The shadow hound did not show up again. In fact, things started to settle into a routine. What I did get was a letter.

It was in script almost as flourid as Mr. Otter’s. Which told me right away it was from Her Ladyship.

It was an apology, plain and simple, for everything that had happened. I didn’t count on it to be the end of things. But it meant something nonetheless.

It meant there might be a chance of something more lasting than a truce. I didn’t show it to Thea or Kanesha, though. I was oddly more comfortable with them thinking things were still uncertain. That way they would be ready to jump when needed. I hoped I would be. But I folded it up and put it away carefully, in the lockable drawer of the desk I had in my room.

That wasn’t the safest place to put it, but it was the safest place I had. For right now. And it was next to the horn.

No, I needed a safer place. For them. Possibly for me, but it was what it was. I looked in that drawer again. There was one other object in it.

My illegal gun. Who knew what would happen if I was caught with it. Shaking my head, I wrapped the entire kit and kaboodle up in my underwear. Perfect. Nobody’d go rooting through that. At least not a male somebody, and probably not much of a female somebody either.

For now, it was safe. For now, I had one less thing to worry about…except that I would. I needed my own place.

I thought about that for a long moment. About the safehouse. About the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to stay in this city.

I had to leave, as soon as I could get myself out of high school.

I had to leave, but I had no place to go, because I couldn’t remember where I came from.

Then I had to worry about where I was going to. It was as simple as that, and I thought I had an idea.

I was going to find out how to save the world. Then I was going to do it.

Somehow.