City of Dust

Chapter Eleven

After finding out that Egon's decimated the cow femur, the restaurant unloads a dozen more on us before we leave. As an opportunist, I welcome this addition, even though it means finding room in our bags to carry them all.

Once we return to our room, Kayleigh immediately takes the enfield into the bathroom to give him a bath. I doubt the endeavor's success and sit on the edge of my bed with the loaded Winchester, ready to put a hole in the beast's head at the first sign of aggression. But the universe has decided to make a fool out of me once again because all I can hear from the bathroom are giggles and splashing.

After a few minutes of this, I realize that I'm not going to have to pay a fine to repair the room and put the Winchester away. Getting to my feet, I slowly unwind the layers of cloth and scarves and leave them in a heap on the end of the bed. Clad only in a lightweight tan shirt and pants, I walk over to the door with a knife in hand. Leaning forward, I call up my magic: a green ward springs to life before my heterochromatic eyes. It encircles the door and windows and continues across every wall in this room.

Green means that a hedge witch cast these spells. In my experience, hedge witches are typically pre-Turning practitioners of Wicca or one of the related religions. From what I can tell, the ward looks solid, but I won't take any chances.

Light flashes off of the knife in my hand as I make a cut alongside the earlier one. Blood wells on my palm and I feel magic swell inside my chest. The good meal has increased my strength, which is necessary for what I'm about to do.

Dipping my finger in the beading blood, I trace a red line around the door, chanting in Latin as I do so: "Protect us from all who dare enter with ill intention." I could say it just as well in English, but Jae-Seong taught me that Latin is the older, more powerful magical language.

I move from door to window to wall, pausing only to open another cut on my palm. As I pass the bathroom, I peer through the open door to see the enfield sitting happily in the tub. A ring of grimy water lines the tub; there are bubbles in his fur, on the girl and spilling over the edge onto the floor. Shaking my head, I continue.

Once I complete my circuit, I press my still-bleeding palm on the wall. "Finis." A blood-red light fills the room as the ward activates, overpowering the hedge witch's. I sway slightly as the magic drains from my body. Maybe I should have had that carrot cake ...

The vertigo subsides quickly and I grab a tissue from the table to dab at the cuts. Satisfied, I turn off my magical sight and walk back to the bed. As a rule, I don't unpack everything, but I do grab Evan the owl and the children's book and stuff them beneath the pillows.

The TV beckons, so I grab the remote and turn it on. An old reality show springs to life. I lean back on my hands and watch how the world used to be before demons and monsters ruined everything.

Halfway into the program about vapid, vacuous, entitled women, Kayleigh emerges from the bathroom with a clean enfield in tow.

I stare—not because the beast is clean, but because he's bigger.

"Did he grow in the tub?" I ask, pointing the remote at Egon.

Kayleigh glances down at the enfield. An hour ago, the top of his spine came to mid-thigh on the kid; now it's at her hip. "Did he?" she asks, confused. She leans down and runs a hand along his back, fluffing out the damp fur.

The monster looks remarkably different: his cream-colored coat shines, and the feathers on his head and shoulders are no longer dirty, ragged things, but beautifully preened. Even the scales on his forelegs look like polished onyx.

I hate to admit it, but the beast actually cleaned up nice. As if sensing my thoughts, Egon drops his jaw in a vulpine grin.

"I'm going to use the bathroom, then get ready for bed," I tell her, ignoring the smug look the enfield is giving me. "You better get your things sorted and do the same when I'm done. We'll be headed out early."

"Do we get to eat breakfast first?" she asks, scratching between Egon's shoulder blades.

I pause a moment to consider. There's no reason not to. "Yeah, we can do that."

Passing the kid the remote, I head into the bathroom and close the door. Of course, there's a mess everywhere: dirty towels litter the bathroom floor, along with puddles of brownish water. Sighing, I pick up the towels and dump them atop the back of the toilet. Taking a fresh one down, I throw it onto the floor and use my booted foot to wipe up the water. Is she this messy at home? I wonder, staring at the thick ring in the tub.

God, it's going to take all night to clean up this mess. I'll see if I'm in the mood to do it tomorrow morning. The proprietors seem like the type of people to issue fines for stuff like this.

After using the toilet, I wash my hands and slap a little cold water on my face. Somewhat refreshed, I leave the bathroom.

The kid and enfield are passed out on the bed; Kayleigh has her arm thrown around the monster's torso and they're both snoring.

Well, I've slept in worse conditions.

Stripping down to my bra and underwear, I turn off the TV and lights then climb into bed. My fingers find Evan the owl beneath the pillow. I pull the plush close to my heart and loosen a long breath. One of these days, I'll be happy again. I just need to get to Alaska first.

Twisting beneath the sheets, I pull the covers up and over my ears to drown out the outrageous noise coming from the other bed and slip into sleep.