“Who?” Pierce questioned, looking up from arranging his badge.

Ivy smiled softly. “Bis is waking up in the daylight when Rachel pulls on a line.”

The man made a surprised grunt, and I flushed. “How do you know?” I asked her, wishing the traffic would clear so I could avoid this conversation. In my bag, my phone continued to hum.

“I take his calls,” Ivy said dryly, then turned to face me fully. “Rachel, he’s older than you think. He’s not looking for a date, he’s just confused. Talk to him!”

“I’m confused, too,” I exclaimed softly, my guilt growing stronger. “I never asked him to be my gargoyle. It’s wrong. It’s slavery!”

Exhaling in exasperation, Ivy rolled her eyes to the car’s ceiling. “I know what slavery is, and this isn’t it,” she said. “He does have his own life. And don’t forget, he sought you out, not the other way around. You are something he needs, and I don’t think you have a say in it. Talk to him. He thinks you don’t like him,” she added, and I bit my lower lip, even more concerned. That was not at all what I had wanted to happen.

“He’s bonding with you? Already?” Pierce said, his eyes wide. “He’s just a kid!”

“See?” I said, and Ivy turned around in exasperation. “Even Pierce knows it’s wrong.”

She was silent, but I could see she was clenching her jaw. Frustrated, I took out my phone. It wasn’t humming anymore. A soft depression had taken me, not all of it from the upcoming trial. “He is, isn’t he,” I said softly as I looked at the tiny screen, more of a statement than a question.

Pierce’s hand touched mine, and I jumped. “There is nothing improper about this relationship,” he said seriously, making me all the more uncomfortable. “This is not a bond of love, but of necessity. You need a gargoyle to teach you to jump the lines, and in turn, you will give him a holy place to live, safe from demons.”

“Safe from demons,” I said, and the driver shifted uncomfortably, the back of his neck stiff. “Yeah, right.”

But I slipped my phone into a tiny pocket in my bag, hoping I didn’t miss his next call. Hell, I should just grow a pair and call him back while I still had a chance. I was running out of time. My stomach hurt, and I ran my hand over the smooth bumps of the French braid my hair was now in. Outside the car, people were moving quickly, their excitement making their pace fast and their words high-pitched. A spot finally opened up and the car pulled into the drop-off area. Pierce was out of the car even before it stopped moving, coming around to open my door. Ivy dropped her head and searched her purse for a tip, and I gathered myself to get out, glad to put off my chat with Bis for a few minutes more. The scent of exhaust-tainted wet cement mixed with the sound of hushed tires and loud conversations over engine noise.