by Jade Wolfe
I was trapped inside because, even though Miranda had healed me, I needed to keep a low profile for a few days, to at least give the impression that the healing took time, even if it would still be a somewhat miraculous recovery. No need for the folks in town to be even more suspicious about what was going on around here.
I went to the shelf nearest my right and started scanning the titles. A lot of the words were in languages I didn't particularly understand, and some of the book spines didn't have any words at all. They were mostly ancient and looked ready to fall apart, so at first I was nervous about even touching them.
After a few minutes, I found one with an English title. It was heavy script and looked nearly as old as the others, but at least I could read it. I used a finger to tilt it carefully back and then pulled it from its place. It was heavy and thick.
I took it to the desk and sat. This one appeared to be about werewolves, which would have come in handy a few days ago. I skimmed the first couple of pages, which had a few maps that I didn't recognize and a list of names. Hmm. Maybe I should wait for Lucy to get back before I dove into this one. The history of werewolves appeared to be somewhat dense.
I spent an hour on the first three pages of text. They were written in some sort of old English, and I had to really work on what the author was trying to say. Halfway through page two, I was getting sleepy.
A faint knocking sound startled me. I lifted my head and looked instinctively toward the window, but there was nothing there but the back yard and the creek. I realized that someone was knocking on the door.
Feeling relieved but guilty about it, I slid the book back into place and went to answer it. It was most likely Pearl, who had promised to check in on me once in a while until Lucy got back. I opened the door and flung it open, thinking to scare her by screaming "Boo!" and jumping at her.
Except that it wasn't Pearl who jumped. It was Sam. He didn't jump - he just went very still and cocked his head. "Hi."
Today he was wearing a dress shirt and slacks and really rocking a long, expensive looking overcoat. I grinned. "Hi. You look nice."
He returned the smile. "Thanks. You look..." Confusion washed over his face. "Healthy?"
"Not sure how to take that..."
"Seriously, Indigo. You look great. I thought you were sick...and where the hell did your cast go?"
I waved a hand. "They got it wrong. I'm all better. Come on in."
He stepped past me, into the living room, and I closed the door. "Want something to drink?"
"Do you have coffee?" he asked. He was still staring at my foot.
"Sure." I went into the kitchen and he followed and sat at the bar while I poured. “I thought you didn’t drink coffee?”
"It’s growing on me.” He took the cup I handed him. “OK. Not trying to be rude here, but you've got some explaining to do."
"Gas main?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
I sighed, got my own coffee, and sat down beside him. He twisted on his seat to face me. "Lots of weirdness around here this week."
"You have no idea."
"I'd like to know more, if you don't mind."
And now I was back to the same dilemma. The problem was, even if I spilled everything and told him the whole truth, he wouldn't believe me. He wouldn't even try. Then he would decide that I was crazy and I'd never see him again.
I really wanted to see him again.
Even if I got him to listen, he'd have a million questions, because he was a lawyer. Hell, I'd have a million questions, too. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that I didn't know enough of the answers. Not yet. I was still pretty new to this whole witch thing myself.
He sensed my hesitation. "Just tell me, and we can go from there."
"I'm from a family of witches, and our job is to monitor Red Rock and keep all the supernatural creatures trapped in there so they don't eat the whole town of Wilding." I said it fast, then watched his face as I took a sip of coffee.
His eyes held mine for a long moment, then he shook his head and sighed. "Come again?"
I shrugged to hide the way my heart sank. "I'm serious. You don't believe me, and I don't blame you, but it's true. I'm a member of the Troporos family. You can look us up."
I actually had no idea if he could do that, but what did it matter? I couldn't back up anything I said concerning my life now. There were no studies on banshees in U.S. national parks, or the werewolf population in the eastern United States. It was possible that some of those books in Lucy's library might convince him, but I didn't know which ones.
I did have one thing, though. I set my cup down on the bar and pulled up a small fireball, then let it dance on the tips of my fingers.
He leaned away. "How are you doing that?"
"I'm using the elements."
"That's more of a parlor trick than a convincing argument." He didn't take his eyes off the flame.
I let it go out and watched the thin wisp of smoke disappear. "You didn't think that when you saw me do it before. It came in pretty handy then, huh?"
"You mean when you blew up half the town and killed two people...at least two people?" he corrected himself.
"I didn't kill any people," I said.
"They sure as hell looked dead to me."
I nodded. "But that doesn't mean I killed them. The man you saw under the bridge? He was a werewolf. He killed the woman. When he dies, he turned back to his original form." I tried to keep the hurt and anger out of my voice, but it wasn't working.
Lucy had warned me about this. She'd told me more than once about her loneliness after my Grandfather died. She said it was hard to be close to someone when they didn't believe you existed, and right now, I had to agree. "Listen, maybe it's best if you just go. All right?"
He looked at me again. Then he got up, walked across the room, and put his cup in the sink. As he passed by me, he squeezed my shoulder. "If you ever want to talk to me...," he said, letting the sentence fade.
I nodded and listened to him leave, then put my head down.
It would have been nice to get to know him better, to maybe make a friend here.
But at least Red Rock was secure, and there hadn't been too many casualties in Wilding. I mean, any were bad, but it could have been a lot worse. I would just have to make it a point to do better.
Or take Raul up on his offer to travel - but then what would Lucy do? She brought me here because she was getting older and needed a replacement. As far as I knew, there wasn't another Troporos to take my place if I left. I made a mental note to ask her about that when she got back.
My good mood was gone. I decided to go back to bed and figure everything else out later.
Crossfire Series
I’M INDIGO CROSS: COLLEGE grad, underemployed, and ready to toss my roommate out the window. I’m at the end of my rope.
As if that’s not enough, my crazy grandma just stepped into the picture. I didn’t even know I HAD a grandma. She’s telling tales of impossible monsters and ancient ancestors. She’s saying that I’m in line for some magical guardian role, but now I’m supposed to drop everything and run off to the mountains of North Carolina to be some kind of witch? I’m supposed to guard an invisible barrier and keep a bunch of paranormal beings corralled in one area? Really?
I think she might have lost her mind, to be honest, but I also think she’s offering me a way out of my dead-end life. That is, until one of my new witch friends tries to kill me with homemade zombies.
Wicked City Series
HAUNTED BY THE DISAPPEARANCE of her brother Kenny so long ago, Leah Towers has designed her life to avoid any sudden surprises. Her steady job, her small apartment, and her few friends are all deliberate choices - no one gets too close to Leah without her permission. Period.
That is, until she discovers new clues about Kenny’s disappearance. As she starts to dig deeper, Leah finds a city with more shadows than she could ever imagine and more nightmares than she could ever dream up. One of t
hem has her brother, and the only man who can help her is as shadowy as the monsters she’s trying to fight.
Wilder Witch Series
CLOVER TRACE HAS A problem - her big city life is falling apart, but she has orders from her dad to never, ever come home to the small, slow town of Wilder, Virginia.
But a call from the authorities leaves her no choice. Her elderly Aunt Sage is dead, and everyone assumes it was just a terrible accident. What Clover finds is a murder mystery, a sexy new local cop, and a family secret that will change her life forever - if it doesn’t get her killed first.