10. No Easy Answers

The drive back was better. I was feeling too raw to maintain a constant state of panic. Consequently, I made fewer mistakes. I went straight to the Slaughtered Lamb, as it was already an hour after opening. Maybe I could get Dave to give me a lesson with this car so I could make the trips to Martha's more safely. I also needed more than my natural weapons, in case Faerie sent me more monsters.

I parked, remembered to take the key, and jogged down the stairs to The Slaughtered Lamb. Halfway down, I passed a man rubbing his forehead. I paused, not wanting him to see me fade from the mundane world as I passed through the ward. I was completely unprepared for his fist shooting out, trying to coldcock me. Thankfully, my reflexes being what they are, I ducked his fist and pushed him off the stairs into the brush.

I braced myself, ready for him to attack again, but he lay still, eyes glazed a moment before blinking rapidly. "I'm—did I just try to hit you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, my Lord." He scrambled to his feet and stepped over the rope boundary marker, keeping walkers from wandering into protected nature areas. "I'm so—I have no idea what just happened."

"It's okay."

"No. It's really not. I'm so sorry. I just…" The poor man wandered away, no doubt questioning his own deep-seated violent tendencies when it had to have been Abigail, using random humans to attack me.

I continued down the stairs, wanting nothing so much as to smack my aunt really freaking hard. Untold damage; she lived a life of untold damage.

Owen was in, tending bar. Three people. There were only three wicches sitting together and drinking tea. Damn. I glanced in the bookstore. No one. This wasn't good.

I was about to tell him what had just happened but he was looking haggard, which was so unlike Owen. "Hey, how are you feeling?" His dark brown eyes were glassy.

"Fine. Can't shake this headache. I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon." He checked his watch. "Actually, is it okay if I leave now? As you can see, the place is dead." There was an edge to his voice I didn't like. He must have been hurting quite badly.

"Sure. Take off. When you're done at the doc's, go home and rest. Dave and I can cover."

"Yeah. Thanks." Rubbing his forehead, he added, "I will."

Once Owen was gone, I checked on my tea drinkers and then went in search of Dave. He was sitting at his desk, a new addition to the remodeled kitchen. He now had an office area, tucked behind the door.

"Hey, something really weird just happened." I opened the refrigerator door, looking for the lemonade he sometimes made for me. No luck today. When I closed the door, I found him standing a foot away, his face lined in anger.

"What?"

"What do you mean what?" He grabbed me by the neck of my sweater and yanked me forward. "Owen was here at opening. When I mentioned I thought he was driving you today, he didn't know what I was talking about. I called your cell. No answer. Then." Little flames seemed to light his black eyes. "I called the house and Norma said you'd taken one of Clive's cars out."

"Oh."

"You could have died!" he roared in my face. "And you could have taken a bunch of innocent people with you. You told me you'd call Owen for a ride. You lied to me."

"No, I didn't." Slapping his hand away, I backed up a step and pulled out my phone. "See?" I showed him the text messages.

Carrying my phone back to his desk, he dropped into his chair. "What the fuck? I asked him why he wasn't with you and he acted like he had no idea what I was talking about."

I hopped up on the island. We'd hear if anyone came down the stairs into the bar.

"He looks like shit," he mused. "I thought he was fighting with George."

"You think maybe Abigail's working on him?" The idea of it had been keeping my stomach in knots. I pulled up my legs and wrapped my arms around them. I didn't want anyone else hurt because of me.

"Fuck if I know." His fingers drummed on the counter. "I'll stop by his apartment after work. See if I can pick up anything." He tossed me my phone. "Now, get your feet off the counter. What's the matter with you?" He pulled me off the island and pushed me out the door. "And no more driving!"

More people arrived in the evening, but it was still quiet. Possessed selkies and angry gorgons were probably more than the average patron wanted to deal with as they unwound with a drink. Sighing, I unnecessarily wiped down the bar for the hundredth time.

We closed early again.

"Am I gonna have to start thinking of this as a part-time job?" Dave snarked as he flicked off the lights.

"Ha ha." I trudged up the steps, worrying he was right. We'd been closed down for almost two months for the remodel. People had probably formed new habits. And who wanted to worry about being stabbed or turned to stone while they drank their tea and read a book?

"At least you didn't steal one of his sportscars," Dave said when we hit the parking lot.

"I'm not a moron." I just felt like one. "Can you open again? I'll run to Colma tomorrow."

"Call an Uber," he said a moment before his car shimmered into view.

"I thought about it, but if she can get to Liam and maybe Owen, a regular person—like that guy who tried to punch me earlier—would have no chance. If she pushed him to attack in the middle of traffic or on the freeway, even more people could die."

Leaning against his car, arms crossed over his chest, he studied me a moment. "Shit. That's true. And what guy tried to punch you?"

I explained the weird confrontation earlier and then turned to walk home.

"Fuck it. Get back here." When he moved away from his car, it winked back out of sight. "It's not good for my relationship to be home too much. Maggie can only take so much of me. Go on." He pointed to the Volvo. "Lesson number two. This time with an automatic."

I pulled the key from my pocket and hit the unlock button.

When it chirped, he shook his head. "You don't need to do that. With these kinds of cars, just having it in your pocket will trigger the lock. When you put your hand on the handle, it unlocks."

"Nice," I said, sitting in the driver's seat.

