the job, Calhoun has offered you a generous consultant fee. He’s also offered to swear an oath of mutual safety.”
I knew vampire magic was pretty much limited to pressing humans and swearing fancy oaths, but this was a new one for me. “What does that mean?”
Maven gave me a faint smile. “It means you will be temporarily under his protection. If something were to happen to you, Calhoun would abdicate his position as cardinal.”
“He’d . . . give up his power?” That made even less sense than the weird ghost thing.
She nodded. “A mutual safety oath is a big deal, Lex. He’s essentially tied your fate to his own.”
Huh. “What if someone really wants to get him out of power, so they attack me to get rid of Calhoun?”
“Then he will spend the rest of his time on earth hunting for that person,” she replied, showing a few teeth.
I didn’t like that. It was too big, too complicated. And I was so tired.
I tried to think of a way to say no that didn’t make me sound like a coward. But wasn’t that exactly what I was? I had allowed one bad incident to completely incapacitate me.
That’s not how PTSD works, babe, and you know it.
I ignored Sam and tried to focus on my boss. Maven was resting her chin on her fist, looking at me thoughtfully. Probably listening to my pulse. “Atlanta is very different from Colorado, Lex. You should know that before you decide.”
“Different how?”
“It’s older, of course, but the city was occupied territory during the War between the States. There were a number of military skirmishes, plus the fires and looting. Thousands of people died.”
She gave me a meaningful look, and a rush of fear rolled through my stomach. I pictured the wraith attack in Montana again and had to shift in my seat to suppress a shudder. I hadn’t told her about being dragged through the tunnel of wraiths, of course, but she hadn’t missed my reaction earlier when she brought up the ghosts.
“I think I better pass,” I told her, looking away. “There’s a lot going on now with Katia getting settled and Lily taking over and everything.”
Maven studied me, her nostrils flaring, and I wondered what information she was getting from my body chemistry. Strictly speaking, none of those words were lies—I was getting better at talking around actual falsehoods—but by now she could probably smell that I was afraid, and I hated that, both the fear and my inability to hide it. My hands clenched into fists in my lap.
“Why don’t you sleep on it?” Maven said at last. “Or at least pretend to. I’m perfectly content to turn down the request, but it will soften the blow if it appears that we gave it serious consideration. Tomorrow night I can inform Calhoun that you’re not interested.”
“Fine.” I stood up. All I cared about was getting out of there.
“Oh, wait—here.” She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill, holding it out to me across the desk.
“What’s that for?” I asked without taking it.
“Hazel’s birthday,” she replied, giving me a wistful smile. “I want to buy the first round tonight.”
I took the cash with a nod of gratitude, and fled.
Chapter 5
Simon had let Lily pick the bar, which meant we ended up at Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery, one of the older bars on Pearl Street. It was small and cheerful, with high wooden booths and colorful handmade signs on the walls. It was also, as Quinn put it, “peak Boulder.”
I’d had to stop at home to let the herd out, so Quinn and Simon both beat me to the restaurant. The moment I walked in I could hear Simon’s laughter ringing out from the last booth, and then Quinn was grinning as he stood up to greet me. The smile faded as he took me in, and I didn’t miss the little glance he gave Simon over his shoulder. They’d been talking about how tired I looked.
“Hi,” I said with forced cheer, kissing his cheek. “I see you two are having fun. Any sign of Lily?”
“I’m here,” came a frazzled voice from right behind me. I turned to look at my best friend. Lily’s hair was in dreadlocks to her shoulders, and she wore a bulky cream-colored fisherman’s sweater over skintight faux-leather pants. Her eyes were tired, but she opened her arms for a hug. “Happy almost Mom’s birthday.”
I embraced my friend. “Happy almost Hazel’s birthday,” I said sincerely.