Page 34 of The Stone Curse
Derek carefully unfolded his body and ducked out of the bus, stretching and expanding to his full height. He’d somehow made himself smaller to fit in the bus. That couldn’t have been comfortable. Maybe I should have asked him to stay behind, but…but Derek was his own person, and I needed to allow him to make his own decisions.
I crouched beside Willowman again. “We’re here, Willowman. We’re going to get you to Calista, just hang in there.”
If he heard me, he gave no sign of it.
Across the street, Orix was in conversation with a small man. The others stood on the pavement on this side of the road. Orix broke away from the man and jogged back to the van.
“There’s a port across the road,” he called out. “We take that, and it will drop us opposite her store.”
I scooped up Willowman, Levi locked up the van, and we headed across the street to an ornate lamppost that had a peacock statue on top of it.
“What do we do?” Ginia asked.
“Just touch it,” Orix said. He reached out and did just that and vanished.
“Cool,” Ginia went next, and Palia followed.
“Go on,” Levi said. “You go next.”
I pressed my back to the lamppost, Willowman held tightly in my arms, and the world tipped, righting itself quickly to leave me standing on a pavement opposite a row of pretty storefronts.
“I think it’s that one,” Orix said, hands on hips.
Shar and Derek appeared, then Levi, Curi, and Touron followed a moment later.
“Couldn’t we all have ported together?” Ginia asked.
“Best not to,” Palia said. “Small numbers mean less chance of a mix-up.”
“What do you mean?” Levi asked.
“Body parts being switched for one,” Palia said.
All the males looked down at their crotches.
Ginia stifled a giggle.
“Thank fuck I went through solo,” Shar said as we crossed the street toward what seemed to be a bookstore.
The bell above the door tinkled as Orix pushed it open for me.
I carried Willowman to the counter. “Hello? Calista?”
A man stepped out of the back room, ducking slightly to get through the door. The gray hair at his temple spoke of age, but I’d have put him in his mid to late thirties at a guess; however, if he was supernatural, that number could be way off.
“Can I help—” His eyes widened at the sight of Willowman in my arms then narrowed when they fell on Derek standing a step behind me. “What happened?”
“We need Calista,” Orix said. “Where is she?”
“She popped out to get milk. She’ll be back in a moment.” His gaze went back to Derek, and I could almost see the questions forming in his mind.
I hoisted Willowman up. “You have a back room? A bed? Somewhere we can lay him down?”
The man looked thrown but recovered quickly. “Are you friends of Calista?”
“No,” Orix said. “But he is.” He pointed to Willowman. “Now please, do you have somewhere we can put him down?”
The man pressed his lips together for a beat, and I thought he might argue, but then he nodded. “Yes, there is, but it’s not alarge space. You won’t all be able to fit.” He looked to Derek once again.