Dave crouched down at the open driver's door. "See these buttons here on your armrest? This will unlock the passenger side door." He tapped a knob higher up. "This moves the side mirrors." He spent the next ten minutes showing me how everything worked before having me push the ignition.

Checking the rearview mirror and then looking over my shoulder, I put it in reverse.

"Wait. Look at your screen."

Turning back, my gaze dropped to the screen and I saw the car from a bird's eye view. It must have cameras front, back, and sides. "Cool!"

"Yeah. It'll blink and beep if you get too close to anything. Now, back us out nice and smooth and take us for a drive."

After an hour or so, during which I had to get on and off the freeway multiple times, deal with every one-way street downtown, and relay what had happened at the Wicche Glass, I was finally headed back to the Slaughtered Lamb.

"Go to the nocturne. You're not driving by yourself until you have a license. I mean it, Sam." Since he was using his growly, serious voice, I nodded. "And as for your necromancy lessons, ask your boyfriend to loan you a sword and show you how to use it." Shaking his head, he looked out the window at the dark houses we passed. "What the fuck, Sam? Now Faerie is after you?"

"Right? Lowly little book nerd over here." Putting on my turn signal, I looked both ways and then turned down the dark street leading to the nocturne. "I'm a friend to the fae. Why is Faerie sending her monsters?"

Pausing at the gate, I eyed the vamp guarding it a moment before the gate slid open. Asshole. "I'd say he was a rogue looking for breakfast if he hadn't been waiting for me, pretending to be Martha."

I took the slate drive around to the back of the mansion. The garage door opened as we approached. Using my new skills, and the cameras, I backed into the garage, right back into the proper space.

"Good. Put it in park and turn it off." Once I had, and the garage door closed, he continued. "Stay where you are. Let's test that wicche glass she gave you. They probably can't hear us right now," he whispered. "They'll hear the heartbeats, but not the words."

"You want me to read someone's mind?" I unbuckled but didn't move to leave the car.

"That's right. And while you do, focus part of your mind on channeling payment to the glass ball around your neck."

"Okay." Closing my eyes, I found all the cold, green blips in the house around us. I looked for the most familiar ones. Clive, Liang, and Godfrey were in his study, discussing Leticia. Russell was moving toward the back of the house, toward the garage. "The jig's up. Russell's on his way."

"What's he thinking?"

"He's worried. They had an argument earlier. Russell knew I couldn't drive. Clive didn't. Apparently, his Master got an earful about that."

"Clive called the bar to check on you. I assured him you were an idiot, but a safe one."

"Thanks."

The door to the hall opened and Russell stood, silhouetted in the light.

"How's your vision?"

Grinning, I elbowed Dave in his beefy shoulder. "I see a disapproving vamp clearly enough."

"Good."

We got out and crossed the huge garage. My focus was on the lecture I could feel coming. Dave, on the other hand, was taking his time, admiring the cars we passed.

"Miss Quinn." Russell nodded respectfully, but I could hear the disappointment in his voice. Damn. That was worse than anger.

"Russell," Dave said as he patted my shoulder on his way out.

Russell stared at me for a long moment. "If I might have a word with you?"

Sighing, I followed him down the hall and into the library. He gestured to one of the chairs by the fire and I sat while he remained standing.

"Miss Quinn," he began.

Letting out a gust of breath, I said, "I know. Dave already yelled at me. He's been giving me lessons, you know." The plural was a lie. "Okay, lesson. I'd had one before I borrowed the car." I studied his dark, disapproving face. "Please, sit down."

When he did, I continued. "I need to learn how to use my magic if I have any hope of surviving Abigail. The only necromancer around is a wicche who turned out to be my great-aunt. She lives in Colma. Her bar The Wicche Glass Tavern has a foot in Faerie, so time is inconsistent. Anyone willing to drive me needs to give up hours of their day. You guys are all sleeping during the day. Lydia had already given up much of yesterday to help me. I asked Owen. He said no in a way that made me feel like an asshole for asking."

My heart clutched even thinking it. "Abigail may be trying to spell him, like she did Liam." I swallowed. "Dave's going to try to find out for sure. If I tried a ride sharing app, I'd be endangering innocent humans. If I'd ran, I'd be hours late for the Slaughtered Lamb opening, leaving Dave to cover for both Owen and me."

It wasn't like I was joyriding around town. I understood where it was coming from, but I was starting to resent being treated like an errant teen. "I calculated the possibilities and felt I could make it to Martha with the least risk and fuss if I drove myself. And FYI, I did. No one was hurt and no scratch on the car."

Standing, I went to the minifridge hidden behind a panel in the wall. It was filled with blood bags, but now also had water bottles. Taking a long drink, I went to the window and stared out into the night.

"What would you have me do, Russell? Live my life being babysat by an array of supernatural guardians, hoping my aunt goes away? She wants me dead and doesn't care who she hurts or kills along the way."

I turned back to him and sat in my window seat. "I don't know how to protect myself against her magic, let alone anyone else. Unlike her, I do care about the well-being of everyone else."

"You could close The Slaughtered Lamb, take away her targets." His deep, measured words felt like a hit to the chest.

"It's selfish of me not to, isn't it?" I felt sick even contemplating it.

"Not selfish. It might be prudent, though." He watched me struggle, his dark gaze compassionate.

"Prudent," I echoed, nodding slowly, lost in thought. "It would be that. It would also break my heart."

"Sometimes the only path forward is one of heartbreak."