Oh screw it. “I mourn my sword, but that’s alright. Grandmother gave me another one.” I pulled Sarrat out of its sheath.

Landon spun the wheel. The Land Rover nearly careened, turning off the road. Landon parked and bolted out of the car, slapping the driver’s door closed behind him.

Awesome. I’d terrified the Legatus of the Golden Legion just by showing him my sword. If I waved it around, he’d probably explode.

Sarrat smoked on my lap. Its magic wasn’t subtle, like Slayer’s. No, this sword emanated power. It coiled around me. It liked me.

Landon paced back and forth, his eyes a little wild.

“Well, he took it worse than I did,” Curran said.

“I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“It’s a sword made out of your grandmother’s bones, Kate.”

I shrugged.

Landon stared at me through the windshield, turned around, paced back and forth, and stared at me again.

“Do you know what most people have from their grandmother? A tea set. Or a quilt.” Curran smiled. “If your family had a quilt, it would be made out of chimera skin and stuffed with feathers from dead angels.”

“Are we talking Judeo-Christian angels, because those don’t exist, or pagan angels like Teddy Jo?”

“Kate,” Curran said.

“Hey, I warned you from the start it would be weird. I sat in that bathtub with you and told you that this was a really bad idea. You said you loved me and stayed in the tub. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve made your bed. You have to lie in it.”

“I’ll lie in any bed as long as you’re in it, but this is still weird.”

I turned back to look at him. “We’re going to see my dad, who’ll probably crush me like a gnat, and you’re weirded out by my sword?”

Curran nodded at Landon. “I’m not the only one.”

Landon peered at me again.

“Did you name it yet?” Curran asked.

“Yes. Sarrat Irkalli. It means Great Queen of Irkalla, the Land of the Dead. My grandmother was occasionally confused with her, and now that she’s dead, it’s fitting.”

Curran spread his arms. “I rest my case.”

This was ridiculous. I leaned over the driver’s side, swung the door open, and yelled at the top of my lungs, trying to outscream the enchanted water engine. “Are you done?”

“What?” Landon said.

“Are! You! Done?! If you want, you can stay here. Just point us where to go, and we’ll drive ourselves!”

Landon slid back into the driver’s seat and pointed at my saber. “Put it away.”

“Say the magic word.”

“Please,” Landon squeezed out.

I slid the blade back into the sheath and petted it. “It’s okay, Sarrat. If he insults you, I’ll cut his head off and you can drink his blood.”