Page 60 of That Ain’t Witchcraft

“Never seemed like something I wanted to do. I mean, I know how—I passed Driver’s Ed, and I passed Driver’s Dead, which was my Aunt Rose and a big, empty parking lot and a whole bunch of screaming.” That had been a fun series of nights. Fun, and terrifying, and enough to firmly cement the idea that driving was something best left to people who didn’t want to be able to grip the dashboard with both hands. “I can usually get by on public transit, roller skates, and cadging rides from people. Plus no one suspects you of being a heavily armed survivalist when you’re taking the local light rail. It’s a sort of camouflage.”

“Lots of weirdoes ride the bus,” said James approvingly.

“And we are among the weirdoes.”

He turned off the main road and onto the gravel drive that would take us to the house. I regretfully let go of the back of the bike.

“Hang on a second, okay? I need to put my shoes on.” The thought of roller skating over gravel, whether or not I was being towed, was enough to make me want to sit down and refuse to move. I didn’t think my legs had ever been this tired. Pain is not the same as damage, but it exhausts the body all the same.

James watched me with concern as I sat down in the gravel and went through the process of swapping skates for shoes. When I was finished, and stood, he asked, “Are you all right? Do you need … I mean, is there …”

“There’s nothing medically wrong with me,” I said. “I’ll explain once we’re inside.”

He didn’t like that answer—I could see it in his eyes—but he accepted it, and held his tongue as we walked the rest of the way along the driveway to the house.

Leonard was on the porch.

I stopped dead, my hands going to the knives at my waistband. “Get behind me, James,” I said, voice low and dangerous.

James, to my surprise, did as he was told. It’s always nice to work with people who can take directions.

“What the hell are you doing here, Cunningham?” It didn’t take much effort to pitch my voice loud enough for Leonard—and hopefully everyone inside the house—to hear. If anything, the effort was keeping myself from screaming. “We don’t want you.”

Leonard turned from his study of the door, eyes widening with surprise and, yes, relief when he saw me. “Annie!” He started forward.

I pulled the knives from under my clothes. He stopped, raising his empty hands.

“I’m not here to fight, and I don’t want to hurt you,” he said. “I wanted to find out if you were all right. I swear on my honor as a Cunningham that this isn’t a trick.”

“You’re a Covenant man,” I snarled. “You have no honor.” My shoulder ached and throbbed, reminding me of exactly what he was capable of.

“I have more honor than you think I do. Annie, please. If you’d just hear me out …”

A curtain twitched in one of the upstairs windows. My stomach unclenched a bit. The others were inside, and safe, although Cylia and Fern probably had their hands full trying to restrain Sam. Leaving Leo locked outside was a decent way of dealing with him, at least until some poor fool—like say, me—came walking up the drive.

“I don’t want to hear you out, Leo,” I said. “I have things to do, and you shot me.”

“In my defense, I was aiming for that beast you keep company with.”

For the first time, James spoke. “I’ve only met the lady recently, and I admit I’m no expert, but it seems to me that shooting her boyfriend is not a good way to endear yourself to her. Maybe apologize, instead of insulting him?”

“Thank you, James,” I said.

Leo frowned. “I think you’ll find this doesn’t concern you.”

“Fascinating.” James moved to stand next to me. “I always assumed the Covenant of St. George would be made up of smart people, from the way it was described in the old books. I never guessed it would be made up of pompous assholes.”

“Now, now, be fair,” I said. “They can be smart pompous assholes.”

Leo’s frown blossomed into a full-fledged glare, which he directed at the two of us without hesitation. “Who is this, Annie? Tell him to leave.”

“This is James, he’s a friend of mine, and I won’t be telling him to leave, thanks, since I want somebody here to see if you decide to shoot me with another crossbow.” I kept my knives up, ready to throw. I wasn’t sure how good my aim would be, but hey. Sometimes you can only learn by doing. “I want you away from here, Leonard. Don’t come near me, or my people, ever again. And do not insult Sam.”

“He’s not even human!” Leo took two steps forward, agitated. I raised my knives. He stopped. “What kind of future can you have with an animal? He’ll never understand you the way I would. He’ll never be able to give you the things you deserve. A home, a family—”

“Oh, now you’re about family? Because last time I saw you, you were super okay with sedating your sister and lying to my cousin about who I really was. You’re not trying to make sure I’m okay. You’re trying to make sure I’m yours.”

“Can you blame me?” He lowered his hands. “There’s a war coming, Annie, a war your sister started. You’re a valuable asset, and more importantly, I’m fond of you. I want you to survive when the Covenant takes back this continent. The only way that’s going to happen is if you’re on the right side.”