The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

Author:Tanya Huff
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: DAW Hardcover
Published: 2009-05-25T22:30:00+00:00

EIGHT

“He’s what?”

“In the store,” Roland repeated, flipping the covers back, pivoting Allie around until her legs were out of the bed, then pulling her up into a sitting position. “Right at this very moment, there’s a Dragon Lord in the store. Get dressed and get downstairs.”

“What about…?” She twisted around until she could see Graham. With the heavy drapes still shut and the only light spilling in the open door, she couldn’t tell if he looked any better.

Roland tossed a pair of clean underwear at her head. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“You’re not coming down?”

He stared at her for a long moment. Opened his mouth. Closed it again. “No,” he said at last as she shimmied into her jeans, “I’d just be a distraction.”

Even barely awake, Allie knew distraction was not his first choice. She’d have called him on it, but right at the moment, Roland being a bit weird was far enough down her list of things to worry about that she could, essentially, not worry about it. She grabbed the bra she’d taken off a depressingly short time before, dug out a T-shirt, and threw on a hoodie, turning back toward the bed as she zipped it. Graham had his face turned away from her, but she could see the shallow rise and fall of his chest. “I’m worried about him, Rol. The painkillers should have worn off by now.”

“It’s barely been eight hours,” Roland reminded her, handing over her shoes as she left the bedroom and pulled the door almost all the way closed behind her. “And you may have messed with timing when you charmed him. But it’s possible he’s just catching up on his sleep. Tabloid reporter by day, ninja by night-working two jobs’ll really take it out of you.”

“If he wakes up…” The sudden fear of returning to the apartment and finding him gone had her heart pounding in her throat. “Don’t let him leave.”

“Fine. Now move.You don’t want to leave Charlie alone with a Dragon Lord any longer than necessary.”

—

The mirror showed her reflection in a full suit of armor.

Allie patted the frame as she passed. “Thanks. I’ll be fine.”

—

As it happened, Charlie wasn’t alone with the Dragon Lord. She was standing behind the counter, one hand clutching what looked like a gold-colored book, watching something at the opposite end of the store-Three guesses to what, the first two don’t count, Allie told herself silently-and Joe was by the door either wiping up a spill or rubbing it into the floor. The dark patch of wood offered no clues, but the mop seemed to be anchoring him in place. Keeping him from running. She could feel the terror come off him in waves.

It had to be instinct. Joe was full-blood Fey, sure, but he was a changeling; he’d been in the MidRealm since he was a baby, so he didn’t actually know anything more about the Dragon Lords than they did. Allie suspected that a smart person would use his fear as a cue to how they should be feeling, but it only made her sad.

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