Page 67 of The Thief

“Sure,” his friend sang with a skeptical roll of the eyes.

I squinted at Krys and the black bear, still unsure whom I’d hit. The bear’s head rested on the floor, his legs tangled in rope. “Krys? Are you okay?”

He stood and groggily rubbed his jaw. “Ricochet” was all he said.

The ball must have hit the bear’s head, bounced off, and struck Krys in the face. Blood dribbled down his chin while he finished tying the Bear’s giant paws together.

Calvin stood next to Mr. Buckethead and directed his remarks to the idiot guzzling beer behind the bar. “Son, if you don’t get your mouth off my tap, I’m gonna glue it shut. Get your ass outside!”

The man in the baseball hat gave him a sheepish grin before stumbling his way toward the doors.

Calvin knocked the butt of his dagger against the bucket to get everyone’s attention. “If any of you peons think about swiping my alcohol when I’m not looking, I’ll blacklist your ass. Consider this your one and only warning. And I’ll share that info with every goddamn bar within a fifty-mile radius, so good luck if you want a drink.” He knocked on the bucket before taking it off the paralyzed Mage’s head. “You hear that, partner? Be sure to tell your friends. And don’t come back for a month. If any of you so much as set one pinky toe in here before then, I’ll slice it off. And don’t think I won’t.” Calvin shoved the guy over, then grabbed his arms to drag him out.

After quickly emptying the bottle of Wild Rabbit, I joined up with Calvin and grabbed the Mage’s feet. He was a big guy, his belly fully exposed where his orange shirt had rolled up.

“Feeling better?” Calvin asked.

“I think I know why you named it the Wild Rabbit.”

He chuckled. “That’s what you get for following a rabbit down a hole.”

“You need a new distributor. And I think you should keep the bottles locked in a safe.”

“Jesus, girl. You can’t even get your head out of business while stoned on magic. But you sure know how to handle trouble. Next time you come in, I’ll show you where I stash my weapons.”

“I never thought I’d have a boss say that to me.” I dropped the Mage’s feet and rushed into Calvin’s arms. “You’re not a big a-hole after all.”

He patted my back. “Save the flattery until after you see what I dock from your pay in damages.”

Chapter 12

The next morning, I woke with no reliable recollection of the previous night. Fragments of hallucinogenic memories tangled with dreams, and I couldn’t separate the two.

Joy and I tagged along with Bear, who wanted to drive to Austin to make a special purchase. It was high time we picked out furniture, and this excursion would give us a chance to scope out the prices. We called Hope to let her know we’d send pictures of anything noteworthy. Everyone else stayed behind to work on the fence.

Over an hour later, we arrived in Austin, and Bear dropped us off in front of the furniture store. It felt good to get out and do something different, especially under a dome of blue sky and sunshine.

From the driver’s-side window, Bear slid his sunglasses onto his head. “You two, stay in this area. I’m not sure how long this’ll take, but when you’re ready to go, send me a message.”

“Will do,” Joy replied. “Take your time. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.”

He gave us a tight grin and locked eyes with me for a brief second before driving away. Even though we’d shared that one night together, we hadn’t talked about it since. So much had been going on, and I’d slept much later than usual this morning. Part of me was avoiding that conversation, especially with the recent upending of my life.

Joy opened her big purse and pulled out a bag of barbecue potato chips. “Here, take one.”

“I better not. After last night, I’m not sure what my stomach can handle. I still feel dizzy.”

She crunched on a potato chip while we headed to the doors. I caught our reflection in the glass. Joy always looked put together even when she dressed casually. Oversized blouses and sweaters were her signature style. Her makeup was soft and barely there. For someone who had spent her life as an entertainer, I found it interesting how she avoided attention.

“I love that poncho,” I said before opening the door.

“Thank you. The bright patterns are delicious. And look! Deep pockets.” She dropped her snack inside one to show me. “Guess where I got it?”

I chuckled. “They might as well let us shop for clothes at home and save us gas. Storybook could use a store like Moonglow. The nearest boutiques belong to humans.”

“Hello, ladies.” A snazzily dressed worker greeted us with an exaggerated smile. “My name’s Josh. What are we looking at today?”

Joy turned toward me and widened her eyes. Sometimes we forgot how pushy humans were until we walked in one of their shops.

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