first."
Keeley asked how much and then thought for a second.
"Fine, I'll take this one and the first house we looked at. I can have the funds for you tomorrow, is that alright?"
Chapter four
The evening ended at about ten, after they had a nice meal at a mid-priced restaurant with a buffet. Keeley ate a normal amount, like a regular person would have, but both Hally and Barb stinted themselves a lot. Eve ate more, but, she assured them, she hadn't really had anything all day. It was a bit crazy, but the girls were all struggling to keep their figures, if in their own ways. It just so happened that Keeley needed to eat more, rather than less. Ginger and Sherry ate similarly small amounts, but way more than any of the other girls, leaving only Clara with a plate like Keeley's.
Then, the amount of food they had didn't make a lot of difference to how a Hsreth looked. If they were starving they'd look about ten pounds thinner and if they ate prodigious amounts they'd gain about five. Really there was no reason for them to eat or not, except availability and comfort. Until they died from it. They'd just keep going until they fell down one day if they didn't eat at least occasionally.
The meal time chatter was pleasant and covered nothing of real consequence, though Barb did mention that she was afraid her being there with them might anger Darla. She did it more than once, which got Eve to roll her eyes finally.
"Not happening. She's your bud. Besides, why shouldn't you be here? You're one of us." It was nicely inclusive, but Hally had to force herself to agree and sounded like it took way more work than it should.
"Yeah. You're one of us Barb. She won't be mad." It wasn't until the last word that she sounded sincere though. It was a subtle thing, thank goodness, but Barb seemed to notice it anyway.
They made the rounds of returning everyone first, Clara to her shop and Eve to her trailer park. That always made the pretty, dark haired girl uneasy, as if people would judge her based on where she lived, but no one even looked at it funny. Barb had already taken off, after making sure Clara was taken care of, since she had her car. Hally and Ginger went next, but Sherry didn't really say anything as they finished the drive, not until they were most of the way home.
"Why buy two houses? I mean the second one looked nicer, but you didn't even go in. I'm not sure I get it." She played with the door handle absently, as if readying herself to leap out if the answer wasn't good enough. It was a subconscious thing and her seat belt was still on, so it didn't really mean much, but it showed unease.
"Do you remember Edith Givens?"
"Who?" The answer was clear enough.
"Um... OK. So, she was the person that tried to run you off the road and who also accidently ordered her minions to kill my friend Rob. She's dead. Blew herself up, more or less, trying to fight with Darla. Anyway, that's her house. Only... she was a Gatherer. Kind of like a cut rate mage that substitutes collecting things other people have made for doing the work themselves. She has a lot of gadgets and doodads in that house, some of which are really dangerous. I got the house to get at the things inside. Not that someone couldn't go in tonight and just take them, but I don't want some innocent homebuyer accidently taking out half the city because they put on the wrong necklace or something. The first place is the one I want for the others." She knew the next question that would be asked, so she just answered, saving time.
"The two Vampires and the Lesser Demon. We can't exactly keep them here. I mean, we could , but the neighbors might eventually notice. Plus it will give us a second place to go, once it's fixed up. Someplace for the others to stay too, if they need it. The Yorks."
"Ginger and her family? They're... your people?"
It was a polite enough way to
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