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“Wherever you’d like.” He folds his paper in half and pushes it to the side, as I splay my hands on either side of my cup, weighing my options.
Chay is Paloma’s trusted friend, and as I recently discovered, he’s also her boyfriend. He’s seen me at my absolute, sulkiest worst. Drove me all the way from Phoenix to Enchantment without a single complaint. Accompanied me to the place of my vision quest and gave me the confidence I needed to venture into that cave. He left Kachina in my care for however long I choose to look after her.
He’s a good man.
Someone I can trust.
Maybe not with everything, but then I have no intention of telling him everything.
I lift my gaze to meet his, take a deep breath, and plunge in. Watching as he twists nervously at the eagle ring he always wears with the two golden stones standing in for the eyes, when I tell him all about the Lowerworld going to hell. Going on to explain about the Echo, how I finally discovered what it truly means, for Dace, for Cade, for all of us.
“And then, of course, there’s the small matter of the prophecy,” I say, voice filled with sarcasm, when the truth is, the prophecy looms larger than life—it’s all I can think about. And it’ll no doubt remain that way until I find a way to kick it to the curb—which is something I plan to do soon. Really soon. As soon as I can ditch Chay and cross the street to the Rabbit Hole. “You know about the prophecy, right?”
Chay leans over his coffee, purposely avoiding my eyes. “A prophecy can be interpreted in many ways.”
I lean back in my seat, giving up on my coffee before I can take a third sip. “That’s exactly what Paloma said.” I regard him carefully, taking in the long, dark hair—not as long as Dace’s but still long enough to pull back into a ponytail that falls just past his shoulders—the high cheekbones, the wide mouth, the brown weathered skin, and the kindest eyes I’ve ever seen—other than Dace’s.
“Paloma is a wise woman.” Chay grins. Taking a moment to finish the danish and clear the crumbs from his lips, before he goes on to say, “But that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“Doesn’t it?” I cock my head, daring him to take a stab at guessing the truth, since I have no plans to reveal it.
He leans back in his seat, eyes narrowed in consideration. Clearly sensing my meaning, though probably not in its entirety, he tosses back the rest of his coffee and pushes away from the table. “Let’s you and me take a walk.”
I follow him outside, having no idea where he’s taking me, though I’m pretty sure it won’t be the Rabbit Hole. Or at least I hope not. I don’t need an escort. Some things I’m destined to do on my own.
“Where we going?” I pause beside him on the curb, allowing a line of cars to pass before we cross.
“Bookstore.” He trains his focus to the opposite side of the street where Dace watches me from his truck.
I know without looking it’s him.
I can feel the stream of unconditional love that always surrounds me whenever he’s near.
It takes every last bit of my strength to ignore it. To not look his way. To not jump up and down, waving my hands frantically over my head, as I shout out his name.
It’s bad enough that I love him. Expressing that love is out of the question.
Or at least for now, anyway.
“I need to stop in
here first,” I say, grasping Chay by the elbow and steering him into the corner liquor store, where, once inside, I lean against the wall and fight to steady myself.
“You okay?” Chay peers hard at me.
I nod. Summoning the composure to say, “Would you mind grabbing a pack of cigarettes for me? I’m not old enough to buy them.”
He quirks his brow, shoots me a dubious look.
“It’s the demon snack of choice,” I remind him. “And you never know when you’ll need them.”
thirteen
Dace
I slow when I see them. Sigh in relief as I watch them make their way down Main Street.
Chay’s a good man. Solid. Dependable. Levelheaded. If Daire’s skipping school to meet him, she must have her reasons.
