by Skye, Relina
Pins and needles painfully threaded up and down my arms and legs. "What the heck did you do to me?"
With my vision now returned to normal, I found an average-looking man, or at least, that's what I thought until our eyes met. Light radiated from his irises, causing them to look like two bright, neon-blue lights.
"My apologies, I've never been assigned to draft a witch before. Thought you'd be more like a demigod or goddess." His broad shoulders shrugged. "But you're not. You're like me and my brethren in many ways, the Watchers in others, but wrapped up in a tight, little, mortal shell of flesh and bone."
Taking a step back, I balked, "You're freaking me out."
"Again, my apologies." He looked around, shifting his gaze in every direction until he had gone full circle. "They cleaned you out, didn't they? There isn't even a table or chair to sit on." He raised his gaze to the upper levels. "Well, not everything. Mind if we head up to your suite? You're going to need someplace to sit."
"My suite? No way. Whatever you have to say can be said right here, and then you can be on your way. I have nothing to offer you but water and a cup of Raman noodles that one of the youth left me."
"Ms. King, my physical form isn't actually in your dimension. Truth be told, if a normal human were standing here, they wouldn't even be able to see me." He shook his head when I failed to act. "What the Helheim? Come on."
My physical body took several steps forward. Fighting was no good, it only made me feel tired. I couldn't even lift my arms to throw a potion at him.
Once we were on the elevator, I gave him a hard look. Even though I sounded rude, I had to ask, "What are you? You're not a wizard. Nor are you a warlock.”
"Oh, I thought you would have figured that out when you looked at my Arcane profile," he said as he tapped the cleft in his chin.
"No clue," I replied as I tried to move my arms and legs again, but without any success.
"You're not even trying. Come on, you're not supposed to be one of my boring drafts. In fact, the others were a bit envious because of how easy this should be."
The elevator door opened in front of us, and we entered my suite.
"Sorry to disappoint you." I rolled my eyes as my body was propelled to the couch. Once I was seated, I felt the pressure of his telekinetic hold on my body evaporate.
"Take a guess."
Having had no contact with anyone outside of Witch-Book and Skype, I decided to play along. "You're a fae?"
"Nope, try again."
"An angel."
"No."
"A vampire?"
"Eww, no! Norn. I'm a Norn."
Thinking about that for a minute, I gave him a hard look. "I thought the Norns were three women who controlled a person's fate. Because if you control my fate, then I have some very angry words for you."
"Norns, Fates, yada-yada. Depending on which pantheon you’re from, the people and their characteristics slightly range in complexity. But just like any beings, they seek the physical attention from another being. Namely, the Watchers themselves. My parents were the products of the Norse pantheon. Hence, why I'm considered a Norn, not the Norn."
Rubbing my face with my hands, I connected a few dots. "The Watchers are the same as the gods and goddesses?"
"That is correct. You're born and raised on Earth, so calling them gods and goddesses can be forgiven. They're really just the most advanced of the mythos and fae. Not gods and goddesses, just Watchers."
"Okay, so why are you telling me this?"
“Because,” he stated like it was something he said everyday, "Ms. King, my name’s Officer Kieran Alvey. I was sent by the BCW to shadow you for the next forty-eight hours.”
"Shadow me? And what the heck is the BCW?"
"As a Norn, I was sent here to protect you from yourself and others. The Bureau of Converging Worlds has issued a warrant to draft you into service for the next ten years."
"I don't understand."
"The Bureau of Converging Worlds is the governing force that spans the dimension of Earth, the space in-between, and the magical dimension of Erda. In forty-seven hours and thirty-eight minutes, I'm to escort you to an official demarcation point where we will cross the barrier into the Fastness." He held his hand up. "This is a lot to take in. Believe me, I know. Most of my wards think they’re going crazy, and then they realize I'm serious. but in the end, they always end up where they are assigned to go. And for an exiled witch like yourself, this is practically a gift. You'll get a fresh start in a new location, and receive a job and income!"
Processing what he just said took me longer than I would have liked. But since all I'd been surviving on for the last week were salty noodles, my brain took its time to come to the conclusion that it would indeed be a good thing.
As students, we learned about Erda, but no one ever truly believed it existed. That's where fairies and unicorns and all sorts of crazy monsters lived. Surely, they were no more than the eccentric creation of some witch or wizard's overactive imagination. Apparently not.
"So, what's the catch?"
"Catch? You didn't throw a ball."
My eyes rolled. "Really, you've been drafting people for how long, and no one's ever said that to you?"
He leaned back onto the cushions, giving me a relaxed smile. "No catch." He tossed his head back and forth slightly. "Well, there is one teeny, tiny, little one."
"And it's..."
