As soon as he got a real look at me, at the town, at this crazy thing that was my life, he’d go back to his bakery, and that would bethat.
“You don’t understand,” Isaid.
“Aboutwhat?”
We had a missing penguin, tonight was Halloween, zombie gnomes were on the rise, and death was coming to visit. This town was going a little crazy rightnow.
I chose the easiest answer. “Thistown.”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t move. “What about thetown?”
“Just. Halloween is crazy, okay?” I got out of bed, intending to take a shower. I’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep, but I knew I needed to go back to work. Help track down the penguin. Find out if Myra had dug up anything that would help us find that jinni,Faris.
“No,” Hogan said,quietly.
I was glaring at Abner’s stupid head. “Nowhat?”
“Blaming this on Halloween. This isn’t a problem with Halloween. This is a problem with you not wanting to tell methings.”
“I—”
“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t tell me that’s not true, Jean. I’m not blind. I see things. I seeyou.”
I turned and rested my hip on the dresser. I crossed my arms over my chest, not out of anger, but out of feeling suddenly vulnerable. “Halloween is a problem. We...there’s a guy we need to track down. He’s implicated in some…stuff we need to put an end to.Fast.”
“What kind ofstuff?”
I shook myhead.
“Does he have a name? I see things. I hear things. A lot of people go through mybakery.”
“I can’t tell you. You wouldn’t…you just can’t be a part of this,Hogan.”
“Part of this?” He waved a finger betweenus.
My stomach fell to my knees. He was thinking about ending this? Ending us. How could it have happened so quickly? I wasn’t ready for him to leave. For him to be even less a part of mylife.
Panic set my heartbeat pounding at mytemples.
“No,” I swallowed, trying to get moisture back in my mouth. “This town. Part of the stuff that happens in thistown.”
“I know about the creatures, Jean. And the gods. You were the one who told me about them,remember?”
“There are things about this town I can’t tellyou.”
“What?” He shifted so he was facing me, legs crossed. “Bertie is a Valkyrie. Chris Lagon is a gillman. That kid who gives lighthouse tours is half kelpie. The blonde at the popcorn shop is a siren. We have three Furies on the roller derby team. And Crow, who I haven’t seen in months, is a trickstergod.”
I was utterly, utterly stunned. I had no idea he knew thosethings.
“Who told you allthat?”
“No one. I knowit.”
“How?”
“I told you. I see things. Those kinds of things. The things that make people what and who theyare.”
“Since…when?” My voice was a littlethready.
