While Alan spluttered and yelled that he was not gay, not in the least, just ask all the women he’d pleasured since our divorce, Penny opened the door to the four-story house and waved us in.
“Children, do move quickly,” she said. “Eyes are everywhere in NOLA.”
I motioned for Sarge and Feish to go ahead of me. Kinkly was still passed out on my shoulder, where she’d moved to sleep at some point, her arms tangled in a lock of my hair to keep her in place. Robert swayed to one side of me.
“Friend,” he said softly but didn’t move to follow us inside.
“Yes, you stay out here, keep an eye on things.” I patted him on the shoulder and he grabbed my hand, holding it there.
For just a moment his image wavered, and the other Robert, the one who had flesh on his, well, bones, looked back at me. His eyes were deadly serious. “Death, in all its forms, is haunting this city, Bree.”
Just that one line, and then it was skeletal Robert again. I patted his hand. “I got it. Danger abounds. We will be careful.”
Corb waited for me at the door, his face drawn tightly. I smiled up at him. “I’d really prefer for you to lose your cool inside, if you don’t mind.”
“I’m not going to lose my cool,” he said.
“No yelling?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“No freaking out that I brought a witch with us?”
His jaw twitched and his throat bobbed, but he shook his head. “No.”
I motioned for him to go ahead of me and he did, leaving me outside for just a moment on my own. Which meant I was the only one who saw the black-robed figure across the street, staring in our direction. The hood of the cloak swept one way, and then the other, and then the figure moved up the street.
Searching. But I would bet my last dollar that he couldn’t pinpoint us. Score one for the secret house of the Coven of Silver.
Three guesses what the mysterious figure was looking for, and the first two guesses don’t count.
“Well, that’s just ducking great,” I muttered as I shut the door, leaning into it hard and flicking the lock for good measure. There was a powder room at the entrance, and I let myself in and relieved the mounting pressure in my bladder with a sigh.
Washed up and feeling better, I followed the sounds of low discussion through the house into the kitchen where Sarge stood at the counter and was dutifully whipping something up. I didn’t care what it was, only that it was food and I was hungry.
“The stanza—” I said.
“Let’s eat first.” Penny pointed her walking stick at the fridge. “Get them eggs going.”
I knew better than to argue with a woman over eighty who still had the strength of will to wallop you with her walking stick if you walked too close, or smack you in the face when she thought you should shut your mouth. So I cracked a dozen eggs and scrambled them, adding milk and a big shot of hot sauce. Sarge did pancakes and bacon, and I used the remaining elements to cook up the eggs. In no time, everyone was eating (minus the still sleeping Kinkly). The sun was just rising as we finished our very early breakfast.
As we finished, Feish yawned. “I’m tired. Going to read my romance book and go to sleep. You aren’t going anywhere?” She gave me a pointed look with her bulbous eyes.
I shook my head. “Going to talk to Penny and then get some sleep.”
Sarge stretched. “Yeah, you can fill me in later too. I’m not one for riddles or stanzas.” He kissed me on top of the head. “I’m glad you’re safe.” Warmth suffused me, and I patted his ass as he went by. He gave a little hop. “Saucy.”
As Sarge and Feish wandered off to find their respective beds, I noticed a small spider hanging off the back pocket of his loose pants. I did a double take as Jinx gave me a wave. Good thing I hadn’t swatted the other cheek.
This obsession of hers was not going to end well, but as unpredictable as she was, Jinx had proven handy more than once. I figured I’d let this ride, even if she was crushing hard on a guy who would not return the attention. After spending some time with Sarge during the whole goblin king ordeal, she’d decided it was meant