“Well met, Quest Realto. And the same to you. Here’s my number.” I fumbled in my purse and found one of my business cards. “If you need help, just call. I owe you a debt, for my friend Llewellyn.”
As Neil—who had wisely kept his mouth shut—and I left, I glanced back at the house. Quest was standing there, watching us ease down the icy road. She wasn’t even wearing a jacket, and her hair was streaming back in the wind. She looked regal, reminding me of a princess. It occurred to me that Yutani should meet her, if he hadn’t already. They might hit it off. Entertaining thoughts of playing matchmaker, I slowly drove home, hoping Llew would be all right.
Chapter Sixteen
By the time we got back to the house, Herne and Viktor were nowhere in sight. I parked the Expedition in the driveway and invited Neil to come in and wait.
“We haven’t had a chance to really get to know one another,” I said. My stomach rumbled, and I blushed. “Apparently, my stomach has a mind of its own. You hungry?”
Neil nodded, looking downcast. “I feel like a traitor, being hungry while Llew’s life is in danger.” He pulled the tarp off the sofa. The blood that had splattered on it had dried, and he carried it over to the sliding glass doors and dropped it out on the back porch.
“Life goes on, even during tragedy. Even when we wish the world would stop.” I thought back to the days after I had found out Ulstair was dead. The errands had still been there, I’d had to take care of the ferrets and Raj. I’d had to feed and clothe myself, even though I didn’t feel like budging a muscle. “Having a set routine is a saving grace. It forces us to move, to act, even when we want to curl up and hide.”
“I guess you’re right. I’ll be right back. I need to utilize your facilities.” Neil headed down the hallway.
I opened the fridge. There wasn’t much that looked appetizing, so I called Smokin’ Joe’s Pizza and ordered four large pizzas and three sides of chicken wings. Then I decided to get things over with. I put in a call to Jordan.
“Jordan? It’s Raven.” I wasn’t sure how to start, so I stared at the floor, hoping the words would come to me. I hated giving people bad news.
“Is Llew on his way home?” Jordan paused, then said, “What’s wrong? I can feel that something’s wrong. Is Llew—”
I heard the fear in his voice. “He’s alive, but he was hurt. The land wight got its barbs into him. He’s in Annwn now. Herne called his healer Ferosyn to take care of him, and Ferosyn wanted to take him back to Annwn for the night. Jordan, Llew’s in the best hands possible at this point.” I steeled myself for the recriminations, but Jordan surprised me.
“Crap. I can’t… How badly was he hurt?”
I let out a slow breath. “Pretty roughed up. The land wight had a venom—a poison—something that it injected into his wounds. Right now, I don’t have any other news, other than Ferosyn thinks he got to Llew in time. I’m so sorry, Jordan. If I had realized how much danger he was in, I wouldn’t have let him go—” I started to say, but Jordan cut me off.
“Knock it off. Don’t make me worry about consoling you. I’d rather focus on my husband, if you don’t mind.” His words hit like a slap, but they were right on target.
“Got it, and you’re right. I’ll text your number to Ember and Herne. That way, you can stay fully in the loop.” I wanted to apologize again, but I slammed the lid on my personal pity party.
As I hung up, there was a sound at the door and Herne and Viktor came stomping in, their jackets covered with snow. I glanced over at them as Neil returned. He was looking refreshed, and he had sponged the blood off his shirt where Llew had bled all over him. We both turned to Herne with a questioning look.
Herne cleared his throat. “We found all the eggs and thoroughly destroyed the nest. I don’t think she had a partner nearby, or the thing would have come gunning for us while we were tearing apart the nest. They can sense when their young are in danger. So either somebody already killed her mate, or he ran off. It happens.”
Relieved, I sank down to the sofa. “Thank gods. I wasn’t looking forward to going back in there, but I would if I had to. Have you heard anything on Llew? I just called his husband and let him know what happened.”
“No, but—” Herne paused as his phone rang. “It’s Ember.” He took the call. I waited, my eyes glued to his face. The doorbell rang and Viktor went to answer it, returning with the pizza and the wings. He quietly set them on the coffee table, then motioned to me, mouthing, “Paper plates?”
