Archie spat out a mouthful of toothpaste. “I need to floss.”
“Archie,” Conleth said levelly. “Before you answer my next question, may I remind you that Rufus is standing right next to you. Don’t think I won’t ask him whether you’re telling the truth. Have you ever flossed before in your entire life?”
“No.” Archie ran his tongue thoughtfully across his upper teeth. “But this seems a great time to start.”
Conleth sighed again. “Much as I applaud this sudden commitment to dental hygiene, it’s time for bed. Now come along.”
Ignoring all further protests, he forcibly herded his campers back to the cabin they shared with the boys from three other junior packs. Most of the kids were already snuggled in their bunks, eyes drifting closed despite their best efforts to stay awake and talk. By the time Conleth got Archie into his pajamas—an experience remarkably like attempting to gift-wrap an octopus—the dormitory was silent but for the occasional sleepy murmur.
“There.” With a fleeting wish that there was a roll of duct tape to hand, Conleth tucked Archie into bed. “Now, promise you’ll be nice to whichever unlucky counselor is on cabin duty tonight. Dragging innocent civilians into a conflict is against the Geneva Convention.”
Archie rolled over without responding, showing him his back.
Well, that wasn’t exactly encouraging. Still, Archie was a good kid at heart. No matter how fixated he was on making Conleth’s life a living hell, he wouldn’t take out his resentment on other people.
Switching off the light, Conleth headed down the hall to the counselors’ rooms. Leonie had, of course, thoughtfully made sure to assign him the smallest one. The tiny space was barely big enough for a narrow bed and a couple of shelves.
After an exciting day of unblocking toilets and fetching goats off roofs, his staff t-shirt was decidedly worse for wear. Pulling it over his head, he quickly changed it for a fresh one, then fixed his hair as best as he could manage with only a limited selection of his usual products. The end result was far from perfect, but it would have to do.
That took care of his physical appearance. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean he was ready to be seen in public. He’d done his best to restrict his use of his talent today, but early evening was always a dangerous time. He couldn’t risk Paige seeing him at anything less than his absolute best.
He waited, tapping his fingers with increasing agitation, until his watch finally beeped. With the ease of long practice, he dry-swallowed his meds, letting himself speed for a moment to hasten the effect.
The band of tension around his temples eased.Nowhe was ready.
The junior girl’s cabin wasn’t far from this one. Stretching out with his pegasus sense, he found the faint glimmer of Paige’s life-spark. To his relief, she seemed to be in her own room. There was still time to intercept her before?—
“CONLETH!”
Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy.
He went back to the boys’ dorm. “What is it, Archie?”
The boy sat up in his bunk. “I gotta go to the bathroom.”
Conleth restrained an urge to bang his head against the nearest wall. “Archie, we just got back from the bathroom.”
“Well, I need to go again,” Archie informed him. “I need to go real bad.”
“Perhaps you should have actuallyusedthe toilet,” Ignatius muttered from the bunk above.
Conleth sighed yet again. “Fine, Archie. You can go to the bathroom.”
Archie slid out of bed. “All by myself?”
“Of course,” Conleth started, and then pictured the likely result of this. “Not.”
“I can go with Archie,” Finley volunteered.
“That’s all right, Finley.” Conleth was starting to regret that the budget hadn’t stretched to full plumbing for every cabin. “Archie, put your shoes on. I’ll take you.”
Dusk had turned to full evening by now, but the moon shed more than enough light for shifter eyes. Conleth let the way back to the washroom.
He held up a hand at the door, stopping Archie from entering. “I don’t like making mistakes. I therefore strive not to make the same one twice. Give me your socks.”
Archie scowled, but handed them over. He stalked into a cubicle, slamming the door behind him.
Conleth propped himself against a sink. “I know what you’re doing, you realize.”
