CHAPTER 37

The next morning I woke up feeling an odd sense of relief. I’d never told anyone about my time in the orphanage, especially not how I’d burned it to its foundation. But Izzy knew what had happened now. She’d seen it with her own two eyes.

Saw the horror of what I was up close and personal.

There was no denying it.

No hiding from the truth.

And yet she was still here.

Or was she?

The thought pulled me fully awake better than an icy shower and ten cups of coffee. I straightened from my bed with a groan, rubbing my face. “Izzy?” I called as I tripped over an empty bottle of whiskey on the floor, a bottle that had been full the night before. A bottle I’d consumed while wading through the last of the New Never City history books in search of Mervin’s missing magic fruit. It beat lying in my bed, tossing and turning, as my mind replayed the fiery orphanage footage.

So far I hadn’t uncovered a single clue as to where to find the pea, much less why anyone would want it. But I’d made a promise to Mervin when I first took the case, and even with a fairy killer on the loose, I would find the pea. Just like I’d vowed to keep Izzy safe. “Izzy,” I called again. “Where the hell are you?”

“You shouldn’t swear in the presence of the Tooth Fairy,” Clayton said, poking his chubby head from the doorway.

I closed my eyes. Just what I needed: advice from the very sawed-off bastard responsible for my current predicament. I considered zapping him for the heck of it but decided the effort wasn’t quite worth it. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Fine,” I said with a long drawn-out sigh. “I apologize for my language. Happy?”

The little demon nodded.

“Then tell me why you’re here.”

Izzy appeared in the doorway behind him, looking amazing in a pair of dark jeans and one of my T-shirts. Her fiery hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her face glowed with health, if not happiness. The sickness was fully gone. I flushed with relief. She would be all right.

Unless a serial killer had his way.

“Clayton came to say hi,” she said quickly, her face flushing with obvious guilt. “He said it and now he’s leaving. Aren’t you?” Her death glare could’ve shrunk a lesser man, but seeing that Clayton was already miniaturized it had no effect.

“But—” he began.

“Take care, then,” she said, yanking him from the doorway and tossing him toward the front door. “Come again soon.”

As much as I enjoyed watching Clayton being tossed out on his ass, I suspected Izzy had darker motives for booting him from my apartment. “Hold up,” I said, moving to block her path. “Clayton and I have a few things to discuss.”

Her mouth tightened into a thin line. But she stopped pushing Clayton toward the door. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. He really does have to be leaving.”

“It will only take a second.” I smiled, faking a shiver. “Why don’t you go in the kitchen where it’s a little warmer?”

Her hands slid to her hips and she smiled. “I’m pretty comfortable right here.”

“But I’d hate for you to catch your death from the cold,” I said. Clayton stood there between us, his head swinging back and forth as if he were at a tennis match.

A smirk pushed the corners of Izzy’s lips higher. “I see your point, but I’m not the one who’s naked.”

I glanced down. Sure enough, I was standing in my open doorway as naked as the day I was born. “I enjoy the brisk morning air.” I raised my arms over my head for a nice stretch. In truth, I wished I’d tossed on a pair of boxers before jetting from my bedroom. The chilly morning air wasn’t doing me any favors as my junk headed north.

“You’re an idiot,” she said, throwing her arms up in surrender.

Instead of arguing with her insult, I shrugged. She had a point. I was standing there, naked, hung over, and clueless to boot. Not only was I at a distinct disadvantage in my argument with Izzy but Clayton was, at the moment, eye to balls with my genitals. It was enough to turn a blue-haired boy red. “If you’ll excuse us . . .” I said, waving her off to the kitchen.

She slapped Clayton on the back of the head. “Remember our talk,” she said to him.

He swallowed, hard, and then nodded.

“I will not be pleased if I don’t get my way.” Her eyes met mine. “A good lesson for you too, Blue.”