got ugly. All in all it worked well. Bob met a nice young girl and got married within the year, giving Drew a nice normal mother and me the freedom to make a lot of money the best way I know how.”
Hippy cast a worried glance at the horizon. The sun had halfway disappeared. “Seems a complicated way to do things.”
“What would you do?”
“Throw fairy dust on the bad guys.”
“Yes, well, we have some rather inconvenient laws about turning people to dust here. Does that muse even know where he’s going?”
Pierus, who had been striding ahead, stopped abruptly and turned back. “Did you say something?”
“I was just wondering if you knew where we were going. I presume we’re looking for Freakin Fairies.”
“Hippy, tell her the best way to look for a Freakin Fairy,” Pierus said.
“Oh, that’s easy.” Hippy gestured at the opulent neighbourhood they were passing through. “You just look for the biggest, most ostentatious, ugliest place you can find.”
“I see. That’s very interesting, but how do you know they’re in Athens? Or even in Greece? My elderly gentleman was in Venice. The thugs could have come from anywhere in the world.”
“That’s mildly inconvenient.” Pierus looked up and down the street. “Hippy? See anything?”
Hippy shook her head. “I don’t think there’s a fairy for miles. Can I go hunt vamps now? They’ll be waking up soon.”
“I told you, you’re no match for Rustam Badora on your own!”
“Then come with me.”
Poppy cleared her throat. “I have a hotel room not far from here. For the record, I’m all for steering clear of the vampires and figuring out a more useful way of searching than wandering the streets of every city in the world looking for a flash house with a Freakin Fairy in it.”
CHAPTER TEN
Hippy sat on the edge of the narrow balcony railing, leaning against the brick wall. She tossed the knife she’d stolen from the kitchen into the air and caught it. Then she did it again. And again. There was nothing else to do.
To her left, through the glass door into Poppy’s hotel room, Poppy and Pierus were still arguing about the best way to track down the Freakin Fairy. To her right was the longest drop to the ground she’d ever seen, and down there, lots of shiny lights and cars and ladies in pretty dresses. Another hotel rose up on the other side of the street, facing all the balconies and windows with mirror images of themselves.
She knew where she’d rather be. But no, Pierus had expressly forbidden her from going vamp hunting. Never mind that with every hour they wasted, Rustam Badora was building another army. Never mind if they killed him now, the vamp army on Shadow would fall apart. No, she had to sit here and do nothing because blah, blah, blah.
She caught the knife and jammed it into the wooden balcony rail. Maybe Poppy was right. Maybe she should just knock Pierus’s teeth out.
Hippy jerked the knife out of the wood and secured it inside her pinned-up hair, where she knew it wouldn’t fall out. Pierus and Poppy could be busy arguing for ages. She curled her feet around the thin railing and slowly stood up, arms out for balance. She’d never jumped from anything so high the people below looked like ants before. Nothing in Shadow was this high except the mountains, and you couldn’t really jump off them.
She looked over her shoulder. Pierus had his back to the door. Poppy was waving a book around. Good. She turned back.
Hippy almost shrieked in surprise. She clapped her hand over her mouth just in time. There, on the balcony directly across the street, a hooded, cloaked figure leaned on the balcony rail watching her. He pulled back his hood.
In the dim light Hippy could see a dark face framed with long black hair, plaits and dreadlocks. He put his hands on the rail and leaped up to balance on it, just like she was doing.
Hippy eyeballed the figure for a whole ten seconds. She could call Pierus. Or
Hippy cast a worried glance at the horizon. The sun had halfway disappeared. “Seems a complicated way to do things.”
“What would you do?”
“Throw fairy dust on the bad guys.”
“Yes, well, we have some rather inconvenient laws about turning people to dust here. Does that muse even know where he’s going?”
Pierus, who had been striding ahead, stopped abruptly and turned back. “Did you say something?”
“I was just wondering if you knew where we were going. I presume we’re looking for Freakin Fairies.”
“Hippy, tell her the best way to look for a Freakin Fairy,” Pierus said.
“Oh, that’s easy.” Hippy gestured at the opulent neighbourhood they were passing through. “You just look for the biggest, most ostentatious, ugliest place you can find.”
“I see. That’s very interesting, but how do you know they’re in Athens? Or even in Greece? My elderly gentleman was in Venice. The thugs could have come from anywhere in the world.”
“That’s mildly inconvenient.” Pierus looked up and down the street. “Hippy? See anything?”
Hippy shook her head. “I don’t think there’s a fairy for miles. Can I go hunt vamps now? They’ll be waking up soon.”
“I told you, you’re no match for Rustam Badora on your own!”
“Then come with me.”
Poppy cleared her throat. “I have a hotel room not far from here. For the record, I’m all for steering clear of the vampires and figuring out a more useful way of searching than wandering the streets of every city in the world looking for a flash house with a Freakin Fairy in it.”
CHAPTER TEN
Hippy sat on the edge of the narrow balcony railing, leaning against the brick wall. She tossed the knife she’d stolen from the kitchen into the air and caught it. Then she did it again. And again. There was nothing else to do.
To her left, through the glass door into Poppy’s hotel room, Poppy and Pierus were still arguing about the best way to track down the Freakin Fairy. To her right was the longest drop to the ground she’d ever seen, and down there, lots of shiny lights and cars and ladies in pretty dresses. Another hotel rose up on the other side of the street, facing all the balconies and windows with mirror images of themselves.
She knew where she’d rather be. But no, Pierus had expressly forbidden her from going vamp hunting. Never mind that with every hour they wasted, Rustam Badora was building another army. Never mind if they killed him now, the vamp army on Shadow would fall apart. No, she had to sit here and do nothing because blah, blah, blah.
She caught the knife and jammed it into the wooden balcony rail. Maybe Poppy was right. Maybe she should just knock Pierus’s teeth out.
Hippy jerked the knife out of the wood and secured it inside her pinned-up hair, where she knew it wouldn’t fall out. Pierus and Poppy could be busy arguing for ages. She curled her feet around the thin railing and slowly stood up, arms out for balance. She’d never jumped from anything so high the people below looked like ants before. Nothing in Shadow was this high except the mountains, and you couldn’t really jump off them.
She looked over her shoulder. Pierus had his back to the door. Poppy was waving a book around. Good. She turned back.
Hippy almost shrieked in surprise. She clapped her hand over her mouth just in time. There, on the balcony directly across the street, a hooded, cloaked figure leaned on the balcony rail watching her. He pulled back his hood.
In the dim light Hippy could see a dark face framed with long black hair, plaits and dreadlocks. He put his hands on the rail and leaped up to balance on it, just like she was doing.
Hippy eyeballed the figure for a whole ten seconds. She could call Pierus. Or
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