by Nova Nelson
“Why?” I didn’t mean for it to come shooting out of my mouth, but can you blame me for being shocked after the less than warm reception from Donovan, Ansel, and whoever that blond man-boy was?
“Nora!” she said, surprised herself. “Because you put Bruce’s murderer behind bars!” She leaned forward, so I did, too. “You know what he meant to me.”
“Right.” I looked around, curious who might’ve overheard. While no one seemed to be paying any attention, I did recognize a few more familiar faces among the full house. At a high-top in the corner, Lucent Lovelace regaled a fiery-haired leprechaun with some story or another that involved Lucent banging his fist on the table repeatedly while his audience of one howled with laughter. Where the bar turned at a ninety-degree angle sat a figure all dressed in black, his sickle leaning against the bar. And on the stool next to Ted, Eastwind’s grim reaper, sat a dashing, well-dressed man in perhaps his late thirties, who sipped red wine gracefully.
Between the grim reaper and this stranger stood a young pretty woman who, if one didn’t know Ted personally, one might assume was in mortal danger.
Zoe Clementine spotted me and waved me over, and a second later, Ted and the stranger looked my direction.
I returned my attention to Fiona momentarily. “I could go for something fried and heavily seasoned to eat, and whatever drink you prefer, please. I better go say hi.” I nodded over at the threesome, and Fiona agreed with a chipper nod.
“Nora!” Ted said as soon as I approached. He was much friendlier than one might expect a grim reaper to be, but his voice—a deep death rattle like dry bones skittering over a chalkboard—matched his morbid appearance just fine. “I never thought I’d see you out and about in Eastwind.” He chuckled and it sent shivers down my spine and out to my fingertips. “Figured I’d have to go to Medium Rare forever just to get my fix.”
Yikes. A little bit of flirting at a pub was to be expected, but Ted’s attentions weren’t limited to the pub. They followed me all the way to my job, much like the overwhelming sense of my own mortality followed me whenever Ted was near.
“Tanner convinced me to come out,” I said.
“Ah.” His shrouded head drooped. “Makes sense.”
“Are you and Tanner Culpepper together?” asked the well-dressed man I didn’t recognize.
I blinked a few times at his forwardness, and he flashed me a cocky grin before extending his hand. “We haven’t met. Sebastian Malavic.” Eastwind had a lot of strange accents, but Sebastian’s was distinct with flourishes of Eastern European woven into his vowels.
I’d heard the name. Everyone in Eastwind had. He wasn’t just Sebastian Malavic, he was Count Sebastian Malavic. He held a seat on the High Council as Eastwind’s treasurer, the theory being that someone as rich as him would have no interest in pilfering from the measly Eastwind funds. I happened to think that was a stupid theory based on the weak assumption that he hadn’t amassed his wealth from that exact activity over a long period of time.
And as I shook his hand and felt the coldness of his skin on mine, I remembered another detail about Sebastian: he was a vampire. One of the oldest, if the gossip was correct. “Nora Ashcroft,” I said, meeting his eyes.
I made a point of meeting the eyes of men like this. You know, the ones who have been in power so long they forget they even have it. Yet they’re the first to exercise that power in brash ways and also the first to play victim whenever an ounce of it is distributed to the less fortunate. If you exhibited power or abilities men like this didn’t possess and showed any sign of weakness, they would delight in crushing you.
Yes, I got all this from our short interaction. I have Insight, after all. But even if I didn’t, I’d met plenty of men like Sebastian before.
Along with meeting his eyes, I went in for the kill with the handshake, squeezing as hard as I could without showing signs of strain. And then I saw it. It was almost imperceptible. It was a small flicker around his eyes—I’d surprised him. And he liked it. Men like this also enjoyed surprises; wielding so much power could be boring for them. I wasn’t here to be his challenge, his prey to overpower, though.
“Isn’t she just great?” Zoe said, her shoulders bouncing like a buoy in choppy waters. “Have you ever met anyone like her?”
