Twenty-nine

Grace shuddered and blinked up at Genevieve, her head ached.

“Welcome back.” The woman smiled warmly. 

“You washed her face with salt water and it undid what Fitz had done?” An older man she didn’t know leaned into her view and Genevieve helped her sit up.

“It was a glob of nastiness and I cleared it away.”

Fitz was on the floor nearby and Cam was checking his pulse.

“The Sibyl does no harm. He’s sleeping. It’s a restful, healing sleep. He’ll be angry about it when he wakes but that’s not any different than he has been.”

“You swear to me he’s not suffering?” Cam studied the woman grimly.

“I do. The Sibyl speaks the truth, it is perception that varies.” She inclined her head and Cam smiled faintly.

“Why haven’t you done this to both of us?”

“I need your name to do it. The Sibyl sees what you are but I need to name you to use-”

He broke out laughing and sat next to Fitz. Grace rubbed her head trying to understand what was going on.

“I don’t-don’t understand.”

“Don’t worry about it, Gracie.” Cam sighed and looked at the other man. “Don’t give her my name. We need a room, and you’ll be paid, I promise. Until then, you can let her bless your ring or whatever she offered to do and take it as an advance.”

“I thought Sibyls were myths.”

“They usually keep them confined but this one was born outside of the lines. Fitz is going to keep her for his own or kill her. I’m not sure.”

“I’ll buy her. They’re valuable even outside of the lines.”

“I’ll tell him that’s an option if he decides he wants to get rid of her.” Cam nodded.

Grace felt sick to her stomach but Genevieve squeezed her hand. 

“I can put them in a room and lock it.” 

Grace looked at the man and realized she could read the tag on his shirt, General Manager.

“That’s fine.” Genevieve, inclined her head, “But God may protect stays with us.”

“Coby. He said his name is Coby.” Grace volunteered.

“Coby. He stays with us. The Sibyl wants him to serve in her brother’s place for the moment. Grace is a friend and under our protection.”

“Our?” The manager’s brow furrowed.

“I think that’s the royal we.” Cam snorted. “The Sibyl talks about herself in the third person.”

“Father had to remind us to stop.” Genevieve winced and nodded. “Me, he had to remind me to stop.”

Cam rubbed his temples, “Let’s get him in a room and get them locked in. Don’t-”

“I’m not causing trouble, Cam. As long as Grace and Coby are treated well I'm being a lamb. To do otherwise would be to put them in harm’s way.”

“You haven’t reached out to your brother?”

“I don’t need to. What I know, he knows. You don’t understand how tightly the Sibyl and the Servant are joined.”

“Poke one and the other bleeds?” Grace smiled faintly.

“Poke one and the other will slap your hand.” Genevieve grinned. “I would die to defend those I love, but I would fight to protect my brother and my husband. My brother was raised by our father, even Grey would hesitate to challenge him. My father wanted monsters and he taught my brother to do things… terrible things.

“Bas is sweet if you’re good to him and good to me, if you’re not he doesn’t need to cast a single spell to make you wish you were never born. By the time he gets to those you should have already started running.”

“Fitz should have left you where you were.” Cam rubbed his temples.

“The next best thing would be to leave us here and drive away. You do have that option.”

He shook his head. “In for a penny… You take them and lock them in, I’ll drag Fitz. If you don’t have adjoining rooms then put us next to them.”

Grace got to her feet and walked with Genevieve to the stairs. The manager took them up as Cam grumbled and did his best to heave Fitz up the single flight. The room was spacious and clean but there were no toiletries laid out. Still going to the bathroom seemed like a fantastic idea.

When she came out, Genevieve was looking at a few pieces of paper and smiling.

“What’s that?”

“Keep your voice down.” The woman smiled and waved her over, “Hotels always have things about local stuff, food, places to go, something with the hotel’s address…” 

She tried not to do a victory dance as she looked at the papers she could now read. Wisconsin. “Awesome. And they know where we are now?”

“They do. Bas is letting them know and they’re on their way. We won’t be here when they get here but… Coby might be able to tell us where we’re going.”

“Oh, his name… umm, Coby is a nickname. What was it?” Closing her eyes she tried to remember. It popped into her head as Genevieve took her hands. “Jacob Thomas. He has an accent I haven’t heard before, maybe Canadian?”

“That will help, Grace. Get settled and pick a bed for us, Coby gets his own bed.” 

The woman disappeared into the bathroom and Grace flopped onto the queen sized bed next to the window. She wondered if Coby would pick up things like underwear and pajamas… He didn’t know their sizes and they probably weren't something guys thought about. The clothes Cam had bought were comfortable though. 

