The thought of that sheriff being able to enter my sanctuary without an invitation is disturbing to say the least. I don’t have a choice. “Fine. One date. But you need to end his curiosity with you and the sanctuary. It’s dangerous for people to know about us. You get that, right?”
She nods at me. “I do. And I will. I’ll cut it off. He’s a little bit weird anyway.”
I narrow my eyes at this. “Weird how?”
“I dunno. He’s like an aphrodisiac or something. Whenever I’ve got his attention, or he’s close to me, I’m…” She hesitates. And this pause goes on long enough for me to get impatient.
“You’re what?”
“I don’t really know how to explain it. I’m just… giddy around him. Or something. Stupid. Lovestruck.”
“That’s not possible.”
“What’s not possible?”
“Lovestruck? Are you sure?”
She nods. “I swear, I’m really not the kind of girl who kisses a man I just met a few hours ago. He makes me feel weird.”
I let out a long, tired breath. Because what the hell? Why is everything suddenly so different around here?
“Hello?” Pie says. “Are you going to explain your frustration?”
“He’s an eros. He has to be. That’s a side effect of being around them.”
“A what now?”
“A cupid.”
“A fat baby with a bow and arrow?” She laughs.
I shoot her a look.
“What?” This look makes her nervous.
“You know what an eros is. You’re one of them.”
She laughs. Loud. “I am not one of them.”
“You are, Pie. That’s the only way you get inside the gates. You have to be an eros. You have to be from that bloodline. It’s mandatory. That’s literally where this curse starts.”
She furrows her brow and shakes her head. “No. I would know this, right? Wouldn’t I?”
“You should, but…” I shrug. “The sheriff doesn’t seem to know either. So I dunno what’s going on. I’m not in charge of any of this. I have one power and one power only.”
“What power? Slamming doors? Freezing people?”
I hesitate. And she must be an eros. She must be using her charms on me right now. Because this hesitation is the beginning of an admission. I quickly come to my senses and say, “Yeah. Those are my powers.”
“That’s two.”
“What?”
“You said one power. Then you admitted to two powers. So which is it?”
“Slamming doors isn’t really a power, Pie. The freezing people. That’s my one power.”
“OK. So anyway. I’m not an eros. But if the sheriff is, then I need to know more about him. Tell me what you know.”
She has to be an eros. She has to be. That’s how she got in. But… I wasn’t immediately attracted to her when she got here. I was kind of a dick, actually. And I hurt her. If she were an eros, would I have hurt her like that?
I was infatuated with Grant for almost a decade after he arrived. It took a good long time for his charms to wear off. The new caretaker should be intoxicating. And while Pie is kind of having that effect on Tomas, she did not have that effect on me.
I was angry when she came.
No. That wasn’t it. I was angry that Grant left.
I could counter that argument and say, well, I like her now.
I like her because she’s cute. She’s kinda funny too. And pretty. Let’s not forget pretty.
But I’m not swooning over her.
Still, she has to be an eros. That’s how she got in here.
Isn’t it?
“Well?” Pie taps her toe on the floor. “Are you gonna fill me in or what?”
“The eros are…” I shake my head. “Bad, bad news, Pie. You really need to get rid of him. Maybe I should come with you?”
“No. That’s dumb. I can’t glamour you like Grant could. It’s too dangerous.”
“Hmm. I wonder if he’s using you to bait me?”
“What?”
“OK, you can’t go—”
“Pell!”
“—unless… you come up with a protection spell. To counter his magic.”
“How can I do that?”
“There has to be a spell here somewhere. I guess you had better get busy. I’ll be back later to check your work.”
And with that I turn and walk out of the apothecary. Maybe she comes up with a spell and maybe she doesn’t. That’s neither here nor there. The sheriff should not be able to get in here now. Pie’s Jeep was moved to the back parking lot and all that property back there is charmed.
When Pie said she could find her way around the block to the back gate, she was mistaken. The entrance to this world is always glamoured. Without a map, she would’ve been lost.
This is good. It means that that the pesky sheriff will forget all about Saint Mark’s Sanctuary until some new situation arises out front and grabs his attention as he’s driving by.
With all other problems dealt with—at least temporarily—I turn my attention to the one on the back burner. Tomas.