“I’ll do that,” Trent called after them, and the three elves turned the corner, Ellasbeth loudly telling her mother about the lovely little baptism pool. Her father was bent in conversation with her mother, clearly berating her for her interest in Jenks. She wasn’t listening, almost walking sideways in her attempt to get a last look at Jenks.

Jenks was silent, clearly embarrassed. I thought it odd, since he charmed humans all the time. Why was it different when an elf liked him?

“Hey, uh, Rachel,” he said, the hum of his wings loud as he lifted to hover before my eyes, “I’m going to take a look around. Back in five.”

“Thanks, Jenks.” But he was already gone, his tiny body a speck darting over the spires.

I brought my eyes back to find Quen waiting for me. “You expect me to believe a pixy is an effective backup?” he asked, eyebrows high. “Why do you have him out here? Are you trying to make the situation difficult?”

Somehow Quen’s attitude didn’t surprise me. Stifling my pique, I headed to the side parking lot. “He’ll have the lowdown on the entire block in thirty seconds. I told you you’re doing yourself a disservice by keeping pixies out of your garden. You should be begging for a clan to move in, not lacing sticky web in your canopy. They’re better sentries than geese.”

The older elf’s wrinkles slid into each other as he frowned. He had come up on my left, and with Trent on my right I felt surrounded. “And you trust Jenks?” Quen asked.

I think it was the first time Quen had called Jenks by his name, and I glanced at him as we rounded the corner and the traffic noise dulled. “Implicitly.”

No one said anything, and, embarrassed, I blurted, “I can’t protect you if you aren’t together. Or is this just a way to have someone pretty on your arm when you walk into a room?”

“No, Ms. Morgan,” Trent said softly, his bangs drifting in the slight breeze. “But seeing as the sun is up, how much danger can we be in from a demon? I don’t expect Lee to show, and if he does, it won’t be until after dark.” He hesitated. “With a demon pulling his strings.”

We couldn’t very well go in after Ellasbeth had told us to stay out, and I wasn’t eager to spend more time than I had to with her. It seemed Trent wasn’t either, so we settled to a stop by the side stairs and the less imposing secondary entrance off the parking lot. My sandals scuffed against the white lines of the painted-on basketball court, but Quen was silent in his soft shoes. I wanted a pair despite that they would leave me that much shorter.