Jerome was waiting for me in my apartment as soon as I stepped through the door.
"You have some nerve," he growled.
I set my suitcase down. Normally that tone of voice would have set me hiding, but I was in no mood to listen to him now after my long drive-or rather, lack of a drive. There'd been an accident that had put traffic at a standstill, and I'd sat in my car for a very long and very annoying time.
"Look, Cedric told me to," I said, crossing my arms as though they might actually shield me from him. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"You're not supposed to do what he says." Jerome sat on the arm of my couch and flicked his cigarette over a nearby ashtray, which I took as a great courtesy on his part. "You're supposed to do what I say."
"He told me to go home. He didn't have anything for me to do until the Satanists had their breakfast meeting."
Jerome's glare momentarily faltered. "What are you talking about?"
"What are you talking about? I'm talking about Cedric sending me home early."
"And I'm talking about your failure to notify me of his little stunt last night."
Last night? I racked my brain. Last night I'd been killing time shopping and destroying a man's self-esteem. To my knowledge, Cedric had done nothing after I left except continue his quest to destroy Wikipedia's informative empire.
"What'd he do?" I asked. "I didn't even see him."
Jerome didn't answer right away, his face thoughtful. I realized then he was reassessing his initial anger. It wasn't my early return that had upset him.
"There was a vampire brawl last night," he said finally. "Somehow, a few of them thought their hunting ground lines had been rearranged. So they started roaming into others' areas..."
"...and bad things ensued." Vampires were as territorial as demons in some ways. Vampires had specific areas that they guarded to stalk victims and were very touchy about other vampires using them. The archdemon of a region usually drew up vampiric lines and enforced them through force and will.
"Unfortunately, yes. Grace and Mei are still sorting it out."
A panicked thought suddenly struck me. "Are Cody and Hugh okay?"
He shrugged. "A little bruised and battered, but nothing that won't heal on its own."
My fear was unfounded, of course. Lesser immortals, like vampires and succubi, couldn't kill each other, and we healed extremely quickly. Still, the instinct to worry about my friends was one that would never leave me. "Why were you yelling at me over this? I certainly didn't have anything to do with it."
"Because the vampires who thought they'd been reassigned got official notification that said they had: a stamped and sealed demonic missive. They thought it was from me."
"But it wasn't," I guessed, seeing where he was going with this. Jerome had the area comfortably parceled out and would have no desire to change the status quo. He was too lazy. "There was no name?"
"No, clearly. But they don't need it-not if the seal is good. It was, and only another demon could have drawn something like that up."
"And so you assumed Cedric did it," I finished.
Jerome nodded. "Yes, and I'm going to let him know exactly what I think of this. I'm not happy over that-or you slacking off in reporting his activities to me."
"You're giving my spying ability more credit than I deserve here," I warned. "It's kind of limited. He's not really sharing his inner secrets with me, and anyway, he already knows that's what you want me to do."
"Of course he does."
I sighed. "Look, if you want my opinion..." The look Jerome gave me suggested he really didn't put a lot of stock in my opinion. "...I don't think Cedric's the type to do anything like that. He's more interested in Web surfing."
"After all this time with demons, you really should know better than that, Georgie." Jerome smashed his cigarette into the ashtray and stood up.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you sound just like Nan-" I frowned. His wording had tickled a memory. "Oh, I do have some info for you. Cedric was meeting with Nanette."
Jerome had been straightening his sleeve, but his head jerked toward me at the mention of the archdemoness's name. "Nanette?" The word was carefully enunciated, icy in its tone.
I relayed what I knew. Jerome's face grew dark as I spoke. Whatever his thoughts on the new development were, however, he didn't share them with me. "Looks like you might be doing your job after all." He paused. "But why are you back?"
"There's nothing to do until Saturday. Cedric sent me home." I held my breath, waiting for him to blow up, but it didn't come.
"Well, seeing as you aren't being too much of a bitch for a change, I suppose that's okay." By that wording, I was apparently still being kind of a bitch.
Jerome vanished.
Aubrey immediately came out from behind the couch, giving me the censuring look cats always give owners who have been away for a while. I knelt down and scratched her chin. She was solid white with a few black specks on her forehead, often giving the impression that she couldn't keep her head clean.
"Yeah, I know," I told her. "Believe me, I don't want to go back there either."
Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was dinnertime. Too early to see the vampires quite yet, particularly since the days were getting longer. I'd have to wait until after sunset to get their version of the bloodsucking showdown. I gave Aubrey a few more conciliatory pats and then straightened up to call Dante. He didn't answer, and I wondered if he actually had a customer for a change. When not concocting vile spells, he made his living giving fake Tarot and palm readings. I left a message, telling him I was back.
