I felt like I had a target on my back and all of a sudden, telling her I couldn’t do it was at the bottom of my want-to-do list. I decided I’d talk to her after the meeting. “Yeah,” I said, as noncommittally as I could.
The meeting continued, discussing the venue and other activities, but I tuned everything else out. I wondered what Killian was doing, and if Tarvish was bothering anybody, and it occurred to me at that point, I’d rather be battling a spirit than trying to deal with the mess I was currently in.
Chapter Nine
“You’re comfortable staying here with that…thing…in the house?” Killian sounded ready to argue. He kept his voice low so that Tarvish didn’t overhear, but I could tell he was agitated.
“I’m sorry, but what do you think he’s going to do to me? He’s a thought-form, created with one specific goal in mind—killing orcs and other bad guys. They obviously thought it would be funny to have a demon who, for all intents and purposes, is a reclusive thoughtful nerd. He loves kittens, he likes crossword puzzles, he’s polite. What do you expect him to do? Come into my room in the middle of the night and try to ravish me? I doubt if Tarvish has a lusty bone in his body.”
While I appreciated Killian’s concern, sometimes the hyper-protectiveness drove me nuts. In a way, I was so used to defending myself that I lost sight of how concerned others could be.
“You don’t know that. You don’t know if they crafted something in him that makes him snap—a trigger or something. Have you talked to these guys about Tarvish?”
“No,” I said slowly. “I thought of it, but finding out who they are isn’t as easy as you might expect it to be. Tad texted me. They only go by their gamer names and I haven’t a clue of where they are. I could look up their IP address from the forums, but there’s no guarantee they aren’t using a VPN line.”
“Well, until you verify what other traits Tarvish has, I think you and the cats should sleep at my place.” Killian crossed his arms, giving me a steel stare.
“If you’re so worried, stay over here. We can keep the cats in my bedroom and lock the door.” I glanced at the clock. “It’s almost midnight. We’ve been going over this for the past hour and I’m hungry.” I marched into the kitchen—we had been sitting at the dining room table—and I sorted through the freezer until I found another personal-size pizza. I opened the box and slid it out, putting it on a pan and setting the toaster oven to preheat.
“Aren’t you going to offer me one?” Killian said, following me into the kitchen.
“Of course,” I said. I was tired and pissed at this point, and while I could see Killian’s objection, I also knew that I couldn’t run over to his house any time there was something going on in my life that frightened me. And Tarvish didn’t exactly scare me.
I yanked out another pizza and set it on the tray next to mine, then slid the pan in the toaster oven. After that, I poured myself a glass of root beer and sat down at the kitchen nook.
Killian joined me, his mouth tight. But as he caught my gaze and held it, my anger began to drift away. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but I think that it’s a little optimistic to hope that you know everything about that…creature…sitting up there.”
I leaned back in my chair. “I guess you’re right. I think…I don’t want to deal with this whole mess and I’m wishing it would go away. And I’m angry with myself for not saying no to Marnie at the Witches Guild.” After the meeting I had decided to put it off till I could phone her. That way I wouldn’t be staring into those beady eyes of hers. “That’s what it comes down to. I let myself get overloaded and it’s my fault.”
“Can you tell her you’re done now?” Killian set a timer on his phone. “How many minutes for the pizza? Twenty?”
“That sounds about right. As for Marnie, I’m trying to decide if I can swing what she needs. I promised her and I don’t like going back on my word.”
“The truth is you’re chicken to call her. January, you were drafted. I think that your sense of loyalty is skewed here. You joined the Guild two months ago and you’re letting them take advantage of you. If you ever expect to be respected there, you need to set up some boundaries.”
I thought over what he said. It did make sense. I pushed back when push came to shove, but until the line had been crossed I usually tried to keep the peace. Don’t make waves, my mother used to say, at least when it comes to things that aren’t a personal assault. She had wanted everybody to get along. The trouble was, not everybody could get along. And sometimes, you had to rock the boat.
I pulled out my phone. “All right. This may get me kicked out, but…” I glanced at the clock. It was too late to call Marnie personally, but I could leave a message for her at the Guild. “Hello, this is January Jaxson. I need to leave a message for Marnie Brolen. I simply can’t do the research she’s asked for. My laptop won’t be out of the shop in time for me to follow through. And I have a gaggle of guests descending on my house for Thanksgiving. I’m going to have to back out now, in order to give you a chance to find someone who can help.”
As I hung up, Killian snorted. “Well, that’s better than not saying anything.”
“Hey, I’m doing my best. Give me some credit. Marnie’s hard to say no to. I feel like she’s going to rap my knuckles with a ruler or something.”
“If she does, I’ll rap her head with my knuckles,” Killian said gruffly, but he was smiling. “Seriously, if you had volunteered and wanted to do it, that would be one thing, but forcing people to take on duties they don’t want to when they aren’t getting paid, and they don’t have the time, is ridiculous. You say she has a full committee on refreshments? But you’re the only one she assigned to research? That sounds lopsided.”
“I thought about that too,” I said. “I have a feeling she and Rowan don’t get along very well, and she knows that Rowan and I are related, so I’m thinking that may have played a part. Word’s getting around town that Rowan’s my grandmother—the grapevine is working pretty smoothly.”
“Is it that big of a deal?” Killian asked. “I’m asking seriously—not being an ass.”
I thought about his question. “I think it is. I’m beginning to get a sense for the hierarchy here in town, and Rowan’s at the top. She told me several times she has enemies who don’t appreciate her position, or her stances. Maybe Marnie’s one of them.”
The timer rang and Killian retrieved our pizzas from the oven while I gathered plates, silverware, and napkins. We sat at the kitchen table, watching out the back window as we ate our pizza. It was hot and spicy with tomato sauce, extra cheese and pepperoni. All in all, just greasy and salty enough to be delicious. As we ate, I realized how tired I was. The day had been too eventful, and too long.
“Can you stay over tonight? We’ll lock the bedroom door.” I licked sauce off of my fingers.
“All right. But tomorrow, you have to figure out a way to get that thing—”