superimposed over reality, I could see things as they had been. My magic flared a little, and my gut tensed as the world brightened. Suddenly it looked as if it were daytime, and not the middle of the night.
A memory, I was inside a memory.
I sat next to Gran as she drove us along this road, and she smiled at me. “Almost there, honey child. You’re going to love NOLA, but this place . . . it’s special too, just don’t forget it.”
I blinked and the sunlight faded, the dark of night sweeping through my vision again.
“Slow down,” I said.
Corb muttered under his breath, but other than that was quiet.
My head suddenly snapped to the left and I was staring down a street that only had one thing on it. A gas station about a block off the main drag.
“We need to go to that one.” I pointed and he didn’t argue. Then again, my hand had already drifted back toward the stick shift.
“Do we want to ask why?” Sarge asked.
I frowned and rubbed at my head, seeing Gran beside me again, smiling, happy and alive. “No, it’s a feeling. Like I’ve been here before. And that something important is here.”
I was following my trust in Gran, and that trust said stop here. As simple as that.
As soon as the car stopped moving, I was out and stretching my legs. My body was still sore from the big fight in the goblin arena, not to mention bouncing along behind Sarge, and sitting for hours on end had not helped. But more than that, I wanted to look at this place. Why in the world would I be drawn to this gas station?
I tried to dredge up another memory, but there was nothing. Not even a whisper of Gran saying, Here. This place is the right one.
“Damn,” I muttered under my breath, wincing as my back twinged.
Feish got out of the back seat, something in her hand. As she approached me, she shoved a bottle of Advil and a water bottle into my hands. “Here, I brought you the magic pills. Looks like you need them. Again.”
“God bless you.” I opened the bottle and downed three pills, chasing them with half the water.
“You need to be in tip-top shape, which you are not, for New Orleans.” Feish sighed. “There is even more magic there, and it’s more in the open than in Savannah. In many ways, it is not as dangerous, but it’s so different you might not see trouble coming until it is too late.”
I glanced at her, my river maiden friend who’d once disliked me enough to try feeding me tea that would make my ass explode . . . and then later fed it to me because she needed to save my life. Funny how things could change. “You were very quiet while we drove. Something bothering you?”
She burbled a sigh and motioned with her head for me to follow her. We walked across the parking area of the gas station, the dull green neon sign flickering and buzzing. She stood under it, and I joined her despite the obnoxious noise of the slowly dying neon light above us.
“Talk to me, girlfriend,” I said.
Another big sigh and she bobbled her head from side to side. “I’m worried about the boss. He said there was big trouble with Faerie.” As in the land of the fae.
Ah. That made sense. “You think he won’t be able to make tea for himself?” I couldn’t help teasing a little.
She gave me a sharp look, eyes narrowing. “I’m worried that he’s going to get into trouble without me there to point out how stupid he’s being. He is always in trouble. Kind of like you. You two need a Feish around.”
I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from smiling at her. “And you keep him out of trouble?”
Feish shrugged. “As much as can be said for keeping a man out of trouble, yes. He said to come with you and protect you because you are important. Which I did because we are friends, but being on his own is dangerous for his health.”
I looked past her to the road where the cars flowed past us like a river in the night, their lights brightening the world for a flash and then gone, the smell of exhaust in the air almost overpowering the smell of a rose bush we stood near.
She closed her eyes. “I shouldn’t tell you, but . . .