Closing her eyes she smiled at the thought of Eli and Bas catching up to them and taking them home. At this point she didn’t care if home was Genevieve’s house or even her parent’s vineyard, not here and not with these guys was the most important thing.

The door opened abruptly and Cam came in grabbing up the papers.

“Have you looked at these?”

She blinked at him not sure what she was supposed to say. Genevieve wasn’t able to lie and if she did and got caught it might cause trouble.

He looked relieved at her baffled look. “Do you know if she did?”

“I came out of the bathroom and she went in.” That was mostly the truth. “She told me to pick a bed for us, Coby gets his own.”

Cam relaxed and then came to grab the phone off of the table by the beds. He unhooked it and walked toward the door.

“Oh my god.” Grace covered her face. “I didn't even think about calling anyone.”

Cam’s laughter made her look over at him. He was grinning.

“She forgot to unmuddle you. I’d bet she’s still a little hazy and only thought about undoing what Fitz did.

“Make sure you get a shower tonight, we’re leaving early, Gracie.”

She nodded and sighed laying back down as he left. Had Genevieve left her muddled? She was thinking about that as the woman came back out and gave her a mischievous smile.

Flopping on the bed, Genevieve spoke quietly, “They’d have known if we called anyone. You didn't think about it because we don’t need to. My brother sees and hears everything that I do. When Coby gets back I can give you both something to hold onto that will keep you clear.”

They lay there for a long moment.

“What happened in the car? Fitz looked-”

“I fended off his attack. I couldn’t before, I didn’t have anything to hold onto, but they gave you fancy flip flops.” Genevieve gave her a sly smile. “Glass is a void. I can defend myself with it.”

They lay quietly again for what felt like a long time and her stomach growled. 

“How long do you think-”

The door rattled and then opened. “I’m back! Sorry it took so long I picked up-” Coby seemed cheerful.

“What did you buy?” Cam followed the man in.

“I bought dinner, some clothes, a suitcase…” 

The suitcase was laid on the free bed with the bags of food.

“I picked up Culver’s, enough for everyone. I got…” He laid out burgers that all sounded fantastic, fish, chicken sandwiches, fried cheese curds, fries, ice cream, and milkshakes. 

Genevieve bounced and then darted around the bed to give the older man a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Coby laughed and beamed.

“Wow! This all looks amazing!” Grace grabbed a cheese curd to try it and he laughed again.

“I just want to make sure you girls have what you want.”

“What’s in the suitcase?” Cam sounded annoyed.

“I got some shoes and socks for Gracie. There was an eight on the flip flops.”

“Eight is perfect.” Grace nodded. 

“Some under things, pajamas, toiletries-”

“Where did you get all of this?” Cam frowned.

“There’s a Wal-mart around the corner. I put in the order at Culver’s and ran over to get a few things. When I came back everything was almost ready.”

“You’re my new favorite person.” Genevieve grinned. “Let’s eat and then we can all get showers and get a good night’s sleep.”

“That sounds like heaven.” Grace eyed the burgers and took one with bacon.

Cam loaded a bag of food for Fitz and then sat on the bed to eat with them. Genevieve took a triple burger and Coby took the fish. Cam had a swiss burger. The sound of eating was the only thing audible in the room for awhile.

“This is so good.” Genevieve finished her giant burger and started licking her fingers.

“I brought napkins.” Coby handed her one.

“Then I wouldn’t get all of it!” The woman laughed at the way he shook his head. “My brother says I eat like a barbarian. He probably would have used a knife and fork for his burger.”

Grace laughed and started on the cheese curds. “He wouldn’t, he’d be barred from North Carolina.”

“He did sell the vineyard.” Genevieve grinned mischievously. “And he once tried to make me eat Thai food with chopsticks.”

“That is the way you’re supposed to do it.” 

Not laughing at the sulky face she made was impossible.

Coby shook his head, “I don’t know how anyone can eat with sticks.”

“Thank you!” Genevieve reached over to squeeze his arm before grabbing a milkshake and another burger. “I’m starved.”

“Try the cheese curds! I have to learn how to make these.” Grace offered her some and Coby grinned looking proud of himself.

“These are amazing!” 

“I didn’t realize they’d never had them,” Cam sounded amused and she looked over at him with a smile. 

“It’s the best thing out of Wisconsin.” Coby smiled. “I couldn’t get dinner without cheese curds.”

The door slammed open startling everyone and Fitz stalked in.

“What’s going on here?”

“Dinner.” Genevieve gave him a tight smile. “Cam saved you some.”

