Rituals (Cainsville 5)

"Did you not get my message?" I said. I'd texted to say we'd changed our minds about speaking to him today and would meet up Monday.

"He did," Gabriel murmured. "Or he wouldn't be here. I presume you told him where we were?"

Damn. Yes, I said we had to visit Pamela before we headed out of town for the weekend.

"I won't take much of your time," Ioan said. "But you said it was about the sluagh, and that's not something I can ignore. We need to speak and--" He looked around. "Where's Lloergan?"

"With Rose. We were picking her up. Running errands with her in the backseat isn't exactly respectful."

"She wouldn't mind, and in fact I'd suggest that she would prefer that. Gabriel? Why don't you go fetch her, while I take Liv for coffee?"

"Fetch her?" I lifted my brows.

"A poor choice of words. I didn't mean any offense. But the most efficient course of action--"

"--would not be to have him drive northwest to Cainsville, return to the city, and then drive northeast to our destination. Nice try, though."

"I wasn't..." Ioan didn't finish. Unlike normal fae, the Huntsmen aren't fond of lies and subterfuge, preferring old-fashioned charm and manipulation.

"We can spare an hour," I said. "Then we're taking the weekend off."

"I'm not sure it will be that simple."

"Talk fast."

"I don't mean the conversation, but rather the seriousness of--"

"These days, everything is serious. Everything is critically important and demands our immediate and complete attention. You know what's critically important right now? Taking some time off."

Ioan opened his mouth and then wisely shut it. We walked outside...to see Patrick crossing the parking lot toward us.

"Pamela's had her quota of visitors for the day," I said. "Come back tomorrow."

"It's not Pamela I'm here to see."

"Jailbird romance?"

His voice cooled, not unlike his son's, as he said, "Given how we parted last night, Olivia, I think a little less sarcasm might be in order. I came here to help you. While I know better than to expect gratitude, you can at least do me the courtesy of being polite."

I snorted.

Patrick looked at Ioan. "I need to speak to them. Go curry your horse."

"Speaking of polite..." I turned to Ioan. "Yep, Patrick's pissy. Not a side of him you've probably seen, but you may like it better than the snide comments and subtle mockery. I know I do."

"I do not mock you, Olivia," Patrick said. "Nor do I make snide comments. Please take a moment, unleash your worst, and get it over with. We have important matters to discuss."

"See? No snide comments at all. Whatever you have to discuss with us, Patrick, it can wait. We need to speak to Ioan about something."

"The folklore issue you took to Rose this morning? In trying to find you, I spoke to Rose. She asked me..." He glanced at Ioan.

"Ioan knows about sluagh," I said.

Patrick's lips tightened. "A waste of time. The Cwn Annwn don't have my resources. Moreover, you can't trust him."

Ioan's brows rose. "And they can trust you, bocan?"

"No, they can trust my books."