THE LAST TRAIN OUT of San Francisco leaves at midnight; miss it and you’re stuck until morning. That’s why I was herding Stacy and Kerry down Market Street at fifteen to the witching hour, trying unsuccessfully to avoid wobbling out of my kitten-heeled shoes. After the number of drinks I’d had, my footwear had become my new arch nemesis. None of us were in any condition to drive, and only Kerry was still walking straight. I blamed her stability on her fae heritage—pureblood Hob mother, Hob changeling father—giving her the alcohol tolerance of a man three times her size. No one keeps a house cleaner than a Hob, and there’s never any dust on the liquor cabinet.
Stacy stumbled against me. Being little more than a quarter-Barrow Wight, she didn’t have Kerry’s alcohol tolerance to help her cope with the number of drinks she’d had. I grinned down at her. “Did you tell Mitch you’d be coming home smashed?”
“He’ll have worked it out,” she said. “I told him we were going out for girl-time.” She burst out laughing, taking Kerry with her. Even I couldn’t help giggling, and I was trying to stay focused long enough to get them to the train.
The lights of the station entrance beckoned, promising freedom from my drunken charges. “Come on,” I urged, trying to nudge Stacy into taking longer steps. “We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?” asked Kerry, setting Stacy giggling again.
“The train.”
Stacy blinked. “Where are we going?”
“Home,” I said, as firmly as I could with my heel caught in yet another crack in the sidewalk. I would have taken them off, but my fingers didn’t seem to be working well enough to undo the straps. “Hurry, or you’ll miss the train.”
Getting down the stairs was an adventure. I nearly twisted my ankle, while Kerry skipped blithely on ahead to the ticket machines, returning with two one-way passes to Colma. I live in San Francisco; they don’t.
“I’ve got it from here, Toby,” she said, taking Stacy’s arm.
“You’ll be okay?”
Kerry nodded. “I’ll get a taxi on the other side.”
“Great,” I said, and hugged them both before waving them through the gates. I love my friends, but seeing them safely on their way was a relief. I have enough trouble taking care of myself when I’m drunk. I don’t need to be taking care of other people.
Market Street was buzzing with club hoppers and people stepping outside to sneak a cigarette—California banned all smoking in bars while I was still busy being a fish. That’s one of the few positive changes made during those fourteen missed years. No one gave me a second glance.
Catching a cab in San Francisco is practically an Olympic sport. I spared a thought for calling Danny, a local cabbie who’s more than happy to give me a free ride whenever I need one. We met six months ago, about five minutes after I got shot in the leg with an iron bullet. That’s never an auspicious way to start a relationship. Fortunately, it turned out that Danny knew me a long time before we actually met; I worked a case for his sister about sixteen years ago, and that’s left him inclined to help me out. He’s a nice guy. Bridge Trolls usually are. When you’re effectively denser than lead, you don’t have much to prove.
Calling Danny would mean finding a phone. Despite Stacy’s hints, I’ve been refusing to get a cellular phone; none of my experiences with the things have been positive. Besides, Danny probably needed to make a living more than I needed to spare myself the walk. Heels clacking staccato against the pavement, I teetered around a corner and started for home.
A Local Habitation
Seanan McGuire's books
- Blue Dahlia
- A Man for Amanda
- Best Laid Plans
- Black Rose
- Carnal Innocence
- Dance Upon the Air
- Face the Fire
- Lawless
- Sacred Sins
- Vampire Games(Vampire Destiny Book 6)
- Moon Island(Vampire Destiny Book 7)
- Illusion(The Vampire Destiny Book 2)
- Fated(The Vampire Destiny Book 1)
- Upon A Midnight Clear
- The way Home
- Sarah's child(Spencer-Nyle Co. series #1)
- Overload
- Heartbreaker(Rescues (Kell Sabin) series #3)
- Midnight rainbow(Rescues (Kell Sabin) series #1)
- A game of chance(MacKenzie Family Saga series #5)
- MacKenzie's magic(MacKenzie Family Saga series #4)
- MacKenzie's mission(MacKenzie Family Saga #2)
- Death Angel
- Loving Evangeline(Patterson-Cannon Family series #1)
- A Billionaire's Redemption
- A Beautiful Forever
- A Bad Boy is Good to Find
- A Calculated Seduction
- A Changing Land
- A Christmas Night to Remember
- A Clandestine Corporate Affair
- A Convenient Proposal
- A Cowboy in Manhattan
- A Cowgirl's Secret
- A Daddy for Jacoby
- A Daring Liaison
- A Dash of Scandal
- A Different Kind of Forever
- A Facade to Shatter
- A Family of Their Own
- A Father's Name
- A Forever Christmas
- A Dishonorable Knight
- A Gentleman Never Tells
- A Greek Escape
- A Headstrong Woman
- A Hunger for the Forbidden
- A Knight in Central Park
- A Knight of Passion
- A Lady Under Siege
- A Legacy of Secrets
- A Life More Complete
- A Lily Among Thorns
- A Masquerade in the Moonlight
- At Last (The Idle Point, Maine Stories)
- A Little Bit Sinful
- An Inheritance of Shame
- A Shadow of Guilt
- After Hours (InterMix)
- A Whisper of Disgrace
- All the Right Moves
- A Summer to Remember
- A Wedding In Springtime
- Affairs of State
- A Midsummer Night's Demon
- A Passion for Pleasure
- A Touch of Notoriety
- A Profiler's Case for Seduction
- A Very Exclusive Engagement
- After the Fall
- And the Miss Ran Away With the Rake
- And Then She Fell
- Anything but Vanilla
- Anything for Her
- Anything You Can Do
- Assumed Identity
- Atonement
- Awakening Book One of the Trust Series
- A Moment on the Lips
- A Most Dangerous Profession
- A Mother's Homecoming
- A Rancher's Pride
- A Royal Wedding
- A Secret Birthright
- A Stranger at Castonbury
- A Study In Seduction
- A Taste of Desire
- A Town Called Valentine
- A Vampire for Christmas
- All They Need
- An Act of Persuasion
- An Unsinkable Love
- Angel's Rest
- Aschenpummel (German Edition)
- Baby for the Billionaire
- Back Where She Belongs
- Bad Mouth
- Barefoot in the Sun (Barefoot Bay)
- Be Good A New Adult Romance (RE12)
- Beauty and the Blacksmith