Page 35 of Claiming Chaos
“Hang a right here. Once we get closer to Bourbon Street, we can ask for directions.”
Music grew louder as we approached, and the sidewalks filled with people. The sun hung high in the cloudless sky, illuminating the smiles of the humans walking by.
“Excuse me,” Ash said to a woman in a black t-shirt with the name of a bar embroidered on the breast. “Can you point me toward an IV bar?”
Sympathy creased the woman’s brow. “Rough night, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“Two blocks that way, on the right.” She pointed down the street. “They swear they’ve got a forty-five-minute hangover cure. Thankfully, I’ve never had to try it.”
“Sounds like exactly what I need. Thank you.”
“Anytime.” The woman continued on her way, and I walked in the direction she had pointed.
“Oh, crap.” Ash tightened her grip on my shoulders. “I don’t have a way to pay. My wallet was in the satchel Chrys took.”
I continued my trek. “Yet the ID cards and phone were in your pocket. Why not carry everything of importance on your person?”
Her laugh turned into a cough. “Have you seen girl pockets?”
“Apparently not.”
“I put the IDs in my back pocket because a lot of places here want to see them before they’ll let you inside. My phone went in the other one, and nothing would fit in my front pockets, especially in these pants. They’re two inches deep.”
“What’s the point of adding them to clothing if they’ll be of no use?”
“Right? There it is.” She pointed to the next building. A sign that read The Original Forty-Five Minute Hangover Cure hung above a blue door. She groaned. “I have to stop talking. My throat is so dry.”
“Then stop talking.”
“But we still don’t have a way to pay.”
“We won’t need to pay.”
“These are innocent humans. You can’t scramble their brains. Maybe I can get some free water at a fast-food restaurant.”
“You can’t even walk, Ash. If this will make you better, you’ll have it.” I opened the door and stepped inside before she could argue. “My girlfriend requires hydration.”
“It’s fine. I really don’t think—”
“Is payment required in advance?” I asked the man behind the counter.
He stood and motioned me toward a reclined chair. “You can pay on your way out. Have a seat.”
I situated Ash in the chair, and he handed her a plastic card. “Have a look at the menu, and I’ll get a tech for you.”
He walked into a back room, and Ash glared at me. “You can’t keep hurting people. That’s not how this works.”
“If you are hydrated, will your magic function properly?”
“Yeah. I haven’t used any vim today, but—”
“When it’s time to pay, connect with me the way you did in the prison. We will simply convince them that we don’t need to pay.”
She opened her mouth to argue but paused and closed her lips.
I took her hand. “It’s for the greater good. You are the only one who can defeat Chrys, and I am the only one who can reason with Mayhem. We must make you well so we can return to Salem.”