“No,” Sebastian said simply, staring straight at me. When he turned his gaze to Zoe and a splinter of smile crept onto his face as his eyes roamed up and down her body, I had an instant desire to pull her out of there away from the vampire and let her know in no uncertain terms what was going on. He had his eye on her. He’d singled her out as a target, though for what and why, I wasn’t sure.
“It’s such a crazy coincidence that just a few weeks after Ruby True retires, we get a brand new Fifth Wind into Eastwind, isn’t it?” Zoe remarked breathlessly.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Sebastian spat.
Psh. Of course he didn’t. He probably thought everything that happened in Eastwind was an aftershock of some action he’d taken. The unfortunate midair broom collision that made The Eastwind Watch the other day? Probably a result of him doing a few extra push-ups in his strict morning routine.
“I’m so excited you’re here, Nora!” Zoe said in her usual bubbly way. She was always excited people were anywhere. I could bump into her as we fled a deranged werewolf pack in the Deadwoods, and she’d still say she was excited I was there. But at the same time, I had a weakness for naiveté. I didn’t understand it, but I admired it. Case in point: Tanner.
“You’re always working,” Zoe continued, “so I figured you didn’t want to go out and about. Otherwise I totally would’ve invited you to hang—”
“You never answered my question,” Sebastian said, interrupting her.
I jerked my head around to glare at him, but managed at the last second to keep my hand by my side rather than smacking him for his rudeness.
“Which was?” I asked, keeping my voice casual.
“Are you and the Culpepper boy together?”
I forced a sweet smile. “Well, he’s not a boy, first of all, and to answer your question, Tanner and I co-own Medium Rare, so what do you think? Would dating be a smart idea?”
He grinned. “No, but it could be terribly exciting. Think of all the possible complications. You’d have to hide it from others to keep things professional and avoid employees claiming you received preferential treatment, of course. Sounds quite arousing, if you ask me.”
Yeah, I wasn’t huge on Sebastian. That was an easy conclusion to draw. He acted like he knew me. And the worst part about it? He kind of did. While I was sizing him up to a tee, he was doing the same to me.
Not cool.
I grinned. “Whatever you say, Stefan.” I let him suck on the wrong name for a while. God knows it drove me nuts when people messed up mine. Then I excused myself, making a special effort to give a warm parting to both Zoe and Ted (my rebuke of Sebastian appeared to leave him in better spirits than the mention of Tanner had), and went back to the booth where my boss, business partner, and maybe soon-to-be-boyfriend was sitting with the rest of the group.
Jane had squeezed in next to Ansel, and when I approached, Tanner jumped up, letting me slide in.
Right next to Donovan.
Oof. I did not want to be the filling of a Tanner and Donovan sandwich.
Or maybe …
I glanced at Donovan who ignored me purposefully.
Okay, nope. Impractical fantasy averted.
“Nora, this is Landon Hawker,” Tanner said, and as I shook the blond’s hand, Tanner explained, “He works down in the Parchment Catacombs.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
He stared at me through his thick-rimmed glasses, and I wasn’t sure if his cheeks were always that flushed or if whatever he was drinking had brought out the color. “Nora Ashcroft? Really?” he said.
“Yep. Last I checked.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“Nothing
, nothing.”
I leaned in front of Donovan, ignoring his exasperation, to hear Landon better. “No, what is it? Come on.” I touched his arm gently. “Is it the Fifth Wind witch thing? Does it freak you out?”
His eyes shot wide. “What? No! Not at all! I think it’s cool, actually.”
“Well, that makes one of us.” I leaned back as Fiona brought over a plate of steaming fried chicken with dipping sauce and a metal tankard, setting them in front of me.
“What’d you get?” Tanner asked excitedly, rubbing his hands together.
“Not exactly sure. But I’m ready to find out.”
Fiona winked. “Let me know when you’re ready for your next round, Nora.”
