Kaye shut her mouth. Others were crowding in, their faces pressing too close. Their hungry heat dizzied her. She flailed her hands to keep them away. Little winged creatures flitted around and showed their teeth.>"How about you, Kaye? Did you revenge yourself on Robin of the White Hair?"
She couldn't help the blush that crept across her cheeks.
"What?" he demanded. And she told him, the blush growing hot as she did. It sounded even more pathetic out loud.
"So what you're telling me is that you got him to kiss you once on the lips and once on the ass."
Kaye glared at him, but she couldn't help giggling.
"I don't know if I should call that slick or be really afraid what you are going to use that name of his for in the future. Can you just keep ordering him around indefinitely?"
Kaye aimed a mock-kick in his direction. "What about you and your knight? I mean, look at your arms; is that normal?"
"Makes me shiver when I touch them," Corny said reverently.
"At least we're scaring each other."
"Yeah, well, I better get back home. What's next on the faerie agenda?"
Kaye shrugged. "I get sacrificed, I guess."
"Great. When is that?"
Kaye shook her head. "Wish I knew. Samhain, that's Halloween, right? Probably at night."
Corny looked at her incredulously. "Halloween is in two days."
"I know," Kaye said. "But it's not like I have to do anything. I just have to yell and scream and pretend to be human for a while."
"What if they get pissed that they were tricked?"
Kaye shrugged. "I don't know. It's not my problem, right? All I have to do is be a good victim."
"Yeah, hopefully not too good a victim."
"Spike and Lutie wouldn't ever put me in any real danger."
"Yeah, okay. Well, that's good."
"You think they would?"
"I think it sounds dangerous. I think we haven't seen too much so far that is part of Faery and isn't dangerous."
"True," Kaye said.
"Oh," Corny said. "Jimmy saw me when I went by the house. He said that if you want that job, you can start tonight at six. It's the shift before mine, so I guess I'm not fired after all."
She smiled. "So I guess I'll see you tonight. I'm glad you're okay."
"I would be even better if I was still there," Corny said, and all her worry returned in a flood.
"Corny…"
He smiled, that weird distant smile that he'd gotten under the hill, and she wanted to shake him by the shoulders. Something had to snap him out of it.
"See you tonight," he said, slipping on his jacket. He flinched as the lining brushed his arms, and, uncharitable as it was, she hoped that it was because the scratches hurt.
As Corny left, she looked at the pink sticky notes posted on the back of her door. They were the messages that her mother had taken for her. One was from Jimmy—probably about the job—and the others were all from Kenny.