“What’s Claude’s purpose?” I asked, because that seemed like a pretty interesting point. “Not that I don’t want to talk more about you, I do, but I find the idea of Claude with an agenda pretty interesting.” Not to say alarming.

“I’ve already betrayed one friend,” he said. After a moment, I realized he meant me. “I don’t want to betray another.”

Now I was even more worried about Claude’s plans. However, that issue would have to wait. “Why do you think you’re feeling this inertia?” I said, returning to the topic at hand.

“Because I have no allegiance. Since Niall made sure I was put out of Faery . . . since I roamed around crazy for so long . . . I don’t feel part of the sky clan, and the water clan wouldn’t have me even though I allied with them. While I was cursed,” he added hastily. “But I’m not a human, and I don’t feel like one. I can’t really pass for a man for more than a few minutes. The other fae at Hooligans, the cluster of them . . . they’re only united by chance.” Dermot shook his golden head. Though his hair was longer than Jason’s, shoulder length to cover up his ears, he’d never looked more like my brother. “I don’t feel like a fairy anymore. I feel . . .”

“Like a stranger in a strange land,” I said.

He shrugged. “Maybe so.”

“You still want to work up in the attic?”

He exhaled a long slow breath. He looked at me sideways. “Yes, very much. Can I . . . just do that?”

I went into the house and got my car keys and my secret stash of money. Gran had been a great believer in keeping a secret stash. Mine had been hidden in the inner zip pocket of my weatherproof winter jacket at the back of my closet. “You can take my car to Home Depot in Clarice,” I said. “Here. You can drive, can’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” he said, looking from the money to the keys eagerly. “Yes, I even have a driver’s license.”

“How’d you get that?” I asked, absolutely taken aback.

“I went to the government office one day while Claude was busy,” he said. “I was able to make them think they were seeing the right papers. I had enough magic for that. Answering the questions on the test was easy. I’d watched Claude, so taking the officer for a drive wasn’t too difficult, either.”

I wondered if a lot of drivers on the road had done the same thing. It would explain a lot. “Okay. Please be careful, Dermot. Ah, you know about money?”

“Yes, Claude’s secretary taught me. I can count it. I know what the coins are, too.”