“Honey?” I whispered. “Why are you out here?”
“Hi, Katie,” she slurred.
“How did you get out here?” Surely Baba wouldn’t have moved her out here and then left.
“Wanted some fresh air.”
I looked down to the trash containers three stories down. There was definitely air out here, but it wasn’t particularly fresh. “Pen, can you look at me?” She had to move her whole head to manage the task. Dread weighed down my stomach. “Sweetie, when did you take the potion?”
“Din’t.”
I took a deep breath and prayed for patience, even though impatience and worry made me want to shake her. “Yes, you did,” I said. “Where is it?”
She smacked her lips like they were numb. Then she smiled like she’d just noticed I was there. “I love you, Katie.”
“I love you, too,” I snapped. “Tell me where the potion vial is.”
She vaguely waved a hand toward her bedroom.
“Stay here.” She was so loaded I’m not sure she even heard me.
Inside the bedroom, I found an empty potion vial sticking out from under the bed. The label on the front identified it as Maslin’s Tincture and noted that the user should take three dropperfuls every six hours as needed for pain. The good news was that Maslin’s was the most commonly prescribed pain elixir on the market and was about as clean a potion as you could get. The bad news was that the vial was totally empty.
Back on the balcony, I held the vial up for Pen’s unfocused inspection. “Did you take the entire vial today?”
She just chuckled. With a curse, I pulled my phone from my pocket and punched a couple of numbers. “Baba, it’s Kate—just be quiet a sec and listen, okay? Did you fill the pain potion prescription the med wiz prescribed for Pen?”
“Of course not,” Baba said, sounding insulted. “Why?”
“Because she’s higher than a kite right now and there’s an empty vial of Maslin’s.”
The old woman spat out a curse that would make a sailor blush. “That’s my potion. I take it for my arthritis.” The sound of rustling came through the phone. “She must have taken it from my purse. I’d set it on the bed before I went to use the restroom. Shit, Kate, I’m so sorry.”
I sighed. “It’s not your fault. Look, I need to call her doc. I’ll call once I know more.”
Luckily, I had Nurse Smith’s number in my phone. When she answered, I quickly told her what had happened.
“Relax, Detective. She just needs to sleep it off. She’ll be fine.”
I let out a relieved breath. But the nurse wasn’t done.
“Just in case, though, don’t leave her alone. If she stops breathing, call me back.”
“What?”
“Just a precaution. There have been a few, rare cases where the potion worked a little too well and a patient’s lungs shut down.”
“Shouldn’t I bring her in just in case? Or is there an antipotion we could give her?”
The nurse sighed like she’d reached the end of her patience. “Look, you can bring her in if you want, but a bus wrecked on Interstate 71, so we won’t be able to see her for several hours anyway. It’s up to you, let her rest comfortably in her bed or drag her here to sleep it off in a waiting room.”
“Got it,” I said through teeth clenched so hard they creaked. “Thanks so much for your help.”
When I punched the End button, I let out a frustrated growl. I wasn’t really mad at the nurse. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t Baba’s fault, either. Hell, I couldn’t really blame Pen, for that matter. I knew her pain levels were off the charts. Add to that the addiction demon that constantly sat on every recovering addict’s shoulders for the rest of their lives.
No, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but that didn’t make it suck any less. The only solution was to get her inside and let her sleep it off, like the nurse suggested. Having some sort of game plan helped me feel better.
“All right, sister,” I said, standing. “Bedtime for you.”
My eyes felt like someone had buffed them with sandpaper. The siren Sleep had been trying to lure me into her welcoming arms for two of the previous four hours, but I’d managed to resist her by calling Morales every fifteen minutes for an update on his progress tracking down Aphrodite. He’d finally threatened to come over and take my phone away if I didn’t leave him alone. After that I stayed awake by pouting that he was out having all the fun chasing down the Hierophant while I was stuck watching Sleeping Beauty.
The other thing is, the longer I sat there, the angrier I grew. Initially, I was just relieved I’d shown up to keep an eye on her rather than her being alone and potentially hurting herself. But then the more I thought about it, the more I resented the entire situation. I was pissed at the selfish asshole who’d hit her with his potion-fueled car. I resented Baba having arthritis. I resented my job for making it hard to help Pen before she resorted to magic. But mostly I resented Pen, herself. There were plenty of nonmagical options for pain relief. Maybe nothing strong enough to take it away entirely, but surely enough to make her more comfortable.
“Kate.” A groggy voice came from the bed.
I hopped up and went over. A small bedside lamp was lit, but even that dim light made her blink as if in pain. I didn’t turn it off because I needed to see her to reassure myself she was okay. I also needed to see her reaction as I read her the fucking riot act in a few minutes.
“Hey,” I said softly. I handed her a glass of water and sat on the edge of the bed. She lifted her head enough to take a sip and then surrendered the glass.
“What time is it?”
I glanced at my phone. “Almost nine.”
Her eyes widened. “Last I remember it was four.”
“Yeah, potions tend to make one lose track of time.”
Her gaze skittered from mine, as if looking away would protect her from the judgment in my tone.
“Don’t start on me.” She rubbed her eyes and yawned.
I tilted my head. “Start on you? Why in the world would I do that? I mean, it’s not like I just spent the last four hours of my life watching you sleep in case you stopped breathing.”
She froze and looked up from beneath her lashes. “I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice.
“Sorry don’t cut it, sister. What the fuck were you thinking?”