As she walked away, Tanner reached for my plate and I slapped his hand away. “Nuh-uh. This ain’t a dang commune. Go get your own.” He laughed, slid out of the booth and chased after Fiona, leaving me in unnecessary proximity to Donovan. I scooted over.
Nibbling off the tip of a chicken strip, I said, “So, you’re a … witch? Is that rude to ask?”
“No, not rude” he said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “And yes. A North Wind witch.”
Slowly but surely, I was getting better at this bizarre guessing game. “Ooh, an aeromancer.”
He cringed slightly. “We don’t use that word anymore.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“It’s a little outdated.”
“Does that mean I shouldn’t go around calling myself a necromancer?”
He swallowed hard, but before he could respond, Donovan jumped in. “If you want everyone to avoid you, you should definitely keep using that term.”
I feigned shock. “Wait, you mean I could get you to avoid me more by just calling myself a necromancer?”
“It’s not right,” Landon said, “but necromancy still freaks people out. They don’t understand it, I think. They haven’t had enough exposure to it.”
“And you have?” Donovan said.
Landon shrugged. “I’ve read all about it. And, I mean, look at her. Does she seem like the kind of person to awaken an evil spirit?”
Landon was all right in my book.
I struggled to keep a straight face as Donovan looked at me, apparently assessing whether I was the type to turn an army of demons against Eastwind.
… Wow, he was giving it just a little too much thought. This should be a no-brainer.
Finally he said, “No. Not intentionally at least. But I’ve heard enough to know she can get herself into trouble just fine.”
“Oh please, you think I’d accidentally raise an army of demons against the town?”
He jerked his head back. “Huh? I didn’t say anything about an army of demons.”
“What? No. Me neither.” I quickly sipped my drink, enjoying the rich bitterness of a porter as it washed over my taste buds.
“Nora,” said Jane, finally breaking from her intimate conversation with Ansel. “Since you’re on the market, Ansel and I think you should meet his best friend Darius.”
“Yeah,” Ansel said, “I think you two might hit it off. He doesn’t take no unicorn swirls from anyone either.”
I could feel Donovan’s cool blue gaze boring into the side of my face. “Not really looking. Thanks, though.”
Jane and Ansel shared a satisfied glance, and Ansel nodded slightly. I swore I heard him say, “You called it, sugarpaws.”
Tanner reappeared, and just before he slid in beside me, I stopped him. “Restroom?”
He pointed to a dark hallway at the back corner of the pub.
Oh, lovely. “Thanks.” I scooted by him and made for it.
The bathrooms were at the very end of a bend, and I didn’t feel entirely safe, but the porter had taken the edge off my anxiety and added just enough liquid to the tank that I pushed on.
As I stepped out of the ladies room, I jumped when I nearly bumped right into someone.
“Geez, Tanner. You scared the—”
He pressed me up against the wall and kissed me. Then he broke the kiss and stared down at me. “Sorry. It’s just too hard to be around you and have to pretend we’re not together. It’s killing me.”
I pushed him away gently. “Stop it. You’re fine.”
“Why can’t we just be honest with people about it?”
“You know why. We’ve been over this.”
He crinkled his nose and pinched his eyes shut as he shook his head. “Jane won’t care. And I doubt Greta, Anton, or Bryant will care as long as you don’t get preferential treatment. Which you won’t.” He grinned and pressed me to the wall again. “Not at work, at least.”
I sighed. He made solid points. But still, something held me back. Maybe Sebastian was right. Maybe I enjoyed the excitement of secrecy.
No. Sebastian couldn’t be right.
To stop my brain, I kissed Tanner again.
Then suddenly, “Oh, for fang’s sake.” I broke the kiss and jerked my head around to see Donovan glaring at us.
“It’s not—” Tanner began.
“You said nothing was happening between you two.” Donovan made no effort to hide his disdain, but he raised his hands in surrender. “It’s fine. Who you mess around with is your business. I just think you can do a lot better.”
“Huh?” Tanner said, but Donovan had already disappeared into the men’s room.
