I hesitated, interested in spite of myself.
“Natalia said your rates were very reasonable. A hundred dollars per hour,” he said.
I kept my surprise hidden, watching the stranger with a cool expression. I hadn’t charged Natalia for the kobold. Interesting that she’d given him made up rates. Not that I was arguing. That sort of money could do a lot for me. It was way more thanI’d ever make at the gas station.
Still, I had no experience and wouldn’t even know where to start.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Fred.”
I paused, the utter simplicity of the name throwing me.
“Alright Fred, I don’t know why Natalia pointed you to me, but I can’t do what you’re asking.I’m sorry.” I ignored the crestfallen expression on his face and grabbed the door, opening it.
“Please, I don’t know where else to go. If it gets out that my vaults were breached,I’ll lose everything,” he said.
I sighed. His desperation tugged at me, making me feel guilty when I knew it shouldn’t.“Try Jerry with Hermes Courier Service. He’s expensive, but he should be able to help you.”
While Hermes was primarily a courier service, it also accepted jobs like this sometimes. If Jerry could, he’d help the man—for a fee, of course.
Surprise crossed Fred’s face.“Haven’t you heard?”
“Heard what?”
He looked between Inara and me.“He’s shut down the shop.”
“Bullshit.”
“Impossible,” Inara said at the same time.
I spared her a glance before glaring at Fred as he tried to make himself as small as possible.“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but that’s not possible. He wouldn’t do that.”
He held up his hands placatingly.“I’m not lying. Check around. Everyone is talking about it. They’re saying he got picked to join a court of the High Fae.”
Inara’s wings stuttered and she dipped momentarily, sinking about a foot toward the floor before she caught herself.“Which court?”
Fred flinched back from the pixie. Inara suddenly seemed much larger than the length of my hand as she stared menacingly at the sphinx.
“I don’t know their names. Several have been spotted around Columbus over the past few weeks. Most of the Fae in the city have made themselves scarce, so it’s hard to get much information,” he blurted out.
Inara processed this before zooming out of the room without another word.
I watched her go with concern. My pint-sized roommate was prone to odd behavior, but this seemed out of character even for her.
“Please, just think about my request. Here’s my card.”
I reluctantly took his card, a simple white piece of paper with the words Sphinx Vault written in gold lettering. The body of a lion was etched on the back of it.
“I’ll be waiting for your call,” he told me as he stepped past. He dropped to the ground below with little effort, landing lightly. He turned and waved before walking away.
“That was weird,” I said softly, pulling my head back into the apartment.
I frowned at the open door for several minutes, feeling slightly off-balance after the sphinx’s visit. Worry niggled at me over Jerry.
Closing Hermes was out of character. In all the timeI’d worked for the courier service, there hadn’t been a single day that I could remember where Jerry’s business wasn’t open. Not one. Even on holidays, during rain storms, and winter blizzards. He always accepted jobs. Always.
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number from memory.
