For a Few Demons More(164)
“Jenks!” I shouted again as I found the phone and hit it to dial. There was no answer, and I hung up before I was dumped into voice mail. A pang of fear shot through me, and I tried to collect myself before I went and did something stupid.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to get my car keys, hesitating in confusion. Where did I leave my bag?
“Jenks, where in hell are you!” I shouted, rubbing my aching upper arm. My wrist, too, was sore, and I shook it as I darted into the living room to see if my bag was in there, cataloging a myriad of aches and pains from my stiff neck to my aching foot. Why am I limping? I’m not that old. Unease went through me at the silence, and one hand was still holding my upper arm as I looked at the barren room in confusion.
“Rachel,” came Jenks’s worried, muffled voice an instant before he zipped in through the chimney, a thin trail of silver marking his path. “You’re awake.”
I stared at the vacant space, ticked—not because I had come in here searching for my bag and forgetting that the room was empty but because he looked scared. He ought to be. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” I exclaimed, tucking my shirt in as he spilled dust coated with chimney soot. “Kisten was alone all night, and he’s not answering his phone!”
“Are you okay?” he asked, coming too close, and I pulled back, my neck protesting.
“Apart from falling asleep in the middle of my bloody day and leaving Kisten alone, yeah,” I said sarcastically, weight on one foot. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
Jenks’s wings dropped in pitch, and he landed on the mantel. “He called. After you fell asleep. Said he was moving underground to lessen the chance that anyone would hurt you to get to him. You needed the sleep,” he said, sounding eerily relieved. “And besides, Piscary might not think the focus is worth you and Kisten both.” His features tightened, and he couldn’t seem to keep his wings from moving.
My urge to race to Nick’s apartment slid into a general worry, and I focused on Jenks standing nervously on the fireplace. Kisten went underground without telling me? “He called before sundown?” I asked. I didn’t want to feel guilty that my not being there forced him out into the open. Jenks shrugged, and I muttered, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Jenks reached to clean the soot from his wings like a tiny cat. His distress clear, he said, “You needed the sleep. Kisten going underground was the best thing for everyone.”
“Yeah?” I shot back sourly. “If he’s not careful, he’s going to be permanently underground.” Frowning, I headed back to the kitchen and some coffee. He went into hiding? In what? A towel and a smile? And what was it with this human time clock I was on anyway?
Jenks took to the air to follow me. “Rache, Kisten was right. I wouldn’t want you there either whenever whoever Piscary gave Kisten to finds him.”
“Why? Because I might save his ass?” I exclaimed, frustrated as I stood in the sun and dumped out yesterday’s coffee. It was a painful reminder that Ivy was gone; she’d never let the coffee sit like that. My arm hurt, and I held it as I ran the water to rinse out the pot. “Damn it, Jenks! Letting a vampire drain someone to death as a thank-you is twisted and sick! Especially when the person being murdered thinks it’s acceptable. Piscary is an animal! You think I like that he’s the only one I can go to for protection? You think I like giving the focus to him? If I thought he’d do anything other than stick it into hiding, I’d give it to someone else. But I won’t let Kisten die.”
Jenks’s wings drooped as he landed beside Mr. Fish, the sun shining through them to make sparkles on my hands. Feeling like an ass for my outburst, I put cold water in the pot and wiped it dry with a hand towel. “Sorry,” I said, knowing that this animal was my best long-term insurance to stay alive. How did I get here? Depressed, I pushed the coffeepot away, not feeling up to making coffee anymore. “Kisten must think I’m a boob for falling asleep,” I muttered.
“He knew you were tired.” His brow was creased, and he sounded almost bitter. “Don’t worry about him. Kisten probably has plans you don’t even know about.” Jenks lifted into the air and gave himself a shake to sift the last of the soot into the sink. “Besides, I’ve got some news that’s going to make you piss your pants.”
I didn’t want to hear whatever gossip he had dug up, and I held my upper arm and tried to remember where I had left my shoulder bag. I had to talk to Kisten. Damn it, this wasn’t fair. He was running away like an old cat to die in the woods. That was the terrifying part—that he accepted his murder willingly. Like he deserved to be treated like a thing.