With time on my hands, I started fretting about Emerald City. I knew the bookstore really could function without me, but the motherly instinct kicked in nonetheless. And since I did have the time, I decided to go over and check on things.
As expected, all was well. It was almost seven, and people on their way home from work were stopping in to pick up things. Business was steady but not crazy.
"Georgina! You're back."
I'd been watching the registers from a distance and turned to see Maddie standing behind me, lugging a cardboard display for a new book coming out tomorrow. I smiled. No matter how hard things had been for me with her and Seth, there was something about her bright, open personality that could lighten dark moods.
"For a while. I just wanted to check on things."
She grinned back. "That's just like you. Get time off, and come back to work. How are things? Still crazy?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, a little. But it's nothing I can't manage. I'm hoping it'll improve soon."
"Is it something that might improve with a drink?" She wore a mischievous look, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Only if I'm drinking alone. You're still here for a couple more hours."
"Nope. I had to come in early to cover someone, so Janice is going to close."
It was always nice if a manager could close, but Janice was certainly competent enough. I hesitated. I'd been avoiding Maddie since Christmas, but before Seth, I'd always really liked her a lot. We'd had a lot of good times together, and our personalities clicked well. Seth wasn't here now, and a drink suddenly seemed like an even better way to pass the time than doing managerial things when I wasn't actually required to do them.
"Okay."
She finished up, and about fifteen minutes later, we stepped outside. I got a cigarette out automatically, then paused. "Do you mind?"
"Nah. I don't like them, but it's okay. Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know." I reached for my lighter, remembered it was out, and pulled out the matches instead. I ran my fingers over its cover and frowned. "You want to go to Mark's Mad Martini Bar?"
Mark's was at the top of Queen Anne Hill, making for a rather steep hike. Living around here, I did it fairly regularly, but Maddie was breathing hard when we reached the bar.
"Man," she said. "I need to go to the gym more."
I held the door open for her. "Do this every day, and you won't need to."
"I think I need a little more than that." Her weight was a continual source of worry for her. "I think I need to pick up some weird sport. You want to start playing squash with me?"
"Why squash?"
"I don't know. Never tried it. Figured I should."
Along with the other changes in her life, Maddie had recently adopted an attitude of getting out there and trying new things. Before my recent funk, I'd had kind of a similar view. Faced with centuries of existence, I'd found experimenting with new activities was a great distraction. There was always something new to learn in the world.
Mark's was dimly lit, done in matte black d¨¦cor. I flipped through the expansive drink menu, which upheld the restaurant's name. When the waiter came around, I ordered a martini called First Blush: white chocolate liqueur, Chambord, and vodka. The menu called for Stoli, but I asked for Grey Goose.
"You ever considered dancing?" I asked Maddie. "It can be a good workout. You're less likely to get hit in the head too."
Maddie had ordered Sing the Blues: Blue Curacao, pineapple juice, and Ketel One. Her face lit up.
"I've always wanted to. Doug said you used to teach swing at the bookstore."
"Yeah, I did some group lessons last fall. My friend Cody helped me." A pleasant wave of nostalgia swept me as I recalled those days. Things had been simpler, and I'd had a lot of fun teaching my friends and co-workers while doing one of my favorite activities.
"I wish I'd been there," she said wistfully. "I'm kind of uncoordinated, but you know...if I don't try, how will I learn?"
"Maddie, you should be doing motivational speaking."
She laughed. "I don't know about that. But I'd do dance lessons if you ever taught again. Hint, hint."
The waiter returned with our drinks. I nearly died when I tasted mine. It was an 80 proof, raspberry dream. "I don't know. The staff pretty much learned all they could with swing."
"Then teach something else. Doug says you know every kind of dance in the world. I'd help you organize it."
"Maybe I'll do salsa or something," I told her, not sure if I meant it. "When all this drama's over."
"Is there anything I can do to help? You know that I'm here if you need something."
The earnestness and compassion on her face made a lump form in my throat. I'd spent the last few months hating her, but her friendship and faith in me had never faltered. Suddenly feeling guilty, I glanced away from her eyes.
"Nah, don't worry. I'll deal with it." Silence fell, silence that bothered me immensely. I felt a need to give something back to her for her kindness. My thoughts from a few nights ago about moving flashed into my head. I glanced back up. "Maybe you can help me find a new place, though."
As I'd hoped, her face grew eager at the proposal. "Really? You're going to move?"
