“Marty should work her cases. I will look into the ripple and shadows.”
“I can still visit the Sisterhood.”
“Marty, I’d prefer you stay away from anything dealing with your father, including the shadows,” said Sterling.
“I can handle myself.”
“I don’t want you hurt and if we need to bring you in, we can. For now, your cases are enough to keep you busy. I also need to see about getting the Agency back up and running,” he added.
“You don’t even know whether Reginald will agree to let us rebuild the Agency,” I said. “But I don’t see how we can accept clients if we aren’t even on earth.”
“Regardless, we need money. So, you’re going to resume your cases and expedite finishing them,” said Sterling.
“There’s no rush in getting your Agency fixed. As you see, I’ve more than enough space and the means to keep you all here for a while.”
“While that’s appreciated, we do need these cases worked. One of Marty’s is a missing teen that was cancelled and then reopened.”
“Why aren’t the enforcers handing it?” Lochlan asked.
“I’m not sure, but that’s what I intend to find out. It’s been weird from the start. They hired us, then the girl came back, so they cancelled their contract. Several days after, then they re-hired us for the same reason because she was gone again.”
“That does sound unusual and may still be better handled by the enforcers.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you aren’t my boss then.”
“Easy Marty. I didn’t suggest the enforcers because I thought you couldn’t handle it, but because this sounds like a complicated case when you already have a lot going on,” said Sterling, who looked confused at my aggression. To be honest, I was a tad confused about it as well. “Sterling, I’d like to help you with the ripple and the shadows. While, I have cases, in between I can help,” Lochlan added.
“You’re going to let him help and not me?” I asked.
“Yes, I am.”
7
The next morning, I left a grumbling Zander, Callie, and Jennica to start their training with Elon. Lochlan was graciously escorting Muffin and me to the gate to transport us back to the Earthly Realm.
Although, I’d have preferred Elon’s company to his because he was a major distraction when I needed to be focused. Lochlan was so hard to understand and I was still so attracted and drawn to him. He claimed to want to help and protect us, but not telling us we were in fae lands was an important detail that impacted that our safety. It was foolish to trespass on any supernatural creature’s realm without permission. That is the kind of thing that can get you tortured or killed.
The entire walk to the gate, I ignored his attempts at conversation, which made me feel better; but didn’t fix anything. My stupid dog seemed to like him and weaved back and forth between us. Muffin managed to only trip me. Traitor dog.
The walk to the gate was the longest thirty-minute trip ever. It was much closer to us than I was comfortable with. Anyone traveling back and forth could easily detour and find his house and encounter one of us. I’d need to be especially careful as I traveled back and forth between the realms – at least until we had proper authority to be in the fae realm.
“How am I going to get back?” I asked.
“So you are going to talk to me? I wondered how long your silent treatment would last.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means exactly what I said. I’ll give you a charm that allows you the access to come and go.”
He stopped and pulled out a metallic disc on a string of leather.
“Wear this and you’ll be able to come and go. I suggest you don’t linger when using the gate. Even with this charm, not being fae, you’re a target.”
“I became a target when you brought us here without disclosing where you were taking us.”
“I wondered when you’d bring that up.”
“Did you? So why didn’t you tell us? We trusted you. I trusted you.”
His expression softened and some unidentifiable emotion passed over his face. He reached for me and I moved back.
“I didn’t betray you, Marty. I’ll always look after you.”
“You have quite an odd way of showing it.”
“That’s harsh. What should I have done instead? I didn’t exactly have many options at the time.”
“Somewhere non-fae.”
“The Fae Realm is the only place that can survive uncontrolled magic like yours. Because it’s magical itself. I had no choice.”
“We always have a choice. You took ours away when you withheld the details about where you were taking us.”
“Fair enough. In the future, I’ll include you and the others on decisions that affect you.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“I have no doubt that you will.”
I leapt for the gate, tugging an unwilling Muffin with me. The gate led me to the Mid Line. I got lots of looks from the people we passed by. Muffin trotted along next to me oblivious to the startled and fearful reactions of the people around us.
It was a short walk to Pawn Shop to recover Betty. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t take her back to the fae lands, but nothing mechanical could survive there. Something about the magic made them break. And, while Betty wasn’t a normal vehicle, I still wasn’t willing to risk it.
I walked into Pawn Shop – a less creatively named place probably didn’t exist. I didn’t see Rufus, but I did see a new guy working the counter.
“I’m here to see Rufus.”
“Who’s asking?” asked the man at the counter.
“Tell him that his dream showed up.”
A hearty laugh came from behind the man, who looked confused. I didn’t blame him for it, Rufus wasn’t known for his humor.
“My nightmare is here. You better be here for that hell spawn of a car of yours,” said Rufus.
“You aren’t insulting my baby, are you?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t think of it. My apologies. She’s located in the auto shop, You Break, We Fix,
