"Hey, lady," I said, inviting her in.
She was carrying a box, and I took it from her and set it on the floor. "I come bearing gifts from Mother. Ready to get the office in order?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." I motioned to her and we headed back to our headquarters.
The room we were using for our joint operations was the back parlor. It was papered with pale roses and old coiling ivy vines; the floors were hardwood and the ceilings vaulted. A bay window faced the side of the house away from the Golden Wood, and built-in shelves covered one wall.
With room for two desks, as well as several display cases, both Peyton and I would have plenty of space. We'd managed to wheedle a good price on the display cases from a shop going out of business, and we'd each provided our own desk—Peyton had taken one of her grandmother's antiques, and I'd confiscated one I found in the attic at the Veil House.
"How's your mom?" I asked. Anadey had become intricately involved in our fight against the Shadow Hunters.
"Tired. The diner is running her ragged. She doesn't say anything, but I know she's afraid that I'll quit before she can find someone to take my place. She shouldn't worry, but she does." Peyton paused for a moment, then quietly asked, "But how are you? You've been through a lot in a short time."
"Yeah." I blinked. Returning to New Forest had been like being tossed in a pot of boiling water. Learn to handle the heat or die. "I'm taking it day by day. I have no idea where this is all going and I'm in too deep to consider taking off again."
"Have you been flying lately?"
I smiled shyly. "Yeah . . . every night that I can. Finding out I'm part Uwilahsidhe has been the only saving grace. It's the only thing helping me keep it together. When I'm out there on the wing, nothing else matters. Lannan, Grieve, Heather, Myst . . . nada. In my owl form, I can find a little taste of freedom. There are times I never want to turn back. It would be so much easier to just fly off to a different forest and live in my owl shape." I paused, lifting my gaze to meet hers. "But I always come back."
"I can understand that. When I was a little girl and being teased by the Lupa Clan, all I wanted to do was turn into my puma and race off into the forest. I tried a couple times and my mother would come out, hunting for me. Of course, by then I'd be so scared that I'd run for her and she'd see this cougar cub bouncing over and know it was me. Once a female puma—full grown—found me, and after figuring out what was going on, she carried me home by the scruff of the neck and dropped me on the doorstep."
Nodding, I laughed. Animals and Weres and shifters understood one another in ways that needed no language. Or rather, we had a language but it just wasn't the one two-leggeds used. Even though I was new to the life, I caught on quick, especially since I could already listen to the wind.
"Think we'll be ready to open on Monday?" Peyton arranged a bouquet of roses she'd bought on my desk.
We'd scheduled the opening of both Wind Charms and Mystical Eye Investigations for two days from now and were scrambling to finish last-minute preparations.
"All I have left to do is create a few more premade charms and to arrange all the candles and spell components that Marta left to me." Marta had been Peyton's grandmother, but there hadn't been a lot of love lost between them. Nor between Anadey and Marta—the two had always been at odds.
We got back to work and within half an hour, the room was ready for clients. I squeezed a card table into the corner and snapped a black tablecloth over it—Peyton was good with the cards and she could schedule readings. As we were setting up a display of charms to ward trouble away, I looked up to see Kaylin in the doorway, looking strange.
"What's wrong? You okay?"
"I don't know," he said, his voice husky. "I feel . . . strange. It started just a few minutes ago. I'm . . . it's hard to think—the room—" And then he let out a low groan and slumped against the door.
Peyton and I rushed over to his side just in time to catch him and keep him from sliding to the floor. His eyes were open, but he was unresponsive.
"Crap, help me get him onto the sofa in the living room. Then go call Rhiannon and ask her where Leo is—he's the healer."
As Peyton helped me carry Kaylin to the sofa, I stared at his open eyes, rolled back in his head, and wondered if he was dead. We got him onto the couch and knelt by his side, feeling for his heartbeat. There it was, slow and steady. I shook him by the shoulder but nothing, no response.
"I'll get Rhiannon," Peyton said, springing to her feet.
"She's out back, clearing the sidewalks." I turned back to Kaylin as she raced off. "Kaylin, Kaylin? Can you hear me? Dude, wake up!"
Frustrated and scared, I felt for his pulse again. It was slow and even, and he didn't seem to be clammy or showing any other sign of a heart attack. I grabbed an afghan off the back of the rocking chair and spread it over him, not wanting to take a chance on shock. If he'd had an allergic reaction, he wouldn't be breathing—I knew that much from experience. I carried an EpiPen wherever I went.
Rhiannon came on the run, shedding her jacket and gloves along the way. She pulled off her boots, then nimbly raced over to my side and slid down beside me.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. He just came into the parlor and said he didn't feel good and then collapsed. No sign of shock, no clammy skin, his heartbeat sounds good. I have no clue as to what's going on."
"We need Leo. I called him on his cell. He's out doing errands for Geoffrey, but he's just finishing up at the post office and will be here as soon as he can. Peyton, can you go into the herb room and find the smelling salts? My mother kept them around ‘just in case,' as she used to say."
"Sure." Peyton headed out of the room.
"Good idea. If they don't bring him around, then I don't know what will." Medicine was a tricky subject with Supernaturals—the magic-born, Weres, the Fae; some meds that worked wonders on the yummanii would kill us, and herbs that would barely touch one of their illnesses might be a miracle cure in our systems. We didn't dare give Kaylin anything until we knew more about what was going on. Because he was part demon, it could react badly on him.