Free Blood of an Ancient by Rinda Elliott Page B

car wash next to an equally small motel.
    But he wasn’t there.
    Breathing hard, I looked everywhere, taking in the strip mall with four shops and the thick woods surrounding this minuscule grouping of buildings.
    I must have imagined him, or maybe I missed him so much I’d dreamed him up. I was tired. So tired.
    Briefly closing my eyes, I worked to get my emotions back under control, then glanced at Blythe. She wouldn’t be traveling in the car anymore today. She’d curled her small form in a ball on the seat beside me. I reached out and patted her curls. “You should have told me you get carsick. I would have made more stops.” My voice sounded like I’d been sucking on rusty nails. I cleared my throat.
    “I thought it would be okay. I mixed two spells. Two charm bags. One with marjoram and dried violets, and one with pine.”
    “And you had to toss the pine.”
    “Apparently, that one works better. The pine was really fresh.” She made one of those dry-heaving noises.
    Blythe sounded so pitiful I couldn’t gripe anymore. At least she’d tried to prevent this from happening. Who knew I had an allergy to certain pines? I parked my Jeep in one of the car wash bays and turned to stare at her. Pale, shaking and still faintly green, Blythe would be traveling no more today. I eyed the cheap-looking motel. “We’re less than an hour from our destination, so I’m going to go ahead and check us in there so you can sleep this off.”
    She merely nodded and closed her eyes.
    I got us a room and helped her stumble inside. She sat on the end of one of the beds and I went back out to unload our stuff. After dropping my overnight bag on the bed, I looked around. Two beds, a small table in the corner with a couple of hard-looking chairs and one dresser-slash-entertainment center made up the room. The thing holding the television had drawers underneath and a few to the side. I never understood why people unpacked their crap into drawers in a motel room. I’d lose stuff.
    Of course, Blythe got up and trudged around the room at half speed…unpacking. Her hands shook as she carefully placed her clothes in the dresser and her magic supplies on the small table. She reached for my bag and I narrowed my eyes.
    She pulled her hand back. “I left you the two bottom drawers.”
    “Lie down before you fall down.”
    “I can’t relax until everything is in its place.” She reluctantly left my bag and started unpacking her makeup and hair supplies onto the counter in the bathroom.
    “I’ve seen your bag—it’s a jumbled mess.”
    “But everything that goes in there is in there.” And with that, she plopped facedown on the ugly yellow-and-purple comforter and passed out.

Chapter Five
    “Phro.” I probably could have yelled for my spirit guide. From the looks of the little witch, she wouldn’t be moving. Not for a while.
    Aphrodite appeared next to the thick beige curtains over the one big window. “Can you at least open these a little? Maybe there’s enough sunlight to blind me so I can’t see this room.” She crossed her arms, bunching up the white blouse at her waist—one she hadn’t bothered to button. She’d paired it with a pair of purple leggings and thigh-high black boots. Her long hair had been twisted into two long braids with some sort of flashing, iridescent ties at the bottoms.
    “Is today hooker day?”
    She curled her lip. “No, it’s stuff a goddess into a slum day. You’re going to ask me to stay and watch her, aren’t you?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “At least I don’t have to clean out that car.” She looked around the room. “It’s like a prison in here.”
    I pushed the curtains open about a foot so she could see out. “It’s not so bad. Smells like it’s been painted recently.” I scuffed my boots on the short blue carpet. “Floor looks clean.”
    She squinted and looked over my shoulder. I glanced back to see the shimmering form of Blythe’s spirit guide. I focused and peeled the