"Somewhere over in the Garden District." Nick pulled out his phone and dialed a number. After a minute, he cursed. "Otto, answer the phone." He cursed again, then hung up and glared at her. "You know it's bad when the guy's own Squire won't answer to save him."
"Maybe Otto's busy."
"Maybe Otto's psychic."
"Nick..."
Nick put his phone in his pocket, then bent over, tossed Valerius over his shoulder, and headed out of the courtyard to where his Jaguar was parked on the street. He dumped Valerius unceremoniously into the passenger seat.
"Watch his head, Nick!" she snapped as Nick banged it against the car.
"Not like I could kill him or anything. What happened to him, anyway?"
"I stabbed him."
Nick blinked, then burst out laughing. "I knew I liked you for a reason. Oh man, I can't wait to tell Kyrian. He'll laugh his ass off."
"Yeah, well, in the meantime, take Valerius back to my place and give me Otto's number so that I can keep trying to call him."
"And you want to tell me how I'm going to get him to your place since Bourbon Street is closed off to traffic after dark?"
She gave him a droll stare.
He growled at her. "Fine, but you owe me big-time."
"Yeah, yeah. Get cracking, Squire."
He mumbled something under his breath that she was sure was less than complimentary before he walked to the other side of his car and got in.
Since his car was a two-seater, Tabitha headed out on foot to rendezvous with him at her store. As she walked into the crowd on Bourbon Street, she felt something evil brush up against her psychically.
Spinning around, she scanned the crowd, but didn't see anything.
Still, she felt it deep inside.
"Something wicked this way comes..." She breathed the title of her favorite Ray Bradbury book.
And something inside told her it was far more evil than anything she had faced before.
Valerius came awake slowly to the sound of someone humming nearby.
Humming?
He blinked open his eyes expecting to find himself in his own bed in his own house. Instead, he was on a queen-size antique tester bed with an ornate wooden canopy that was padded in burgundy velvet.
The voice he heard was coming from a rocking chair on his left. He turned his head and was floored by what he found.
It was...
Well, at first glance it looked like a very large woman. She had long blond hair and was wearing a short-sleeved, pink furry sweater and a pair of khaki pants. Only the "woman" had shoulders every bit as broad as Valerius did and a pronounced Adam's apple.
She sat in the chair, flipping through the fall issue of Vogue with glossy, blood-red fingernails that could double for claws. She looked up and paused in her humming.
"Oh! You're awake!" she said excitedly, getting up immediately and fluttering around his bed. She awkwardly grabbed what appeared to be a walkie-talkie from the nightstand and pressed the button while making sure she didn't break a nail. "Tabby, Mr. Sexy is awake."
"Okay, Marla, thanks."
Valerius had a faint memory of that voice, but it wasn't clear as he tried to remember what had happened to him. "Where am I?" he asked.