“What look?” I asked defensively.
“The one that says you’re trying to plan an angle of attack. The hot vampire you’re obsessed with isn’t here so I know you’re not trying to figure out how to pick someone up. Something either happened that you’re not telling me about or you caught wind of something that is making you curious,” she said, her voice challenging.
I looked from Caroline to Dahlia whose eyes were alight with amusement.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh huh,” Caroline said, picking up her martini again.“I’ve heard that before.”
I tapped my fingers against the bar, considering. It didn’t hurt to put out a few feelers.
“You hear anything about a spook trying to fence a scroll?” I asked Dahlia.
She paused in cleaning the glasses and fixed me with a look.“I have not.”
I slumped back. I suppose it had been too much to hope the first person I asked would know something.
Dahlia was a good source. Most spooks in the city, especially those on the weaker end of the spectrum, ended up in her bar at some point or another. Of everyone I knew, I figured she’d be the most likely to have heard anything worth hearing.
Not the case, it seemed.
“What type of scroll?” Caroline asked.
Of course, she’d be interested. As a former historian and current bookshop manager, a mysterious scroll would have the same draw that a dead animal would have to her inner wolf. At least she couldn’t roll on the scroll.
“No clue,” I told her.
She sat back in disappointment, propping her chin on her hand.
“What about Jerry? You hear anything about him?” I asked.
Dahlia fixed me with a look. There was a weight behind it, as if she was considering how much to share.
“It would be best to leave that matter alone,” she finally said.
Caroline snorted.“Yeah, that means she definitely won’t.”
Dahlia dipped her head.“I see your point.”
I gave the two of them an insulted look. Caroline’s laugh as she took another sip nearly caused her to choke.
“That’s not true,” I said, defending myself.
Caroline set the drink down when she got control of her coughing.“It is, but it’s one of the reasons I love you. You go where other people fear to tread—especially when someone tells you not to.”
I couldn’t keep my scowl and shrugged. She had a point.
I turned to Dahlia and lifted my eyebrows.“Well?”
She cleaned a glass and set it down before picking up another one.“There is to be a Wild Hunt.”
Caroline and I watched her blankly.
“And?”
Dahlia’s lips curved just the faintest bit.“And the gallant knight has been pressed into service. Until its end, he must fulfill his role.”
I frowned and sat back. That didn’t really answer much, and it got me no closer to knowing why he’d closed Hermes.
As if in answer, Dahlia tilted her head in a significant look at the table behind me. I studied the occupants in the mirror, three women. All of them appeared entirely human.
