A frown pulls at my lips, Calix and Gunnar were laughingatme. An ugly feeling takes root in my stomach, and I flip around in my seat and face forward. I love singing. I’ve never thought about whether or not I was good or bad at it. No one has ever been around long enough to hear me sing.
“Dami…” Calix’s voice is pleading, and he’s no longer fighting off his laughter.
I jerk my shoulder up in what I’m hoping is a shrug. “It’s fine.” I force myself to smile, even though it’s one of the last things I want to do, but it’s more important not to let them know something so trivial could hurt my feelings so much. Leaning forward, I hit the button for shuffle, no longer interested in the radio. Another song comes on, this one is a little more subdued, and no one sings along.
Calix tries to engage me in conversation several times before just giving up when I keep my answers to single syllables. I’m not ignoring him, but I don’t want to chat either. The long journey ahead suddenly doesn’t seem to hold nearly as much fun as I’d hoped.
My butt hurts after the third hour, and I’m bored. City after city passes by without any differences between them other than the fast food restaurants they offer.
“We should just blink,” I state, interrupting Calix and Grim’s conversation.
“What? Why?” Gunnar moves his right hand from the steering wheel and places it on my thigh, giving me a gentle squeeze.
“There’s no point in wasting this much time driving when we can get there like this.” I snap my fingers. Calix stays quiet this time, not insisting on driving because I wanted to. “We could find long-term parking near an airport and come back for the car on the way home,” I suggest, proving I’ve been thinking about this for a while.
I hear Calix let out a heavy sigh and wonder if I overreacted to him laughing at me. That nasty feeling settles in my stomach again when I think about it. Nope, still don’t like being laughed at.
“If we get there faster, we will have a better chance of figuring out who killed the Kelpie. We can always drive back,” I propose, and taste the lie on my tongue. I won’t want to drive then either. I have no clue why I thought this would be so fun.
“You up for it, Loverboy?” I ask Grim, trying to sound more cheerful.
“Whatever you want, Omnia. Always.”
I catch Calix scowling at Grim from the corner of my eye. “Let’s see if we can find someplace to park,” I say, making it official. I’m over this road trip. Am I being a little bit of a brat? Probably, but at least I own that shit. “Looks like Boise would be the closest, but we would have to backtrack a little,” I tell Gunnar after looking over my map.
“If you’re sure.” He eyes me, then adds, “I’m not really worried about where we park the car. I can make arrangements to have it taken care of.”
I readjust myself in my seat and nod. “Yeah, I’m sure. My ass hurts.” Calix chuckles, but quickly cuts himself off. I feel a small stab of guilt that he feels like he can’t laugh, so I make an effort to look over my shoulder and give him a grin. He examines my face, and his lips thin at whatever he sees.
“Sorry,” he mumbles, taking his eyes off mine to look out the window at his side. He’s pouting too. Aren’t we a pair?
“We’ll stop when we hit the next city.” Gunnar lets out a small sigh, which sounds a lot like relief. Insisting we drive was really rather selfish anyway. Who cares that I’ve never been on a road trip? This isn’t some fucking vacation. We’re going so we can stop a witch from killing the Charmed.
“Do you know the Marshall House?” Grim leans between the two front seats, speaking to Gunnar, and I feel his long fingers brush against my arm before he scoots up even more and wraps his forearm over my chest. “Meet us there.” In the next second, I’m in Grim’s arms and we’re standing on a dark empty street.
“In a hurry to get out of the car? You’ll have to go get Calix,” I remind him.
“He can find his way,” Grim offers, looking around as he laces his fingers through mine and tugs me along with him.
“He can’t travel like you.”
Grim halts. “He has means, Damiana. He will just have to shift.”
“Oh, he did mention he could travel faster when he shifted.” I look down at the sidewalk. It feels like Grim is punishing Calix because he upset me, and I don’t know how I feel about it. Well, I guess I do. I’m just conflicted about my feelings.
“It won’t take them long to find a place for the vehicle before they follow us,” Grim tells me, as he resumes walking up the street. He takes us around a corner to a mostly deserted road, but there are several buildings all lit up, showcasing a wide street lined with trees and flowerpots.
“Wait, are we in the right place?” I look around, noticing the hotel Grim is leading us toward. The front façade looks like something I would expect to see in New Orleans. Rows of long windows are bracketed by green plantation shutters, and scrolled wrought iron balconies overlook the street.
“This is the place,” Grim confirms.
The building is illuminated so brightly, I want to shield my eyes, but I squint instead. The interior lighting is a little more subdued, and I suppose humans think the light chases away the things that live in the dark.
The woman behind the wooden desk has a stiff smile and a furrowed brow. “Welcome to Marshall House, how may I help you?” Her eyes start to scan Grim, but it’s like she realizes what she’s doing, and she jerks her gaze back up to his face. Her smile becomes even more brittle.
“We’re waiting for our companions,” Grim informs her, while turning away from the woman.
“I can check you in while you wait.” She taps a few buttons on a keyboard.
