Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery Trilogy #1)(27)
Author: Kim Harrison

Nodding, he put a hand on my shoulder. "Sounds like you’ve got it under control," he said, and I strangled what would have been a hysterical-sounding laugh. "Have fun today."

"I will," I said, my worry and guilt rising. I could almost hear Grace singing about the girl who was a liar and fell into a fryer. "Thanks for the printer and everything." I was such a bad daughter. But he’d known what he was getting when my mom shipped me up here – mostly.

My dad followed me as far as the porch when Josh got out of his truck. "Hi, Mr. A.," Josh said, waving. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but I could see his gym bag shoved up against the back, window dressing for today’s performance, I guess.

Scanning for black wings, I hurriedly got in his truck and slammed the door, anxious to leave. The Harley bell was glowing, and I leaned forward as I put my seat belt on. "Grace, do I look okay to you?" I asked, remembering my picture. "Am I thin? I mean, transparent?"

The thrum of her wings grew obvious. "No," she said, hovering before me. "Why?"

I took a breath to tell her, then changed my mind when Josh opened his door. "Later."

Josh slid back in behind the wheel and looked askance at me as he shut his door. "Feeling guilty?" he teased, seeing my worry.

Rolling my eyes, I grimaced. "Josh," I said, trying to find a worldly air, "the stuff I’ve done when my mother thought I was sleeping would curl your hair." He laughed and I added, "The first time I ran into Kairos, I died. I’m a little nervous, okay?" I wasn’t going to tell him I’d camped out beside his house last night after he fell asleep. The guy did have his pride.

Josh looked over his shoulder and backed up into the street. "Sorry," he said softly.

He slowly accelerated toward town, and I waved bye to my dad standing on the porch. For crying out loud, could he be any more embarrassing? "Hey, thanks for texting this morning," I said. "I saw a black wing around dawn. How about you?"

"Nothing." Frowning, he shoved his glasses up and made the turn to go to Rosewood Park. "I’m glad we had some breathing space, but we’ve got to get Kairos’s amulet this morning. I can’t take much more of Grace."

"Really?" I questioned, and the angel made a huff of sound.

"I ran out of hot water in my shower last night, and I’m sure it was her," he said. "The Internet wouldn’t work, either. And my brother kept stubbing his toe all freaking night. Madison, she’s driving me nuts."

From the Harley bell came a tinkling laughter. "Josh was going to cut his face with his razor if he tried to use it without a mirror, and his brother was going to do something naughty, so I broke the signal to the Internet. And every time he swore, I made him stub his toe."

I looked at the golden haze about the gently swaying bell. Josh had shaved? My lips pressed together as I remembered that stoplight crashing down. Clearly Grace didn’t mind causing chaos if it was less horrific than the trouble she imagined she was preventing. "Nothing happened last night, Grace," I said to soothe her. "By noon, everything will be fine." I thought of that picture and the black wings, and I took a deep breath I didn’t need. "Josh is okay, and he wouldn’t be if you hadn’t stayed with him. Don’t you feel good about that?"

"Ye-e-e-e-s," she drawled, sounding too pleased with herself for my peace of mind. I looked across the truck to Josh as we bounced along. "She’s awfully smug," I said in warning.

"Great," he said. "Grace," he said, clearly more comfortable today talking to the air than he was when I left him last night. "It doesn’t matter if we get a flat tire on the way to the park, we’re still going to do this, only we’ll do it in the road instead of a nice quiet patch of ground where no one else will get hurt if things go wrong."

The bell swayed gently. "Nothing is wrong," she almost purred.

"I don’t like this," I muttered. It was a feeling that grew the closer we got to the park and the more cars I saw. Some were even pulled onto the side of the road. Couples with kids were getting out, nervous from the traffic. Rosewood wasn’t that big a park. There was never a lot of activity there, even on a Saturday.

"Uh, Madison?" Josh questioned as he pulled into the park and found himself in a line. A van tucked in behind him, and we were trapped. Josh inched forward to a woman wearing a school cap. She was obviously directing traffic, and everyone was stopping to talk to her.

Grace started to laugh, and I realized what had happened. The event had been moved from Blue Diamond Park to here. Great. Just great. No wonder Grace was giggling.

"Grace!" I yelled, and Josh shot me a look to be quiet as he rolled his window down. I didn’t have time for this! I had to face Kairos and get my life back!

The woman with the hat peered at us in the sun. "Participant or attendee?" she asked.

From the bell came a chiming, "A girl named Madison Avery, deemed she was smart and savory. So an order she gave, to an angel made slave, but soon she was shaken and wavery."

Josh leaned out the window. "Uh, participant. I’m running the track and she’s taking pictures."

I held up my camera in explanation, but my conscience was smarting. I hadn’t come here to take pictures, but here I was.

The woman squinted at the full parking lot. "Drive right through to the end. We’ve got participants parking on the grass. Just follow the yellow balloons."

"Follow the yellow balloons!" Grace chimed, whizzing around the cab, delighted at her success at keeping us from confronting Kairos.

Josh nodded, but he didn’t move forward. "Why aren’t we at Blue Diamond?"

The woman’s eyebrows went up. "Oh, it was the oddest thing!" she exclaimed. "The sprinklers came on and ran all night. It’s mud to your ankles, so everything was moved out here. Thanks for helping today. Be sure to stop at the hospitality tent."

There was no way we were getting out of here anytime soon, and I leaned forward. "Do you know who I can talk to about setting up a table to develop my pictures?" I asked.

Adjusting her hat, the woman thought. "I’d try Ms. Cartwright," she said, looking over the cars to the park. "She’s overseeing everything. She’ll be at the green tent."

My head bobbed. I’d seen Ms. Cartwright in the halls at school, but I didn’t know what she taught. "Thank you," I said, and I settled back in my seat, jittery. Damn it, Grace.

Josh crept forward. "Follow the yellow balloons," he said sourly.