“Yeah, but Jean?”
“Yeah?”
“Is Baum really that big of a deal? Should we brace for outside impact?”
She paused and I heard her truck door clack shut.
“Yeah, I’d say yes. He’s a big deal. He draws attention everywhere he goes. He’s been popular for over a year now. There’s a chance his fame will fade and we won’t be swamped, but he has a lot of fans out there. A lot. People like to follow the places he’s been to, to recreate his experiences.”
“How often does he put out videos?” I asked.
“Four times a week. He’s on his Boring series right now. So I’d say we have at least a week before he posts about us.”
“Or more, right? He was in Boring for three weeks.”
“Yeah, but he started posting a week or so after he got there.”
“Okay.”
“He’s not going to mess up your wedding,” she said.
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Delaney.”
“That’s not theonlything I’m worried about.”
“What else?”
“The gods following me around. Mithra being an ass to Ryder. Goap sending weapons into our town. You know, all the regular things.”
“Goap?” she asked. “Has there been some other contact with him, or with the king of hell?”
“No. I keep waiting for some kind of blowback from us taking Tish in, and sheltering Xtelle, Bathin, and Avnas. Everyone says a war is coming, though.”
She was quiet. I wondered if she was using her family gift to work her way through what I was really asking her: Could she tell if something big and bad was about to blow our collective house down.
And if so, was it connected to Patrick? Was it connected to the demon Vychoro, who was the King of the Underworld?
“I don’t feel anything bad,” she said. “Really bad. Nothing soon, anyway, you know I sometimes can only tell minutes before it happens. But if I feel anything, I’ll tell you.”
“I know. I’m just tired of waiting for the hit I know is coming. Whenever it lands, we’ll be ready for it.”
“Yes, we will.”
“Good luck with Hogan,” I said.
“See you at three. For wedding shopping.”
“I’ll be there. There better be wine.”
“Already got you covered,” she laughed. “This is fun, you know, you getting married. This is exciting. Be a little excited. You are picking out your first wedding dress.”
“First? Only. Only wedding dress.”
“Right. That’s what I said. Your only wedding dress, because Ryder is your one true love, your knight in shining armor, the king of your hill, your smoochy-smoo—”
“Good-bye, Jean. Go be a supportive girlfriend to your boyfriend.”