I pointed toward the sideboard, toward the bottom drawer. Viktor returned with paper plates and napkins as Herne murmured “Okay,” and then, a “Love you,” and “Good-bye.”
“How is he?” I leaned forward, hoping for good news. “How’s Llew?”
“It’s complicated. Ember’s at Quest’s, so I’ll run over and get her. Then she can grab a bite with us and tell us what Ferosyn had to say.”
Before I could say anything else, Herne was on his feet and out the door. I leaned back in my seat, sighing. “Does he always dart out before you can ask him things?” I turned to Viktor.
“Girl, you haven’t seen the half of it.” Viktor laughed. “Try not to worry. Meanwhile, if you don’t mind, I’m going to serve myself up a couple slices of pizza and some wings. It smells so good I can’t resist.”
As Viktor piled his plate high and I fixed ones for Neil and me, I whispered another prayer. If Herne returned with bad news, I didn’t know how I could tell Jordan. I forced myself to focus on my food. I was exhausted. First tackling Moira’s imp and then the land wight and subsequent worry over Llew had left me feeling trashed. I felt like an emotional vampire, running on empty and hungry for support.
Staring at my food, I realized I barely had the energy to even lift the wing to my mouth. I set the plate on the coffee table and slumped back against the sofa, closing my eyes.
“Raven? Are you all right?” Neil’s voice thrust itself in through the fog that clouded my thoughts.
Wearily, I squinted at him. “No, not really. I’m exhausted and worried. I feel guilty about involving Llew in the fight. If it hadn’t been for me, his life wouldn’t have been in danger. I feel horrible about what Jordan’s going through, waiting for news. And I’m just…tired. I fought two battles today, one against an imp who was terrorizing a client of mine, and then, one against the land wight.”
Neil stared at me for a moment. “Why don’t you go take a nap?”
“Not till Ember and Herne get back. I want to hear how Llew is, so I can tell Jordan.” At that moment, the door opened and Ember and Herne came trooping in. I turned, hopeful. “Speaking of… How is he? Please tell me. I can’t take the suspense.”
Ember immediately sat down beside me. “He’s going to recover, Raven. He’ll be all right. Ferosyn wants to keep him for the night, but he managed to stanch the flow of venom and he gave Llew an antidote. By tomorrow, Llew will be weak, but ready to come home. We’ll pick him up and take him directly to his place.”
A barricade burst inside. I had created a wall just in case it was bad news, one that would keep me on my feet through the aftershocks, but now, the bricks cascaded, landing at my feet. I slumped back in my seat, my head resting against the sofa.
“Thank the gods. I don’t know what I would have done if…if…” I couldn’t even say the words. “I need to call Jordan and tell him.”
“You need to get some food in you, miss,” Neil said, pointing at my plate. “You’re sounding faint, and we don’t need you collapsing on us.”
I pulled out my phone and texted Jordan. llew will be all right. he’ll come home tomorrow. i’ll call you in a bit, but he’s safe. Then I wearily lifted my plate and bit into the pizza.
Ember fixed herself a plate, and Herne followed suit. We all sat around the living room, eating pizza and wings in silence. After a bit, Viktor glanced at the clock.
“Not to break up a party, but I promised Sheila I’d meet her tonight.”
“Yeah, and we h
ave a long day tomorrow,” Herne said. “My mother has decided she’s paying us a visit and that always means there’s something big coming down.” He stood, stretching and yawning. “Raven, will you be all right now?”
I nodded. “Yes. As long as the land wight’s eggs are gone, and Llew’s going to be all right, then I’m good. Thank you again for helping.” I stared at the floor. “I feel like I’ve been asking for a lot of help lately.”
“You helped us out, too, on our trip over to the peninsula last month. It’s all give and take, you know.” Ember gave me a quick hug. “I’ll tell Angel hi for you.”
“Thanks,” I said, watching as they trooped out of the house. Once they had shut the door behind them, I slumped back, trying to collect my thoughts. I glanced over at Neil, who was staring at me with a look of speculation on his face. “Yes?”
