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presence as a direct result of their kidnapping of his cousin and respond accordingly.
    Michaela would be nothing more than a statistic to the humans. To the Black Court, she’d be something worse. A bargaining chip, one they would ruthlessly use and cast aside if it proved less than valuable to them.
    Robin stood, threading his way through the sudden crowd of convention goers streaming in for a hot cup of coffee. Why was it whenever he had the need to move quickly someone, or something, blocked his way?
    By the time Robin made it out the door, his quarry was gone, lost in a sea of humanity. He glanced at his watch and realized the time. Rush hour in the city. With a muttered curse he headed the way Michaela had, hoping he would find her on the way to her apartment building. If the Black Court got hold of the female her chances of survival were slim at best. Her bright smile would be dimmed forever.
    That would be a tragedy, one Robin fully intended to avert.
    “OW! Hands off, fucker!”
    Robin froze. Was that—?
    There. Down that small side street, with no other pedestrians, Michaela struggled against the pull of a tall, dark-haired man with shoulders so wide he took up almost the entire pavement. Robin scented the wind and snarled.
    Redcaps. The aroma of mushrooms and earth was unmistakable.
    “Hey!”
    Robin watched, appalled, as Kael dashed to Michaela’s rescue. The redcap whipped around, throwing Michaela into the street so hard Robin could hear her hit the ground even over the sounds of the city. He would be surprised if there were no bones broken.
    His eyes flared green. Robin dug out his sunglasses, hiding behind them, as he began to stroll forward.
    The redcap would pay for harming her.
    Kael threw a punch at the redcap that it easily avoided. Idiot boy. Redcaps never traveled alone, and certainly never attacked alone. Kael would be dead within moments, brutally torn apart before Michaela’s horrified eyes.
    Robin quirked his brow, and behind him the lights changed. A car, unable to stop in time, slammed into another one in a shower of steam and the crunch of fiberglass. The redcap, attention diverted, didn’t stop the blow Kael threw this time, the pooka’s fist landing on its jaw.
    The redcap’s head barely moved.
    Robin sighed. The boy would have to learn quickly, it seemed.
    Robin sauntered down the pavement, hands in his pockets. He yawned, and a door sprang open, to the astonished cursing of the human chefs hidden behind it but knocking into the redcap, startling it. Robin kicked at a piece of paper and the redcap howled, clutching the thumb that suddenly bent backward.
    Robin stood over Michaela and held out his hand. “Are you hurt?”
    She winced. “I think my wrist is sprained. Other than that, just some minor scrapes and contusions.” She took his hand and Robin pulled her to her feet.
    Just as she went to brush her hair out of her face her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open, and Robin smiled. He’d wondered when the other redcap would show up. He winked at Michaela, pleased when another howl of pain shattered the air. The redcap behind him was hopping up and down and clutching its foot. Robin tilted his head, amused, and the redcap tripped over the curb, landing on its ass with another yowl.
    “Oh, shit. Your friend’s in trouble.”
    Indeed, Kael was. The redcap had his hand around Kael’s throat and was choking the life from him. Before Robin could move, Michaela pulled something out of her oversized purse without even looking. How women could do that, just reach into a bag like that and find exactly what they needed without thought, defied logic.
    Even to the Hob, the bloody things were a mystery.
    “Hey, asshole!”
    Robin’s breath hitched as Michaela dashed past him. What was she thinking ? He took a step toward her, ready to rip the redcap in half if he dared lay a finger on her. None should so much as make her frown.
    Before he could reach her she held up her hand, spraying