When I opened my eyes, John was holding me close in his powerful arms. My head hurt like Hades, and it took a moment for me to remember where I was. I wondered what time it was. Fearful of missing Henry, I pushed away. My head swam, and John grabbed hold of me again.
“Not so fast, Cat. You’ve given us one scare already. Don’t be in such a hurry to do it again.”
Isabella, who was right there next to him, gently squeezed my upper arm. “What happened? You put your hand on the stone and fainted.”
I tried to sit up. I was on the sidewalk, and people were hovering about us, cameras out in case something exciting was going down. Isabella started pushing them back. “Go on now, there’s nothing to see here. She fainted, that’s all. Just give her room.”
The crowd began to disperse, evidently disappointed it was nothing more dramatic than that.
I remembered now. The voices. All the screaming and the laughing, pounding inside my head, all at once. I twiddled the ring on my finger, wondering why it hadn’t worked this time. John and Isabella were waiting for an explanation, but I didn’t want to tell them what I’d felt. Heck, I still didn’t understand it myself. How I wished Henry were with me now. He would know what to make of it.
I pulled my phone from my pocket. It was still dead. “Can we just get back on the bus? I think I’d like to return to the apartment.”
John and Isabella exchanged glances.
“I think you should get a drink or something first. Some hot tea maybe? We don’t want you passing out on the bus.” Before I could answer him, John led me along the sidewalk. Too feeble to object, I followed along, and since I knew it to be the precise remedy my dad would have prescribed, I went without objecting.
The first cafe we came to was nonmagical, but that was okay. I didn’t need any special potion or brew. With both pairs of wings safely tucked inside their jackets, no one would have suspected either Isabella or John of being fae, and since witches looked pretty much like everyone else, we all fit right in.
John pulled out a chair for me and we sat down and waited for the waiter to come over. A middle-aged woman with hair colored too dark for her face came to take our order. She held an order pad in her hand and wore a fake smile on her lips. From her slumped and fed-up posture, I gathered she was having a bad day.
“What can I get ya?”
“Just three hot teas,” John said.
“Coming right up,” she said flatly, and wandered off.
Isabella shifted her seat so she sat a little closer to me. “So what happened? One minute you were fine, and then poof! Down you went like a sack of potatoes, white as a ghost. Does that happen to you a lot?”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing to worry about. Low blood sugar, I suppose. I’ll be fine after I’ve had a cup of tea.” The truth was, I was fine. Maybe a little shaken up, but the voices were silent now. Like at my ancestor’s grave, the dead had called to me. But this time, there were so many of them, not just the occupants of a small village cemetery, but thousands upon thousands of voices. This time, it stopped when my hand left the stone, and I was thankful for that at least, or they might have driven me mad. I wished I could tell Isabella and John, but my heart told me not to, and I decided to listen to it.
The grumpy waitress returned with our teas. She placed them in front of us and then headed straight over to the next table. Going by her new broad grin, I suspected she anticipated bigger tips from those customers. I took a sip from my cup, but it was too hot, so I put it down.
John was busy texting someone, and when he finished, he stared directly at me. “I was sending a message to your brother.” He peered sideways at Isabella. The two shared a knowing glance, and I wondered what it meant. They obviously knew something I didn’t.
I felt a sudden sense of panic. What if Jimmy told my parents about what just happened, and they told me to come home? I would die if that happened. “Why? What for?” I tried not to sound suspicious.
“Well, I didn’t tell him you almost fainted in the middle of Times Square, though maybe I should have, but he did ask me to let him know if we ever hooked up. Now seemed as good a time as any.”
“Don’t tell him about the fainting thing. He’ll tell Mom and Dad, and that would be bad.”
John grinned, confirming my suspicions that he’d considered it. “Fine, I won’t.”
I had had enough. This had been a bad idea all round, and I wanted to be off. “What time is it now?” I took a sip of my tea; it was still too hot, but I was anxious to get moving.
“Three thirty. Bags of time still.”
Hmm. I wondered. The bus wouldn’t necessarily get going when we were on it, and it might have more stops to make before returning to where we picked it up. I had a bad feeling.
“Maybe we should order a sandwich or something. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting rather hungry.” John turned, looking for the waitress.
Was he doing this to annoy me? He knew I was pressed for time. “Um, look, if you do, would you mind getting it to go? I really want to get back.”
“Oh, stop worrying.” John caught the waitress’s eye, and she weaved her way through the tables and waited for his order. “I’ve never known such a worrywart. It’ll be fine, I promise. Can I see a menu please?”
The waitress nodded and went off to find one.
Frustrated, I downed my tea as fast as I could. It was still piping hot, but I had had enough. Was he delaying me on purpose? What did it matter to John if I met up with Henry or not? I decided I’d better get going before I lost it and alienated my new friends.
I wiped my lips on my napkin and pulled enough notes from my purse to pay for everyone’s tea. I dropped them on the table and stood up, ready to head back. “Look, sorry, I gotta go. Henry’s my mentor, and it would be rude to be late. You guys stay here, finish your tea, and catch up with me back at the apartment.”
Isabella looked up at me, surprised. “What are you gonna do?”
