Sin & Spirit (Demigod of San Francisco #4)(13)

If he wanted Demigod Nancy to send someone to train me, she would.

“First of all, you basically forced Kieran to ask her—”

“I just hinted, is all,” Bria interrupted.

“—and second, I’d just slammed them all with very scary magic. The fact she didn’t sprint for the hills was a miracle in itself. Any answers she gave after that probably weren’t the result of careful meditation.”

“What are we talking about?”

Daisy strolled in sucking a lollipop. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she had on a pair of black sweats and a white shirt over a sports bra. It was her post-training look, even though she’d been off for a couple hours. Given she apparently planned on single-handedly bankrupting Kieran using the credit card he’d given her, this was not usual. Also, we were long overdue for a talk about using other people for their material possessions. We weren’t scraping by anymore. Things had changed. I’d always thought the saying “more money, more problems” was stupid, but here we were.

Bria pulled her hand away from the watch. “I was just telling Alexis that, seeing as Demigod Nancy doesn’t want to lend someone to train her, she needs to bring the last Soul Stealer’s spirit back across the Line to help her.”

“Like I said, give Kieran time. He’ll work on Nancy, just you wait,” I replied.

“Why don’t you want to call up that last guy?” Daisy asked, taking a chair next to Bria.

“Because he is damn powerful, and I might not be able to control him,” I answered.

“That’s not it.” Bria leaned back and crossed her arms. “It’s because you’re worried that you’ll be forced to control him, and you don’t want to.”

“Well, it is a bit unsavory,” I admitted. “It’s not really fair to interrupt his peaceful existence, drag him back to the world of the living, where his life was probably hell, and then force him to do my bidding.”

Bria spread out her hands. “That’s how it’s done.”

“He was a murderer, right?” Daisy asked.

“He was killed for his crimes,” I responded, knowing where she was going with this.

“Killed, yeah, but was he punished?” she asked.

I lifted my eyebrows. “Punished by death, yes. Being killed was the punishment. It happened. Case closed.”

“Um, really?” She gave me a condescending look. “Last I heard, Spirit Walkers could traverse the land of spirits. He would’ve been comfortable there. So if they killed him, they basically just set his spirit free.”

“Number one, we’re not sure about that. And number two…traverse?” I frowned at her. “Which one of the Six told you that elevating your vocabulary would help you win arguments?”

A crease formed between Daisy’s eyebrows. Bria raised her hand.

“I wasn’t going to rat you out,” Daisy murmured.

“That’s why I got much love,” Bria replied. “But keep at it. It does work, trust me.”

I rolled my eyes and stood. “Kieran will talk Nancy around if anyone can. We don’t need to go for the nuclear option.”

“Are you willing to share him like that?” Bria crossed her arms over her chest.

I paused at the refrigerator. “What do you mean?”

“If Nancy batted her eyelashes any harder, her eyes would’ve gone rolling out of her face. She wants in his pants. And he wants a tutor for you. Sounds like a good pillow-talk sesh to me.”

Anger boiled up in me, uncontrollable. The Line throbbed, immediately present. A gale from the spirit world blew my hair.

Daisy grimaced. “Best not to poke that beehive,” she whispered. “Kieran knows I’ll light his bed on fire if he screws with Lexi. With him in it.”

Bria didn’t look away from me, and her hard expression didn’t crack. “I’ll help you strike the match. And okay, yes, I was being dramatic. I don’t think Kieran would actually insert Tab A into Slot B. Or C, depending on how kinky Nancy is. But you have to understand, Lexi, Demigods operate by different rules. They all have more money, magic, and power than they know what to do with…and they have each other, which is the only thing really preventing them from blowing the walls off. Kieran might not technically cheat, but he’ll feign intimacy to get what he wants. In this particular case, he’ll flirt. He might even run his fingertips in a place you’d rather he didn’t.” Bria put her hands up, probably correctly interpreting the look on my face. “I’m just saying, until he has another means of getting what he wants, through power and position, maybe just do this on your own so he doesn’t need to get that tutor, know what I mean?”

Daisy hooked her thumb at Bria. “That’s all bullshit. Sorry for the swear, but honestly, kids my age swear. It’s not a big deal. Anyway, the guy’s mom was a Selkie. Why would he have to run his fingers anywhere if he has sexy magic? But even if that Demigod did give you a tutor, could you trust them? And how much could they actually teach you? Hermes is nothing but a messenger. He goes where he’s told. Sure, it’s through the spirit world, but he doesn’t get to wander around or anything. Someone else’s will is in control. That’s not the sort of tutor you need. You need the free spirit kind, like that murderer who has bad taste in pocket watches.” She jerked her head at the watch resting on the clean surface of the island.