Page 79 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

"We have our own houses, though," Mattie said. "We can have families if we want to."

"I'll drink to that," Dimitri said.

As the bar filled up and Fenella's counter grew crowded, the four of them ordered another round and moved to a table in the back.

To the left, a big guy was trying to organize a sea shanty and failing for lack of recruits. Then someone said something about Fenella reading inanimate objects, and the entertainment portion of the night had begun.

She held a patron's car key to her forehead. "These keys have a secret to tell. Their owner sings when he's alone in his car. His favorite is The Phantom of the Opera, and he sings both the male and the female parts."

The bar erupted in cheers, and someone started a chant. "Sing! Sing! Sing!"

"I can't sing," the owner of the keys protested. "Everyone who ever heard me sing told me to stop."

The chant continued until the guy caved in and started singing the sea shanty the other guy had tried to organize.

He was just as bad as he had claimed to be, but as others joined in, it became tolerable.

Petrov appreciated the brilliance of Fenella's act. The fraud was honest because everyone was in on it, and she knew how to electrify her crowd.

On her next round, Fenella stopped at their table and held out her palm to Anita. "Give me something. You look like a skeptic, and skeptics are my favorite victims."

Anita drew a pin from her hair and handed it over to Fenella. "Do your worst."

Fenella pressed it to her forehead and closed her eyes. 'Oh, this pin has plans. It says its owner is about to plant vegetables in her backyard and feed half this village."

Anita's mouth opened, then closed. "How did you know?"

"She made it up," Mattie said. "That's the game."

"The pin doesn't lie," Fenella said solemnly, handing it back with a wink.

"I like her." Anita patted the stool beside her. "Come, sit with us for a bit and tell us about yourself and how you came up with your act."

That was that. From then on, every lull behind the bar ended with Fenella perched at their table, trading recipes with Anita as if they had known each other for years.

During one of those lulls, she waved over the guy with the laptop who had been there when they'd come in. "I want you to meet Din, my mate."

Din came over and pulled a stool to the table's edge. "The scientists," Din said.

"The mate," Petrov said.

"Din is a professor of archaeology," Fenella said. "Currently on sabbatical."

The guy didn't look like a scholar, but then these immortals had so much time on their hands that they could learn whatever they damned well pleased.

As Dimitri started asking Din about archaeology, Mattie turned to Fenella.

"Do you need help behind the bar or waiting tables?" She flexed her hand, the one that had been crushed and healed. "I need something to do, and I don't really care how much it pays. I just want to be around people and feel normal again."

"I could use some help on the weekends," Fenella said.

She didn't sound very convincing, which made Petrov think she was doing it to help Mattie, not because she really needed help in the bar.

He put a hand on Mattie's shoulder. "You didn't dream of serving beer when you got free, devochka."

"He's right," Dimitri said, turning to her. "You wanted to make films."

"It was just an idea for one silly movie." Mattie looked embarrassed. "A wedding heist, where the bride steals the groom's family diamonds during the ceremony. It's a comedy." She shrugged. "It's just a silly dream. I live in a hidden village that isn't on any map. Where exactly would I make films?"