Page 37 of Night Shift

“Another whole yoga class ruined. Do you know what it’s like to do Surya Namaskar in total darkness? I burned my entire ass on a heat lamp.”

“Again?” I ask.

She whips around. “Do not start.”

“Wasn’t planning to.”

Her attention snaps back to Erebus.

“You are going to fix this.”

“I have.”

“Eventually. That is not the same thing.”

Erebus seems to consider this distinction.

Petra points at him. “No more delays. Zero. None. Sunrise happens when sunrise is supposed to happen.”

“I understand.”

“You understood yesterday.”

“That is true.”

“And yet here we are.”

She turns to me.

“And you, Craven, you need to keep him in line.”

I put both hands up. “Excuse me? He predates agriculture. I am not responsible for his choices.”

Petra stares at me.

“Well, he sure as hell isn’t listening to me.”

“That sounds like a him problem.”

“It becomes an us problem when the sun doesn’t come up.”

Fair.

She looks between us, then settles on Erebus again.

“If you can’t manage this, the Council is going to get involved.”

I blink. “There’s a Council?”

Petra gives me a disgusted look. “There’s always a Council. Grow up.”

Then she stalks toward the back door, muttering about fools, maniacs, and the fragility of her lumbar region.

Erebus watches her go.

“I believe she dislikes me.”

“She threatened you twice in twenty-four hours. In Blackthorn, that’s practically friendship.”