vomited a fountain of airy froth that transformed the paralyzed humans and the Kir into figures from a snow village. Grim and Collier, standing near the door, escaped the worst of the blast.
Grim wiped the goo from his eyes. “Sassy?”
His frantic gaze sought and found her, a small, miserable figure huddled on the floor in an ocean of fairy foam. The untamed elemental was gone. Sassy was Sassy once more.
She lifted her head. Her face was white as bleached muslin, her limpid blue eyes unfocused. No, not blue. Grim admitted the truth at last. Sassy’s eyes were amethyst combined with the azure of a cloudless summer sky. A demonoid’s eyes; Sassy was a daughter of the race that had killed Gryff.
Grim waited for revulsion and outrage to swallow him. Instead, his overriding concern was for Sassy’s welfare.
Dear gods, he and Conall were afflicted with the same madness. Dell was right. He should ask to be released from his vow. He should leave.
Stay and he was lost.
Sassy whimpered and slumped to the floor. Covering the space that separated them in two strides, Grim lifted her in his arms. A faint pulse fluttered in the smooth column of her throat.
Unconscious but alive, thank the gods.
Evan crawled out from under the table. “Down for the count, huh? Not surprised after a binge like that. Bet she feels like hell when she wakes up.”
The door jingled and Muddy Collier walked in. Dressed in a pair of crisp white pants that exposed her slender ankles, a brilliant blue jacket, and silver jewelry, the woman exuded vitality and a zest for life. Whatever her age, Muddy Collier would never be old.
“Darling, you’re a pluperfect mess,” she said to Collier. “What on earth you been up to?”
“Demon hunter b’ness.” Mr. Collier held up the dripping divining rod. “Things got a little gooey.”
“I can see that. The ants are going to carry you off.”
“Reckon I could use a shower.” Collier saluted Grim with his divining rod. “You need my help, holler. Happy to be of service. See you at the house, Edmuntina.”
He marched out of the eatery.
“Lo-ward,” Muddy drawled. She surveyed the destruction in the café. “I hope you don’t mind, Mr. Dalvahni, but I took the liberty of handling a few matters on your behalf while I was out. Cell phones don’t work worth a flip in Hannah, so I called the phone company and told them you’ve got a line out. They’re sending someone over.”
Grim frowned. “How do you—”
“Know your name?” Muddy chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not a spy for the dark side. I was born with a veil over my face. I have the sight.”
“Christ,” Evan said. “Another nut.”
“Not that I’d have to be psychic to know you aren’t rooming at the Hannah Inn,” Muddy continued, unfazed. “That place is a hole. Folks who stay there leave with crotch crickets.”
She sauntered out the door.
“Drive the mechanized carriage to the house,” Grim told Evan. “I am taking Sassy home.”
Focusing his mind on the house by the river, Grim stepped into the void.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sassy swirled out of blackness and into liquid warmth. Every inch of her body hurt. Mother-of-pearl, her eyelashes hurt. What was the matter with her? She didn’t get sick.
She dragged her eyes open and tried to focus. It took a moment to get her bearings. She was in the garden tub in the master bedroom. Somehow, she’d gotten from the restaurant to Trey’s with no memory of the trip.
Grim knelt beside her, a soapy washcloth in one hand. Her girl stuff was on display and he was giving her a bath. From his resolute expression and clenched jaw, he found the job a chore.
Sassy yelped and sank beneath the water. The movement sent a blaze of agony through her head, and a thousand knives of pain stabbed her back and shoulders.
Grim yanked her, coughing and sputtering, to the surface.
“What are you doing, woman? Are you trying to drown?”
She crossed her arms over her breasts. “I’m naked.”
“I noticed.” He caressed her cheek with his damp knuckles. “I like you naked.”
“You do?”
She sounded asthmatic. The guy had a way of leaving her breathless. A few more days around Grim and she’d need an oxygen tank.
“Very much. You have a lovely body.”
“Thank you.”
To cover her confusion, she grabbed a towel from the edge of the tub and unfolded it. The bottom of the terry cloth settled across her torso.
“You are blushing. Has Wesley never told you how beautiful you are?”
Grim said Wesley’s name like it was something