Page 26 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

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We stepped outside,and I watched the street while he locked up. Another ten feet down the building, he unlocked a door that led to the upper floor apartments. Following him went against everything I’d ever been taught about “stranger danger,” long before they had a rhyming term for it. But whatever might be searching for me was a lot more dangerous than Jamie Godstone.

The flat was small but tidy and didn’t smell like aftershave, which was good in my book. Creeps like Andy Weaver always wore too much aftershave. The furnishings were functional. Very few hints of sentiment and not one speck that glittered.

Back in the seventh grade, I’d played on the junior high basketball team. I remembered what it was like to be so exhausted that I was grateful when the coach took me out of the game to sub one of the other girls in. Grateful for the chance to sit on that bench and breathe. That’s how I felt at that moment, to leave that other world for a little while and catch my breath.

“Not terribly homey,” Jamie admitted, turning the deadbolt and sliding the chain into place. “But after I lost my wife, I didn’t see a need for rattlin’ around a big house alone.”

“Lost her?”

“Died. Depression got the best of her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And just what should I call ye?”

“Um…um…” Someone might come looking for Lennon or Lucy, so those were out.

He shook his head. “I’ll just call ye Joey, shall I?” He went into the next room. “Be out in a shaaake.”

I moved back to the door, tested the lock and slid the chain, making sure I could open it all quickly if necessary. Then I locked it again. The couch was twice as big as the spare, Swedish-looking one in the office, not that I expected to get much sleep.

My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t had so much as a piece of cake for dinner. All that baking and I’d never made it to the food table before Muddy brought the enemy into the house.

“Fish and Chips?” Jamie came out of the bedroom wearing jeans and a wrinkled pullover. “Or there’s Chinese takeaway, Pizzaaa, or an American diner that’s quite good. All at the bottom of the street. Up at the top, we’ve got Tendooori.”

“You choose. I’ll eat anything.”

“Right, then. I’ll be back in a bit.” He grabbed a tan coat, unlocked the door, and suggested I lock it behind him. Then he was gone, and I was alone in a place no one would guess.

I went to the front window and checked the street. All the parking spots were filled now, probably by people who lived in apartments above the local businesses. Like other coastal towns in the UK, Tenby was quite deceiving. You couldn't look at a house and assume it was a house. It might hold a dozen apartments or half a dozen businesses. And now that my eyes had been “opened,” I expected to find surprises everywhere.

But it wasn't just the fairy influence that hid the truth. While we'd been eating our Cawl the day before, Archer had explained why all buildings near the bay were brightly colored—the paint slowed the rot and kept out the moisture from the sea. Sadly, that knowledge dulled a little bit of the charm.

I watched Jamie as he headed down the street, his phone to his ear. I assumed he was calling ahead, so he didn't have to wait at whatever restaurant he'd chosen. Of course it was possible he was calling someone else...to talk about the stranger he'd left in his apartment. But if he was hoping to turn me in to someone for a reward, he would have taken my hundred euros and hoped there was more where that came from.

I pictured that bill sitting on his desk, beside the monitor that showed the camera angles, and my stomach took a kick. Forget the disgusting implications--if he had a camera in the bathroom, he would have seen me filling the sink with cash so I could get my clothes and boots out of the bottom of the bag and replace them with the shiny stuff!

I'd done a little counting, a little guesstimating. Between euros and pounds, there might be fifty thousand dollars in my bag. What was a hundred euros compared to that?

I had to get out of there. Yes, humans were much easier to understand than Fae. Much easier to predict. But they weren't any easier to trust.

I scolded myself for not listening to my instincts. If Kitch knew what I’d done, he’d disown me. Sure, I could wait around and see if he brought back dinner, or if he brought back some accomplice, but I'd survived this unbelievably dangerous day, and I wasn't about to risk my neck another minute!

Jamie could have been ordering a pizza. I could be paranoid. But if I was going to live to see tomorrow, I couldn't let down my guard. My rollercoaster hadn't yet come to a complete stop.

"Keep your arms and legs inside at all times..."

9

Gathering Compasses

Ibuttoned up my jacket, grabbed my duffle, and left the building. While the smart move might have been to head further up the street, my curiosity got the best of me and I nearly caught up to Jamie before he reached the bottom of Warren Street. From there, he was easy to follow, his tan coat all but glowing in the dark.

He ducked into the American Grill, so I made my way to the side of the building where I could stand in the dark and see the interior through a window. He stood at the counter for a minute, then moved to a bench along the far wall. A few minutes later, another man entered alone, didn’t bother ordering, and went directly to the bench to join Jamie.

Hehadcalled someone.

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