“Nothing,” he said after a slow pause. “I suppose I should get a move on as well. I came with Llew, so I’ll have to call an LUD.” He gazed out the window, at the fresh snow that was coming down. “We haven’t had a storm this bad in a while. Do they know how long it’s supposed to last?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s a nasty one, out of Alaska, and sweeping down with the jet stream. A lot of frigid air and cold temps, which are, of course, leading to snow.”
Neil nodded, once again glancing my way. “Raven, this may not be the time to ask, given all that’s happened, but…would you consider going to dinner with me? Not tonight,” he added hastily. “But in a few days?”
I froze. I had no clue whether he was trying to ask me on a date or accepting a friendzone position. “Um… I like you, Neil, but…”
“But…?”
“I’m sorry. If you’re asking me out on a date, then I have to say no. I’m seeing someone and he’s a god, so I don’t think he’d take kindly to a rival. And…I’m happy with him. At least for now.” The former was speculation, the latter, truth. I was happy with Kipa, at least for now. And while Neil was a nice guy, I was too tired to even think about whether I found him attractive. “If I’m presuming, though, and you mean going out as friends—that’s different.”
Llew gave me a defeated smile. “No problem,” he said with a shrug. “And yes, I was asking you out on a date. So I got shot down. I took a chance, and it’s fine. I like you, Raven, but there are other women in the world.” He grinned. “Don’t sweat it. I’m going to head home now. I’ll let myself out. Be sure to lock the door after I leave.”
Once he left, I dragged myself to the door and locked it. As I turned around, Raj came out of hiding. He lumbered over.
“Raven okay?”
“Raven’s tired and sad, Raj. Raven’s friend Llew is hurt, and while he’ll get better, Raven’s worried about him.” I dropped back down on the sofa and stared at the uneaten food. “I’d better put everything away.” I wished I could just leave it, but if I did, there was a good chance that Raj would get into it and eat himself sick. With a huge sigh, I dragged myself to my feet again and began clearing up the coffee table, tossing out debris from the wings and pizza, and boxing the rest of the food to go into the refrigerator.
I fed Raj, putting down a can of cat food for him—it was easier than cooking—and dragged myself into the bedroom. I thought about taking a long, hot bath but I could barely keep my eyes open. So, crawling into bed, I turned off the lights, and less than five minutes later, I was sound asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
I slept hard and deep and woke up the next morning, refreshed and rested. A glance at my texts sent my mood even higher. Ember had texted that she and Herne had taken Llew home to Jordan, and that he was on the mend. She also said that Herne bought a bunch of supplies from Llew’s shop, which was being watched over by Erial, one of the Water Fae. She was Light Fae, an Undine, and she had met Llew years ago when he was visiting Katmai Park in Alaska.
Feeling off the hook, and swearing I’d be more careful about bringing my friends into dangerous situations from now on, I went about cleaning out the ferrets’ cage, then fed Raj and started in on housecleaning for the week. I washed out the bathtub and toilet, swept and mopped, dusted, threw a load of laundry into the washing machine, and tidied up.
Kipa and Gunnar were due to arrive at noon, and I wanted to be done with my cleaning for the week before they got here. I even played tug of war with Raj to get his favorite blanket away from him so I could wash it.
“Raven no wash blanket. Raj likes how it smells.” He was using his pouty voice, which was an odd mix of belligerent and pathetic grunts.
“Raj may like how it smells, but it’s dusty and muddy and Raven is going to wash the blanket whether or not Raj approves. Let go!” I tugged hard, trying to dislodge him. Raj was sitting on it. “Get off the blanket, Raj.”
With a mournful look, he finally eased off the microfiber throw. I yanked it out of the dog bed and marched into the laundry room, where I tossed it in with the clothes that were washing. When I returned, Raj had tipped over his food bowl and beef stew was spreading all over my clean floor.
“Raj! You did that on purpose.” I leaned down, narrowing my eyes. “You know better than that.” Honestly, sometimes the gargoyle did remind me of a dog.
He gulped, then looked away. “Raven mad at Raj?”
“Raven’s angry, yes. Raven loves Raj but Raj has to behave!” I hurried into the kitchen, returning with a roll of paper towels and a soapy sponge. “You made the mess. You can clean it up. Go on.”