"Your powers won't work the same in either place. It will take some getting used to, but you'll adjust. Everyone does eventually."
Standing, I paced the room as I considered the meaning of that. "Do you have this all in writing?"
"I do. It's all right there on your cauldron." He pointed.
Crossing the room, I found a large packet of papers with enough sub-sections to make a lawyer salivate.
It's safe to say, I spent a few hours reading through everything, asking questions, and finally coming to the conclusion that no matter what I actually wanted, I had no other choice.
I'd been drafted and there was no way out of it.
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed this ebook! Please consider going back to the site you purchased it from to leave a positive review. I’d love to hear from you! Your review can help make the difference to help new readers decide if they want to read my books. Thank you for reading this ebook, I really appreciate it!
Sincerely
Relina Skye
Relina Skye Books
The Jocelyn Frost Series
In-Between Work and Play
In-Between Life and Death
In-Between Right and Wrong (Coming Soon!)
The Lost in Erda Series
Hailstorm
Downpour (Coming Soon!)
Of Earth or Erda Series
Cora
Visit me on my website:
http://relinaskye.weebly.com/
Sneak Peek: In-Between Work and Play -
Chapter One
Jocelyn
Ten minutes. Perspiration slid down the side of my cheek. I chewed on my lip while rereading my notes from last week’s Demigoddess Anonymous Session. When I finished, I reached inside my desk to grab a hair clip before pulling my chocolate tresses into a French twist. Otherwise, I’d show up at my meeting looking like a sweaty mess. Once my core temperature regulated, I could refocus on prepping for my meeting.
You see, not all demigoddesses live the life of a supermodel. Sure, there are the daughters of goddesses of love and beauty, which are indeed supermodels. They are the lucky ones. Not only are they smart and beautiful, but they also get to have mind-blowing sex every time they spread their legs. Those women are the exceptions to the rule. As for the rest of us half-breeds, we are not so lucky.
That is where I come in. My sperm donor father was Baldur. I never met the Norse god of light, but I did inherit his ability to radiate a sense of calm and tranquility to those around me. It works wonders and helps facilitate my Demigoddesses Anonymous group t
herapy sessions. Each half-breed carries her own set of baggage that always makes each session interesting.
Five minutes. I flipped open a thin manila folder entitled, Crisis Topics. Each week, one of the ladies is allowed to bring up an issue that really bothers her. That way, the entire group can discuss possible solutions.
I skimmed through the topics that were covered in the past year before doing the same thing with the list of emergency topics. Yes, I had the list memorized, but for whatever reason, I tended to forget even the most basic information when under pressure.
“I expect to be impressed during today’s group therapy session, Miss Frost,” a high-pitched, feminine voice said, breaking my concentration.
Crap. My heartbeat skyrocketed at hearing those soprano cords. I lifted my gaze. Inez Cannas, my supervisor, pierced my concentration and composure with her hypnotic, amber eyes. Her unexpected presence startled me. My desk chair slid into the bookshelf behind me, causing several books to fall to the floor. “You’re coming to today’s session?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
The magnitude of my stupid statement clearly registered on that bitchy, little fairy’s face. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn she was the spawn of Hel. And when I say Hel, I don’t mean the fire and brimstone version of the Christian afterlife. No, Hel is the Norse ruler of Helheim, the realm of the dead. No one wanted to get on her bad side.
Inez’s crimson wings fluttered with annoyance.
For the love of Odin, this was not good, not good at all. Normally, I was able to warn my clients in advance if my supervisor intended to make an appearance. That way, they could choose whether or not they wanted to show up. But for a drop-in observation, I had no way of informing them. To make matters worse, it was actually a violation of my contract with the Psychology Department if I even attempted to send my clients a last minute text or e-mail.
“How long have you been working here, Jocelyn?” Inez pursed her natural, cherry-red lips. “Five years this upcoming Equinox?”
Several more bullets of perspiration dripped down the side of my face. “Yes.”
“It’s a critical year for you, isn’t it?” She flipped through a file. “You’ll be halfway through your tenure of service to the Bureau of Converging Worlds. Along with a pay raise and better amenities,” she gave me a patronizing smirk, “you will even have the opportunity to move into better housing. Needless to say, you have a lot riding on your annual review. I hope, for your sake, you can pull this off. Otherwise, your services may no longer be required.”
Chills raced down my spine. Despite it being nearly a hundred degrees in my office, I suddenly longed for a sweater. “I understand,” I meekly answered. I hated how much control she had over my life. The more anyone stood up to her, the more misery she inflicted. It was a general consensus amongst the staff to submit to Inez’s bipolar nature, or risk being ostracized by everyone else.
