Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2)(32)

"We have to take off," I said. "We're going to hear Tim recite some poetry."

Kiyo's raised eyebrow was his only sign of surprise at our evening plans. I'd neglected to tell him earlier because I was pretty sure he would have never left the house with me. He smiled politely at my mom. "Thanks for dinner. It was great."

My mom was sad to see us go. "Well, you should come back next weekend. I'll make lasagna. And cherry pie."

I kissed her cheek. "You don't have to bribe us to come over."

"No, but it doesn't hurt."

Mad or not, I gave Roland a hug too. In that brief moment, he murmured in my ear, "I'll talk to Bill."

He sounded weary and defeated, and I hugged him closer. "Thank you." Bill was a shaman friend of his in Flagstaff.

Once we were finally able to leave, Kiyo didn't waste any time in getting to the point. "Trouble on the home front?"

"Like you don't know," I said.

"Told you he hates me."

"I think he hates me making all these trips to the Otherworld more."

"But he still thinks I'm a bad influence."

"You are a bad influence."

We drove in silence for a few moments. Then Kiyo noticed that I wasn't heading toward my house. We were going downtown. "No," he groaned. "We are not actually going to hear Tim, are we? I thought that was just an excuse to leave."

I shook my head. "Sorry. I promised."

Kiyo sighed but took it like a man.

We went to one of Tim's regular venues, a place called the Fox Den. I thought Kiyo would think that was funny, but he didn't. When we walked in, there was a girl on the stage reciting poetry about the bleakness of existence and litter on the side of the highway. Kiyo looked around, taking in the patrons and tables-and then realized we were in a coffee shop, not a bar.

"They don't serve alcohol here? There's no way I can do this without hard liquor."

"Oh, just hush," I said, trying to hide my smile. We found a small round table in the middle of the crowded cafe, and I left him there while I went to get hot chocolate. I would have loved coffee but had enough trouble sleeping without the addition of caffeine this late at night. When I returned, I saw three visitors had pulled chairs up to our table.

"Hey, guys," I said.

"Nice to see you again, Eugenie."

The speaker was named Barbara. She was an elderly woman, belonging to the Pascua Yaqui tribe. Their religious beliefs, while having some similarities to the nature-oriented views of neighboring tribes, had picked up a lot of Christian influences over the years. Indeed, she wore a cross around her neck but was also still regarded by many as a type of holy woman. She had no problem with me calling myself a shaman, as those of other Indian tribes sometimes did. Her grandsons, Felix and Dan, were with her tonight, and they didn't have a problem with me either. Tim, however, was a different story.

"Please tell me your * roommate isn't performing tonight," said Felix.

"Watch your language," said Barbara in a very grandmotherly way.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well...he might be up there tonight...."

"Jesus Christ," said Dan, munching on biscotti. He looked apologetically at Barbara before turning to me. "We've told him a hundred times not to do that."

"Come on, guys. Don't start something again-it took forever for that last black eye to go away," I reminded him.

Felix shook his head. "Look, impersonating us wouldn't be so bad-and it is bad-if his poetry wasn't such shit."

"Felix!" warned Barbara.

He turned sheepish. "Sorry, Grandma. But you know I'm right."

"It's the only thing he knows how to do," I said lamely. "Besides, he's going Lakota tonight-if that helps."

"I don't think it'll improve the poetry," noted Kiyo, stretching back in the chair.

"Agreed," said Felix. "His poetry's crappiness transcends all cultures." He looked smugly at his grandmother, pleased that he hadn't sworn this time.

She turned to me, ignoring him. "How's business?"

"Good," I said. "Weird."

While she had no issues with me being a shaman, she was sometimes troubled by the thought of me fighting Otherworldly creatures. She seemed undecided about whether they were holy or not, though she had seen her fair share of evil ones and knew what I did was sometimes necessary. She was about to ask me more when Tim suddenly walked onto the stage. He had on the feather headdress, no shirt, and leather chaps.

"Oh God. No," groaned Felix.

Tim held up his hands to silence the scattered applause. "Thank you, friends," he said in a deep, flat voice. "The Great Spirit welcomes you and your joining of our holy circle tonight."

"I am not even joking," said Dan. "I am this close to walking up there and dragging him out back."

"Please," I hissed. "Not tonight."

"For my first poem," continued Tim, "I would like to read you something I was inspired to write while sitting outside and considering the way the beating of a butterfly's wings are just like the beating of our hearts in this transient world." Spreading his hands wide, he recited.