The Dark Artifices: Lady of Los Angeles

Chapter 8

When she felt like her limbs were collapsing after hours of training she decided to stop. She looked around to tell Jules that, but he wasn’t there and neither were the twins. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw they’d probably eaten dinner already. Her stomach rumbled as on cue.

She found Jules on the roof, painting as usual. For a moment she stood there watching him. The watercolors he often used transformed into a beautiful picture of the ocean. The waves were only a hundred yards away from the Institute and you could see them from where they stood. The sun was only a streak of light at the horizon. A few minutes later the stars had come clear.

     “Gonna stand there the rest of the night?”

     He turned around.

     “You heard me?” she asked.

     “No, you’ve trained to be quiet, but you’re my parabatai. We know where the other is.”

     “I don’t always know where you are.”

     “You found me now.”

     She sighed and let out a short laugh. “That’s because I know you.”

     He shrugged and started to pack the colors in a bag “But still.”

     “Have you eaten?” Emma asked.

     “No, why?” he asked and furrowed his eyebrows.

     “It’s well past ten.”

     “That explains the darkness.”

     “It does. Wanna go get something from the kitchen?”

     “Yeah, just gonna go check that the others have got something too.”

She was just finished with sandwiches and tea when Jules came to the kitchen.

     “Want some help with that?” He took the tea cups and headed to the stairs.

     Emma followed him up.

     “Where were the others?”

     “Tavvy and Dru were sleeping and the twins are playing cards in their room. Cristina is doing… something”, he said and shrugged.

     “Where are we going?”

     “To my room. We’ve been in yours the last few times.”

     “That’s because mine is the best.”

     “It’s impersonal.”

     “Having a messy room is not to have a ‘personal touch’”, she said and rolled her eyes.

     “You need to have an open mind.”

  

They got to his room and he opened the door with his elbow.

     Something brushed against her leg as she entered and she looked down on a cat. A blue cat.

     “Hey, Oscar. Haven’t seen you for a while”, she said.

     “And that’s because we’ve hung out at your place. He prefers mine.”

     “I won’t destroy my room only to make him come to my room. Then he can stay here.” The cat gave her a hurt look. “No offense.” He practically snorted and went to sleep under an armchair full of clothes.