by Lelana Croft
“Hello?” I yelled into the house.
“There’s no one inside.” Tony said, making me jump. He’d crept up behind me while he was waiting for me to unlock the door. Being an angel had its advantages, like being able to move silently if one wanted. I usually didn’t get taken off guard but this time, I’d been so focused on the house that I hadn’t heard him.
Reaching back, I walloped him on the arm. He faked it hurting, but his smile told me otherwise. I could see this was gonna be one of those big brother types who thought he could just boss me around. Well, it ain’t happening.
I walked inside and took a look around. There was a huge living space that had vaulted ceilings up to the second floor. I could see across the living area and into the kitchen, where there was a bar separating the two. The huge stone fireplace was on the north wall. The inside had been meticulously taken care of.
“Wow! I didn’t expect this,” I said out loud.
“Told ya. This is a quiet little piece of heaven right here on earth.”
I nodded as I moved into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Someone had been nice enough to have at least left some beer.
“There is a nice-sized grocery store on the south side of town where all the newer construction is. There is also a small mercantile store in the Olde Town area. You’ll be able to find anything you need,” Tony explained.
I nodded.
“Is there a Starbucks?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
Tony chuckled.
“You want this stuff in your bedroom?” he asked, holding my duffle bags in his hands.
I ran over to him, pulling the bags from his hands. I was kinda weird about people holding my stuff, especially when I had a few special weapons hidden inside that I didn’t want anyone to know about.
He looked at me side-eyed.
“Thanks, I got this. Up there?” I asked, looking up the huge set of stairs made out of whole logs that went from the foyer to what appeared to be some kind of loft.
“Yeah, that’s probably one of the best places in the house.”
I scoffed. “Really? Because this is pretty cool already. Couldn’t tell from the outside.”
“Yeah…just go look.”
I half grinned as I made my way upstairs. There was a small loft area that overlooked the living room and fireplace. The view was cool already. When I opened the bedroom door, I probably stood there for a good minute before moving. It was the most amazing view.
There was a large king-sized bed against one wall, and a doorway into the closet. On the other side was the master bathroom. But what was so stunning was there were three full-length french doors that opened onto a huge covered deck, overlooking the Mississippi River.
I dropped my bags and went over to open up the center door. Stepping out onto the deck, I realized now why this was such a great place. I walked over to the railing and looked down. I could see a dock that went out into the water a little way. What an awesome view!
“Nice view, isn’t it?” said a strange voice that wasn’t Tony’s.
As I looked over towards the voice, a white cat jumped up onto the railing and was waddling towards me. Was I beginning to hear things?
The cat was solid white with one gold eye and one blue eye.
Half-breed. Just like me.
I smiled and called to him.
“Hi, kitty, where’d you come from?” I said, after looking around to make sure no one heard me talk in my little girl voice.
“It’s about time you got here. I’ve been waiting all day,” the cat said as he sat down and swished his tail, letting it fall gently to the other side of the railing.
I screamed and popped my hand over my mouth. I had seen shifters, but most of the time if they were in animal form, they couldn’t talk human.
Tony came running up through the bedroom and out onto the deck.
“Holy Moses, I thought something was wrong,” Tony said, only slightly out of breath from taking the stairs two at a time, “I see you’ve met Adonis.”
“Adonis?” I said, looking back over at the cat.
“Yes, I’m Adonis. I’ll be hanging out with you while you’re here. We’ll be the best of friends and stay up all night, talking about all the adventures we’ll have,” he said, with sarcasm dripping from every word and I swear, I thought I saw him do an eye roll.
The feeling of confusion must have been written all over my face.
Adonis looked over to Tony. “She doesn’t know, does she?” he asked.
Tony shook his head. “I haven’t had a chance to brief her yet.”
“Brief me? On what?” I insisted.
Adonis looked out over the river and sighed.
“C’mon, let’s go inside. You can never tell who might be listening,” Tony said as Adonis jumped down and strolled casually inside and down to the main floor.
I followed and decided to check out the recliner that looked like it’d been made for me.
As I sunk down into the soft faux leather, I decided immediately that this would be my favorite place to relax.
Tony sat on the couch and Adonis jumped up onto one of the bar stools. I had a feeling he liked to be higher than anyone else in the room.
“There are a few rules you’ll need to abide by while you’re here,” Tony began.
“Yeah, I know. They went over all of them before we left. I am not allowed to use my powers with another supernatural at all. I have to be a good girl for a year before I can come back home. Does that about cover it?” I snarked.
I could feel the frustration already building. They’d just never understood why I’d done what I’d done. And it felt like no one cared why either.
“Yes, that’s the basics. The band around your ankle can’t be removed or it will immediately send a signal to me, and to the entire Council. It’s been powered up by magic so if you try to remove it, I’ll know and so will anyone else who is to be informed. That is not only for tracking you, but also for your protection.”
I folded my arms over my chest. I knew what it was for, but Tony reminding me of it wasn’t helping things.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I blurted.
