Page 58 of Cheater Slicks

“Get out of him.” I stomped my foot, not caring if I was pitching a tantrum.“Now.”

“I am too weak to be without a host.” She jutted out her chin. “He will have to endure me.”

I would have to call Carter back and explain how her partner would be staying here for the duration of his recovery. And judging by his belly, things were about to get ugly in his en suite. I wasn’t sure if Harrow had meant to stay and relax, like he told her, or if Anunit had been pulling his strings even then.

“Go shower.” I dragged a hand down my face. “He’s disgusting.” I sighed at Jean-Claude. “Can you get him a change of clothes and put him to bed in the room next to mine? I’m going to lock them in for the day and sort out this headache tomorrow.”

One thing was for certain. Anunit had her hooks in Harrow. As close as the primary Alcheyvaha burial ground was to Savannah, he would never be safe from her without help. I had heard of a necromancer who tattooed runes on people. Mostly they were protective, I think. But I didn’t have the resources in that community to locate the practitioner responsible.

I had spent too much time running from them for that. Plus, as iffy as Harrow was when it came to magic, I wasn’t sure he would want an identifier inked into his skin when Anunit claimed to be a temporary nuisance who would leave after teaching me my duties.

“Of course,cher.” He cackled with delight. “Poor thing. He gone be sick when he snaps out of it.”

“Maybe bring him some antacids before tucking him in?”

“That I can do.” Fighting his grin, he yanked on Anunit. “Let’s go, you.”

After he shut the door, I kicked myself for not asking if the coast was clear, but I hadn’t expected Anunit to kidnap Harrowagain. At the rate she was going, I would owe him more than an apology for what he was enduring at her mercy.

“I didn’t think when I agreed to become the new guardian that it meant I would be yanking Anunit out of bodies she has no business possessing.”

“I wonder how far he got before she caught up to him,” Pascal mused, tapping his chin. “We haven’t seen her since you all rescued Rollo.”

“If she was forcing Harrow to eat his way through the city, it would explain...” Kierce made a rounded gesture over his belly usually reserved for indicating pregnant women. “Do you think he should be allowed to digest it?”

“That’s a good question.” I shuddered to recall the tightness of his skin. “She’s used to eating massive quantities of meat. His stomach isn’t large enough to hold what qualifies as one normal portion for an animal her size. Let alone however many meals she’s force-fed him since we lost track of her.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, Kierce’s expression edged dangerously close to amused.

“I can’t believe I felt sorry for her, that I was worried about her.” I gritted my teeth, wondering if her farewell gift to Harrow—her cowgirl hat—was how she had tracked him. “Then again, maybe the best medicine is getting Jean-Claude to give her a dose of ipecac and let her enjoy the experience of purging her poor life choices.” As I was texting him the suggestion, Kierce chuckled. “What is it?”

“I was thinking cats vomit up their food all the time.” His laugh grew heartier. “You’d better warn Jean-Claude not to let her eat it again as soon as it comes up.”

“Eww.” I shuddered. “I could have lived my life without the mental picture of Harrow enduring that.”

I was definitely going to owe him after this. Anunit was proving to be more catlike in personality than I anticipated, from the purr in her voice to her sneakiness to her general disregard for rules when they clashed with her getting what she wanted out of any given situation.

“I’ll go tell him.” Pascal gathered the dishes. “I’ll see if Rollo’s shindig is winding down too.”

The sooner we reset the wards, preferably with a certain troublemaking goddess within them this time, the better.

As I tossed and turned in bed all day, my mind buzzed over what Rollo had learned at his party. Not that I had been allowed to question him. But the possibilities were driving me crazy. A short trip, these days.

Hosting had wiped him out, and Jean-Claude put him to bed with strict orders for me not to grill him. Which could only mean that what he found out wasn’t earth-shattering enough for Jean-Claude to deem it worth the risk to Rollo’s health.

Lucky for me, I had plenty of other worries rattling around to distract from that one.

For all the talk about trust, I had to face two hard truths at dusk.

Matty and Vi were running out of time faster than an easy solution could be found.

And I couldn’t count on Kierce to help me do what needed to be done to break them free.

For whatever reason, Dis Pater had gone from viewing me as a mild irritant to a potential threat. That or I was being punished for leveling up in power. Not that I had planned to become the guardian of anything, let alone a pantheon of gods I didn’t know existed until Anunit started killing people. I had my hands full with my siblings, thank you very much.

Kierce was in danger of getting hit with fresh orders that he couldn’t ignore, and I couldn’t risk creating a situation where that was a possibility. Not in the state my brother was in. So, I had to look elsewhere for backup. The ideal candidate, as it happened, was the least desirable one. Even if he was also the most qualified for what I had in mind.

Unable to stomach waiting a moment longer, I tugged on clothes and crept down the bright hall.

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