A low growl rumbled behind me.
Okay, aiding not-so-helpless animals too.
“All good here. Sounds like 3B made the most of happy hour earlier.” I tried to shut the door but Mona was quicker than she looked and wedged a wide shoe in the gap before I could manage.
“Would you mind if I took a look around? It isn’t that I don’t trust you. It’s just that I’d like to tell the tenant that I inspected the premises personally.”
“I would love to give you the grand tour.” I made a show of yawning. “But I am bone tired and I have an early day tomorrow. All I want to do now is take a bath and head to bed.”
“I completely understand. I had a warm cup of tea when his complaint came through. It will be cold by the time I get back to the first floor.” She grimaced. “There’s nothing worse than cold tea.”
Try accidentally swallowing the splattered guts of a basilisk.
“Why don’t you go back to your flat and I’ll handle 3B?”
Mona shook her head. “Would that I could. I have a reputation to uphold, you see. If the tenants start to think I can’t do my job, I’ll no longer have one. Do you see how that works?”
I was wasting valuable bath time. “Give me one second to tidy up. I’ve left out a few unmentionables that I was considering for a date.”
I knew the mention of unmentionables would cause Mona to clutch her pearls.
“Yes, of course,” she said. Her gaze dropped right to the floor.
I closed the door and ushered the animals to the window. There wasn’t time to perform the spell for the holiday home. I’d have to rely on them behaving on the balcony for the five minutes it took Mona to search the flat. We’d done this drill enough times that the animals understood the urgency and obeyed my instructions.
Ever so quietly I closed the window and pushed a chest of drawers in front of it. Mona had no idea how strong I was and would assume I’d need help to move such a formidable piece of furniture.
There was no sign of Trio, not that I could fit her on the balcony with the others anyway. She had no experience on the top floor of a building. What if she fell? I’d never forgive myself.
Where could she be? I sent her a mental message, injecting a sense of danger, and hoped the dog understood. It was one thing to establish a rapport. It was quite another to develop complex communication. Barnaby and I had spent years perfecting our dynamic. The raven had practically evolved into an extension of me.
I hurried back to the door and widened the gap and stepped aside to let her pass. I felt for Mona. It couldn’t be easy being human in this world. It wasn’t easy being me either, but at least I had advantages humans could only dream of.
The older woman stretched her neck and swerved left to right. She reminded me of photos of giraffes I’d seen as a child. They’d gone extinct along with a host of other animals at the start of the Eternal Night.
She gestured to the bedroom. “May I?”
“Feel free.” My heart thumped as I trailed behind her. What was the worst that could happen if she discovered a three-headed dog in my flat?
I would be homeless, along with the menagerie.
That would be pretty bad.
The closet door was ajar and I inched over for a peek. No sign of the dog, not that she could’ve squeezed in there anyway. My closet was more like a deep bookshelf.
Bless her cotton socks, Mona actually got down on her hands and knees to check under the bed. With her backside in the air and her glasses sliding down her nose, she looked ridiculous.
I took the opportunity to scan the room for Trio. My heart beat faster. Where could an enormous three-headed dog hide? There were no drapes to shield her. No large pieces of furniture to hide behind.
A hiss prompted Mona to shuffle backward.
“You found Hera’s hiding spot,” I said. “She doesn’t like strangers.” Can’t say I blamed her either.
“You’re only supposed to have one pet,” Mona said, using the bed for support as she pulled herself to her feet.
“I have one. Hera.”
“I spotted multiple bowls in the kitchen.”
Sneaky Mona. She was more astute than she looked.
“Those are all for Hera. Wet food, Dry food. Water.”
“Your cat eats better than most people I know.”
I couldn’t decide whether that was good or bad in Mona’s estimation. As stealthily as I could, I peered into the hallway.
Where was Trio? I had a sudden vision of the dog digging a hole straight through my floor to the flat below.
Mona dusted off her hands. “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’ll let 3B know he was mistaken.”
“Thank you for being such a thorough landlord.”
Mona beamed at me like I’d handed her a trophy. “You’re too kind, London.”
I escorted her to the door, careful not to walk too quickly and reveal my eagerness to be rid of her. “Have a wonderful evening.”
“And you.”
I shut the door behind her and sagged against it. I thought Trio might magically appear in the living room. When that didn’t happen I searched the flat. I moved the chest to its original spot and opened the window to let the others inside. Sandy growled as he brushed past me to communicate his displeasure.
Trio still hadn’t materialized. Maybe she’d been summoned from another realm and had managed to find her way back. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn there was a portal straight to the underworld that opened in my flat.
My bones ached. It had been a long day and the bathtub called to me. A quick dip and then I’d search again for Trio. I’d perform a locator spell if I had to, although those were unreliable and risky. If I got caught, I’d have to show I was searching on behalf of a client. If only Davina wasn’t a vampire, then I could try a locator spell for her. Then again, if it were that easy, the family wouldn’t have hired a knight. They probably had a witch on retainer for spells of that nature. You couldn’t always smite your enemies with a vampire army.
Except they didn’t want anyone to know Davina was missing, which was interesting given the queen’s lack of concern. Either way House Lewis didn’t want word to get out that they’d lost control of their daughter. Davina had either left of her own free will or was taken and both options showed the House in a bad light. And House Lewis was very concerned with appearances. The moment your enemies sensed weakness, they’d begin to move against you.
Maybe in the case of House Lewis they already had.
Stripping off my shirt, I walked into the bathroom and stopped short. Three heads stared back at me from the bathtub. Trio sat in the water, bubbles clinging to her fur.
I heaved a sigh. “I guess you need it more than I do.”
I put the shirt on again and kneeled beside the tub. “At least you’ll smell amazing when I take you back to the Circus tomorrow.”
And what kind of monster would object to a three-headed dog with a rosewater scent?
8
I decided to start my investigation for House Lewis at the smithy. If anyone could identify the strange metal, it was Lann. I’d known the dwarf since I was a teenager and I trusted his judgment as well as his forging skills. Half the blades I owned were Lann’s handiwork.