward at my offer, so I didn’t try to push the matter. Instead, I picked up my bag and tried to suppress my hurt feelings.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” I said, and Peter turned his head towards me a fraction.
“Yes, I’ll meet you at the Normand Street entrance to the Market Below at two o’clock.”
“See you there.”
During my drive home, I puzzled over Peter’s refusal to accept a ride from me. How was traipsing all the way to the bus stop in the pouring rain and then suffering through the extra-long journey preferable to sitting in a nice dry car with me? I didn’t get it. I mean, after what happened with the spell, he clearly wasn’t my biggest fan, but still.
When I got home, I found my mother sharing tea with Granddad Martin in the living room. “Darya. It’s so good to see you,” Granddad said, standing to pull me into his arms.