“Well, I would, but news of my not being dead has gotten around to my clients, and they are asking Rachel why I’m not meeting their deadlines,” I said. “And I have consultations scheduled with about twenty new clients in the next month. Somehow word got around in the supernatural community that Michael’s appraisals may not be up to snuff, because his PhD is under review. It turns out he might not have written the original research he used for his dissertation. You don’t know who might have placed an anonymous call to the administration tipping them off, do you?”
“The Council donates a lot of money to a lot of colleges,” Jane said, smirking. “It’s not my fault if that carries some weight. I’m just glad I can swing that weight around for good instead of evil.”
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. Someone from the American Historical Review called me for an article she’s writing about ‘Shameless Academic Fraud,’ and from what she says, Michael’s already lost his tenure-track position and most of his freelance contracts. All of the journals that published his articles over the years are reviewing every word he’s ever written, preparing official apologies, just in case.” I told her. “Do you really not know where that swingy weight might have landed Finn?”
“I’m not going to try to talk you out of having contact with him, even though I think it’s a terrible, terrible idea. Because I know that will only drive you toward him. I’m seriously considering telling you that he’s the most datable, wonderful person ever to grace the planet.”
Ignoring the obvious segue, I said, “It’s really beautiful here.”
“Thank you. And you’re always welcome here if you want to come visit.” She hugged me tight. “We book nerds need to stick together.”
I enjoyed the hug for a moment. “Maybe you should come visit me next time.”
She nodded, her chin bumping against my shoulder. “Yeah, probably.”
A few days later, I was boarding a plane at the tiny, one-gate Half-Moon Hollow Municipal Airport to prove that air travel hadn’t beaten me. My trip through security was remarkably fast, seeing as I had no luggage and my new purse contained only a Council-issued phone, a replacement photo ID, my check from Specialty Books, and several hundred dollars in cash.
I was not at all worried about boarding this plane. For one thing, Ernie the pilot had been taken into Council custody until they could figure out what to do with him. While Ernie had committed several crimes in the employ of the Kelleys, no one had been (permanently) injured. And the Kelleys weren’t being charged with anything, beyond service on the shifter Council—the not fun, not powerful, spend-a-lot-of-hours-doing-thankless-tasks kind of service. But Ernie did have some extremely sketchy ideas on acceptable ways to make extra cash, not to mention violent tendencies. Jane thought maybe they could make Ernie do something similar, using his piloting skills to do community service hours for one of the vampire Council’s new charitable efforts, just so they could keep an eye on him.
But it did make me feel better that there were already other passengers aboard and a flight attendant who didn’t look at all shifty. And there were two pilots. I knew what was possible and that I could get through it. I wasn’t afraid anymore.
I settled into my seat, still careful to take the one I’d been assigned, because of manners, thank you. I leaned forward, imagining the vacation I would give myself after I got caught up with my work. No texts, no phones, no e-mails for a week, just silence and a bed and a refrigerator full of food I didn’t have to scavenge.
Before my backwoods adventure, that would have sounded like heaven. But suddenly, a week of solitude seemed sort of lonely. Maybe it would be better to travel somewhere? Maybe somewhere tropical? Then again, I’d had enough heat and humidity to last me for a while. Canada? England? Alaska, maybe? The sun would set earlier in that time zone, wouldn’t it? Because Finn—
I shook my head. I didn’t have to worry about the sun anymore.
A happy thrill zipped up my spine. I’d had a passport for years, but I’d never used it, fearing the chaos of long-distance travel. And now I was thinking about a last-minute trip to Anchorage? The world was opening up in a way that was terrifying and exciting all at the same time.
The only drawback was that I would be doing it alone. I wasn’t worried about the safety aspects of it, but it would be lonely. Maybe Rachel would be willing to tag along? If we visited a few bookshops along the way, we might even be able to write it off as a work trip.
My replacement phone beeped, reminding me that I needed to put it in airplane mode. I pulled it from my purse and checked the screen. Jane had texted me.