“No, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t someone monitoring the attack from a safe distance. They could’ve called for reinforcements.” Emery took Penny by the upper arm, confused by her non-reaction to the events. She wasn’t fired up or freaking out. She didn’t even seem to care that they were still in danger without a plan.
She has been touched, but at her core she’s still just a mage.
The druid had said that. Touched. What did that mean? Had Darius been right about the whole godly power thing?
“Penny, are you okay?” he asked, giving her a small shake in case she was fighting a daze.
“Yes,” she said, and there was a sigh riding her words, pleasant and serene.
Fear wormed through his gut. What had that druid done to her? Had he cocooned her with some type of magic that kept her from properly responding to her surroundings?
He hated all these questions. All these riddles locked up inside of her. If even one of them was dangerous…
“We’re invisible. The vampires aren’t going to be able to find us,” Reagan said. “Let’s either keep moving until it’s dark enough to call Darius or grab a cab. There is no sense fighting anymore tonight.”
“You’re shying away from a fight? That has to be a first. Someone should write that down,” Emery said, picking up the pace. They’d find a cab. It would be faster. He needed to know what was going on with Penny, as soon as possible.
“No, no. You’ve got me all wrong.” Reagan pointed at a cross street with more traffic. She clearly agreed on the need for speed. “I just want to wait for the bigger fight when we have that giant druid shadowing us. I want to see how those suckers move.”
“Quickly,” Penny said, her voice somewhat singsong. “Expertly.”
Reagan finally clued in, pushing up so she could see Penny’s face. “What’s your deal? You fought him for a second, didn’t you? Are you in shock or something?”
“My premonition never went off,” Emery said, remembering his utter shock that Penny had been standing with walking death, and he’d never felt a ping of warning.
“There was something about him.” Penny tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as they neared the busier street. “Something calming. Alluring. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s…pleasant. I hate to let go of it.”
“Crap,” Reagan said. She reached around Penny and punched Emery in the arm. “She’s not right in the head, and I blame you.”
Emery massaged the spot. The woman could throw a punch. “You’re the one that forced her into that bounty hunter gig.”
“Well, only an asshole blames herself, so it’s your fault,” Reagan shot back, her attempted flippancy ruined by the worry tinging her words.
“Don’t you always tell people you’re an asshole?” he said as a car engine revved behind them.
“Touché.” Reagan peeled off to the side, grabbing Penny and pulling her along. Emery kept pace on Penny’s other side. “What have we got here?”
A Lexus SUV, so new it didn’t have a license plate, slowed dramatically and swerved toward the parked cars next to them. Reagan braced herself. Penny groaned.
“There goes my good mood,” Penny whispered, and in the next moment, Emery learned why.
The car stopped, still running, and the hazards glared to life. The driver’s door opened and Ms. Bristol climbed out in a flowery top and loose pants. Her expression was surly, and when the front passenger-side window slid down, Callie stuck her head out and revealed a matching frown. The window behind rolled down as well, and Dizzy’s head filled the space as he looked up and down the street.
“Are you sure this is the spot?” Dizzy asked.
Ms. Bristol turned sideways to squeeze through two parked cars and stopped just down the sidewalk from them. She glanced down the street, then shifted her gaze to a corner alarmingly close to them. She brought up the old, worn watch on her wrist.
“You come out this instant, Penelope Bristol!” Ms. Bristol demanded, lowering her watch. “I told you going to that bar was a terrible idea, and now look. You’re wandering around in a busy city with enemies everywhere, just hoping to out yourself to humans and possibly get caught up in something to do with mages and shadows.”
“She can’t see us, right?” Reagan whispered.
Emery eyed the spell the Bankses were talking to life. “For now, no.”
“Then how the hell does she know we’re here?”
“Do you now see how hard it was to keep any secrets from her growing up?” Penny asked, not making a move to take down their spell. None of them did. “She probably saw this location in her crystal ball, a device I thought was fake until half a year ago, when she pulled out a real one and used it. For years I’ve looked like a dummy squinting into a fake white ball and making up predictions. Did she ever help me out? No, she did not.” She shook her head.
Emery felt a grin work up his face. This was the old Penny, and something tight and painful inside of him loosened just a bit.
“Come out this instant,” Ms. Bristol demanded.
A passerby on the other side of the street glanced over in confusion. A car coming up behind the Lexus slowed before going around it.
“If you were right,” Callie said, “we’ll flush them out. Ready, Dizzy?”
“I have one premonition go wrong, about something not at all important, and suddenly I’m a two-dollar hack that hangs around on street corners?” Ms. Bristol jammed her fists into her hips. “It was just pizza, for crying out loud, and I was barely trying. I really don’t think that should be held against me.”
The Bankses’ spell twisted into existence, bold and straightforward, spraying the sidewalk with magic before expanding out to the sides, rolling over the three of them and setting their spell ablaze in color.
“They are a perfect example of mage training going right,” Emery said as Ms. Bristol turned their way with a scowl. “Their execution is spot-on.”
“And you could counter it with minimal effort,” Reagan said in a hush as Ms. Bristol stared them down. “What do we do? Do we run?”
“I vote run,” Penny said.
“Get out of there.” Ms. Bristol stalked forward, and both Penny and Reagan flinched, as though barely keeping themselves put. Chuckles rose through Emery’s middle. All the danger they’d faced without flinching, and they were contemplating running away from an older, out-of-shape woman. What a trip.
“Drag them out,” Callie called out of her open window.
“I think Emery is too big to drag anywhere,” Dizzy said.
“The jig is up,” Penny said as she slumped. Their spell winked out.
“Karen does have a gift, hon,” Dizzy said to Callie, delight on his face. “She knew almost exactly the time and location all three of them would show up. That is a rare gift.”
Callie sniffed. “But when you try to find out where the pizza got to, suddenly it’s a great mystery.”
Ms. Bristol stiffened for a moment before she started dragging Penny and Emery toward the car by the elbows. “Come on. In a few more minutes there will be vampires roaming all around this city. If I were a betting woman, I’d say the vampires are trying to get their fingers into the Guild’s pockets, and the coming battle will be an excellent way to do so. They are choosing sides.”
“We have Vlad and Darius. They’ve chosen the wrong side,” Reagan said as she crawled into the third row of the car, a tight space for an adult.
“Let’s hope so.” Ms. Bristol made sure Emery helped Penny in before returning to the driver’s seat. Someone honked behind them. “Hold your horses!” she bellowed. “Can’t you see I’m picking up my daughter?” She put the car in drive, and they surged forward. “They seem to think we’re all in a hurry.”
“Careful…Mother.” Penny clutched Emery. “Who let you drive this car?”
“Moss will never know I borrowed it,” she replied.
“If he didn’t want people taking his car, he wouldn’t have left the keys on the key hook near the door,” Callie said.