Page 25 of Amber Gambler

To keep folks at a distance addressed only half the problem. “The ward will conceal it until then?”

“No one will be able to access the area six feet around it either.” Her gaze flicked to Badb. “We can’t risk a bird getting a hold of any seeds and scattering them.” She stroked the bark as if petting the tree. “Tilda says I can trust you, but I don’t know you. Consider this fair warning.” Her wispy hair swirled in an unseen breeze. “I will erase your memories of this tree—of this conversation—should you tell anyone else about its existence. This much power can’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“You should know my brother and sister were with me the night the tree was struck.” I maintained a casual tone. “Threaten me all you want. Harm them, even look at them the wrong way, and it will be the last thing you ever do.”

“Keep them quiet, and they’ll be safe from me.”

“They’ll be safe from you, or the god I think is responsible for this tree will pay you a visit.” I gestured toward the lightning-struck tree. “As you can see, he’s got excellent aim.”

A bluff, since Kierce wasn’t a full-blooded god, but he was the next best thing.

The roses in her cheeks faded to an ashy gray, and she swallowed once. “Good night, Ms. Talbot.”

“Night, Ms. Moore.”

Invoices consumed my morning,along with phone calls to customers. The shop was slammed with work, which left me pitying Pedro for the headache he inherited when I seated him in Matty’s body for the day after my brother spent the entire night drinking and dancing. I brought him ibuprofen and Gatorade, but neither had eased the pinched line between his brows. I shouldn’t have put my sibs up to Lure on a work night, but I hadn’t wanted to fumble the opportunity to make amends with Carter either.

I knew better than most that you couldn’t help your nature. You could only make the best of it.

“I hate you.”

Standing in the doorway, wearing dark sunglasses, Josie hunched against the doorframe.

“What time did you get home?” I examined her. “Matty walked in as I was on my way to wake him.”

“Just now.” She slid her back down the frame until she sat on the floor. “I must still be drunk.”

“From the smell, I would say it’s possible.”

“I swear the tree—the burning tree—is gone.” She shook her head, hissing through her teeth, gripping the sides of her skull, then slumped onto her side on the floor. “No more tequila for me.”

“The treeisgone.” I pitied her as she curled into a ball. “From sight.”

“Are you talking in riddles or is it all the Honey Traps talking?”

Bee pollen, Mijenta Reposado Tequila, local honey, kosher salt, lemon and ginger juice, and Mezcal.

A more fitting drink for a dryad didn’t exist, and I hated that Armie had turned her onto them.

“Carter dispatched someone to evaluate the burning phenomenon last night. The dendrologist, a Charity Moore, came back out bright and early with supplies. She and her coworkers warded the tree to prevent it from attracting the wrong kind of attention.” I doubted she would recall much of this conversation, but it looked like it was happening anyway. “We’ve been cautioned not to mention it to anyone.”

“Or else?”

“Or else,” I agreed, rising to help her to her feet. “We’ll talk again when you’re sober.”

“Good plan.” She shot me two thumbs-up that drooped sideways. “Sober is good.”

Walking out through the shop, I paused to let Pedro know I was helping Josie to her apartment.

“Take care of our girl,” he called from under the matte-gray hood of what had begun as a 1967 Chevrolet C10 pickup but was now what the Suarezes affectionately deemed a Frankentruck. With a chopped top, shaved sides, Oldsmobile door handles, custom bumpers, and a diamond aluminum bed with stretched steel sides, it was a total rat rod. “I’m good here for the next hour.”

“I won’t be gone long,” I promised, shuffling Josie out the open bay doors into the sunlight, which would have fueled her under normal circumstances but caused her to flinch from the brightness. “Worth it?”

“Did you see Carter last night?” She groaned from deep in her chest. “She has magic fingers.”

“I don’t need to know that or want to know that and wish I had never been told that.”

“She gave me a foot and calf massage after I tweaked my ankle on the dance floor.” Josie wilted over me, mashing her face against my shoulder. “I might be pregnant.”

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