Tanner made to go after him, but I grabbed his arm. “Stop. It doesn’t matter. Do you think he’ll tell anyone else?”
“No. Donovan’s not a gossip. What he said, Nora. It’s not true.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know he’s not my biggest fan.” I tried to force a smile to the surface, but I’m fairly sure it came out as a weird cringe. “I’d better go out ahead of you, or else, you know.”
“Sure.”
I’d only just made it out of the dark hallway and into the slightly less dark bar, which now seemed sunny by comparison, when I felt a strong hand wrap around my wrist.
I whirled around and was face-to-face with Lucent Lovelace. “Nora. I thought that was you when you walked by.”
Twisting my wrist free of his grasp, I said, “Hi Lucent. How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know. Love of my life is still dead, and all I have is her money and a big empty house to keep me company. Oh, and whiskey.” He raised his glass. “Lots of whiskey.”
“I can smell,” I said.
“You haven’t introduced me, you idiot,” said the leprechaun across the table from Lucent. “You trying to keep her all for yourself, eh?”
“Nope,” I said quickly.
“Seamus Shaw,” he said, “pleased to make your acquaintance, but would also be pleased to get to know you more intimately.”
“Ew.” Not the response he was expecting, though it truly should’ve been. He was slobbering drunk, which was surprising, given how he appeared to be sweating out the booze faster than anyone could reasonably take it in. Seamus’s name often came up in conversations around town, and never in a positive light. Now, I could see why.
“You say that, but before long I’ll have you saying, ‘Oh! Ohh!’ That’s a guarantee.”
Before I could tell him I wasn’t into short guys, Tanner appeared out of nowhere. “I think you need to go home, Seamus,” he said sternly, stepping between the leprechaun and me.
“Tanner,” I said, “it’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.” His eyes remained on Seamus. “You don’t get to speak to her that way. You’re drunk and being inappropriate. You need to leave.” He turned to Lucent. “Get him out of here. Now.”
“Who do you think you are?” Seamus said, but Lucent nodded, grabbing his drinking buddy by the arm, and dragging him out.
The agitation from Seamus’s disgusting comments might have leaked through just a little when I rounded on Tanner. “I can take care of myself,” I hissed. “I don’t need a knight in shining armor.”
His shocked confusion stirred immediate guilt inside me, though I was
n’t sure if it was because he thought I would appreciate the gesture, or because he didn’t know what a knight in shining armor was.
“I know you can handle yourself,” he said blankly.
I bit my lips, deciding not to respond. And then my eyes landed on Donovan at the edge of the dark hallway to the bathrooms. He watched the interaction like a hawk, no doubt wondering if he would get to enjoy the entertainment of Tanner and me crashing and burning before we ever truly got off the ground.
I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I’m sorry, Tanner. I didn’t mean to snap. Thanks. Seamus was being a total creep.”
“Yeah, he was,” Tanner said, and while he seemed less shocked, the confusion was still there. He put his back to the rest of the pub, then asked. “Are we good?”
I nodded. “Great. But my chicken is getting cold, so we should …”
“Right! I have some coming, too.”
I played my cards just right so that Tanner was next to Donovan in the circular booth and I had the outside. Things went much more smoothly after that, especially once Landon suggested we play a few rounds of Explode a Toad. Don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the process. I’d wondered about that, too. But it was just a drinking game like the ones I’d played at parties back in high school. Only, the playing cards were enchanted to disappear and reappear in another person’s hand, and the loser had to chug their drink with a tiny conjured toad at the bottom, which, they explained to me only once it was my turn to chug, would disappear again as soon as it reached my stomach and was not in fact a real animal.
Tell that to my esophagus, though.
It was not my favorite game, but it was good for a few laughs, and as the booze kept coming and Ansel lost three games in a row, even Donovan had lightened up and seemed to be enjoying himself.
It wasn’t the dream trip to Sheehan’s Pub that I’d always imagined, but, in the end, when Tanner walked me home and kissed me one last time on Ruby’s porch, it was as good of a visit as I could’ve asked for.