“You could just agree to get in the vessel,” I said.
“It’s not even fine china. Really, Myra. What are you thinking? Do I look like a woman who is going to willingly occupy a cramped kitchen vessel? ”
She sounded so much like the unicorn version of herself that I fought back a smile. “No, you do not.”
“You bet your ass, no I do not.” She gave me a smile and a wink, and it reminded me so much of Bathin, it made my chest hurt.
“I need tea.”
Than handed me another cup, perfectly brewed.
“You’re good at this,” I told him.
“Perhaps I shall pursue a barista career if the life of a law officer and kite enthusiast longer suits,” he intoned.
Imagining him working a drive-thru coffee kiosk was hilarious. I could just imagine what kind of apron he’d pick out.
“There is an easier way,” Xtelle said.
“Yeah, no.”
“You could let me go.”
“No.”
“You could tell me to leave Ordinary.”
“Would that even work?”
She shrugged. “The Reed family has always had ultimate say over who can and can’t be here. It seems like it would work.”
“If Delaney told you to leave and forbade you from coming back,thatwould work. She’s the bridge. I’m not that sister.”
“You aren’t a demon hunter, Myra. You aren’t a witch. You aren’t even a magic worker. You’re out of your depth here.”
“And?” Listing off my faults wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I knew had to be done.
“Despite what your eyes tell you,” she swiped her hands down her curves, “I’m a lot older than I look.”
I rolled my eyes. “Wow. I am so surprised you aren’t what you seem to be.”
“I am tired of playing this game.” She threw her arms wide. “You can’t hold me. You could never hold me.” She snapped her fingers.
I hit her in a full tackle just as the spell around her evaporated into steam and ashes that flew in a whirlwind of black-winged moths.
“No! You can’t—”
Her words cut short as I wrestled her to the ground.
If I didn’t know she wasn’t human, that would have been when I found out.
She was heavier than she looked, much heavier than she should be, built of rocks instead of bones. Her skin was so hot, I expected to hear my hand sizzle as I yanked both her wrists behind her back.
“I refuse to allow” she sputtered.
I flicked the cuffs from the back of my belt opening them around her wrists—which were no longer there. Neither was Xtelle.
I was flat on the floor, no Xtelle to be found.
