I lifted my wrist and peered at the cuff. “It’s seriously ugly though. I guess I can just wear long sleeves and keep it covered.”
The demon traced a sigil on the surface of the table. Even without othersight I should have been able to see it, but I couldn’t see a damn thing, and I found that it was impossible for me to switch into othersight.
“Now I kind of feel like my ears need to pop,” I said. “I mean, not really my ears, but it feels like the same thing.”
She gave a slight nod. “With your arcane senses instead of your physical. I understand.”
“And I can’t be summoned as long as I’m wearing this?”
Her lips curved in a slight smile. “That is correct. It will be impossible for the ritual to ‘lock onto you,’ so to speak.”
It seemed to remain oddly cool against my skin. “Couldn’t I just wait until I feel a summoning beginning and then snap it on?”
“No, in fact that could be quite dangerous,” she stated. At my frown she continued. “The cuff will prevent a summoning from locking onto you. You may have noticed that each summoning attempt has been stronger and more focused than the last. Soon it will be impossible to simply run as a means of escape. If a summoning locates you, and you then put the cuff on, you will still be summoned. But the cuff will alter the portal—”
“And I’d end up in tiny bits,” I said with a wince.
“Correct.” She reached across the table to touch the back of my hand. “You will not have to wear this forever,” she said. “Lord Rhyzkahl is doing his utmost to eliminate the threat.”
I nodded and resisted the urge to do more mopey whining. “Yeah. It’s cool. I can handle this. It’s just a piece of damn jewelry.” Even so, I pulled it off, breathing a sigh of relief as everything seemed to leap back into focus.
“I have something else for you,” she said, dipping into her pack and pulling out a thick envelope.
“Matching earrings?” I said with a deliberately cheeky grin.
She chuckled. “No. I did not think you wished to wear yet more ugly jewelry.” She pushed the envelope toward me. “I am aware that your finances have been stressed with the additional expenses incurred by my presence. Since it is hardly worthwhile to protect you and yet have you fall into financial ruin, I am hoping that this will ameliorate the situation somewhat.”
Stunned and wary, I pulled the envelope to me and peered inside. I didn’t pull the bills out to count them, but at a rough estimate I figured it was about five thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills. “Wow,” I managed after several heartbeats of trying to figure out what to say. “Um, how did you get this?”
She gave a pleased smile. “I borrowed forty dollars from your wallet and went to a casino on the Gulf Coast. The advertisements on television stated that one could win large sums of money at such places.” Then her brow puckered. “However, I must say, their advertisements are terribly misleading. One must have excellent skills at observation, physics, and mathematics in order to compete with a minimum of disadvantage. Fortunately, I am in possession of all of those skills, but I would venture to say that very few humans have the necessary aptitudes.” She inclined her head. “No offense intended.”
I grinned. “None taken. The casinos pretty much count on people being stupid.”
“And they are seldom disappointed, I am sure,” she said. “I could only remain and partake of the gaming for an hour, but I am hoping the monies within the envelope will help your situation. And the original forty dollars are in there as well.”
Pulling the bills out of the envelope, I counted off five hundred and then handed the rest back to her. “Thank you for worrying about me, but you’re really not a very expensive roommate. However, you do need your own money.”
She paused before taking the envelope back. “Are you certain? If you need more funds, you need only ask.”
“I’m sure,” I said.
A smile spread across her face as she tucked the envelope into her backpack. “My thanks. I do indeed have some purchases I wish to make.”
Somehow I had the feeling that it wouldn’t be long before Fuzzykins was the proud owner of a shiny new Kitty Kondo.
Chapter 8
“I can’t think of a better way to start the day,” my aunt’s boyfriend said as he looked down at the corpse before him.