Probably what she should do is take Tourqe up on the offer for a quick sex-break—and break the erotic spell Azul had cast on her.Annoyingly enough, the idea didn’t only elicit zero sparkle, it felt vaguely repellent.
What a fine kettle of rotten fish that was.
But no sense fretting about it right then.She needed to keep her mind on the job, even if this part was straightforward, things could and did go to shit fast in their world.And just maybe, when she saw Azul again and liberated him from whatever bind he’d gotten himself into, that would break the spell of nostalgia.He’d be an arrogant and aloof asshole and she’d get her brain and sparkle back.
Meanwhile…
“Wish I could,” she replied through the box.
“Is it that blueberry shake?”
Figured Tourqe would remember seeing her with Azul at Big Jo’s.That was a direct reference as they’d been drinking bayberry milkshakes, tweaked to hint at Azul’s decidedly purple shading.She wasn’t sure why Tourqe was probing.Yes, she’d turned him down then, but she and Tourqe were far from exclusive.They weren’t even friends with benefits or fuck buddies.More like occasional snacks.
“Things to do, people to see,” she told him.“No time to do you.”
He chuckled, unbothered.Always one of his finer qualities.“Tick tock on the clock, huh?Figured you for not just on a joy jaunt.”
Probably she shouldn’t have been that candid—who knew who might be listening in, she reminded herself for the nth time—but the ley riders supported each other.The advantage of being in the human realms was the community.Everyone dabbled in a little black-market coin and black-magic profit.That was just survival.She and Dy weren’t fooling anyone except maybe the more oblivious fae monitors.Katu and Big Betty on the leys at the same time meant one thing.
“A girl’s gotta make a living,” she replied cheerfully.“Anyone out there looking to close the store early?”
“Matter of fact,” Tourqe answered laconically.“Why I thought you might wanna take off for an hour or two.Wait for the shadows to get a little longer.”
“Aww.And here I thought you missed my sparkle.”
“Well, that too, Bandit.You know I love to get your glitter on me.But I get the tick-tock.Watch yourselves around Lordgay.There’s a pop-up look-see.Anything they shouldn’t grok, you might take the loop.”
Cha groaned to herself.That meant the fae, probably with the greedy cooperation of the notoriously corrupt mayor of Lordgay, had set up a traffic stop on the Thirteen, the ley line that most commercial traffic traveled back and forth between the human realms and the huge trade depot in Obsidian.They’d be “inspecting” cargo for contraband magical goods—the fae—and leveling arbitrary tariffs on anything they could—the corrupt mayor.Even though Big Betty’s cargo was legal, it would draw attention of the wrong kind.Greedy mayor’s eyes would pop out of his head like a starving goblin’s and he’d extort as much as he could out of them.
Even if they got away with minor bribes, it would burn time, not to mention slowing and backing up traffic for hours.Taking the loop—meaning going on the series of side leys to circumnavigate Lordgay and the traffic stop—would burn a bunch of time, too.Especially since everyone like them who didn’t want to deal with the cluster of problems, would be doing that too, slowing and clogging those rural leys.There weren’t many ways around Lordgay, because of the geography of the area.Something the Lordgay regularly exploited to line their town and personal coffers.
“Thanks for the heads up,” she said.
“Anytime.Watch those blueberry shakes.Bad for your health.”
“Ha ha,” she said aloud, but after tapping the box off.Surely Tourqe wasn’t jealous?They didn’t do jealous.And Tourqe was a good guy, great in the sack, but he wasn’t a brainiac.She very much doubted he’d figured out that Azul was fae.She hadn’t and—while no genius herself—she wasn’t an idiot.The glamour had been convincing.
No, probably Tourqe figured Azul for the fancy bit of human fluff he’d seemed to be and wanted to put his own bid in.It had been good of him to give the warning.Speaking of, she’d better discuss with Dy.
She tapped open the opalite channel.“Goldilocks, say hi.”
Dy answered immediately, unusual for her.She tended to daydream about new spells rather than rot her brain listening to the inane chatter on the path box.That was Cha’s job.“I heard,” Dy said without preamble.
“You were eavesdropping?”
“You two aren’t as sneaky as you think,” Dy answered drily.“Watch that boyo.I smell jealousy.”
Cha wasn’t touching that.It would just be her luck if Tourqe was listening in onthis.“So, what’s your flavor?Stick it out or go the loop-de-loo?”
“Door number three,” Dy answered.“Catch up and grab my tail.”
Ooh, interesting.Cha patted the dash.“Guess we get to race a bit after all, baby cat.Let’s hit it.”
~7~
The Book
Katu growled atrill of approval, moving into the faster stream of the black ley line, building his speed.On the Thirteen, the multiple lanes going each direction flowed at designated speeds set by the enchantments embedded there by the government mages who constructed them.The shoulder leys were essentially like the slow black driveways.Carriages could move on them, albeit very slowly, or come to a full stop.