Kanesha was curled up with hot chocolate. Half asleep.

I watched her for a moment, then slipped into the kitchen to talk to Mike. “Think she’ll be okay?”

“They didn’t really hurt her, and she’s pretty tough.”

“They didn’t say anything worse than we keep hearing at school,” I grumbled. “I feel bad that she has to listen to that because…”

He interrupted. “It’s not because of you. You know her. You know…”

“…that unlike me she has no interest in men at all.” I developed a slightly wry expression. “I know.”

That had been something of a revelation. But her life was, I thought, simpler than mine. No, it was simpler for all kinds of reasons, and sexuality was only the smallest of them. A minor little issue in the grand scheme of things.

I shook my head at the thought. “She’ll be fine. She has to be. I didn’t get to kill them.”

Mike laughed. “We rounded them up. But I’m more interested in whoever hired them.”

“So am I. They hired mundanes thinking I wouldn’t be able to track them.” Which meant it was somebody who didn’t know…no, they had to know. “Or knowing I would and not caring. Expendable.”

“I think they thought it would slow you down. It might have.” Mike glanced towards the living room. “She’s…”

“I know. I should break up with her, but you know as well as I that it wouldn’t help. People would still get to me through her. We need a better way.”

“Maybe she can learn witchcraft?”

I shook my head. “That requires a talent. Like…like the natural gift for music. She doesn’t have it. Seb might know some hunter techniques that would work for her, though.”

Mike nodded. “Okay. So she can’t really learn a lot of magic. She’s already got good hand to hand skills. I’ll teach her how to shoot.”

“And I’ll teach her how to use a sword. Or get Thruor to.” Thruor would probably be better. I didn’t think of myself as much of a teacher. Just the opposite, in fact. I thought of myself as a lousy excuse for a teacher. Everything I knew was too instinctive.

Probably because I still couldn’t remember learning it.

“I think that’s all we can do. Also, I’ll see if I can’t get hold of some body armor.”

“I could probably use some too. I’m not that tough.” I smiled at him. “Thanks, Mike. I do sort of wish we could get her out of all of this, but she wouldn’t go.”

“No, she wouldn’t.”
“And if she should get out,” I added. “So should you, cop or no cop.”

He laughed. “You have me there.”