“No need to get snippy with me. I’m not the one who put you here. You did that all by yourself,” Tony replied, folding his arms and leaning back, grinning like a Cheshire cat. I honestly think he was enjoying this.
I rolled my eyes. He was just being antagonistic now.
“Adonis here, is your new roommate. He’ll be here to keep an eye on you, but to also help you if you need anything. He can go places and see things that a lot of us can’t because he’s quite special.”
I glanced over at Adonis who I’d swear was smiling and had a bit of a smug look on his face.
“Oh yeah? What makes you so special?” I asked.
Adonis looked over at Tony. Then vanished into thin air.
“Whoa!” I said, blinking to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
I sat upright and leaned forward, only to be met with Adonis reappearing on the coffee table right in front of me, making me jump backwards.
“Okay, yeah, that’s kinda cool,” I said.
“Kinda? I bet you wish you could do that,” Adonis said, standing up and walking towards the kitchen, the tip of his fluffy tail flicking back and forth, “Did anyone bring the cream?”
I giggled as I watched him. He was gonna be fun to mess around with at least.
“Here,” Tony said, handing me a folder. “This is everything you’ll need to live down here. You’ll be starting work with Mr. Hobbs in a couple of days. He’ll train you on what you need to do. It isn’t full time, so he’ll call you when you’re needed, but he wants to familiarize you with everything this week.”
“Who’s Mr. Hobbs?” I asked.
“The Mortician,” Tony replied.
Chapter 4
Tony left, after making sure I knew that if I got into any trouble, he’d be down to push me around. He really wasn’t tha
t bad of a guy, once I’d gotten to know him a little. He almost felt like that big brother that I’d never had. He was programmed into my phone and told me that he’d be one of the first to get the signal, if I tried to take off the anklet.
Adonis took off and reminded me to pick up fresh cream from the store when I went.
I never really slept well in strange places. It always took me several nights to become comfortable in a new place, including any places I moved into. I’d managed to get my things put away and went to bed. It was a restless night and I was eager to do a little exploring the next day. I couldn’t imagine there would be too much happening in such a small town, but I wanted to at least see if there was anything going on, or if I should just get lost into one of my RPGs for a year and bide my time. Life would be boring if I was stuck with only that one option.
Something made me wake and sit straight up in bed. It felt like someone was watching me. Or at least, in the room with me. I reached under the pillow for my Karambit and held it up as I slid out from under the covers.
While I didn’t have cat-like vision, my night vision was good enough that I didn’t need any light to see enough of my surroundings and know if I was alone or not.
I went around the room and pulled the curtains aside, peering out the window and down towards the river. All I could hear was the sounds of crickets and frogs, which was almost as loud as the traffic I was used to in the city.
Quietly, I moved out of the bedroom and over to the loft area. I looked down into the great room, but saw nothing. I sighed and shook my head. I was sure it’s just because I was in a strange place, out in the middle of nowhere, and didn’t know anyone. Yeah, nothing bad can ever come of that. I’m just being paranoid.
Thoughts of horror movies out in the country started creeping into my mind. Damn, I shouldn’t’ve watched those things. I shook it off and went back to bed, slipping the Karambit back under my pillow, and tried to think of something nice to put myself back into sleep mode.
I hated it when I laid in bed and thoughts of the past would creep in. Things I’d done that’d been stupid or decisions I’d made that weren’t the best, would haunt me and make me wonder how I’d managed to make it this far without getting myself killed.
I couldn’t allow myself to worry about those things. If I couldn’t let things go, I’d never be able to move forward and keep trying to keep the bad guys from winning. At least, that’s how I managed to look at things. I finally found a comfy spot in the bed and drifted off to sleep.
Have you ever noticed that even with floor to ceiling drapes covering a wall of french doors that no matter what, that one sliver of light will find its way right across your face?
I squinted and rolled over, hoping the light would just go away, but it didn’t. Rubbing my eyes, I opened them slightly and then gasped when I saw Adonis sitting on the pillow next to me.
“Sleep well?” he asked in his most condescending tone.
“No. And I’d like to keep trying, if you don’t mind.”
I pulled the pillow out from underneath him and covered my head. He flopped over on the bed and stared at me. I closed my eyes and pretended he wasn’t there, but it was no use. He was laying there staring at me, and I knew it.
“You know, if you are planning on doing this every morning, I’m gonna poison your cream,” I said, hoping he’d get the hint.
“No, you won’t. You’ll fall in love with me like everyone else does,” he purred as he rolled over and gave me his cute kitten face upside down and showed me his belly.
I laughed at him. He was a hoot for sure. Plus, it was kinda nice to have someone to talk to, even if it was just a cat.
Reaching over, I stroked his soft fur. He gave me a little kitten growl.
“You’re a suck up. I can tell. You use this cute kitten act to get what you want, just like all other cats I’ve known,” I poked.
“Is it working?” he asked.
“Maybe. What time is it?”
“Almost nine. The store opened at eight.”
I rolled my eyes and rolled out of bed.
“All right, already! I need to shower and get dressed. Do you mind giving me a little privacy?”
He hopped off the bed and strolled out of the room, leaving me to get myself together.
