“This is all bigger than we’ve seen so far,” said Jenny. “Artemis told me Ronnie was the harbinger, whatever that means—yes, I know what thewordmeans, but a harbinger of what? Ronnie said he was trying to save the world. As for the Gauntlet, weren’t you the one who told me we didn’t know for certain that the guys who jumped you had anything to do with Ronnie? He acted genuinely confused when I asked him about it. We should get more facts before we start breaking bones.”
“Fine.” Annette huffed. “Facts first. Then bone-breaking.”
The van inched forward.
Annette raised her hands. “All right, all right. No violence. Unless he starts it.”
The van hesitated, considering this.
“Where is he, Margaret?” I asked.
“Inside.”Her voice was strong with a pleasant drawl and only a slight hint of the elongation ghosts were prone to.
“What did she say?” asked Annette.
I kept listening. “Ronnie has a room on the second floor. He’s probably still sleeping. He’s always been a night owl.”
Margaret shared a memory of seven-year-old Ronnie stumbling out of bed, a worn plush octopus in one hand. A feeling of warmth and love flowed through me, and I laughed. It had been a long time since I laughed like that.
Jenny gave me an odd look, a smile that sat on the fence between fondness and worry. “Annette and I will go find him. Why don’t you stay here and see what else you can learn from the—from Margaret? Will you be all right?”
I patted Margaret’s fender. “We’ll be fine.”
“A werejaguar?”
“We used the scrying lens. Noah translated the aura using the instructions you downloaded. The guy was either a werejaguar or an enchanted petunia. We left him alone, just like you ordered.”
“Good. What else did you see?”
“A vampire, two half-fey, and a few things we couldn’t identify. Oh, and the gargoyles are hella weird.”
“Defineweird.”
“Like, magical weird. I thought I saw one of them move, but it could have been a bird. I checked the aura and saw traces of elemental magic. In the gargoyles, I mean. The bird’s aura was normal. It wasn’t an evil bird or anything.”
“That ill-advised altercation with Annette Thorne may turn out to be a blessing fromR’gngyk. When the ritual is complete, the Gauntlet will be the first place we cleanse.”
CHAPTER8
Jenny
“What the hell did I just watch?” Annette asked as soon as we were out of earshot. “Was heflirtingwith the van that tried to kill you?”
I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at the sight of Temple leaning against the front of the van, one hand waving animatedly as he told a story about getting invited to a werewolf potluck decades before. “Temple’s always had odd taste in women. Do you remember Litheal?”
Annette snorted. “The enforcer from the elf mob? She was the one with the wings, right? I remember the little downy feathers got everywhere. But she didn’t try to kill him until after they broke up. That van—”
“Saw me fighting her son,” I said. “And she didn’t actually hit me. I can’t hold that against her.”
“Oh my god, Jenny. If you got any softer, you’d be my second husband.” She grimaced and adjusted the shoulders of her shirt.
She was wearing a white cotton top and a linen floral print maxi skirt, both loose-fitting so they wouldn’t irritate her burns as much. I still heard the tiny grunts of pain when she moved, though. I’d offered her more painkillers before we left the house, but she’d refused. I took her mule-headed stubbornness as a sign of improvement.
I sniffed the air at the entrance to the B&B. The smells were numerous and layered, but I recognized Ronnie’s scent. “There can’t be more than eight rooms in a place this size. It won’t take long to find him.”
“Walking through the front door is so mundane,” Annette complained. “I miss sneaking in windows or kicking down doors.”
“I know the woman who runs this place,” I said. “I’d rather not wreck it if we don’t have to.”
