“The coin is worth more than the repairs,” Giant Jo called after her.
“You can give me free ambrosia for life.”
“You wish,” Giant Jo grumbled.“Here, I have something for you instead.”
“Jo, I gotta fly if I’m going to catch them.”
“You’ll be glad to have it.Just hold your cats a moment.”
Cha shifted from foot to foot impatiently.She didn’t think they’d hurt the prince—they clearly wanted him alive enough to prop up at the altar—but with every moment that passed, she ran the risk of not being able to find him.Also, with every moment that passed, Dy would be drawing nearer to the crossing into Obsidian.The sorceress was probably turning the marcasite channel cobalt with cursing at Cha to respond and give a location update.
She’d started edging toward Katu, grateful that the impromptu beast battle had at least cleared the traffic jam, when Giant Jo came back out of the nearly collapsed diner.“Take this.”She thrust a package at Cha.
“What is it?”Cha took the fabric-wrapped bundle dubiously, bemused at its lightness for its size.
“Useful for fighting iron-demons.”Giant Jo cracked a grin and tossed the platinum coin in the air.“Now we’re even.”She raised her immaculately groomed brows.“Aren’t you in a hurry?”
Biting out a curse, Cha tucked the unwieldy bundle under her good arm—which was the one with the bad hand, whereas the bad arm had a good hand—and dashed for Katu.Well, she hobbled, with most of her weight on the good leg.She’d kind of been hoping for a healing spell from Jo, but no such luck.She tossed the package into the jump seat beside the cooler—remembering belatedly and with considerable annoyance that she’d left her to-go box inside the now ruined diner.Depositing her sword in the passenger seat, she vaulted into the driver’s seat, landing clumsily with a painedoompf.
Katu purred with excitement, clearly straining for action, having missed out on the last bit of battling.They spun out in a cloud of dull black, easing onto the rural ley leading to Giant Jo’s, Cha casting her senses for a back-ley shortcut.That wolf/demon team had struck out overland at a ground-eating pace.She wasn’t going to find them on a public ley line.Bad news was—okay, there was a shitload of bad news, but this stood out at the moment—the back ley was going to be slow as mud.
She really needed Dy’s assistance, if she was still close enough.This was going to suck.
Mentally girding her loins, she tapped the marcasite channel and said, “Heya, Goldilocks.Bandit here.Um… Hi.How are you?”
~17~
Rescuing Prince Charming
“What happened?”Dyshot back immediately.“And don’t try to shine it up.”
Cha hadn’t really tried all that hard to dissemble.Not only was it next to impossible to lie to a sorceress, but also Dy had been her friend for way too long.She knew every nuance of Cha’s voice, for better or worse.
“Ah, we had a bit of a dustup at Giant Jo’s.In fact, any eavesdroppers should know the ambrosia pumps are down for a bit, but she could use cleanup help.”
Cha had to have imagined Dy’s audible sigh, as the box likely wouldn’t have picked it up.“I’m an hour from BX.Are you telling me you’re not going to make it?”
“I’ll make it.”Maybe.Eh, probably not.“If I don’t though, you’ve done this crossing a thousand times.You don’t need me until the next bit.”
“Uh huh.”Dy sounded supremely unthrilled and Warg made an unhappy sound reminiscent of a cat fighting a hairball.“Is this about the puppy?”
No sense prevaricating.“Yeah.”
“Dammit, Bandit!”Dy exploded, spittle practically flying out of the path-box.“I told you—”
“The meat-eaters caught up to him,” Cha interrupted.“I have to help.”
The pause that ensued could have been weighed on a scale.
“Who are you and what have you done with the Bandit?”Dy finally said, dripping honeyed sarcasm.
“Ha ha.I’m not being altruistic.”Was she?Inspiration struck.“I can’t say anything, but I think he’ll be helpful.”
“Scratch your own itches,” Dy shot back.“Mine are handled.”
“Not that,” Cha retorted irritably.“For the other thing.”
Her skepticism leaked through the path-channel.Maybe those things transmitted more than voices.She sighed.“Honey—we can pull the plug.We don’t have to do this.”
