I looked at Mom. “Why would we be worried about anyone warning her?”
“We have no idea who Tess might be with.”
That shut me up. Mom didn’t say Tess was in distress, but she didn’t look worried, and that made my nerves calm down a little. She pushed into a small shop. Instead of a bell over the door, a high tinkling charm went off close to the register.
A small man with grey hair and spectacles perched on the end of his nose greeted us. “Welcome to Penn’s,” he said in a surprisingly deep voice. “We have the finest selections of writing tools in the entire realm, all handmade in my workshop above the store.”
Moira’s eyes glowed as she took in the array of leatherbound journals, ink pens with elaborate feathers attached, hand carved pencils, and inks in a dazzling array of shades. Mom wandered off, looking every inch the interested tourist, and I stood there for a beat too long looking like I’d left my wits back on the sidewalk.
Moira finally pulled me by the shirt. “Come,” she said a little too loudly. “Look at these gorgeous pens!”
I followed her dumbly. Moira gave me a withering look. “Are you alright?”
I blinked. “I’m fine.” But was I? Physically, I felt fine, but mentally I felt overwhelmed. All of these other worlds had always been at my fingertips, and I’d missed out on knowing them due to…many things. Being stubborn. Other people lying to me. The period in my life where I’d stuck my head in the sand and refused to come out.
The people here were not exactly people, but they were my people. Weren’t they?
Moira gave me a sympathetic smile. “For me this is Disneyland, but for you…” Her voice trailed off. “You must have a lot of mixed feelings.”
I nodded. “I do. This is overwhelming.”
“Once we find Tess, we can leave if you want to.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or find a 24-hour fae rave and see where the night takes us.”
Her lighthearted words made me smile. “Maybe next time. But maybe we can have dinner here. See what the place looks like at nighttime. I think I can return us from anywhere, so it won’t cost any extra time to get home.”
“That would be nice.” She frowned and looked in her purse. “Shit. Does this place take regular money? All I have are Benjamins.”
Mom came up just then. “I’ll spot whatever you need. Shop owners love when people like us come in and spend.” She lowered her voice. “They’re more willing to share information, too, so spend away, little vampire.”
You didn’t need to tell Moira twice.
An hour and a half later,Moira looked like an American teenager at the mall, loaded with bags all up and down her arms. I was beginning to wonder if we’d need two trips to get everything home.
As amusing as that was, no one seemed off or jittery, and no one had mentioned a single thing about a banshee. That was unusual in itself because banshees were not common in this land, at least according to Mom.
“We’ll go up and knock on the door,” Mom said when we wandered out of the last shop. “I can’t imagine things will turn violent since they picked a house right in the middle of town.”
But Mom wore an odd expression.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s an odd choice for someone trying to hide, don’t you think?”
Sometimes hiding in plain sight is far more effective than making an effort to conceal yourself. But it was weird.
And too coincidental to be unrelated to Lugh’s arrival.
Moira shifted her bags with a grunt.
“You look like a pack mule,” I teased.
But Moira was beyond my teasing. She’d gone to retail heaven and was still walking amongst the fluffy clouds. “You cannot harsh my buzz. It is eternal.”
Mom rolled her eyes. “You should try the shopping in my realm.”
Moira blinked. “There’s shopping everywhere?” she wheezed.
“We hold jobs just like the humans do. Art and tradesmen are far more common than anything else. Our economy is self-sustaining, so no one ever wants for anything, but sometimes people want certain things they can’t afford on a universal income. That’s where bartering and trading come in, or selling at the weekend markets.”