“Good, because I would sincerely hate to send you to the Unemployment Department for reassignment.” A calculated smile crossed her lips. “It would be a shame for you to be assigned to donor duty. Or worse, they might send you across the border into Erda. Who knows what occupation they might allocate to a pretty, little, Earth-born thing like you?”
With that threat, and yes, I took it as a threat, I mutely nodded. No one wanted to be transferred to the clusterfuck dimension known as Erda.
Erda was practically a mirror reflection of Earth, but ever since it was created, which was during the last Ice Age, not much had geologically changed. You might have even confused a physical map of Erda with an Ice Age map of Earth.
Now, you might be wondering why Erda was still in an Ice Age, while Earth is not. I’m not a scientist, so I can’t give you a detailed explanation, but I know it has a lot to do with the various fae and mythos races that live there. The races that thrive in the cold keep the glaciers from melting, while the races that prefer the heat stick to the equator. Everyone else has managed to adapt to their environments by using their magic, instead of burning wood and fossil fuels in order to survive.
Between the two dimensions is space. Guess what we call it? The In-between. City-like fortresses dot the globe where the magically created ley lines converge. The more points that converge, the larger the bubble-like pockets form between the two dimensions, giving us enough room to work and exist. Magic users were conscripted to prevent the ley lines from dissolving. If there isn’t enough magic being pumped into that vast, web-like network that encircles the globe, the two dimensions known as Erda and Earth would disastrously converge.
Besides adjusting to the climate change in that dimension, I would also have encountered cultural changes. Some of the various races evolved with technology, while others did not. One day, you could be staying at a hotel with high-definition televisions in each room, and the next, you might find yourself at an inn that still used chamber pots, rather than indoor plumbing.
I grew up in New Jersey, so yeah, I liked having a bathroom. Not to mention, humans were way safer to live with than the fae. Many of the fae races are vampyric by nature, and prefer human and human half-breeds’ blood to any other races.
Inez looked me over once more before flipping her file closed. “By the way, I won’t be able to stick around after the meeting. So, we will debrief on Thursday morning at ten-thirty, sharp.” With that, she pivoted on her four-inch, leopard stilettos and knocked several pictures off the wall with her wings. Without a word of apology, she pranced out of the room.
Chapter Two
“Twelve flights of stairs later, I finally arrived at the apartment. The tenant didn’t even have the common courtesy to say ‘thank you!’ Now, I know that delivering packages is my job and all, but seriously, that thing had to weigh at least forty pounds.” She yanked several pieces of long, inky hair out of her face. With a deep sigh, she added, “After that, I went home, crashed on the couch with a bag of popcorn, and waited for the phone to ring. Obviously, it never did. Guys can be such jerks. That’s the last time I tell a guy I’m a demigoddess on the first date.”
I leaned forward, giving Lucinda Whisk my full attention. Lucinda flipped her shiny hair behind her shoulder and shrugged when she finished talking. I liked Lucinda. She had a carefree attitude, personal space issues, and a bad case of adult attention deficit disorder. The details about her weekend were different from everyone else’s, except for one, overwhelming aspect: they all wanted to get into a committed relationship before things went to the next level. I couldn’t blame them. My stomach cramped with anxiety. The one thing I wanted even more than keeping my job was a committed relationship.
“Thank you, Lucinda. Does anyone have any questions for her?” My fingers twirled a thick gold ring between my index finger and thumb. It was a nervous habit. One that I tried to hide while speaking with clients, but today, I allowed myself to be a little nervous. My job was on the line. Inez’s pen vigorously scratched her notepad loud enough to cause a couple of my clients to send glares in her direction.
When no one said anything, I transitioned into the next part of the meeting. “Thank you again, Lucinda.” I paused, then said, “All right, let’s move on. Does anyone have a critical issue she would like to discuss?”
My eyes swept across the six other demigoddesses. It was a pretty good turnout for a group therapy session. Plastic chairs creaked as I started to count the seconds of silence in my mind. It was important to give my clients a chance to work up the courage to talk, but at the same time, someone should have said something.
A ghostly pale, young woman with blonde hair so light, it almost looked white, slowly raised her hand. I gave her a reassuring smile. “Gwen?”
“You know, the problem with being a demigoddess is that birth control pills never work,” she murmured loud enough for everyone to hear. This was a first. Gwen Gale practically blended into the woodwork wherever she went. If anything positive came out of today, it was seeing that she finally felt confident eno
ugh to speak without being asked to do so.
On the opposite side of the circle, a muscular brunette cracked her knuckles as she spoke up. “I think demigods have a similar problem. I heard their sperm is so strong that it tears normal condoms apart.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure though, ‘cause I’ve never gotten to know a demigod well enough to ask him if that’s true...”
“Thank you, