Fear is a most contagious virus.
Miss Cambridge flutters her fingertips at the base of her throat. “Oh, my. I can’t be seen here.”Thanks for the concern, lady.
I grab my bag. Inside is a bit of money, one change of clothes, a floppy hat, and some crumbling saltines. I toss in the photograph of me and Daisy; at least I’d managed to break into my old room and rescue it.
“YOU ARE A SINFUL CREATURE WHO WALKS WITH THE DEVIL!”
I pause at the door. Sunlight slants into the stark room, dust motes floating through it like fairies dancing on a moonbeam. I was here but one day.
“This way, Miss Cambridge,” I say. “No, no, go left, not right.” I usher her to the steamy, pot-banging kitchen, toward the back door. I’m familiar with its location; I scout all escape routes when I move into a place.
As we pass through, Mrs. Walton, the new landlady, steps in front of us. “You and your mama can’t stay here, missy.” She looks at Miss Cambridge, who is thankfully too flustered to repute the claim. “We can’t have those letches camped out front. Bad for business, that.”
“We’ve overstayed our welcome, I see.” I dodge around her, head to the door.
Stop short. A chill thrills down my spine.
I am aware of his presence before I even see him:
Pax.
And with him: the intense, physical pull toward him. It’s the same dark, salty temptation I feel from the Trio of shadows that have haunted me since my youth. Curses.
He leans against a tin garbage can in the back alley, more casually dressed this time. No fancy jacket, suspenders stretching across his lean chest.
He’s studying his fingernails.Probably for blood. My stomach clenches, but it unfortunately feels more like… longing? Than it does disgust. Which disgusts me.
Reverend Jenkins out front.
Pax Princip out back.
Did he do this? Sic them on me to prove that he can offerme protection? Is he that much of a scoundrel? My body flushes hot with anger. Two can play at that game.
I turn to Miss Cambridge. “Miss!” I whisper. “Miss, that’shim.”
I jerk my head toward Pax. He shifts his weight, and I lean back quickly, pressing thin against the pale blue wall of the kitchen.
Miss Cambridge looks out the screen door at Pax. “Huh?”
What a dolt. “That’shim. That’s the man I see in your future.”
This isn’t exactly a lie. I’m about tomakePax a part of Miss Cambridge’s future. Ergo, truth. Spirit scoffs at this logic.
Miss Cambridge peers closer at him. “Looks a bit young for me, don’t he? Looks more appropriate for you.”
“Oh, no.” I nudge Miss Cambridge toward him. “Look at his sharp clothes, his smart haircut, his close shave. I’ve got a very good feeling about him.”
“Yes?”
I nod resolutely. “See his watch chain? He’s THE ONE.”
The one to cover yer arse, lass!
Miss Cambridge giggles, pats her hair, flusters like a hen. “How do I look?”
“Divine,” I say, and shove her out the door.
I spin on my heel to the landlady. “There’s a cellar?”
