I glance over at Kassam. "Feel anything unusual?"
He shakes his head. "All is quiet. If one of the gods of this realm is chasing us, they have not found your mother."
"Good. I want to keep it that way." I bite my lip, because even being here right now feels like it puts her in danger. "Make sure you don't use your powers, all right? No plants, no birds, no squirrel parade showing up at the door. None of that."
"If I do not release something, the hedonism will grow stronger," Kassam says, a vaguely hurt look on his face. "I was doing all of that to help you."
Help me? I guess. After I was clobbered by Charlie—Kassam's fault, I might add—I wasn't exactly feeling like having some sexy romps. But I didn't want him drawing every cat within a six-block radius to my apartment, either. Yelling at him feels like a lost cause, though. I'm frustrated because I'm tired and cranky and scared. I scrub at my face. "Can you bottle up the hedonism for just a little while? Please?"
"If I could, don't you think I'd try?"
"Honestly? No." I put my hands on my hips. "You're enjoying yourself far too much." I gesture at him. "You like eating all the snacks and kissing all the ladies. You like people falling all over you. You're having a great fucking time and my life is being completely and utterly destroyed."
Kassam moves toward me. "Carly," he says softly. "If I seem like I do not care, or if I am having a wondrous time, it is because of the curse. You think I would rather be here, eating your pink cakes and enticing your neighbor, than I would be back home, ruling my dominion? I endure this because I must. Because it is the only way to get back to who I was before this all happened." His voice is soft, and he reaches for me, rubbing my arm gently. "My biggest regret is that my presence is making you miserable. I hate that. I want to be your friend."
I bite back a sigh, because now I feel like an asshole. "This has just been really rough, okay?"
"It could be worse," Kassam says, and a dimple flashes in his tanned cheek, a dimple that was hidden by his thick beard before yesterday. "You could be stabbed in the guts with an enchanted sword and left to rot at the bottom of a blood glacier for a thousand years."
Oh sure, just play the trump card. "Okay, you win," I mutter. "That's a far shittier scenario than me losing a bartending job."
The look he gives me is wry. "I am aware this is hard for you, Carly. Trust me when I say I will make it up to you."
"How?" I have to ask, because I'm genuinely curious.
He thinks for a moment. "Endless orgasms?"
"Is that all you've got to offer? Because I have a vibrator, my friend, and it offers the same." I poke a finger in his chest. "And it never got me fired or invited two dozen cats into my apartment."
But Kassam's eyes gleam with interest. He catches my finger, tugging me closer to him, and the scorching heat is back in his gaze. A hot current of pleasure flares between us. "What is this 'vibrator'? Tell me more."
Oh no, I'm not falling for that. With a chuckle, I escape his grasp, backing up a few steps. "None of your business."
His brows furrow together and he looks…annoyed? Just then, my mother steps out of the back room, and my focus goes from Kassam to her. She flicks on the lights, a smile on her face, and I'm relieved to see that my mother looks the same as she always does. There's dark circles under her eyes, but overall she looks good. Best of all, she's whole and healthy, and I want to sag with relief at that realization.
She's also wearing every single piece of quartz in the shop. Her head glitters with a mix of duct tape and quartz stuck to a headband, and her sweatshirt is covered in bands of more tape, all with crystals of various sizes underneath.
"Ma," I breathe. "I'm so glad to see you." Some people don't get along with their parents, but despite my disdain for psychic everything, my mother and I are best friends. I love her and I've been worried sick about her. Not having my phone with me and being able to check in via text has been harder than I realized. Seeing her in front of me, bedecked in crystals and no worse for the wear, has taken some of the stress of the night off of my shoulders.
"Oh honey," my mother breathes, her gaze horrified. "Your face."
"Is it that bad?" I touch my bruised nose.
"Yes," Kassam says helpfully. "But nothing is broken." At my mother's wordless sound of protest, the god adds, "There was a fight at the bar. Carly was pulled in despite my efforts. I made sure they paid, though."
"Good." My mother gives me an assessing look, and I know she was worrying over me, too. "Are you okay, Carly honey? You look rough. Not just the bruises. Tired, too." Her gaze flicks to my bare feet and then over my dirty, wrinkled clothing.
"I didn't get much sleep," I admit. "Long story."
She closes her eyes and holds up a hand. "Say no more. I'm your mother and I don't want to hear details." She points at Kassam. "You—stay across the room. Both of you, actually. Much as I'd love to hug you, I need to remain clear-headed if we're going to do this."
Biting my lip, I nod. Of course it makes sense for us to stay as far from my mom as possible so she doesn't get pulled into Kassam's hedonism spell…but it still hurts. "You didn't use your cards, did you?"
Mom shakes her head, pulling out a few books she had in the break room. "Spent most of the night researching, actually. I looked up Lachesis and various rituals." Her gaze gets wistful. "What was she like?"
"Lachesis?" I have to struggle to recall. "Really…average. She smoked a cigarette and looked like she'd just gotten off work. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she was just an average person."
"She's the middle fate in Greek mythology," my mother says, clutching the book to her chest, a dreamy expression taking over. "I can't believe she knows who I am. That she was looking out for me. I'm going to have to light a candle and thank her."
"If she's fate, she knows you're grateful," I point out, worried that my mom's going to start futzing with things she shouldn't. I've ignored and humored her spell-casting and rituals all my life, because I thought they were about as legit as Bigfoot or Nessie. Now that gods are real, it's casting a whole new light onto things, and I'm worried. "Just stay off the spells for a bit, maybe? Until things die down?"
She looks disappointed, but nods. "I can't stop seeing auras, though. Yours looks more web-covered than ever." She gestures at Kassam. "And all your threads and webs are stuck to him."
I blanch. "So which one is the fly caught in the spiderweb, me or him?"
My mother looks worried, casting a glance back and forth between me and Kassam as if she can't decide. "That wasn't what I meant—"
"It's okay," I manage, as Kassam puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I know things are a mess right now. I'm just hoping they all get straightened out soon."
"Yes!" my mother says emphatically. "I do, too. I want you safe."