“Good.” I cleared my throat. “I’m better. Good. My brain was kind of…offline for a second.”
“Are you sure?” Myra’s brows were tucked down, her eyes sharp. She looked like it took everything she had to keep from checking my forehead and packing me in bubble wrap.
“I am. I really am okay. Ready to get to work. Um, High Tea Tide. Go team.”
“You should take her home,” Jean told Ryder.
“Way ahead of you.” He had his keys in his hand and was giving me that look.
“Wait,” I said. “You can all actually hear me, right?”
“Yes,” he said. “You want to work. We’ve all decided you should be home, resting.”
“But I said I’m good,” I whined.
“Delaney, you just shoved a god out of Ordinary for the first time.” Jean bent a little so she could stare me right in the eyes. “That was…wow.” Her smile was crazy big.
“Just part of my job.”
“Okay, but it was still wow, and now you should go home.”
“You don’t send me home when I write speeding tickets.”
Jean scoffed and stood, hands on her hips.
Myra handed me a cup of tea. “Let’s agree those are two different kinds of jobs,” Myra said. “Since you’ve never thrown a god out of town before, we want you to go home and take a minute to regroup.”
“I threw Crow out a couple years ago.”
“Yeah, but Crow loves you,” Ryder said. “He left when you asked.”
Myra just pointed at Ryder while she stared at me.
“I’m fine. I really am. Bertie’s event—”
“Don’t worry about the event,” Jean said. “I’ll cover your shift. And yes, this is probably the one and only time I’m actually going to volunteer to help Bertie and not try to get out of it. So you’d better not waste it.”
“I still think—”
“Delaney! Delaney! Pay attention to me!”
Xtelle pushed her way through the front door and trotted across the lobby until she was right next to my desk. On her heels was a very familiar goat.
“Ponies don’t talk.”
Xtelle blew her rubbery lips. “Everyone here knows I’m more than a pony. I am a magnificent unicorn!”
“You certainly are, my sweet,” Pan said.
“Goats don’t talk either,” I said.
He lifted one hoof and made a little locking motion in front of his mouth.
“What do you want, Xtelle?” I asked.
“Oh, now I can talk?Now?”
“Yep. I’m giving you ten seconds.”
