I held my hand up to stop him. I raised my glass to my lips and pounded it. “Don’t tell me,” I said. “Save it for the office tomorrow. Tonight, like you said, we drink.”
15
There was nothing I hated more than the sound of construction in New York City, but it was even worse when it was happening in my own damned head thanks to a hangover the next morning. Somehow I managed to get myself up to the Department, but made sure I loaded up on four cups of high-octane caffeine in the Lovecraft Café first.
My blurriness began to fade about two cups in, but even then, I found myself just staring at piles of paperwork for at least the first forty minutes I was in without having actually done anything with them. As I rallied my brain back to functionality, the sneaking suspicion I was forgetting something important began to creep over me. I almost had it when a shadow at the entrance to my cube reminded me what it was.
“Jane,” I muttered. “Good morning.”
“Is it?” she said, and by the tone of her voice, she wasn’t pleased. A bunch of books and papers were cradled in her arms.
“Honestly?” I asked. “No. My ass is dragging. The ‘memorial’ got a little more indulgent as the night went on.”
“I’ve seen the results already,” she said. “Connor and the Inspectre both look a little rough around the edges.”
“Were you awake when I came in last night?”
“You aren’t sure?” Jane asked, setting down the pile of books and papers in her arms.
I shook my head. “I don’t recall much of anything once I got home. Where were you?”
“I stayed at my place,” she said. “I figured it might be best. . . between you going out and with you having issue with all this emotion tied to using your powers.”
“Sure,” I said, feeling a weird energy between the two of us. “I can understand that.” I patted her pile of books. “What do we have here?”
Jane looked like she was about to say something more regarding us, but turned to the books instead. “I pulled some more materials. Books on water and water-based spells and mythos. I figured they might do some double duty, helping the Inspectre out and maybe me at the same time.”
“Any new developments?” I asked. “With the mark, I mean.”
“My showers are getting longer,” she said, and then gave me a weak smile. “I find myself craving them. I took two last night while you were out, then another one once I went home, and then I got up earlier than I usually do feeling the need to take one more. The longer I go without one, the more lethargic I feel.”
“I think you should come back over to my place tonight,” I said. “I don’t like the idea of you being home alone in this condition.”
Jane stiffened. “You didn’t seem to mind last night,” she said.
“That’s not fair,” I said. “I was mourning with the Inspectre and, well. . . things got out of hand. I’m sorry for that. I guess with all the pressure and my powers acting up, I just needed to cut loose with the guys.”
“I get that,” she said, putting her hand on my head and stroking my hair. “I really do, but it really seemed to freak you out with this whole drawer thing and I don’t want to crowd you while you’re working through your issues. Besides, I can feel this mark making me irritable.”
“Don’t worry about my strange flares,” I said. “I’m working to repress them. I’m more concerned about keeping an eye on you until Allorah Daniels can get us some answers on that mark. I want you over.”
“If you’re sure. . .” Jane reached into her bag and pulled out a package covered in Spider-Man wrapping paper. She laid it down in front of me on my desk.
“What’s this?”
“Open it,” she said.
I grabbed the lunch-box-sized package, unwrapped it, and to my surprise it actually was a lunch box. The sides of it were adorned with familiar faces: Egon, Ray, Winston, Peter, and Slimer.
“Vintage Ghostbusters,” I said. “Keen. But why?”
“I thought I could start making us lunch,” she said. “Bringing it instead of buying it right now.”
Something about the look on her face made me wary. “Okay,” I said. “Sure, but what brought this on?”
“I just thought that with all the budget cuts at the Department, it might be a good idea.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I can just sell off some of my psychometric finds piling up at home. I’ve been meaning to make the time for it somehow.”
“No, really, that’s okay. Just let me do lunch for now.”
“Why are you being so insistent?” I asked. I grabbed both of her hands and made her look at me. “What’s this really about, Jane?”
“It’s just that maybe it might be better if you didn’t read anything with your psychometry right now. Especially if it’s going to cause another emotional flare-up.”
“I have to use it,” I said. “It’s my job. Just give me some time with this. I’m working through it.”
Jane looked crestfallen. “That’s the thing, Simon. I don’t mean to rush you, but I don’t know how much time I have with this mark on me, do I? I’m sorry if that comes off as pushy.”
“I know.” I hugged her close to me. “You need to give us time to figure that out, too,” I said.
Jane nodded against my chest, staying pressed up against me.
A few moments later, a cough at the edge of my cube space had us pulling apart.
Aidan stood there, looking a little paler and more gaunt than usual with a pile of folders in his hands. It was odd seeing him in our offices, especially since I had just been woken up from sunlight pouring into my bedroom not more than an hour ago.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be in your coffin or something?”
“I wanted to make sure Connor and Argyle got back to the office safely from the bar,” he said. “By the time I took care of that, the sun was coming up so I ended up trapped here for the day. Thought I’d get some vampire liaison paperwork done on behalf of Brandon while I’m here. Luckily, your secret offices have no windows.”
“So, it’s totally a myth you need to sleep during the day,” Jane said.
Aidan nodded. “I think it’s more of an attitude thing for most of the vampires,” he said. “The brain needs to turn off every so often, you know? I just think a lot of my people take comfort in a bit of mental downtime.”
“You look a little run-down, too,” Jane said. “No offense. Hangover? Can you even get one?”
“Not really,” he said. “Although I did drink enough to start feeling it before my body kicked in and metabolized it right out of me. I think I’m more run-down because of all the protective runes you guys have carved into the walls around here. I feel. . . practically human.”
He said the word “human” with such distaste that I felt my blood rising at it.
“Poor you,” I said. “How you must suffer feeling for a second like the rest of us mortals.” Irrational anger flared up in me, the tattooist’s visions still lingering in me. I even felt a twinge of jealousy that Aidan was standing too close to Jane right now, and although it tore me apart, I told myself it was all unreal, merely a figment of the residual vision.
“Don’t get too agitated,” Aidan said with a wicked grin. “I’m famished on top of it and the more you get worked up, the more I can sense your blood working its way through your body.”
I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not but it helped to focus me on reality, and I calmed myself.
“You don’t look too bad, Simon,” Aidan continued. “I thought for sure you’d be in worse shape after all that drinking.”
“He is,” Jane said.
“I’ll have you know that I was actually working for part of that night,” I said.
“Yeah, he was,” Aidan said. “What was the name of that hot blonde with the bob haircut again? Elaine?”
“Elyse,” I corrected, cringing at Aidan’s mention of her. The last thing a guy wants in front of his girlfriend is any story involving a bar that intersects with one involving another woman.