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I suddenly feel incredibly stupid. There are big gaps in Kassam's story and I've been too dazzled to ask about them. "Um…that he's the god of the wild and he's stuck here."
"Did he say why?" When I shake my head, her brows go up. "Don't you think you should ask?"
"He said I had to die for him to return to his world. I have to admit, I kinda stopped asking after that."
Lachesis snorts. "A string may look flimsy, but it always has two ends. Remember that." She points her cigarette at me. "The rules are different in each world, too. Remember that, as well." She stubs out her cigarette and gets to her feet. "And I'm sure I've said enough to get me in trouble, so I'll be going."
"Wait," I say, reaching for her hand. "I have so many questions—"
She snatches her hand away before I can touch her, shaking her head. "You don't want to do that." Her expression looks worried more than offended. "Just trust me. And tell your mom to stop."
"But I need help, and you have answers," I say, following after her as she gets up from the bar. I duck under, pushing through the throng of people on the other side and race up to Lachesis's side. "Please, help us. How do I send him home?"
"You'd think that's an easy question, wouldn't you?" The woman shakes her head, a few stray tendrils of hair drifting loose. "But therein is the problem. Where exactly are you sending him and how? A better question is…how did he get here? And who sent him? That's where you'll find your answers." She purses her lips, as if angry with herself. "I've already said too much, though. Good luck, honey."
Before I can follow her further, the crowd closes around me and she disappears into the throng. By the time I fight my way free from the patrons crowding the bar, I can't find her anywhere. I bite back a growl of frustration and turn toward Kassam, heading for his side. The mob is thickest here, even if he's ignoring them, and I'm not entirely surprised to see he has a ferret on his shoulder. "Where did you get that?"
"Carly, my light," Kassam says, turning toward me with a brilliant smile. He shrugs at the ferret, rubbing his nose against its fur. "It is my friend."
"I know which drink is your favorite." He holds up a shot glass that has a cherry stem in it, only a hint of grenadine and cherry liqueur at the bottom. That's right, I'm a bartender with the tastebuds of a sorority girl. Cherry bomb is my favorite. "Did I guess correctly?"
"You did, and now we have to go." I hold a hand out to him, ignoring the groans of the patrons around us. "We've got a lot to do tonight."
"Do we?" Kassam purrs, and hot pleasure shoots across our touch.
I brace myself against it, tugging him toward the door. Coming in was a mistake, but Lachesis gave me things to think about. I need to call my mom and get her to stop casting my cards. I need to quiz Kassam and find out what's really going on before he distracts me again. Most of all, we need to get out of here before some other god figures out where we are and shows up. Lachesis said she wasn't the one following us earlier, which means we've still got an unknown quantity out there.
And I don't know if it's friendly or not.
Dragging Kassam behind me, we're nearly at the door when Charlie calls my name. "Carly! Stop! Wait!"
Ugh. I grit my teeth and turn as he races toward us. "I can't stay, Charlie. I'm sorry."
His eyes are wide. "You can't leave me. We're packed—"
"I know. I can't stay. It'll ease off after we leave, I promise." Since Kassam won't be around to pull people in like a magnet, I'm pretty confident in that prediction. "I just…there's too much going on."
Charlie's normally easy-going face turns dark with frustration. "If you leave, you're fired."
I just shake my head and pull the god toward the door again. I can't work anyhow. Not until this situation with Kassam is solved. I'll just…have to figure something out. Somehow. "Goodbye, Charlie."
"Carly, please!" There's desperation in his voice—he's looking forward to a night of angry customers who won't tip for shit because of slow service, and I don't blame him for being upset. But he doesn't realize that I can't stay. Not with things like they are. So I take a deep breath, promise myself I'll make it up to him someday, and lead Kassam out to my car. I hate having to leave work so quickly after arriving, but if we stay, I don't know what sort of nonsense will happen next.
