Blood And Breath

6

We drank. We laughed. We watched a movie and played cards. I had more fun with my friends than I could recall having in the whole year before these two American girls showed up in Belfast. The following night was less ideal. Ashley had some sort of premonition that the guys were in trouble. She and Rebecca took Knight with them to make sure everything was okay. I stayed behind. Worrying about them was maddening, but I wasn’t going to complicate matters by insisting I join them. In the end, everyone came home safely. There was never a dull minute with those two around. In fact, I was only home a few hours on Sunday before I got a call from Rebecca. “Hey, Becca, is everything all right?” “There’s been a change of plans,” she whispered into the phone. “I just got word that Queen Guin has sent over one of her Valkyrie guards to watch things. I had hoped to run our errand this weekend, but it can’t wait. Can you get away tomorrow afternoon? It would mean missing Tuesday morning as well.” The museum was closed on Mondays. Sometimes Rebecca went in to handle administrative tasks, but my job manning the visitor’s desk was never required on Mondays. “Yes, of course. Tell me where, and I’ll meet you.” “I’ll ask for Tuesday morning off, and you can call in sick—that way, no one will suspect we were together. I know your family is strict, and I don’t want you in any trouble.” “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I can tell this is important, and I’m happy to help.” “I’ll tell you more on the way there, but the main gist is I freed a man who had been exiled to the Shadow Lands of Faery. He’s a good man, wrongfully punished, and now I need to make sure he stays safe. With everything going on, it’s hard for me to check on him as often as I’d like. I need someone the queen isn’t watching who can help me.” My heart raced with excitement and trepidation. I had been so sheltered all my life that a part of me craved adventure, even though I wasn’t innately much of a thrill-seeker. It was amazing what a little repression would do to a girl. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll have a bag packed in my car and be ready to leave after work.” My enthusiasm must have sounded in my voice because Rebecca chuckled. “You really do need to get out more.” “I’m working on it.” “I know you are. Just don’t work too hard. I don’t want to be the reason you get in trouble with your mom.” “You leave her to me. She’ll never know I was gone.” God, I hoped so. OceanofPDF.com Chapter Two OceanofPDF.com CAT “Jesus, I feel like a getaway driver. You sure you didn’t just rob a bank?” I teased as I pulled my old beater car into traffic. I’d arrived at the coffee shop around the corner from the Huntsman as I’d been instructed to pick up Becca. She stood waiting when I pulled up to the curb, and as soon as I stopped, she tossed a large suitcase into the back and jumped in the passenger seat. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea!” she said with a laugh. “You’re pretty good at this driver business, and you are still looking into careers.” “I think my mom would prefer armed robbery than to know I was off consorting with a Fae.” “Did you tell her you were coming with me?” “Absolutely not! Aileen, the girl I’m supposed to room with soon— she’s a weird one, but not a bad sort—she agreed to give me an alibi.” “That doesn’t sound so weird. She sounds cool.” There was a time I would have agreed with Becca, but things had changed over the years. Aileen and I didn’t go to the same school but had always hung in the same crowd at Druid family gatherings. She was loud and hilariously funny. My quieter personality was easily drawn in by her boisterous nature. We grew apart around the time I was graduating from school, and ever since, our conversations had been awkward. Even my phone chat with her the night before about giving me an alibi had been odd. “Aileen, I need a favor from you. I’d like to spend the night with a … special friend, but my mom wouldn’t be thrilled, you know how overprotective she can be. Is there any way I can tell her I’m staying with you?” I infused my voice with pleading, knowing I had few other options if Aileen wouldn’t help me. “You’re always welcome with me,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I appreciate that, but I’m not actually going to stay with you. I just need to tell my mom I’ll be at your place.” There was silence on the line for a moment, and I wondered if the line had gone dead. “Cat, it’s not a good idea to lie to your mother.” Her tone had changed, dropping with a hint of warning. “I know, but this is really important to me, and I don’t have any other friends or family to go to. I need your help.” “We’re family,” she asserted firmly. I paused for a breath, surprised at her conviction. “Yeah, I suppose we are. So can I tell my mom I’ll be with you?” “I’m happy to help; family is everything.” Her voice became whimsical again, and I shook my head, wondering if she was hitting the sauce a little too heavily. “Right … thanks, Aileen. Talk to you soon.” Our conversation had gone as most any of our exchanges—sort of like seeing your gynecologist outside of the clinic. You want to be pleasant but can hardly get past the awkward tension of knowing they’ve had their face in your girl bits. Aileen wasn’t who I would pick to live with. Still, I was easygoing enough that I didn’t think it would be a problem, assuming her odd behavior wasn’t drug-related.