The woman made a huff, clearly thinking that due process wasn't going to enter into it if she found Mia alone. "Of course," she said, her voice and posture regaining their earlier grace and self-assurance. "Good afternoon, Ms. Morgan, Captain Edden. I'll send word when I have Mia contained." Giving us an icy smile, she turned and walked sedately to the elevator, two waiters trailing behind her.
Jenks's wings clattered as he exhaled and flew back to the table. Red sparkles sifted from him as he stomped from where he'd landed to a small dish of peanut butter that had magically appeared while we argued. Sitting cross-legged on the rim of the plate, he reached over and helped himself with the pair of pixy-size chopsticks he had somewhere on his person. "Damned banshees," he muttered. "Worse than fairies in your out-house."
Edden put a hand to the small of my back and directed me back to my chair. "Why do I have the feeling we need to find Mia before Ms. Walker does?" he said worriedly.
Someone had set a glass of rose-tinted water by my plate, and I sat down. Slouching, I took a sip, almost getting a lap of water when the ice shifted. "Because banshee babies are rare and precious," I said, then wondered if they'd laugh at me if I asked for a straw. "Giving Holly to that woman would be a mistake, banshee or not. I don't trust her."
Edden snorted. "I think the feeling was mutual."
"Yeah, but according to her, I don't matter." Maybe it was better to not matter to a banshee. "We have to find Mia before that woman does. She's going to kill her to get Holly."
Edden looked at me sharply. "That's a strong accusation."
I reached for the bread basket, hoping we still got to eat even if our Most Important Guest had left. "You can wait until Mia is dead, or you can believe me now. But ask yourself who you'd rather have Holly grow up with." I pointed at him with my pinkie, and he frowned.
"You think so?
Tearing a bit of bread from the loaf, I ate it, thinking it was too dry. "I know so."
Edden's eyes shifted to the elevator, then back to me. "It would be easier if we had a locator amulet. Any progress on them?"
I nearly choked, and as I scrambled for words, Jenks chimed up with a cheerful "Yeah—"
My knee smacked the underside of the table, and his wings burst into motion. "I just have to finish them up," I said. Edden looked from my hot cheeks to the pixy, now silently staring at me. Grunting, the man pushed away from the table, his thick fingers looking out of place on the white linen.
"I'll send a car to pick them up as soon as you have them done," he said as he stood. "I know you don't have the license to sell them, but let me know how much it cost you, and I'll add it to your check. We're having a devil of a time finding her. They keep slipping past us." He rocked back, looking at the elevator again. "I'll be right back."
"Okay," I said, helping the dry bread down with a sip of raspberry water, but my thoughts were elsewhere as the squat man tried to catch up with Ms. Walker.
Jenks snickered, settling in and looking more relaxed. "Want me to tell you what he says to her?" he asked, and I shook my head. "Then you want to tell me why you don't want him to find Mia?" he added.
I brought my gaze back from the elevator. "Excuse me?"
"The amulets?" Jenks licked his fingers free of the peanut butter. "Duh? Marshal invoked them."
Grimacing, I started brushing the crumbs I had made into a pile. "They're duds. I screwed up. They don't work."
Jenks's eyes went wide, and his heels swung back and forth. "Uh, yes, they do."
I didn't look up from brushing the crumbs off in my napkin. "Uh, no, they don't," I mimicked him. "I tried one at the mall, and it was just a hunk of wood."
But Jenks was shaking his head, dipping for another clump of peanut butter with his chopsticks. "I was there when Marshal invoked them. They smelled okay to me."
Exhaling, I leaned back in my chair and shook my napkin out under the table. Either the tear Edden had given me was from another banshee, or the amulet I put the potion into was bad. "It smelled like redwood?"
"Absolutely. The amulets even turned green for a second."
The elevator dinged, and I pulled myself closer to the table. "Maybe the one I invoked was a bad amulet," I said softly as Edden said good-bye to Ms. Walker, and Jenks nodded, satisfied.
But a faint sense of unease wouldn't let go as we waited for Edden to rejoin us. There was a third possibility I didn't even want to think about. My blood wasn't entirely witch blood, but proto-demon. It was possible that there were some earth charms I couldn't invoke. And if that was true, then that was one more mark that said I wasn't a witch, but a demon.
Better and better.
