Page 36 of Backpacking through Bedlam

I frowned at her. “I thought you were here to check in on us, as a friend.”

“I am.”

“But the first thing you did was tell us not to go traveling, because the anima mundi doesn’t like having holes punched in the membrane between dimensions.”

“Mmm-hmmm.” Rose popped a bite of cobbler into her mouth, swallowing before she said, “This is amazing, as always, Cyn.”

“Always glad to delight the dead,” said Cynthia mildly.

“And now you’re telling me the Ocean Lady wants the Covenant gone, and I didn’t give you that cobbler, so how can you taste it?”

“Oh, that.” Rose looked at her plate like it had betrayed her, heaving a put-upon sigh. “I always forget. I’m a Fury now. Different rules. And I really did start your way because I wanted to see if you’d actually fetched Tommy home with you. I was halfway here when the anima mundi called, told me I had to make sure you were staying put for a while, and dropped me back into the daylight, where my next pickup was a routewitch with a message from the Lady. At which point this was very much a work visit.”

“If anyone’s going to get them out of New York, it’s the two greatest traitors of the last century showing up and providing a distraction,” said Cynthia. “Just don’t lead them back here. We have enough to worry about.”

“How are we supposed to get to New York?” I asked. “We don’t have a vehicle or legal identification for Thomas and Sally. We need to rest, recover, and head for Las Vegas, to make sure they exist on paper.”

“The Ocean Lady is asking you for a favor,” said Rose. “You really think she won’t supply you with transport to wherever it is you need to go? You say you’ll do this for her, you’ll have a car ready first thing in the morning.”

I looked to Thomas. He shrugged. It had been too long since he’d been a part of the playing field; he didn’t know whether this was the right thing to do or not.

Of course not. I looked back to Rose.

“Where is everyone?” I asked. “Right now. Our family. Where are they?”

Rose took another bite of cobbler. “Immediate or extended?”

“Immediate.”

“Let’s see. Kevin and Jane are in Portland, with Evie and Ted. Elsie’s home right now, and so’s her brother.”

“Artie being home is nothing new.”

“Did I say his name was Artie?” Rose managed to make the question ominous and mild at the same time. “He’s home, either way. Annie’s there with Sam and James. They want to stay out of the line of fire for right now, and Portland’s far enough from the current battlefield. Alex, Shelby, and Charlotte are in Ohio with Angela, Martin, and the flock of little cuckoos Angela’s trying to rehabilitate. And Verity, Dominic, and Olivia are in New York with Sarah and Mary, trying to hold off the Covenant. I’m pretty sure Mary’s hair would be going white, if it hadn’t turned white when she died. No one likes to be a babysitter in a war zone.”

I bit my lip, looking at Thomas again. Our family was scattered across the continent, and the ones in New York needed us most right now.

He met my eyes and nodded. “Well, then, Rose, I believe you can tell your Ocean Lady we’ll be heading for New York in the morning.”

“Does that mean no groceries?” asked Cynthia.

“Yeah, for now, but we’ll still need that cake, since the colony will be mostly staying here,” I said. “There’s one more thing you could do for me?”

Cynthia looked wary. “What’s that?”

I indicated Sally with a sweep of my hand. “She has no clothes she’s not currently wearing, and that’s going to get unpleasant fast. Is there anyone working at the bar right now who might be able to help her out?”

Cynthia’s wariness melted into an almost-feral grin, and Sally started to look nervous. I leaned over to scoop some cobbler onto a plate.

So much for taking some time to rest and recover. At least it wouldn’t be boring.

Ten

“If family’s in trouble, I don’t care if the damn house is on fire. You get out there, and you help them. That’s what keeps us worthy of being a part of a family. Being willing to help when they need us.”

—Enid Healy

The old Parrish place, Buckley Township, Michigan