Page 25 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

A lean man with gray temples, a loose tie, and a stylish blue suit sat behind the only desk. He looked up with a smile, then lost it again when he noticed how I was dressed.

“I need to change. I’m…being followed.”

He jumped to his feet and hurried to the window to pull his vertical blinds shut. Then he pointed to an inner door. “Toilet’s just through theeere, so it is,” he said, with a thick accent like Bridie’s. He moved to the entrance and turned a lock. “Ye won’t be botherrred.”

I had no reason not to trust him, and I was grateful he’d taken me at my word when I said I was being followed.

I thanked him and went into the back. A small hallway had two doors, one of which was cracked open. It was a small bathroom with a bucket and mop sitting in an empty tub. Stacks of yellow legal pads, printed forms, and giant envelopes sat on shelves above the toilet, topped with a thin veil of dust. Nothing shiny in sight. Even the mirror was pocked along the perimeter with spots of rust.

I was definitely back in the mortal world.

My hair looked surprisingly decent if I was going for hanging curls. My dress, though, looked even more garish compared to my surroundings. My makeup made me look like one of those characters from the Johnny Depp version of Alice in Wonderland, where no one looked good.

I found an actual washrag in a drawer and started scrubbing. If Orion came hunting for Lucy Morgan, she was about to be washed down the drain. If Muddy saw me, though, he would remember what I looked like that morning when we met, so I was in trouble there.

Too bad there weren't hair salons open late at night. I couldn't turn myself into a blonde myself because my hair was too dark, but maybe I could go red...

Once I was back in my own clothes with the Fae washed off me, I pulled a hundred euro note from one of the bundles. I paused in the hallway to listen, but the office was quiet. No one pounding on the windows. No one calling the police.

I stepped out and found my host pacing in front of the windows.

"No one searching the street." He pointed to his computer screen that showed four camera angles outside the building. "Do you need to stay for a bit?"

I shook my head. "I think it's better if I get out of town." I waved the money, then set it on his desk.

"Here, nooow. Take that back. Unless ye need tax or investment advice, yer blunt's no good heeere." He came around the desk and held out his hand. "I'm Jamie, Jamie Godstone. I should call it a day myself. Can I drive ye somewhere?"

I wasn't dumb enough to tell a stranger I was headed for Dublin. "I don't suppose there are any ferries out of town?"

"Not Tenby, but Pembroke Port is only twenty minutes west. Happy to drive ye. Four hours to cross the channel, if ye don't mind Ireland."

"No. No, I don't mind Ireland."

“Trouble is, it doesnae leave until niiine in the mornin’. Ye’re welcome to sleep on the sofa here. Or ye might be more comfortable on the one in my flat, upstairs here.” He pointed to the ceiling. “Sounds dubious, but I’m neither a molesterrr nor a murderer.”

“No? Well, I might be.”

He chuckled and looked me over, then searched my eyes for a minute. “I’m a fair judge of questionable clientele. A killer, maybe. Not a murderer, though. Considerin’ yer muscle tone, I assume ye can manage yerself against anyonnne?”

“Yes,” I said, to all of it.

He searched my eyes again and sobered when he realized what I’d admitted to. Then he plucked the euro note off the desk and tucked it into the side pocket of my duffle. "Ye'll need this more than I will."

"You're being awfully generous."

"Aye, and why not?"

"Well, it might be dangerous to know me."

He snorted. "Is the mafia after ye, then?"

"Worse."

He snorted. "What's that? Fairies?"

I lifted my eyebrows. He started to roll his eyes, then thought better of it and crossed himself. "Well, then, don't go wavin' that dress around. They're draaawn to shiny bits."

Had I not known, firsthand, how often fairies came up in daily conversation among Brits, I might have worried. Instead, I just said, "Tell me about it."

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