My pulse began to race. “You did? When?”
“I’d left the hospital and gone home,” he said. “I was obviously upset. Corinne came by to see me.”
“Did she…feel okay?”
“She said she felt strange,” the chief replied. “Like she’d blacked out. She asked me why I was…Anyway, I was choked up and said your name.”
My throat tightened. “Did you tell her I was dead?”
“Didn’t get the chance. She thought I was…” He looked away, suddenly embarrassed by the admission. “She thought I was crying over you. Over not being with you, so she broke up with me. Said that even casual wasn’t going to work if I felt this strongly for you.” He turned back to me. “And I do.”
My head was spinning from the revelation. “Let’s talk first. You may change your mind about a few things afterward.”
“Not about you,” Chief Fox said. “When I thought I’d lost you…” He shook his head, unable to finish the thought.
“I’m so sorry I put you through that.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said.
“Why were you there?” I asked.
“I was on patrol,” he said. “Deputy Guthrie was supposed to take the park, but he’s been…odd lately.”
“Odder than usual, you mean.”
“Speaking of odd, what was going on up there on the hill?” he asked. “There was blood everywhere. You cut your own arm with a dagger.” He squeezed his eyes shut, as though trying to stop the memory from coming.
“That’s part of what I need to tell you.” My legs began to wobble. “I need to sit first. I still feel a little weak.”
“Agent Fury admitting weakness?” He offered a wry smile. “Mark this day down.”
“You’ll be marking this day down for an entirely different reason soon enough.” I sat in my chair and he perched on the edge of my desk. “There’s a reason I’m alive today.”
“Modern medicine is a miracle,” he said. “Was it your sister-in-law?”
“No, it was my mother,” I said. “And my great-aunt and my grandmother.”
He frowned. “They’re doctors, too?”
“No.” I drew a deep breath. “They’re witches.” I’d leave out the wicked part for now. I didn’t want to overwhelm him with details. “They practice…the kind of magic that can bring certain people back from the dead.”
He laughed and nudged me with his foot. “Nice try, Fury.”
I didn’t smile. “You’ve seen these little flames in my eyes.” I leaned forward and popped my eyes wide. “Do you know why I have them?”
“You said it’s some kind of birthmark.”
“No, it’s an eternal flame,” I said. “A sign of immortality.”
His grin slowly melted away. “You’re not making any sense. I think you might have a concussion.”
I held up my arm for inspection. “Look. There’s no evidence of a wound. I heal at a rapid rate.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “You’re telling me that your family’s a bunch of witches and that you’re immortal.”
“A coven.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not a bunch of witches, a coven.”
“You’re going to get hung up on collective nouns at a time like this?” he asked in disbelief. “So why aren’t you a witch?”
“Because I’m…something else.” I averted my gaze.
“I know that much already,” he said, his tone light.
I rubbed my sweaty palms on my thighs. “I’m a fury.”
He squinted at me. “One of those kinky sex people that dresses up in animal costumes?”
“No, that’s a furry,” I said. “I’m a fury. An angry one. An infernal goddess. I don’t work for the FBI. I work for a secret part of the organization known as the Federal Bureau of Magic.”
He looked at me in silence for a long beat. “Does Neville know?” he finally asked.
“Of course. He’s my assistant. He’s also a wizard.”
Chief Fox shifted off the desk and back to his feet. “You want me to believe there’s an actual government agency dedicated to magic?”
“It’s the truth. I don’t know much about computers,” I said. “It’s only a cover.”
He took a step backward. “I think you should see someone. Maybe your sister-in-law can recommend a psychologist….”
“I don’t need one, but I can see that you might,” I said. My high spirits began to evaporate as I realized he wasn’t going to embrace this revelation as easily as I’d hoped. What had I been thinking?
His gaze remained pinned on me. “Show me.”
“Show you what?”
“I don’t know. Anything.”
I smiled. “Well, I just showed you I can be resurrected. Not just anyone can do that, you know.”
His expression remained neutral. “Show me something else. Right here.”
I rose to my feet. “Are you sure you want to see?”
He nodded.
I uncloaked my wings and unfurled them, my eyes never leaving his face. His lips parted slightly at the sight of the large, black feathers.
“You…You have wings.”
“I do.”
He remained rooted in place. “Can you fly?”
“Yes, but I’m not very good at it. I try not to use my powers.”
“Why not?”
“Because then I get more.” Fury powers were the gift that kept on giving.
He took a tentative step toward me. “You don’t want more?”
“No, I hate them. I hate everything about what I am.”
His fingers brushed the black feathers and then jerked back. “How can you hate something so amazing? So beautiful?”
“There’s more, Chief,” I said.
“Sawyer,” he corrected me. “If we’re going to be making out, you should at least call me by my name.”
“Are we?” I asked. “Going to be making out?”
“Why wouldn’t we?”
“Because I just blew your mind,” I said.
“Eden, you blew my mind the moment I met you, and it had nothing to do with magic or fury powers or anything supernatural.”
“I was drunk and mistook you for a stripper,” I said. “If that blew your mind, then the bar’s pretty low.”
He chuckled and slipped an arm around my waist, careful to avoid the wings. “I can’t claim to understand everything you’re telling me right now, but I’m willing to try.”
“You’re not frightened?”
He stroked the wing with his free hand. “More awed than frightened. I mean, you weren’t kidding about needing a drink for this conversation.”
“You don’t want to run for the hills?”
“Why run when you can fly?” he said. He cupped my face in his hands. “Are you sure you want to give us a try? What about the rules?”
I curled my fingers around his. “Let’s say that death brings with it a little perspective.”
“What other magic can you do?”
A hint of a smile played upon my lips. “Come closer and I’ll show you.”
Keep an eye out for the next book in the series!
Also by Annabel Chase
Thank you for reading Bedtime Fury! Sign up for my newsletter and receive a FREE Starry Hollow Witches short story— http://eepurl.com/ctYNzf. You can also like me on Facebook so you can find out about the next book before it's even available.
Other books by Annabel Chase include:
Starry Hollow Witches
Magic & Murder, Book 1
Magic & Mystery, Book 2
Magic & Mischief, Book 3
Magic & Mayhem, Book 4
Magic & Mercy, Book 5
Magic & Madness, Book 6
Magic & Malice, Book 7
Magic & Mythos, Book 8
Magic & Mishaps, Book 9
Spellbound Paranormal Cozy Mysteries
Curse the Day, Book 1
Doom and Broom, Book 2
/> Spell’s Bells, Book 3
Lucky Charm, Book 4
Better Than Hex, Book 5
Cast Away, Book 6
A Touch of Magic, Book 7
A Drop in the Potion, Book 8
Hemlocked and Loaded, Book 9
All Spell Breaks Loose, Book 10
Spellbound Ever After
Crazy For Brew, Book 1
Lost That Coven Feeling, Book 2
Wands Upon A Time, Book 3
Charmed Offensive, Book 4
Bedtime Fury Page 18