“What are you going to pay me with?” I angled to stand in front of her, both my hands resting on the curve of her waist.
She paused in our ritual, as if she’d forgotten the words. I dragged my fingertips gently up her bare stomach, goosebumps rising on her skin.
Her fingers slipped down into her front pocket.
But instead of saying the next words, she pulled a key out of her pocket and held it up with a smile. “With this.”
The magic dripped off of the key like honey oozing down a vine.
The key was burnished silver, shaped as a crow’s feather, the tip of the spine worked into delicate rises and dips to fit a lock. It was as long as her finger, and the honeyed magic swirled around it like clouds shifting across a sunset sky.
“Where did you get that?” I asked, even as the realization sank in.
“It was in the book’s spine. There’s a lock on the book. And this is the key.”
And oh, how she burned, fierce and proud. “He might have the book, but he can’t get into it.”
I stood there while shock, disbelief, and then relief hit me. I chuffed out a laugh. “He’ll know.”
She nodded. “He’ll figure it out. Or whoever he’s taking the book to will figure it out.”
“He’ll come after you.”
“And when he comes for me, I’ll be ready. We’ll be ready.”
I shook my head. “How did I manage to get a woman like you?”
“This could hold our answer,” she said. “That book could be the magic we need. The spells we need. I’m not going to let one random hunter take away the chance we can be together again. I’m not going to let anyone or anything get in the way of me havingyou.” That last word caught and broke, her eyes shiny with building tears.
“So,” she went on, pushing past the tears, “we’re going to hunt the hunter.”
I smiled, then leaned forward, my mouth so close to hers, I could feel the heat of her breath, and I knew she could feel the chill of mine. “I love you.”
She shivered, goosebumps racing over her skin again, her eyes finding mine and holding there. “I love you too.”
After the shower, Lu changed into clothes without blood on them, and Dot made sure Lu sat in the most comfortable chair on the porch with the best view.
The tea was in a chubby little pot with a knitted cozy over it. Two cups sat alongside the apple-shaped platter.
I waited a few minutes to make sure the women were settled in and that nothing else was coming to disturb them, then left the porch and crossed town as quickly as a mostly dead guy could travel, arriving at Lorde’s side just a minute after I’d left Lu’s.
Lorde’s tail tapped as soon as I crouched down to peer into her kennel, but she did not lift her head or open her eyes. True to their word, she was surrounded by blankets. Leon sat at a small desk in the corner, humming while he entered information into the computer.
“You good, girl?” I asked. If her tail,tap-tap-tapping meant anything, she was fine. Still sleepy, but doing well.
“I’ll come back and check in on you in a few hours.” I reached through the grating, my entire hand and arm passing through the metal like it wasn’t even there, and smoothed my hand down her silky fur.
She opened her eyes just a slit.
“It’s okay, girl. You get some sleep. I’ll look after Lu.”
Her eyes closed, and she sighed.
Leon glanced over, studying her in case she did anything else, then went back to the computer.
I gave her one last pat and traveled to the porch.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I said as I walked up the steps.
