“Sometimes I feel like I know you, Phoebe. And sometimes you really take me by surprise.”
Phoebe smiled broadly. “I am a woman of many mysteries. It is hard to get as old as I am without adding a few layers to one’s personality.”
The line moved steadily for the most part and when it didn’t, Phoebe resorted to her mental tricks to move them forward faster. Ian still wasn’t quite sure how she was going to get him a license, but he suspected more mental trickery would be involved.
Even with her ability to push people to do what she asked, it still took them almost an hour to get to the front of the line. Ian couldn’t get past the feeling they would be found out at any moment. He knew it was an irrational fear as no one here could be able to detect Phoebe’s powers, but after his days on the run and his ambush by Caelus, he supposed he had a right to be jumpy.
As they reached the front of the queue, Phoebe handed him the credit card in her hand.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Just tell them you’re here to renew the license. I’ll do the rest.”
“But I don’t have—”
“Ian, you said you trust me. Was that the truth?”
“Yeah. Yes, I trust you.”
“Good. Now tell me about how old you think you look.”
“What?”
“How old do you feel you should be? I’m not good with ages. When everyone you know rarely looks a day over twenty-five no matter how many hundreds of years old they are, you lose a bit of skill at telling these things.”
“I don’t know. Twenty-one? Twenty-two?”
“Alright then.”
“Next!” The shrill voice from behind one of the counters in front of him called him forward. Phoebe gave him a pat on the back as he walked forward.
“I would like to renew this,” he said.
He felt a sharp stab in the back of his skull. For a moment, he thought some god was punishing him for his lie. But as he looked down, he saw the card in his hand was now a state driver’s license. He handed it to the clerk. She took it and started to type something into the computer in front of her.
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