“How long have I been out?” He looked at Cam sourly. “It feels like I’ve slept for days.”

“An hour or two. She said it was a restful healing sleep.”

“I don’t remember the last time I slept that well.” He was still glowering. “But you’re going to pay for that, Sibbi.”

“The Sibyl protects. You attacked Grace, Lloyd. Don’t do it again.”

“Or what?”

“She knows your name, Fitz. The only reason she’s behaving is because-”

Grace felt a cold chill as he began muttering under his breath and then seemed to wave toward Genevieve. The woman tilted her head and gave him a disturbingly toothy smile.

“Listen to the Crooked-nosed Man.”

“It’s the clothes, Cam. I told you she needs to be kept naked. She was vulnerable in the cave.”

“We can’t drive around with a naked woman in the back seat. When we get them home you can take them all away from her. Until then, she’s behaving because she can’t do to me what she did to you. She doesn’t know my name. To protect Gracie and Coby-”

Fitz rounded on him and slapped Cam. “The valet. He has no name.”

Cam shuddered and hunched. “She’s protecting him right now. The Sibyl wants him to serve in her brother’s place for the moment.”

He muttered and gestured at Coby. The man flinched but then looked up nervously. Genevieve had a hand on his arm. 

“If you threaten to harm either of them again, Lloyd Fitzgerald, you’ll see what else the Sibyl can do. The Sibyl protects.” 

There were glimmers of gold in her dark eyes.

“You have to touch him to protect him, but you can’t protect-”

“Leave this room, Lloyd Fitzgerald, and do not reenter it.”

The startled look on Fitz’s face as he headed for the door made Grace want to laugh. He stopped outside the door looking furious and Genevieve rose, closing the door in his face and placing her hand on it for a moment.

“Do you need me to dislodge that?” She gestured toward her face as she looked at Cam.

“I’d have to go get you some salt.”

“I got salt packets.” Coby pulled some out from under the napkins. “Sometimes the fries need a little extra.”

“They’ll do.” She waved Cam toward the bathroom with a couple of packets. After a few moments he came back out with a faint smile. “I should take him his food. If he does that again I may be back.

“And I advise you not to talk about things that you shouldn’t. He might decide just to murder you all.”

“Why are you friends with him?” Grace asked with a frown. “You seem nice and he’s…” 

Cam gave her an amused look, “You wouldn’t understand, Gracie.”

Coby waited until Cam had left and then hurried into the bathroom. After a moment, Grace followed. To her surprise, he was wetting a cloth with cold water and wiping blood off of Genevieve’s face as she sat shivering on the toilet.

“He isn’t nice, Gracie.”

“No.” The woman shuddered and then straightened. “Lock the door. I need the jewelry you bought.”

He hurried out, locking the door from the inside with the flimsy looking latch. Grace took a few steps into the bathroom as she heard him unzipping the suitcase.

“What happened?”

“I saw something when I put the water on his face. The Sibyl told him to welcome the water. He asked what I saw and I told him. That was when he slammed my face into the faucet. There is a coldness beneath the surface. His kindness is a veneer.”

“What-” 

Coby bustled back in, pulling a pair of black beaded bracelets out of their packaging. “You said any stones, they had these, obsidian, it says ‘Balance, Protection, Strength’.” He handed them to her and paused as he removed another, more colorful, pair. “And these others, agates, says ‘Kindness, Energy, Balance’.”

The woman handled one each of the bracelets, one black and one colorful. “I like black stones, but there’s a little more variety in the other… some of those beads are glass. Glass is a void. You can use it to shield yourself.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Serpentine, Infinite… turquoise, agates are nice.”

The bracelets were all laid out on the sink and she splashed salt water on them before holding them in her hands with a serious expression. Grace was watching curiously as she swayed slightly.

“God may Protect, take one of each. Wear the obsidian,” she fastened it around his wrist, “and when they take it, they will leave you in a place they have left you before. Put on the agate. The stones will keep you safe. They will heal and protect you.” The other was pressed into his hand.

“Grace, wear the agate hidden around your ankle. Trust yourself.” Genevieve left the bracelet on the counter, “Take it. I cannot give it to you.”

Grace took the bracelet with a nod and followed Coby out.

After a moment, she followed them wearing the last obsidian bracelet and unlocking the door as she came past it.

“We should all shower and get some rest. We’ll be leaving well before dawn.” She picked up her milkshake and started drinking it. “This is really good, Coby. Dinner was fantastic, thank you.”

The older man smiled and then nodded. “I’ll shower first. You girls can look through the clothes and get things sorted. I’ll pack up the food when I get out.”