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I reluctantly got dressed, then carried the bustier and gown to the counter. "Okay, you win. I have to have these. I want a dress like that nightgown, Erin, if you can find one that's not see-through." Glancing around, I saw that Cleo had disappeared. "Your friend's gone? He seems nice."
"Cleo's one of the best," she said. "He's confused right now—not sure just what he is—but he's good-hearted, and every spare cent he gets goes to his kid and her mother. As he told me one day, his daughter and ex-wife didn't know he was gay—or bi—or whatever he is, and he's not about to make them pay the cost for it. So he goes to school in the day and works at the club at night and on Saturdays." She rang up my purchases and wrapped my lingerie in tissue paper, sliding it into a pink bag with red handles. "That will be $257.34."
As I wrote out a check, I asked, "What's he studying?" "Computer programming. He wants to get on at Microsoft eventually." She handed me the bag. "If you ever need a good techie, he's the one to go to."
I nodded, making a note to remember her advice. You never knew when you'd need a good hacker, and even if we managed to defeat Bad Ass Luke and his cronies, I had the nasty feeling we were settling in for a long fight. I blew Erin a kiss and hit the sidewalk, running the rest of the way to the shop as a flurry of rain sprinkled around me.
Iris looked extremely glad to see me. "You've got a problem," she said when I popped through the door.
"You think? I'm stuck Earthside with three demons running amok through the city. Of course I've got problems!" I shook the water out of my hair and set my shopping bag behind the counter. At Iris's unimpressed look and the tapping of her fingers on the counter, I sighed. "Okay, so what's gone wrong now? We have termites? The roof leaking? Somebody stealing books again?"
"No termites, no leaks, and no thieves. What is wrong is that the Guardian Watchdogs are going to be picketing the shop next week." She held up a flier. "I found this slapped on the door this morning."
I took the paper and glanced at it. In garish tones of blue and white with black lettering, it was a "cease and desist" flier, ordering us to pack up and return to Otherworld or we'd "face the consequences." Which meant that they'd stand around outside the shop with their signs, chanting insults at the top of their lungs, driving customers inside instead of away.
"They're good for business," I said. "Let them come. If they get nasty, I'll call Chase, and he'll haul their asses away."
Iris grinned. "You want me to set a few trip spells out there for them?"
"Now, now," I said, meeting her gleam for gleam, "that wouldn't be very nice. Tell you what, if they get obnoxious enough, you can have a go at them before I pick up the phone. Nothing harmful, mind you, not unless they try to hurt us, but I'll look the other way if you just happen to drop a clothing optional spell or something of the sort."
With a giggle, she shook her long hair, which fell to her feet and was caught up in a couple of thick ponytails. "You're bad. That's why I like working here," she said. "How's the investigation going? By the looks of that shopping bag, you weren't out chasing demons." She lowered her voice and pointed to one of the shelves, where Henry Jeffries was standing, peering through the various titles. I had a feeling Henry had a little crush on Iris, but he'd never be the first to say it aloud.
"Chase is supposed to meet me here. He had to meet with his boss first. And once again, I mention his name and there he is," I added as he darted through the door, shaking off his umbrella. He didn't look too happy. I sniffed. Spicy beef tacos, all right, along with a good dose of irritation. "Hey, what gives? Your thundercloud is showing."
He grunted. "Save it. I just got a tongue-lashing from Devins. Apparently, the Guardian Watchdogs are at it again, and Devins wants to know why I haven't figured out some way to shut them up. I told him that I'm not PR, but he seems to have the belief that since the Watchdogs formed because of the appearance of you Faeries, issues with them fall under my jurisdiction."
"Ugh. Sounds absolutely delightful. Maybe this will make you feel better. I've got an idea on how to track down the harpy." I held up the feather.
"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," he said. "But it couldn't be worse than facing down that prick of a boss again. Let's take a trip into hell."
With a warning shake of the head, I said, "Don't even joke about that, Chase. Now, do you want to hear my plan or not?"
He shook his head. "Sure, why not make this a complete freak show of a day?" As I glowered, he started to laugh. "Lead on, my dear Camille. I've never tried fried harpy before."
* * *
CHAPTER 8
"So what's the big plan?" Chase asked.
"I'm going to cast a spell of Finding on this feather. It might work."
"Oh really." Chase raised one eyebrow. "Should I wear a bulletproof vest and whatever else I can think of to protect myself?" His voice clearly indicated he had his doubts.
"Funny man. My magic works part of the time." I pointed to the door. "Come on. I need to get up on the roof of a tall building where I have a good view of the city."
"Part of the time isn't a good track record," he said. "And does it have to be the roof?"
"Nope, but someplace I can lean outside." I slung my purse over my shoulder and gave Iris a quick hug. "I'll see you later. Don't let anybody paw through my shopping bag."
Chase shook his head. "There's no doubt that I'm going to regret this," he said, holding the door open for me. "If you need a good view of the city from above, I know just the place. But please, for God's sake, don't knock us over the edge."
Half an hour later we were standing in front of the Space Needle. I hadn't had a chance to visit the Seattle landmark yet. The skyscrapers in the city scared me, though Delilah loved them. In Otherworld, there were castles that were taller than this stark steel structure, but they seemed more fortified, and I had no problem standing on their ramparts.
I gave Chase a long look. "Can you get any more public?"
He grinned. "You said high place, good view. The Space Needle has an observation deck that will give us access to almost the entire city. What more do you want? You don't need to light any fires or burn anything do you? I don't think they'd like it if you did."