He took the towels and the sponge and slowly wiped up the saucy puddle, then tossed the paper towels in the garbage can that I held out for him. He scrubbed the spot with the sponge, and wiped it dry with clean paper towels. I took the cleaning supplies back into the kitchen and returned. With only a third of his breakfast left in the dish, Raj gave me a puppy-dog look.
“Raj hungry.”
“Raj should have eaten his breakfast instead of throwing a tantrum. Just for that, Raj can finish what’s there and then wait for his midmorning snack. Which will be a banana and a roll.”
“No chips? Raj likes—” he paused, gauging my expression. “Raj likes bananas,” he said, before turning away to finish his breakfast.
I made sure he didn’t dump the rest of it on the floor, then went back in the kitchen to unload the dishwasher. When everything was put away, I finally allowed myself to drop into a chair at the dining table with a three-shot mocha, a turkey sandwich, and a peppermint brownie. Raj turned up his nose at his snack, but ate it quietly and then went in to watch TV.
I glanced at the clock. It was nearing noon, and Kipa and Gunnar would be here soon. Pulling out my phone, I texted Jordan. llew is home, right?
yes, herne brought him home around ten-thirty. he’s sleeping right now. he’s worn out, but he’ll survive. that’s the last time i’m letting him go tromping around the woods with you, though.
Stung by the scowling emoji he typed at the end of it, I hesitated before texting, last night you said you didn’t blame me.
last night i was still shell-shocked. seriously, raven, what on earth made you think you could take on a land wight?
Pausing, I stared at the screen. Finally, I texted back: i’m one of the ante-fae. llew is one of the magic-born. what were we supposed to do, just leave it out there to kill innocent people, including kids?
of course not. you know that’s not what i meant. just…you can be a dangerous influence on llew and i don’t trust him to think things through. please just stay away for a while. i’ll talk to you later, llew’s calling me.
Angry and hurt that Jordan was being so churlish, I tossed my phone on the table and glared at it as I finished the last bite of my sandwich. So much for his undying gratitude when I helped him out with his creepy possessed doll. I had still felt some guilt over Llew’s injuries, until Jordan blamed me. Now, I just felt pissed.
I rinsed off my lunch plate and pulled out a bag of corn chips. Raj came loping into the kitchen when he heard the bag, giving me a hopefu
l look.
I sighed and poured some of them in a bowl and carried it into the living room for him. “Here, you can have some. Just don’t get any stains on the sofa, all right?”
Raj took the bowl, staring at me for a moment. “Is Raven okay? Raven seems upset.”
“Raven is upset, but not at you, Raj. Raven’s upset because…” I paused, not sure just how to explain it. Raj’s thought processes worked in vastly different ways than most people. Gargoyles had a totally different take on the world and while they felt similar emotions, gargoyles didn’t usually entertain thoughts about ulterior motives or misplaced blame.
“Jordan is angry at Raven because he blames Raven for Llew getting hurt.” I bit my lip, wondering how well this would go.
“Did Raven hurt Llew?” Raj asked, patting the cushion beside him.
I dropped down on the sofa. “No, Raven didn’t hurt Llew. A land wight hurt Llew.”
“Then why does Jordan blame Raven?”
“Because Llew helped me go after the land wight.”
“But Raven didn’t hurt Llew. The land wight hurt Llew.” His confusion was evident as he cocked his head, staring at me.
I sighed, shoving a fistful of corn chips in my mouth. “Let’s see if I can explain this any better. Jordan believes that Llew wouldn’t have gone out into the park without Raven. If Llew hadn’t gone on a walk with Raven, he never would have encountered the land wight and the land wight wouldn’t have hurt Llew.”
Raj shook his head. “But Raven didn’t hurt Llew. The land wight hurt Llew.”
I patted his head, then gave him a gentle hug. “I know, Raj. But sometimes, in the world of mortals, things get really complicated. Never mind. Everything will be all right. It will all blow over and everyone will be friends again.” I hoped to hell that I was telling the truth. The thought of Jordan breaking up my friendship with Llew worried me. I didn’t think he’d try, but it was hard to tell. I leaned back against the sofa, my hand deep in the bag of chips.
Witching Bones: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 8 Page 13