Free Honeyed Words by J. A. Pitts Page B

I thought maybe she’d want to snuggle, but she crashed hard. I turned on the television with the volume low and plugged in my cell phone. The battery was good and dead. After I was sure Katie was not going to wake up, I stripped out of my clothes and padded into the shower.
    By the time I was finished, Katie was snoring. Not like her, but it was a strange bed and she didn’t look like she was completely comfortable. It was still fairly early, so I wrapped my nakedness in a fluffy hotel robe, turned off the television, and checked on the phone. One bar of battery, good enough. I powered it up, and it immediately began buzzing with messages and missed calls.
    Two of them, to be precise. I put on my headset and checked the messages—one from Julie and one from Rolph.
    Julie’s message was to wish Katie a happy birthday, and to remind me to be home in time to work on Monday. “Yes Mom,” I muttered as I deleted the message. I had to be in Cle Elum bright and early to help Frank Rodriguez. Like I’d shirk work.
    The second message was short. “Smith, this is Rolph. I need to discuss events of late. Please return my call.”
    He was chatty.
    I brought up his number on the speed dial, picked up my pack, and went back into the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and propped one foot up on the side of the tub, then shook the bottle of nail polish I’d picked up for this trip—a deep red called Bimbo Limbo. I was going to paint my toenails. I hadn’t done that since college. No one who knew me would ever know, besides Katie; she was in for a serious surprise.
    By the time I had the bottle shaken and opened, Rolph answered.
    “Hey, Rolph, it’s me, Sarah.” I leaned over and dabbed a wide red swath over the nail on the big toe on my left foot. Very bright.
    “Ah, smith,” he said, sounding relieved. “I’m afraid we are once again faced with hard tasks ahead.”
    I dipped the brush back into the tiny glass jar, taking care not to knock it from the edge of the sink. Great. Now what?
    “I know you already have word of the skald’s kidnapping.”
    “Yeah,” I said, dragging the brush carefully over the nail again. “Katie and I were there. I fought with the bunch of them—bastards.”
    “Impressive,” he said. “I know of the scoundrels. I am surprised they let you live.”
    “I can hold my own in a fight,” I said, piqued. “I give as good as I get.”
    He chuckled. “I meant no disrespect. You are as fiery as ever.”
    More psychoanalysis. From a dwarf, no less. “What’s on your mind, Rolph? What do you know about the guys who snatched Ari?”
    “One moment,” he said. He covered the phone, speaking to his girlfriend, Juanita. She’d rescued him after the dragon battle, got him to shelter before the rising sun. They’d met on the Elvis Versus the Goblins movie shoot. We were surprised she threw JJ over for Rolph, but love works in mysterious ways.
    The next two nails were easier, smaller. In fact, they were so small the polish smeared a teensy bit onto the skin around the third toe. I wiped it off with a thumbnail, getting most of it.
    Catching a low mumble from behind me, I turned in time to see movement in the mirror. I put the brush back in the bottle and stood up, glancing out into the room, stepping lightly so I didn’t smear the polish on the three painted toes. Katie was still sleeping. I’d have to wake her soon or she’d sleep through the night. The mirror was still pretty steamed up, so maybe I’d only caught a glimpse of myself moving around.
    I heard a faint voice ask, “Is she naked?”
    “Who’s there with you?” I asked Rolph. The sound was distorted for a moment before he came back to the phone. “Only Juanita and I, why?”
    “Which one of you asked if I was naked?”
    He laughed. “Neither of us.”
    “I heard someone ask ‘Is she naked?’”
    I looked around. As I turned my head, I again thought I saw something in the mirror. Holy shit. I leaned forward and wiped the mirror