Chapter 7

Elves are not fans of driving. Shoot, they could run faster than I could drive, especially in Other Side traffic, but Killian was buckled up in my passenger seat, ready to start our grand adventure ridding the world from the forces of evil, before I could shoo him away.

I had other plans.

“Listen, Killian, I appreciate the whole protection thing and stuff, but I’ve got an errand I need to run.”

“I shall go with you.”

“The kind of errand that I need you not to go on with me.”

“If it is of a personal nature, have no fear of offending me…”

Part of me thought about bringing him along just to see him suffer, but then the little angel on my shoulder started whispering about the fact he staked a vampire for me and I probably owed him.

“I have to go see my mother, all right?”

Yah, that made the blood drain from his face.

“You may let me off at the mouth to the Woods,” he said.

Smart man. I wished I could go with him.

I pulled over in front of the arched gate, its carved wooden flourishes marking the entrance to the elves’ domain. I waved to the horse and cart behind me to go around. The horse gave me a disgusted glare as he passed, his owner gave me a sympathetic nod.

“Okay, Killian. Here you go.”

“I shall await your return.”

God, the guy just doesn’t get a hint.

“Listen, Killian, you’re really nice, but you’re walking that fine line between clingy and stalker-esque. I promise I will make good on that favor owed, but you gotta give me a little space.”

“I am here to help.”

Without thinking, I accidentally looked deep into those baby blues of his and man, I was going to have to turn on the defroster to unfog the windows. I couldn’t seem to get my mouth and my brain to synchronize.

I closed my eyes, “Turn off the glamour, punk. I fight the bad guys, right? I can’t be getting all mushy if there is ass kicking to do.”

“I apologize. I forget my effect on human women.”

Right. How convenient.

But the pheromone ocean subsided and my pulse slowed down to a normal enough rate to hear him when he said, “Maggie, after you speak with your mother, please do not go after this foe alone.”

That made me look at him a second time, “Wait. What does this have to do with my mom?”

“My Queen has directed that I say no more.”

I suddenly felt like I was about to learn that I had walked into a great big game show of The Multiverse’s Next Top Stooge, “Riiiight.”

Killian exited my car and leaned against the doorframe for a moment to let me know, “I shall wait for you here.”

I put the car into gear and drove off wondering, as I stared at him in my rear view mirror, what he wasn’t telling me.