"I don't know for sure. Just thought it might be time for a change."
Maddie became even more excited. "What are you looking for?"
"Not sure about that either," I admitted. "The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to try something outside of Queen Anne."
"Okay, that's a good start. How big? New construction or historic? Do you want to keep renting? The condo market's flooded, you know. Great time to buy."
I tried to keep a straight face but couldn't. "Were you a real estate agent in another life?"
"No! I just think it's exciting, that's all. I want to help."
"Okay. I could rent or buy. It would depend on the place."
"What's your price range? If you don't mind me asking?"
I hesitated, wondering if I should let on to the truth about my finances. I decided it didn't matter. "Well...let's put it this way. I've got a lot of savings."
"Fair enough." Despite the rapid rate she was drinking, there was a sharp, businesslike air to her. "You want a similar kind of neighborhood? Shops? Restaurants?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind that."
"Anything else?"
"I told you, I haven't thought much about it."
She sighed in frustration. "You've gotta help me out here. Anything you've been wanting for a long time? Something you've missed?"
Unbidden, a memory of my childhood came to me. The Cyprian town I'd lived in returned to me in startling clarity, its colors, smells, and airs.
"I grew up around beaches," I said softly. "Sun and surf." I shook myself out of the wistful memory, feeling a bit embarrassed at my dreamy state. "But I'm in the wrong place for that."
"Yeah," she agreed. "You'd have to move to California for that."
We had another round of drinks and talked about other things, and to my surprise, I had a really great time. I remembered now why I liked Maddie so much. She was so easy to talk to, so funny and smart. I didn't have a lot of female friends, and there was a big difference between her and the guys I normally hung out with. Women needed other women sometimes.
I was signing my credit card bill when Seth walked over to our table.
Maddie looked up, beaming. "Hey, sweetie." She stood up and kissed him, something that unnerved both Seth and me. All of a sudden, the warm and pleasant feeling that had been building within me shattered. Maddie glanced at me explanatorily. "I called Seth to get a ride while you were in the bathroom."
I smiled tightly. "Ah."
Maddie turned back to him. "You're missing out. This place has great drinks. You sure you don't want to break the rules? We could stay another round."
"Actually, I need to go," I said, thinking of few things more agonizing than drinking with the two of them.
"And I'm not ready to break the rules," said Seth, avoiding my eyes. "Besides, I've got work to do."
Maddie looked only moderately disappointed. "Oh, well. No problem. Let me run to the bathroom, and we'll go. We'll give you a ride, Georgina."
I should have run away then and there, but Maddie dashed off quickly, and I felt it would be rude to leave without saying good-bye to her. Seth sat down in her chair and clasped his hands in front of him. Our usual wall of awkwardness slammed down between us.
"I don't need a ride," I said abruptly.
Seth glanced up at me. "It's a long walk."
"Not really. It's only six blocks."
"Yeah, but you've been drinking."
I scoffed. "I had two drinks. I'm hardly going to walk into traffic, if that's what you're worried about."
"No, but it's no problem for me. I just want to make sure you get home okay." It was one of those rare times when his mild mood had been replaced by something more adamant. For whatever reason, that ratcheted up the anger within me.
"I'll be fine," I snapped. "It's not your job to look after me anymore."
"Georgina, please."
"Please what? You know I'm right."
"You're making this into a bigger deal than it is. It doesn't always have to be about us."
"Of course it does...I mean, inasmuch as there is an us. You got out. I'm not your concern."
"I can still worry about you. Still care."
I leaned forward, possibly emboldened by my martinis. "You made it perfectly clear how much you care, and that's fine. I've got a whole new life now."
His look turned wry. "Yeah, your new life seems great."
That incensed me further, largely because I wasn't really convinced my new life was all that great either. "It is. I can do whatever I want now. I don't have to worry about hurting your delicate sensibilities when I sleep with someone or having to modify our dates to boring things that don't take you out of your comfort zone or interfere with your writing schedule."
It was horrible of me. Mean, mean, mean. I would have expected him to flinch, to look hurt. Instead, he fought back.
"And I don't have to worry about being hypocritically judged for being both too boring and too risky. I also don't have to wonder anymore if everything I'm being told is a half-truth or an outright lie."
That made me flinch. It was also when Maddie showed back up. She tried to cajole me into a ride, but I firmly refused-a bit more harshly than I needed to with her. She looked a little abashed, but I was too upset over Seth's words to care too much. I left, storming down the hill so hard, it was a wonder my footsteps didn't make the ground shake.