“I’m going to catch a cab. I need to have a shower anyway before he gets there. I feel all grungy.” I didn’t mention I wanted some alone time. I’d had enough company for one day. “The secret thought you need to open the apartment door is banana peel. I’ll see you back there.” I turned to John. “It was really nice meeting you, John. I’m sure we’ll meet up again soon.”
At that moment, the waitress returned with the menu. John looked up at her and shook his head. “Never mind, it looks like we’re leaving after all.”
The waitress’s scowl said it all, and after snatching up our money, she wandered off in a huff. So much for the big tip I left her.
“If you feel that strongly, then I guess we’d better go too.”
“You really don’t have to,” I said. “I’m a big girl. I can find my way back on my own.”
I didn’t wait any longer. I made straight for the roadside, knowing they would try to stop me if I hesitated. I was vaguely aware of the scraping tables behind me as the two hurried along to catch up.
Isabella was the first to reach me, and she cast me a furtive glance, clearly afraid they’d upset me. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine, I feel a lot better. I just want to get back. You guys hop on the bus. I’ll meet you back at the apartment. Go on, have fun. There’s still so much to see.”
The second I flagged a taxi, a goblin-green Magic Cab pulled right up beside me. Before either of them could argue, I jumped right in, deliberately not sliding across the seat so they couldn’t follow me into it. I closed the door and opened the window. “Please, have fun. I’ll feel bad if you let me ruin your day, but I think it’s best I go home and lie down a bit. I’ll be all right, I promise.”
Isabella smiled sympathetically, but John looked positively annoyed. Not that I cared right now. Good-looking or not, he ignored me once too often, and in any case, who did he think he was? I smiled one last time and pressed the button to close the window. The driver took the hint immediately and drove straight off, as I imagined the pair of them standing on the pavement, wondering if I was mad. And perhaps I was.
“Where to?”
My driver was a high elf. I couldn’t see his face, but there was no mistaking the pointed ears that poked above his head, indicating his rank among his own kind—and beautiful green eyes looking back at me in the rearview mirror. It seemed rather a lowbrow profession for one of his kind, but I didn’t dare pry. Elves were proud creatures at best, and an inquiry might offend him. In any case, I had enough worries of my own.
“Greenwich Village and Grove. What time is it?”
The driver glanced at his dash. “A little after five.”
“What?” My heart raced in panic. Surely he was wrong. “Are you sure?”
The elf raised his eyebrows but checked again. “Pretty much.”
Had Isabella and John lied to me? And why would they do that? They knew I wanted to get back to meet Henry, and I was late already. I checked my phone, and my heart jumped when I saw the power had returned. I pulled up Henry’s number and tapped impatiently as I waited for Henry to pick up.
“How long before we get there?” I asked the driver.
“How fast do you need me to be?”
“Yesterday.”
I almost dropped my phone as the cab zoomed forward, forcing me back into my seat. Luckily for me, I managed to hold on to it as I heard Henry’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Oh, Henry, I’m so glad that’s you. Look, I’m so sorry, but I went out with Isabella and her brother, and we lost all track of time. I’ll be home in a few though. Isabella got here a week early, and we all went sight-seeing on the spur of the moment. I’m sorry. Somehow time got away from me, but I’m on my way now.”
Henry was quiet. “You didn’t get any of my texts?”
“No, sorry. My phone was dead. I had no power all afternoon.”
“But you have power now?”
I hated the incredulity in his voice. “Yes, sorry, I’m not sure what’s going on with my phone, but it’s been acting up all day. Anyway, I’m almost home. I should be there in five minutes.”
He was quiet again. “Don’t rush on my account. I came over early to pick you up, that’s why I was texting you. My sister’s flight was delayed, and I’m on my way to the airport now to get her. You might as well stay with Isabella and her brother, and I’ll call you later after we’ve had something to eat.”
My heart sank. He didn’t sound like himself. “I’m so sorry.” And I meant it.
“Don’t worry. Just have fun. If I don’t call you tonight, I’ll see you at the shop tomorrow. We can talk then. Look, traffic is heavy. I have to focus. Bye for now.” He hung up.
He didn’t sound annoyed. More flat. Maybe he was tired. Or maybe his day wasn’t going to plan. Heck, I could relate to that, but he didn’t sound himself, and that made me feel bad. I slumped in my seat, feeling sorry for myself. All I’d wanted to do was spend time with Henry, and thanks to John and Isabella, that wasn’t going to happen. And though my rational brain knew it wasn’t their fault, that they hadn’t done this on purpose, a voice inside me told me there was something I wasn’t seeing here. But I was sick of hearing voices in my head, so I tried to shut them down and focused on the landmarks as the streets of New York zipped by me at the speed of light. And I tried not to think of Henry. But that was asking a too much of myself, as I thought about him all the time.
“You can slow down now. It’s okay, I’m not in a hurry anymore.”
The driver nodded, and I pulled up Henry’s texts. There were seven of them all told, his tone changing slowly from excited to exasperated. What was it with people arriving early or not leaving when they said they would? Freakin’ inconveniences, the lot of ‘em.