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Addison whistled. “The fragile egos of men never cease to amaze me. How do you know all this?”
“Because the hunt was my life for longer than your human form has been alive. I lived and breathed it.” Matilda sounded rhapsodic.
Addison turned to me. “Can you stop it? Is that why she came to you?”
“I came to warn her because she’s my friend,” Matilda said. “And I chose to share this information with you because perhaps you can be of use in this situation.”
She slapped her hands on the table. “Count me in.”
“No,” I said.
“Why not? I’ve spent most of this life causing mayhem in the corporate world. Do you have any idea how boring that is? I’d love to get back to basics.” Addison snuck another cookie away from the plate. “What’s so special about this Vortigern? He must have a weakness.” She shifted to face me. “I bet you can figure out what it is, Miss Nightmare.”
“I’d have to touch him.”
Matilda glared at me. “Do not reveal anything about yourself to this traitor. If she betrays her kind, she will betray you, too.”
“She already betrayed me,” I said. “That’s how she ended up here.”
Addison swilled the last of her tea. “And I betrayed her again two minutes ago when I told you about her boyfriend.”
Matilda clucked her tongue. “I swear to the gods you have a death wish, cariad.”
“It isn’t a death wish to want to help those in need,” I said.
“And I’m very much in need,” Addison agreed.
“Needy and useless,” Matilda muttered. “A wonderful combination.”
“Not completely useless. I helped her bring the red leather sofa home,” Addison said.
Matilda shook her head. “Another mark against you. I saw it as I passed by. It’s hideous.”
Ouch. “You don’t like the sofa?”
“It looks like a murder scene.”
“I think it’s more of a lipstick red.”
“You prefer that it looks cheap?” Matilda exhaled. “Never mind. The sofa is the least of your concerns.”
Amen to that. “What if we had Phaedra ward the crossroads to stop them from entering?”
Matilda shook her head. “Yours is no ordinary crossroads. One local witch doesn’t possess that kind of power.”
“Hey, if you’re the expert,” Addison began, “why don’t you round up the stag and any other animals you want to save and herd them to another realm before the big V arrives?”
A dreamy smile passed over Matilda’s lips. “How I would love to ride again.”
“I can ride with you,” Addison offered. “I was the mechanical bull riding champion of every dive bar in the greater Oklahoma City area.”
Matilda gave her a withering stare. “I have no doubt you were.”
“Come on, Matilda. It’s a good idea,” I told her.
“The white hart is no ordinary deer. As competent as I am, such a capture would be impossible without a hunting party, and possibly even then.”
Addison toyed with the handle of her empty teacup. “Then why worry about Vortigern killing it? Sounds like he won’t be able to catch it.”
