Page 19 of Leviathan's Song
“It’s nice to meet you both. Jordan, sorry again, about the blood-magic hex.” Maybe I shouldn’t make hexes for specific magic types. At least I knew it worked.
“I’m going to walk Elara back down to her shop,” Levi said. “When I get back, I want Princess Peach.” We left the apartment to the sound of Jordan grousing and complete silence from Grim. I realized I’d never heard him speak.
Levi carried the box for me, and we made our way back to the shop. It was now around five-thirty in the evening, and the front door was unlocked when I checked it. I felt Sidney somewhere in the back, and my note was gone. An empty takeout cup was in its place, so I tossed it in the trash as Levi set the box on the counter.
“Hellooo,” I called. “Sidney?” I turned to Levi. “Let me grab your money for you. Drahk, right?” I’d have to open the safe in the back. I didn’t keep that much in the register.
“Hey, I’m here!” Sidney called from the back room. “Sorry I took so long, I got distracted.” She stalked into the front, pulling knives out of her boots and tossing them in the bag by her chair.
I turned to look at her just as she noticed Levi was with me, exploded out of her skin, and disappeared. Her clothes hit the floor with a heavythunk, probably because her gun was still in her holster. She struggled for a second before I realized the holster was keeping her from crawling out of her shirt. She was probablyso pissedright now.
I jogged over and jerked the shirt off the top of the pile, only to be greeted with an angry squawk. I sighed and scooped up my friend, settling her black and white form on my shoulder and gathering up her clothing in my arms. I turned back to Levi to tell him to hold on just a minute while I put Sidney’s stuff in the back room for her and made sure I had enough cash in our safe, only to find him staring at us with the most excited, gleeful expression on his face.
“What. Just. Happened??” He had stars in his eyes and looked like an excited puppy. Sidney screeched and flapped her wings, obviously irritated at his amusement. I dropped my face into her pile of clothes and muttered that I’d be back in just a moment. For being so tough in every other aspect of her life, Sidney sure was easy to startle.
Chapter 7
“I just wasn’t expectinganyone else to be there!”
“I get that, Sidney. I do, but I don’t understand how changing into a bird would help if Levi had actually been someone dangerous.” I took my time pulling apart the last of my pastry. It was Saturday morning, and we were seated on a covered patio at a quaint eatery in downtown Golden Laurel.
Last night, as soon as Sidney had pulled herself together and Levi had gone home, I’d made her spill about Harrington. She told me she’d found him easily enough in the bar and questioned him about the Phantom showing up on my doorstep. He swore he had ‘no idea’ what she was talking about, that he’d never met a Phantom in his life. Sidney informed him that his ‘loose lips’ were creating problems for us and that I would not makeanyonea golem. Ever.
She was incredibly dodgy about the rest of their interaction, so I had to take her at her word that Harrington was alive and unharmed. I made a mental note to ask Bane about him when he came in to pick up his finished weapons. She assured me she’d talked to him nicely, and she very well may have, but knowing Sidney it had been with a knife between them.
We’d spent way too long at the shop last night because, after that, she’d wanted to see all the items I’d bought from Levi. Mermaid culture was fascinating to a lot of people because they were particularly insular, and Sidney wasn’t immune. Eventually, we’d dragged ourselves home, made dinner, and collapsed into bed.
Now we were out having ‘brunch’, even though it was a little past noon and Sidney was finishing her third coffee. She’d said she had plans for us today, and if we were going to need that much caffeine, I was… concerned.
“Reflexes don’t always make sense,” she grumbled, drawing me back into our conversation, “but if I was startled by something dangerous, it would make sense for me to fly away from it. If you could change into an animal with flight reflexes, you’d do it all the time too.” That was probably one-hundred percent true. I would never be a person at all, and I’d just live in the treetops for the rest of my life.
“That doesn’t help, though, if you’re swaddled in clothing and weighed down by a handgun,” I pointed out. “What are we doing today?” I asked, for the third time.
“We, my sweet, beautiful, lovely, dearest Elara—” She stood and tossed her cup in the trash. “—are going costume shopping.”
I was instantly suspicious, both from her tone and her flattery. I stood and threw away my napkin, staring at her out of the corner of my eye. “Why?” I drew the word out.
I was usually the one who liked clothing and fashion. More often than not, Sidney settled for hoodies stolen from her brother Josh. Costumes were her main exception. This girl would go all out for a costume party, which would be fun except for the fact that parties pushed all my introvert buttons.
“It’s not for us, sadly.” She started and waved me along with her. “I stopped by my place on the way back from the Salty Wench, and Josh was home. He said Sam and Aaron heard about an underground rave coming up in a few days.”
That sounded like my version of hell.
“Josh asked if I could pick something cool for the three of them, and unfortunately for you, I have to drag you along with me today because I’m not comfortable leaving you alone yet.”
Ugh, I was being babysat. “Why aren’t you going?” I asked curiously. This sounded like it would be right up Sidney’s alley. “If you’re worried about leaving me behind, you can just deadbolt me in my house. I’ll make sure Isadora and Bette are going to be around to keep an eye out.”
She sighed. “It’s this Tuesday. You have to be out of the house that night. Banshee eradication, remember?”
Guilt swamped me. It was bad enough that Sidney felt the need to babysit me like some wayward child. Now she was missing out on stuff Iknewshe would have loved to do.
“As much as you know I’d rather have my teeth pulled, I’ll go with you so you can go, too. Who throws a rave on a Tuesday, anyway?”
“People who don’t want Enforcement to bust it,” she said matter-of-factly. “They’re usually expecting that kind of thing on a weekend.” Yeah, I would be too.
“I’d honestly be dragging you, kicking and screaming, to this party if it weren’t for the fact that it was down in the warehouse district in Dry Gulch. Mostly because the main event is a siren in the DJ line up. Amalesiren,” she said with a sly grin. It took a moment for her words to register, and then she laughed at my expression.
“Levi is the main attraction? Are you serious?” I asked.
