I narrowed my eyes. “I am not an item that needs guarding. And how am I even associated with this?”
Will didn’t answer and I could feel my frustration turning to a tiny ball of anger. My fingers started to twitch. “Does everyone up there”—I turned my eyes skyward—“know about my magical immunity? Do they all know I’m helping Alex find the Vessel?”
“Blarney Stone all right?”
Will held the door for me as we slipped into the Blarney Stone, a dark pub in Outer Richmond that was illuminated with neon beer signs and was famed for making the kind of drinks that made normal people wince.
Will grinned as he ordered a shot of something dark and a beer chaser for each of us. He held the small shot glass between thumb and forefinger and we cheers’ed—me looking skeptical, him looking thirsty. He licked his lips and took the shot.
“That’ll put hair on your chest.”
I looked down into my glass. “Just what I wanted. A hairy chest.” I shot the liquid and was about to howl when Will shoved the pint glass in my hand and I grabbed it, downing half my beer in a huge slurp.
Will looked impressed. “Now that’s a brave woman.”
I burped softly. “Jail’ll do that to you.”
Will held up two fingers when the bartender cleared our empty glasses. Before the liquid had finished sloshing around in my stomach, there was another set of pint and shot glasses set out in front of us.
I sucked in a nervous breath. “So, you’re the seventh guardian.”
Will fingered his glass. “We’re back to this again, are we?”
“Are you going to tell me anything? About being a guardian? About the Vessel?”
Will didn’t answer, just kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, his fingers working around the rim of his shot glass.
“You must know where the Vessel is.”
He gave an almost imperceptible nod, lifted his glass to his lips, took a small sip. “I do.”
“That’s amazing. That’s perfect! You can get it and take it out of here and Ophelia will disappear. She’ll be out of our hair.” I looked over at Will’s strong profile and felt a tingle of guilt. “She’ll be after you, but ...” My voice sounded small. “We’ll be safe.”
Will gave a humorless bark of laughter and downed his drink. “It doesn’t really work that way, love.”
I dropped my voice. “The Vessel. Is it nearby?”
Another tiny nod.
“Is it—” My eyes scanned the small darkened bar, flitting over each neon sign, over the sticky round tables and the small, deserted dance floor. “Is it here?”
Will set his glass on the bar, the glass on wood making a hollow thump. The bartender came immediately back and tended to the empty glass, filling it with a sloshing pour. “It is,” Will said finally.
I scooched closer to him on my bar stool, feeling the rising race of my pulse. “Is it here here?”
Another sip, another nod.
“Can I see it?”
Will took a sip, focused hard on the row of liquor bottles displayed neatly on the mirrored shelves in front of us. “Look away.”
I squinted, reading the bottles, trying to follow his unwavering gaze. “It’s a Jack Daniel’s bottle?”
Will kept drinking and I frowned, my reflection looking like a sullen child in the mirror. “Give me a hint.”
“Fine. Here’s your hint.” Will did a half turn on his bar stool so he was facing me. His expression was part bored, part exasperated.
“What’s my hint?”
He raised his eyebrows and I felt my frown go from sulky to frustrated. “What?”
“Really, Sophie. You have no idea where the Vessel might be?”
I wagged my head.
“None at all? Not even when fallen angels flock to you and a guy as good looking as me comes by and springs you from jail, no questions asked?”
I still wagged my head, was still confused.
“You!” Will’s index finger was a quarter inch from my nose.
“Me, what?”
He rolled his eyes, downed the second shot, and then downed mine. He dug into his pocket, slapped some bills on the bar, and took my elbow. I stumbled after him.
“Where are we going? What are we doing? Are we going to see it?”
Will yanked open the car door and I slid inside; he got in across from me and hit the automatic door locks. My heart did a little double-tap and I felt a tiny nervous fist forming in the pit of my gut.
“What are you doing, Will?”
He turned to me. “You’re the Vessel, Sophie. How could you not know that?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it dumbly. “Come again?”
“It’s you. You’re it.”
I put my hand to my chest, feeling the regular thump of my heart. “It’s me?”
Will just nodded.
“I’m a vessel?” My eyes widened. “So, am I filled with souls in limbo?”
I had an image of opening my mouth, seeing the mournful souls trying to climb over my tongue and teeth, trying to climb over one another to get out.