Fangs and Fennel (The Venom Trilogy #2)(49)

“I suggest you leave, lady.” Ernie floated at my shoulder as he glared at Colleen. “She’s about two seconds from shifting into a seriously badass snake. She could swallow you whole, without a problem. Well, maybe two gulps—you’re a bigger girl, aren’t you?”

Colleen’s wicked gaze slid from me to Ernie. “You’re a mouthy one, aren’t you, for being miniature?”

He put his hands on his hips. “Look who’s talking, fat nose.”

I stepped close enough that our chests touched, and I stared down at her, using every inch of my height to its full effect.

“Colleen, I will burn the bakery to the ground before I let you have it,” I said. “And I’ll tell the insurance adjusters I did it so you get nothing, Roger.”

He gasped. Colleen pushed away from me, spluttered, then finally spun and walked away. For the first time I’d rendered her speechless. Roger not so much.

“You wouldn’t dare burn it down!”

“I would!” I yelled. “I would. Better that it be in ashes and dust than in her hands. No money for you . . . you . . . asshole!”

I stormed away from him, put the keys in the lock, and let myself into the cool interior of the bakery. I leaned against the door. Roger banged on it, thundering with his fists.

“You’re crazy, you’re not getting anything tomorrow. Nothing. You’re the monster, I’m the human, remember? And I have a lawyer who is going to destroy you.” In classic Roger fashion, he shoved a card into the mail slot. It fell to my feet, a single name blinking up at me.

Merlin.

I dropped my head to my chest, all hope fleeing in a matter of seconds.

Roger walked away, and I listened to his heartbeat flutter and slow the farther away he got.

“You held it together, Alena. That was good.” Ernie flew in front of me at eye level. “You kept your snake under control.”

I bent and scooped up Merlin’s card. “He hired a warlock to defend him in a human court. How would he even know who Merlin is?”

Ernie shook his head. “He wouldn’t. Unless he was approached. Which would only happen if he had the Aegrus virus.”

I groaned. “I made him think I was sick yesterday. I coughed all over him. They would have stuck him in quarantine . . . What do you want to bet Merlin paid him a visit?”

“Well, that seriously stinks like nymph shit.”

I grunted and pushed off the door, turning only to lock it behind me. In case Roger came back. “Ernie, he’s right. I’m going to get nothing tomorrow. Especially if Merlin is helping him. Even Yaya wanted me to hire him. I mean, think about it. If he can convince me, a Firstamentalist born and raised, that being turned into a Super Duper is okay, what judge stands a chance with his slick words? For all I know, he really is a lawyer.” I bent the card in half.

Ernie’s wings drooped. “He is a lawyer, but I don’t think he’s practiced in a long time.”

“Roger outed me. Maybe I could do the same to Merlin?” I unbent the card and stared at it. “Then he couldn’t represent Roger.”

“The humans won’t even realize he’s a supernatural,” Ernie said. “Even if they gave him a blood test, warlocks are the one brand of Supe that don’t show up. They’re just magical humans. They can slide through without being noticed.”

Well, that explained things, but it didn’t help me.

I stood there, despair flowing through me. “I don’t have a shot then, Ernie. Between the judge and Merlin, Roger has won. I might as well not even show up.”

“Don’t give up. Please,” he said.

“Why does it matter to you? Nothing changes in your world if I win or lose.”

I walked through the front of the store, around the counter, and into the kitchen. I flicked on the lights and grabbed a few bowls before he answered.

“You’re fighting not just for yourself but for all of us. This could change the way Super Dupers, as you say, are seen. We could all have rights if you can get them to really acknowledge you.”

I glanced at him as I grabbed a bag of flour. “But, Ernie, you’re not really a Super Duper like me. You’re a part of the Greek pantheon. Isn’t that different?”

“Maybe at one point, but not anymore. We’ve all been lumped into the same category.”

I started mixing the cupcakes I’d planned on for desert. Butter pecan with candied pecans and cream cheese icing to top them off.

Ingredients went into the mixer, and I made myself think about the hearing the next day and what my yaya had said. “Maybe Merlin isn’t really going to help Roger. Maybe he’s going to help me by sinking Roger’s case?”

Ernie’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. “Would you even want that kind of help from him? You’d end up owing Merlin something.”

“Owing him something is better than giving Roger anything. What I really need is someone who’s familiar with the law, who can help me through the loopholes.” I cracked three eggs and dumped them into the batter.

Ernie was quiet long enough that I looked up. He had a strange look on his face as his cheeks flushed red and the lines between his brow furrowed.

“Are you constipated?”

He spluttered, “I am not. I’m thinking.”