Not being a girly girl, it was pretty easy for me to pull myself together and be headed out the door. When I would occasionally date, I was always ready before most guys expected me to be. Rarely did they wait on me and most of the time, I waited on them.
When I finished in the bathroom, I pulled open the green drapes that covered the french doors and walked out onto the deck. The sun was up and the river was meandering carelessly as I took in a deep breath of the clean country air. The air didn’t smell this good in the city. Most of the time, it smelled like hot asphalt and gas fumes.
Adonis rolled around on the deck as if he was trying to make sure he got an even tan.
“You know, I won’t be back until later today. I have to go and meet with Hobbs this morning, then I want to explore town a bit.”
He cocked his head sideways. “Fine. But do remember to bring the cream, won’t you?”
I laughed. “Did you used to be a Brit? Where did you get the accent?”
“Hehe…you noticed that, did you? Actually, in one of my previous lives, I lived for a spell in South Wales.”
“Well, it sounds cute.”
“Cute?” he said, getting up and jumping up on the railing. “Of course.”
I laughed as he walked over to the corner and jumped off. Holy cow, that was a whole story drop! I ran over and saw him sashay off into the trees, his white fluffy tail bobbing freely. He must have more than just powers to disappear and reappear.
I grabbed my things and decided to go out to the garage to find the orange scooter that Tony had mentioned. Carefully pulling back the dusty cover revealed a bright orange scooter with a rack on the back. On the rack was an old milk crate, held on by bungee cords.
“Great. It’s as bad as I thought,” I sighed. “Well, at least I won’t have to worry about anyone trying to hit on me.”
Rolling the scooter out and closing the garage door, I hopped on and pushed the start button. It barely made a sound before I was off and rolling. Lord help me, if I had to make a fast getaway.
The breeze had a familiar coolness to it as I crested the hill and stopped. Tony was right. The town wasn’t that far and as I looked ahead, I felt as though I had been transported into Mystic Falls or Mayberry. Fall wasn’t too far away and I could sense that the trees were ready for a nice long sleep.
I made my way down to Main Street, passing the ice cream parlor and an old gas station that had been turned into a sandwich shop. There was a corner store that just had a sign that said ‘Mercantile’. I stopped and went inside.
The old door was heavy with a large thick pane of glass in the center. I pushed it open and stepped back in time. The wood floor creaked and there was actually a bell that tinkled when the door opened.
It smelled of old wood and fresh cut grass which was weird. As I made my way around, I realized it was because there was a doorway to the back area that also housed a feed store. Everything from chicken feed to lawn fertilizer was piled on pallets in bags of twenty-five pounds or more.
In the front, there were several refrigerators with milk, eggs, cheese, and bacon.
The young guy at the front was busy on his phone. He must have had no life, living in this small town. But whatever he was doing was keeping him busy.
“Is this the only place for groceries?” I asked.
He smiled big and friendly, laying his phone down on the counter. His tall, lanky figure towered over mine and that’s hard to do, since I’m five-foot-eight.
“No, ma’am. There is a large store on the south part of town, where all the newer stuff is. We just keep some of the basics here for the bed & breakfasts that are close by. We also try to keep on hand some of the more nostalgic items,
like old-fashioned candy and the like.”
I could tell he was in that period in a boy’s life where he was in transition. His voice crackled and went from high-pitched to low in the same sentence.
“Cool, thanks,” I said, looking down at his phone. He’d been playing Candy Crush to pass the time.
I looked down, and under the counter was all kinds of penny candy. I had to pick up some of the ones I’d never heard of before. There was a bright yellow wrapped little bar called Abba Zaba. I figured it was worth trying. And something called BB Bats Banana taffy stick.
“Hey, is there anything to do in this town?” I asked him as I paid for my candy and shoved it in my pocket.
“There are a few bars and sometimes, they have live music. Other than the game store, not really,” he replied.
“Game store?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s called Elemental. It’s at the very end of Main Street, if you’re going towards the ferry, on the right.”
I thanked him and left. I’d have to check out the game store. My luck, the games would all be three years and a few platforms old. I could only hope for something current. Worst case scenario, I’d use my laptop and download them there, instead of using the Xbox or PS4.
Tony had said the funeral home was on Market Street. Well, I was at the corner of Market and Main, so it had to be close by. I hopped on the orange demon and decided to just enjoy the ride as I looked for it.
Sure enough, a mile down the road and I was at the mortuary. I parked and went inside.
A pretty, older woman greeted me. She had a blond bouffant hairdo and was wearing a gray pantsuit. Probably standard attire here. I hoped there was no dress code. I’d rarely worn anything other than jeans and a t-shirt, or my leathers if I’d planned on kicking some ass.
“I’m here to see Mr. Hobbs. My name is Scarlett Steele.”
She smiled, “Oh good! He’s been expecting you. Go down that hall all the way to the end and down the stairs. You’ll see his office on the right.”
I nodded and walked down the hall. Making my way down the stairs, I could immediately tell the change in the temperature. The walls were painted hospital green and there was nothing but fluorescent lights.