Someone is always watching

Chapter 18

Thursday

Nerissa woke up early to go to work, Thirteen jumped into her arm and was planning on going with her as she had for the past week. 

"Now, now little lady, you are staying home today, you gotta help Chas keep an eye on the idiot in the dirty trench coat." she looked over her shoulder and smirked when she saw John sleeping on the floor. Thirteen jumped off and went around the apartment. 

"I can hear you, you know?" said John in a sleepy voice as he stood up. "I gotta lay a spell on you, it needs time to 'assess' the situation, just need to know more about whatever magic is in you." Nerissa nodded and let him do his thing. 

"There's food in the fridge help yourselves, but don't touch the Camembert cheese. Hey Thirteen." Meow "Watch him." Thirteen looked at John and hissed at him, she shocked them all. 

"Well, you can speak to animals apparently." said Chas in a matter of fact kind of way.

"I have to go now!" she left checking her phone, there was a message from Roy telling everyone in the self defense class that today's session was cancelled. 'Of course it is, you're banging  the curator of tonight's show, and she's got you wrapped around her finger'.

She tried avoiding Damian today but since she had a full day at Gotham Academy it was a bit hard. He asked her so many questions, she was able to dodge most of them, he reminded her of a toddler who just started speaking. Thankfully the day went by faster than usual and she went back to her apartment, she had to see if John's spell would wear off before the opening tonight and if it didn't if it would affect her in any way. She opened the door of her apartment and she saw Chas perched on a ladder near the living room window with an electric drill in his hand.

"What are you doing?" she set her purse and key on the kitchen table and was welcomed by a very irritated Thirteen. 

"You don't have curtains, you're a woman, alone in Gotham, without curtains. That's not right." said Chas, he pointed at the beautiful velvet curtains he was hanging. She meant to get some but she had a lot going on in her life at the moment, a very red hood came to mind every time she thought about her window, not curtains. 

"Oh, okay, I've been meaning to get some but I just have a lot going on! Thank you Chas!" she saw John on the sofa bed reading in some old book. "Can you do the thing with the spell? or will it need more time? I've got to be at the museum by 6." He set the book aside and told her to sit, he asked her to remove the locket from Alec.

"Alright." he was gesturing around her head, mumbling words in Latin. She felt herself getting pulled up from the floor. She fainted but didn't notice. "Sorry about that love, your body's not used to giving in the potential it has, or it just wasn't the right spell" he helped her up and Chas got her water. 

"So now what?" she asked. 

"Well from what I could tell from this spell, you can sense other's feelings, you can manipulate people, make them believe what you want and the sort, and you can make people tell you the truth if you really want it, the locket Swampy gave you helps keep it all under check." He lit a cigarette for her and one for him before he continued, "I'll need to go the house to look for some old books, you got a gift here, got nothing to do with ol' Lucy, but we still need to understand what he said about the blade. Can I see it?" 

"You can't touch it, unless you too have died and come back." she lifts her skirt and removes the knife from it's holster. 

"Yeah I know love," he reached for a paper and asked her to show him the words that appeared, he wrote them down, "we'll be gone for a day or two, I'll ward your flat with protective spells you'll be safe from everything. And don't worry love, I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done." she nodded and watched the two brits leave.