“Trust me. I plan on it.” Cal got the smirk he deserved on that one, but it was followed by an almost apologetic shake of his head, “I cannot do it. No more.” Pucks weren’t the types to be tied down against their will, whether something as deadly as the Auphe were the incentive or not. I was surprised he’d made it as long as he had. That he’d done it for us didn’t escape me. He gave Cal a reassuringly breezy grin. “But the second I crave your sour and sullen company, I’ll be back in a flash.”

“Maybe I’m only sour and sullen when you’re around. Maybe when you’re not there driving me nuts, I’m a regular ray of fucking sunshine. Ever think of that?”

I’m not worried about you; you’re not worried about me—with their invulnerability to the less testosterone-driven emotions asserted to each other, we were finally ready to leave the playground. “You might want to check on your cat briefly. Very briefly,” I suggested to Robin as he opened the driver’s door to his car. As I’d said before, his home wasn’t safe. “If she killed the neighbor’s dog, what might she do to the neighbor herself?”

He winced. “Damn. You would have to plant that thought in my mind. Other than that, I will try to avoid my condo, but I may have to put in a small amount of time petting the hairless zombie for a bit—only to keep my furniture intact and my neighbors alive, of course.” He inserted the keys into the ignition. “It’s not as if I miss the smell of ginger in the morning or the jingle of her collar.”

“You bought that thing a collar?” Cal said in disbelief, missing the real point that indeed Robin missed his cat.

“Where else would I put her identification tag?” Robin started the car and was out of sight in seconds.

“Holy crap.” Cal shook his head. “What do you think it says? The tag?”

“Just the basics, I’m sure.” I headed for our own car, parked on the street. “Dead cat. If found, please call.”

Promise had wanted to stay with Cherish in case there was an unusual daytime attack. We left them behind windows shuttered against the sun and drove off as Robin had, although with less abstinence-induced speed. We were headed for another talk with Ishiah. Face-to-face was always better than the phone. They can’t see your knife through the receiver.

Cal bounced from station to station on the radio for several minutes before giving up. “Cherish was telling me stories this morning while you were out back doing your katas.” He slapped hands lightly against his knees. “Well, after she flipped out anyway.”

“She . . . ah . . . flipped out?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes. “That card sharp shaved dog of hers was standing by the fridge, looking hungry, so I poured him a glass of goat’s blood.” He pulled a repulsed face. “Personally, I’ll stick with coffee. But Cherish came into the kitchen, freaked the hell out, and slapped the glass out of his hand. She told me I was ‘under no circumstances’ ”—he gave his best haughty imitation—“to feed her beloved Xolo. I was just doing a favor for the mangy mutt.” He shrugged. “But the princess cleaned up the mess herself, actually apologized, and made me coffee. Said Xolo was all she had. She knew she was overprotective. Blah, blah, went into some Dr. Phil crap, and I almost dozed off.”

He rolled down the window a crack to let in a stream of icy air. I didn’t blame him. Whatever Mickey had used to cover his scent still lingered in the back of the car. “I guess she noticed, because then she started to tell me about all the jobs she’s pulled. She gives Robin a run for his money. Knows everyone. Ripped off ninety-nine percent of them. Should’ve been a puck instead of a vampire. She was also asking where we’d learned to fight, who I thought was the best of all three of us. Could we give her lessons.”

“I’m surprised the two of you got along well enough to talk,” I said as I watched pearl-white clouds hang heavier and heavier. Snow; you could smell it in the air. “And who of the three did you claim to be best?” I asked, amused.

“By the two of you, yeah, I know you mean me,” he snorted. “I gave her twenty minutes and tuned her out. That’s the best I could do. As for the best, I’m not that stupid, Nik. I said it was a toss-up between you and Robin, but I definitely came in dead last.”

With swords that was true. However, with his gates and guns and Auphe genes that were more active all the time, I wondered. If he did lose control for good, Robin and I together might not be enough. I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. But that wasn’t going to happen. Cal wouldn’t give in to it, and I wouldn’t let him.

Unpleasant and unnecessary thoughts, and I distracted myself with others. He had tried with Cherish, because of what Promise meant to me. Naturally, Cal’s trying fell under the category of not walking out of the room the second she walked in, but it was effort, and I gave it the appreciation it deserved. “McDonald’s drive-thru?” Positive reinforcement; it was a good way to train dogs and brothers.

After a grease-laden bag was dumped in his lap, he took a bite of something that squirted syrup, dripped bits of egg and biscuit, and lost an entire sausage patty to the floor. “I’m surprised it didn’t come blended in a cup of coffee. It would’ve made things much simpler,” I said with distaste, sticking with the only palatable thing I’d found on the menu: orange juice. And I was careful to check for chunks of waffle floating within. “Did Cherish have anything to offer other than tales of misbehavior?”

“Nope, not that they weren’t fun. She’s not that bad once she gets over herself. She told me one story about some sheik, a huge diamond, and how long it takes something that big to go through a camel’s digestive system. Gotta say, she worked for the money on that one.” He wiped his mouth with the back of my hand. I felt the internal twitch and quelled it. Not every battle is worth fighting. Focus on the war. “Like I said, she was curious about our amazing ass-kicking abilities too, although more you, really. You’re apparently a vampire-nookie magnet. Guess that makes my monster half yesterday’s news.” He finished off the McAngioplasty and stuffed the wadded paper back into the bag. “She also wanted to know where we grew up. How’d you get to be so great a swordsman. Were you always your brother’s keeper.”

All that in twenty minutes. Cal had been more social than he wanted to admit. “And you said?” It wouldn’t be unusual for her to be curious about the man occupying her mother’s bed. It would be unusual if she weren’t.

“I said it was none of her goddamn business, and went to take a shower.” He frowned. “At least I’m pretty sure I did. The coffee hadn’t kicked in yet.”

“Thankfully you were polite,” I said sardonically. Now that was more like the brother I knew.

“I do what I can.” He leaned the seat back and rolled over onto his side. “She can get in good with the stepdad on her own time. See you in twenty.”

Cal had pulled the last watch. He needed the nap. I didn’t mind the silence during the drive. I never minded silence. The lingering smell of greasy pork death I could’ve done without, but in life there are always challenges.

He slept hard, twitching occasionally, until I parked about two blocks down from the Ninth Circle. I didn’t need to guess at his nightmares. They were the same as my own. Insanity, slavery, and far worse. But it wouldn’t happen. I wouldn’t let it. Cal wanted to carry the burden this time, but no one could carry that one alone. The moment I turned off the engine, he woke up. He blinked once, took in his surroundings, and said, “You know the only thing Ish will be interested in giving us is his foot up our asses?”

“You could be right.” Unfortunately for Ishiah, whom I thought so far to be honorable in his fashion, I was more concerned about my brother than I was about his ass-kicking threats. The sooner we solved Cherish’s problem, the sooner we could completely concentrate on our bigger one. And by now some information on Oshossi could’ve surfaced among the bar patrons. “But our options are limited.”