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My lips twitched. “The former, I'm afraid.”
“And you're sure it's not your psychic self being totally pissed about being left out of the action and wanting something to do?”
“Totally—though it is indeed a fact that I really don't like being kept out of the loop like this.”
“Well, that makes two of us.” She pushed to her feet. “Given we have no other plans tonight, why don't we just jump in the car—oh. Fuck.”
“Yeah. And it's far too late to hire one.”
“There are times when living in a small country town is a right royal pain.” She slumped back onto the sofa. “It leaves us with two choices—we contact the rangers, or we ring up Ashworth.”
My eyebrows rose. “Why Ashworth?”
“Because the man has a truck he can't drive, and because he came into the café last week and stated he was bored out of his mind.”
“I thought he and Eli would be enjoying the time together?” Especially given Ashworth's job at the RWA generally had him working at all hours and away from home for days—or even weeks—at a time.
“According to Eli, a bored and restless Ashworth is not a pleasant one to be around.” She smiled. “He all but begged me to give them a call the next time your radar went off.”
“Why me? Why not Monty?”
“I asked the exact same thing. Ashworth promptly told me that if we thought this reservation was going to let us off the hook so easily, we had rocks in our heads.”
I snorted. Ashworth had never been backward when it came to stating an opinion, and it was one of the reasons why I liked him. That and the fact he very much reminded me of my grandfather.
As I continued to stare into the gathering darkness, the nebulous feeling that evil stirred strengthened, and my gaze went to the green and purple glow coming from Émigré.
Whatever I was sensing, it was at the club, hunting.
“Which suggests that whatever this evil is, it's not very bright.” Belle pushed upright again. “I'll get the backpack ready—do you want to call a cab?”
“Yes, and I'll also call Maelle, just to give her a heads-up.” She might have said she had no capacity to feel the presence of spirits or even demons, but she was still a very old vampire and one capable of magic. Even if she had no overt awareness when it came to the supernatural, there were certainly spells that could temporarily provide that ability.
I unplugged the phone from the charger, quickly called for a cab, and then dialed Roger. I didn’t have Maelle's direct number, but given the intimate connection between vampire and thrall, calling him was basically the same thing.
“Lizzie Grace,” he said, cool tones edged with surprise. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“An undefined but growing certainty that evil currently lurks in Émigré, waiting to pounce.”
“If you're referring to my mistress, I can assure you she is well fed and of no danger to anyone.”
Although there was no change in the tone or timbre of his voice, it was rather obvious he was making a joke. If he'd believed, in any way, that his mistress was the evil I’d referred to, then Maelle would have taken him over and refuted the statement direc
tly. And it would have also ended any future hopes I had of remaining unbitten.
“News I'm ecstatic to hear,” I replied, voice dry, “but not the point I was trying to make.”
“Indeed.” He suddenly sounded more serious, even if his tone remained the same. “And what evil do you think visits our establishment?”
His use of “our” suggested Maelle was now listening in on the conversation.
“At this stage, I'm not really sure. I'm just ringing to give you a heads-up, and to inform you that Belle and I will be over there in ten minutes.”
“We'll be waiting,” he said. Or she. His voice was a strange mix of both. “In the meantime, we'll do a sweep of the venue and see if anything can be sensed. Thank you for the warning, young Elizabeth.”
That last bit had been pure Maelle.
I hung up, ran into my room to grab a jacket and my purse, and then clattered down the stairs. Belle was just coming out of the reading room, the backpack slung over her shoulder.
