A Little Street Magic (30 page)

T
he lawn party was in full swing, and there were certainly things to celebrate. We’d stopped the psychotic psychics’ reign of terror, Tonya had discovered her familiar, and the Rex, James O’Meara, was now a member of the Council.

Arcane Solutions was booked solid for the next two months, and Mr. Whitehaven was hiring three new investigators to help cover the increased work load. We’d all gotten raises, and I was far less worried about ending up in the poor house.

Brock’s article had done more good than harm, at least for now, but I wasn’t willing to forgive him for throwing my family and friends to the media wolves. Thorandryll’s run for mayor had become national news, and because of the romantic association Brock had implied existed between us, I’d had to change numbers to stop the calls from reporters.

Logan walked up, carrying two tall glasses of iced juice. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I’d found a relatively quiet spot on the edge of the madness. People and dogs were milling all over the place. Kethyrdryll was darting around, smiling, welcoming new arrivals, and making certain everyone was having fun. “He looks happy.”

“It’s his first official Adoption Day. He told me that twelve dogs have already found their new owners.” Logan sat down on the grass beside me. “You, on the other hand, don’t look happy.”

“Brock’s here. I’m trying to keep everyone between us. I don’t think I can resist the urge to kick the hell out of him, if we get within ten feet of each other.” I took a drink.

“Is that all that’s bothering you?”

“No. I’m wondering where Jimmy went.” He’d been the only one of Frank’s gang who hadn’t gotten caught. Possibly didn’t matter, since he could only teleport. The way he’d cut and run displayed a certain lack of loyalty. If I’d been right about his drug of choice, Jimmy was well down the path of self-destruction.

“Anything else?” Logan was watching my face. I frowned.

“I’m not sure how I feel about having Cerridwen inside me. It was okay at first, because she helped find you. And I know we both might not be sitting here right now, if not for her taking action. But why is she still here?”

“I don’t know, but I feel certain she won’t hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He pushed my hair off my shoulder before kissing it. “You could try asking her to leave.”

I had, and there’d been no response. She might already be gone, but I’d had a few dreams that indicated otherwise, because they were too vivid. I’d never hunted for food, unless you counted trying to find an open grocery store late at night.

“Is it because she took over your body?”

I looked at him. “Wouldn’t that freak you out?”

“Probably. But she did it to help.”

A long sigh escaped me. “I’m just tired of being used. Thorandryll’s used me, Sal and Cernunnos used me, Frank used me, demons have tried to use me, and now her, even if it was to help.”

Logan nodded. “I can understand that.”

“I’m being a total downer. We’re supposed to be having fun.” I spotted my mom, and waved, pasting a big smile on my face for her. She waved back, hanging onto Edrel’s arm. The pale-haired elf had been assigned as one of her body guards, and Mom was taking full advantage of it.

“Then let’s look on the bright side. It’s a beautiful day, here anyway.” We were in Thorandryll’s realm. “We’re surrounded by people having a great time, happy dogs, and if you haven’t already, you should really go check out the buffet.”

“I should, huh?” I was feeling a bit peckish.

“Oh, you should.” Logan smiled. “I don’t even know what half of it is, so could use some help filling a plate.”

“Sounds tempting.” I learned closer to him. “You forgot the best ‘bright side’ thing.”

“Which is?”

“We’re here together.” Our lips met, and I let my worries fade away for the moment. Then I recalled how awesome the food at the ball had been. I still needed to figure out how to kidnap Thorandryll’s chef. “Okay, let’s go check out the food.”

We climbed to our feet, and joined the throng of people. I felt the nudge of a cold nose on my elbow and looked. Leglin wagged his tail, knocking one of the servers clean off his feet, and sending another man staggering sideways.

“Oh, gosh.” I handed Logan my glass, ignoring the hound-induced chaos that was ensuing, and took the little black and tan puppy from Leglin’s mouth. “Oh, you are so cute.”

“Cordi.” Logan nodded at the ground. I looked down to find another tiny, reddish brown pup huddling between Leglin’s front legs. I swooped it up, and snuggled them both under my chin. Puppy kisses soon followed.

“
May we keep them?
” My hound asked, still wagging his tail, while bystanders made sure to steer clear. “
Please?
”

So much for that raise.

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