“Has to.” Delaney slurped coffee. “It’s required for the job.”
Jean flipped her a thumbs up and helped herself to a stack of cookies and cheese.
“Myra Reed,” Than intoned.
“Kind of an intense way to answer the phone,” I said.
“And how would you expect me to answer a telephone?”
“Pretty much like that. Okay, I just need to know if the frogs are people.”
“Yes.”
“Are they the people who ran to the vortex?”
“Yes, they are the people who ran toward the vortex. As far as I can discern.”
“As far? Do you have some kind of limit I don’t know?”
“My power is currently in the root of a tree in what I believe Crow called a cosmic kumbaya circle. One could assume I’m allowed a margin of error.”
I widened my eyes at Delaney, and she just nodded like,yeah, he’s all sass.
“Do the frogs, I mean people, still have their souls?”
“Souls are not easy to harvest, no matter the shape a human may take.”
“Is that a yes?”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“Okay, that’s all I needed to know. Wait! Do you know how to turn them back into their human selves?”
“That is not my expertise.”
“So…no?”
“No.”
I smiled at the distaste he packed into one word. “All right. Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow at the station. You’ll be with me again.”
“How my heart races at the thought.”
And that was so muchmoresass, I laughed. “Good night, Than.”
“Good night, Myra Reed.”
“He’s got nothing,” I said. “Except he thinks the frogs are our people. So witch? Wizard?”
“Demons.” Bathin strode into the room, the unicorn glaring daggers at his side.
“How did you get into my locked house?” I stood.
Bathin stopped where he was, smart man, and so did the unicorn. “Xtelle knew the lock code.”
“Why didn’t you knock?” Jean asked. She sounded relaxed and amused.
“Ididn’t even want to come here,” Xtelle said. “But now that I am, I’d like to report a crime. He has bound me against my wishes. I am being kidnapped. He’s breaking Ordinary’s laws.”
