Page 89 of Cursed By Fate

Reimu drained the remainder of her tea. “I haven’t decided yet. I confess, I rather enjoy the chaos of it all.”

“At least you’re honest.”

“I’m so thrilled you came to see me,” Reimu said. “Ever since I got my eighth tail, I haven’t had anything to look forward to.”

“What about your ninth tail?”

“Do you have any idea how long it’ll take to achieve my final tail? That’s so far into the future, it isn’t real at this point. Good luck with—” She waved a hand airily— “everything.”

“Good luck with that ninth tail. You’ve served a long time, Reimu. You’ve earned it.”

Reimu angled her head to give me an appraising look. “I think you’ve changed more than your occupation, Aurelia. I like this new version of you. Do us both a favor—don’t let her die.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I returned to Evermore with my newfound intel and a slew of messages on my phone, including a couple from Penny. I thanked Buttons for his service and headed straight to the office.

Penny glanced up from her computer in surprise. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting under Meemaw’s watchful eye?”

“I feel fine now.”

“Justine thinks you have a migraine,” Penny informed me with the kind of pride usually reserved for teenagers who’d successfully deceived their parents. “I told her you were throwing up and had to block out all sound and light.”

Dehydration was one of the downsides to portal travel, so I poured myself a glass of water from the filtered pitcher and added a packet of electrolytes. “Sounds like you speak from experience.”

“I don’t get them anymore. I think mine were stress-induced.”

No doubt. “Thanks for covering for me.”

“Do you really feel better?”

“I do.”

After I sucked down the last droplet of water, I sat at my desk and made the obligatory call to the golf club to bump Buttons off the wait list. If I didn’t do it now, I might not get a chance later, depending on today’s outcome.

“Are you allowed to do that?” Penny asked, overhearing my conversation with the membership director.

“It’s the reservoir of goodwill I’ve built over the past five years. You’ll be able to call in favors, too, eventually.”

Penny scrunched her nose. “It has a whiff of corruption.”

Oh boy. The fury was strong in this one. “Buttons performed a service for the good of the community. Club membership is his reward.” If I explained in greater detail, it would open the door to questions I couldn’t—wouldn’t—answer.

“Why do you call him Buttons?”

“Because that’s his name. He’s a wizard.”

“Sounds more like a clown.”

“We don’t admit clowns to the Neighborhood—unless they’re supernatural clowns.” I shuddered at the prospect.

I switched on my computer and skimmed the contents of my inbox instead. It seemed I had more emails than patience.

I let out a groan. “I can’t deal with these right now.”

“I can sort through them for you,” Penny offered. “I’ll put them into folders for ‘keep’ and ‘review,’ and then trash the rest.”

There was nothing in my work email that Penny couldn’t see. “I would love that, thank you.”