The coffee was almost done. I could pour the boiling water over his head, though that might not actually kill him. The screams might be nice, though.
There were wire coat hangers in the closet next to me. I could twist one around his neck and pull until he—
"Hello? Andy?"
The possibility of getting more information outweighed my aversion by a hair.
"Don't call me Andy," I said through clenched teeth. "I'll go."
Freakin' Franklin smiled, his oily, smarmy grin that said he thought he was on top of the world. "You're a peach, doll."
I could shove a peach up his—
"Take your coffee to go," June said before I could finish that colorful thought. She held out a paper cup and lid. "You're going to need it."
She was right, of course. I downed half the cup in one long drink, then picked up the other half and my phone. "I'll be back."
Luckily for me... or maybe not so luckily, Eldora's offices were in the same building, on a different floor. I got off the elevator in two minutes, not quite finished with my coffee, and not nearly ready to face the woman who had been stealing the magic I hadn't known I had.
Eldora was waiting for me in the reception area. Today her jacket was a shade of red far too close to blood, even if it was beautifully tailored. The familiar annoyance with the fact she was half a foot taller than me helped with the jitters, too. I normally wore high heels for a reason. The low ones today emphasized the height difference.
"Come in, Andromeda, thank you so much for coming." The hint of smugness in her tone rasped over my nerves.
"Of course." I couldn't help my stiff voice, as my imagination was trying to find ways to unalive Eldora as we walked down the hall toward her massive office.
“As you know, Robert requires special handling…” she said as she opened the door.
Her words hit my ears as a flood of…something…warm and sticky felt like it coated my skin, making it prickle uncomfortably. Was this her trying to hit me with the magic again?
I glanced down surreptitiously. No, no coating of goo had spontaneously manifested all over me, even though I could still feel it..
Holy crap. What was I supposed to do? Bran might have been wrong, and this was her establishing that link?
This was the first time I'd reallyfeltsomeone else’s magic. It slithered against me, sticky and thick like tar, cluing me in that she was going to attempt to siphon magic off of me. The last time, a couple of days ago, I'd have started sweating, then the pounding headache would come on. That was the only way I would've known what was happening, by my physical symptoms.
Crapola! How to handle this? I shifted from foot to foot, then rushed forward to sit in one of her chairs. "Sorry," I said, trying to sound breathless. "I'm not feeling well today."
That was the truth, at least.
"Oh, my dear," she said, coming around to sit in the chair beside me. "Let me see if you're warm."
Before I could stop her, she placed her hand on my forehead and goo poured over me. Oh, my gosh she was trying hard. I shifted uncomfortably, pulling back from the physical contact.
As if in response to my discomfort, some force welled within me, coating my skin in what felt like a soothing balm, insulating me from the stickiness. I felt better when it happened, and tried to keep doing whatever it was that I was doing.
"There," Eldora folded her arms and stared down at me, her voice firm and commanding. Not a tone I responded to well. "Now. Who visited you yesterday?"
Crap. Crap, crap. I searched my newly-revealed memories for how I spoke to them before, when they'd questioned me in the times they thought I couldn't remember. I'd been frank and myself. "Bran," I said squarely. "He helped me after I had that horrible migraine."
"Yes, I know the goblin came. But he wasn't the only one. Besides your friend, Carrie—"
"Cathy," I corrected. "Goblin?"
She sailed right past that. "Whatever. She doesn't interest me. Bran and his friends do. Who were the others? How do you know Bran?"
I answered, shading the truth as much as I could. "I joined a dating service with Cathy and Bran and I matched. He came over for dinner, but I was sick with that migraine. He knows a paramedic. And that guy brought his co-worker. Even if they’re certified, some people might think they were kind of dumb. They just let Bran tell them what to do. They took my vitals, made me drink some water, and the like. Nothing major. A sucky date, though."
"There was one more man." Eldora’s tone sharpened and she tapped her foot impatiently.
