“She’s leaving,” I said. “But she’ll be back in a month’s time. And you’re right—she wants to take Sinclair away. I want to stop her. And I want to know the minute she crosses the threshold into Hel’s territory. Can you help keep a lookout for her?”

The fairy sniffed. “I cannot be in all places at once.”

Funny, because it certainly seemed that way to me. The laws of physics appeared to be mutable when it came to the fey. “I thought maybe your brethren and, um, sistren could help.” Was sistren a word? I hoped so. Mr. Leary would know.

“I will ask,” Jojo said grudgingly. “None among us wishes him to leave. Will there be a favor recorded in your ledger?”

“Yeah,” I said. “A big one for whoever finds her first.”

Her minuscule features took on a calculating look. “Might the favor take the form of forgiveness for a past, present, or future transgression?”

Oh, gah. I should have known better than to get myself into the position of bargaining with a fairy. That usually didn’t go well for mortals. “Transgression?” I hedged. “You mean like pelting Hel’s liaison with pebbles?”

Jojo’s luminous eyes narrowed, her translucent wings buzzing with agitation. “That is a personal matter between you and me, strumpet!”

I dropped my right hand to dauda-dagr’s hilt. “Okay, you know what? As much as you’d like to believe it, it’s really not. So here’s the deal. I’m willing to consider forgiveness for minor transgressions, Jojo. Nothing major. Nothing that results in the harm of a human, especially a tourist-type human. And no changelings,” I added sternly. “Under no circumstances will the stealing of a child and the making of a changeling be forgiven. Understood?”

The joe-pye weed fairy gave a reluctant nod. “It is understood, and I will carry word to the others to enlist their aid.” She bared her needle-sharp teeth in a grimace. “We do not like an outsider threatening one of our own.”

I nodded in solidarity. “Neither do I.”

With our bargain struck, I made my escape, ducking into the Honda before Jojo could decide the truce was off.

I drove around aimlessly for a while. I had a lot of thinking to do, but I wasn’t ready to be alone with my thoughts yet. Which I realize doesn’t make a lot of sense, since technically I was alone in my car, but being alone in public spaces isn’t the same as being alone in the solitude of your own home. And it was nice being able to get around town without all the tourist traffic. I tooled across the bridge, feeling a pang at the memory of how happy and carefree I’d been at yesterday morning’s Bridge Walk.