Sinister Magic: An Urban Fantasy Dragon Series (Death Before Dragons #1) - Lindsay Buroker Page 0,78
fixed. They did come back this morning, so I took off for a few hours, but they’re gone now, hopefully for good.”
“They should all be up here chasing me now.”
“Care to explain why?”
“It’s a long story. Willard is being investigated too. I’m going to clear our names though. Is her cat all right?”
Mom hesitated, but she decided not to question me further. “Maggie is doing fine. She’s claimed the loft and keeps knocking things over up there. Rocket can’t get up the ladder, so he barks at her to let her know how naughty she is. The last time he did, she pushed a book over the side and it almost whacked him on the nose. I’m positive that book was on a shelf in a bookcase, not on the floor. This cat isn’t magical, is it?”
“No. Just obstreperous, from what I gather.”
“Hm. She’s eating and doing fine, if you want to tell your boss.”
An unexpected lump formed in my throat at the thought of the cat possibly not seeing her owner again. And of Willard possibly not seeing her cat again. I wished I’d brought Maggie by the hospital before I left town. I had no idea if that was allowed—probably not—but I should have done it anyway.
“Thank you. Stay safe, Mom.”
“I think I’m supposed to say that to you. Stay safe, and don’t let my roommate get in trouble either. He owes me his three hundred dollars next week.”
I imagined government agents outside my apartment, police competing with dark elves to find me, and killer krakens swimming around in Lake Union. Somehow, I doubted staying safe was going to be a possibility for me. But I said, “I’ll try,” before hanging up.
“Mom’s okay,” I said to Dimitri’s inquiring expression. “And you better drive back and sell some yard art. Your rent is due next week.”
“I have the money for it. You’ve been kind enough to pay for all my gas.” The waiter dropped off the bill, and Dimitri pushed it toward me, adding, “And food.”
I took it. He deserved more than gas money for hauling me from one state to the next and around the city in the middle of the night. But I didn’t want him following me again tonight.
“You can’t come with me to find the kraken and the dark elves,” I said.
He frowned. “Look, I’m not saying that I’m some epic war hero, but don’t you at least want someone nearby with a ride? In case you need to run?”
“I thought you came up here to club, not to man my getaway car.”
“It’s a getaway van, now missing a bobblehead.”
“I’m sure you can find another one at a garage sale.”
“Not vintage. Maybe if I come with you, I’ll find one stashed in the dark-elf lair.”
I leaned my elbow on the table and rested my forehead in my hand. I didn’t usually have this much trouble getting rid of men—they all said something about the package not being worth fencing with my sharp tongue and my surly disposition. Dimitri had touched my tiger. What else did he want?
“I think your mom would be super pissed if I let you get killed,” Dimitri admitted.
“You can’t keep that from happening.”
“You never know. The getaway van can do zero to sixty in under thirty seconds.”
“That’s acceleration that NASCAR drivers fantasize about.” I leaned back and dropped my hand. “All right, how does this sound? You hang out at Nin’s tonight, and I’ll text you if I need help.” I mentally put waterproof baggies on my shopping list for the night’s activities. Chopper and Fezzik would survive getting wet, but my ammunition and my phone were another matter. “Maybe you can get some business tips from her. She’s smart. She’s only been in the U.S. for a few years, and she came with something like a suitcase and fifty dollars.”
Dimitri’s face shifted through a number of expressions as he seemed to war with wanting to go along with me and this new enticement. “I guess that’s not that far from Lake Union,” he finally said.
Depending on the traffic, it wasn’t. I only nodded encouragingly. Then started doing more research. Right now, I had a fancy hunch and not much more. Before I went for a midnight swim, I wanted to be reasonably certain that the tunnel entrance was in the lake. I didn’t want to miss the dark elves because the entrance was three blocks away in somebody’s wine cellar. I was positive that Willard didn’t have until the next