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Quietly, I turned to Anadey. “What’s the damage?”
She pressed her lips together, then let out a strangled sound. “One dead, three severely wounded and I hope they don’t die before the ambulance gets here. Four others hurt, but they’ll live. What do we tell the emergency techs?”
Geoffrey’s whole tactic about wild dogs did not sit well with me. I stared at Leo, who was glowering at me, and said, “Tell them the truth. A group of deranged Fae broke in and tore up the joint.”
“You can’t—Geoffrey would object—” Leo started but I swung on him.
“I don’t give a flying fuck about what Geoffrey would say. People need to know that there’s danger out there in the woods. For the sake of the gods, they already know it, but nobody’s doing anything and they feel abandoned. Geoffrey controls the town; let Geoffrey fucking step up to the fucking plate and do something about it. Passing off urban legends about wild dogs is just going to get a bunch of pets killed. And you can tell Geoffrey exactly what I said. I don’t care!”
With that, I pushed him aside and swung out into the chill air. I needed to get my head straight. Kaylin joined me.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared up into the sky. “Snow won’t stop till we stop Myst.”
“I know. So what do you suggest? Where should I hide Grieve when we rescue him?”
“A secret place—hidden and hard to escape from.” Kaylin began to whistle, gently, and I turned to him.
“What do you know?”
“I might have access to such a place. You’ll remember, I’ve spent the past year off the grid. Before I moved into your cousin’s house, I hid in a number of places that might do the trick.” He gave me a contemplative look. “I’ll help you but I advise you not to tell Leo where you’re stashing the Fae. In his anger, he might take it upon himself to . . .”
“To rid the world of one more member of the Indigo Court.”
“Exactly.”
“What do you want for helping me?”
Kaylin slowly put his hand on my shoulder and leaned close. “Not everyone is out to use or abuse you. Not everyone has an ulterior motive. You suspect my demon, I can feel it, but not everything that lives in shadows is an automatic threat. Though I can be deadly, I’m not necessarily out to get something from you.”
I raised my gaze to meet his. “You didn’t answer my question.” I’d learned from Lannan and Geoffrey. “What will you ask in return?”
He flashed me an insolent smile, but it wasn’t snide nor was it patronizing. “Only that when I need help, you’ll be there. I watch your back, you watch mine.”
Feeling like a drowning woman clutching at a life preserver that might or might not come from an enemy, I nodded. “Deal. What next?”
“Tomorrow, while the vamps are asleep, we go dreamwalking and find out where that antidote is.” And with a laugh, Kaylin threw his arm around my shoulder and we headed back to the diner.
Chapter 15
As I’d expected, the cops showed up, took the report, and left without a word. No crime scene investigation team, nothing. Either Geoffrey had them firmly cowed or Myst had them charmed. Or maybe a little bit of both. The rest of the patrons wandered off, looking dazed.
Leo headed for Geoffrey’s from the diner while the rest of us offered to stay and help Anadey clean up. She shook her head.
“Go home, kids. You’ve already helped so much. There’s not much left for you to do . . .”
“Yes, there is,” I said, righting a chair. “We can at least clean up and see how much actual damage there is.”
I began tipping tables upright, and Kaylin jumped in to help me. Rhiannon and Peyton pulled out mops and buckets and began cleaning up blood. Anadey looked like she was going to cry.
I said nothing, convinced I was to blame. Anadey was my friend. But she must have noticed my mood because she put her hand on my shoulder.
“This isn’t your fault, Cicely. Myst has it out for all of the magic-born, and remember: She killed my mother to keep her out of the way. We’re all targets. Never let anybody put the blame on your shoulders, regardless of who they are.”
Rhiannon heard but pressed her lips shut. I knew she was torn about Leo’s attitude and accusations, and I decided that I had to put at least some of the tension to rest.
“Guys, gather around a moment.” When they were listening, I took a deep breath. “Kaylin made a valuable point and it’s one I tend to forget. Grieve’s bite enthralls me, and I may act stupid because of it. It’s not Grieve deliberately trying to control me—I’m sure of that. But the fact is, I don’t think things through. I still plan on rescuing him, but I told you that I won’t try to keep him at the house and I want you to know I fully intend to keep my promise.”
“We know that.” Rhiannon rubbed my shoulder. “And Anadey’s right—this isn’t your fault. The Shadow Hunters were taking over the town before you arrived home.”
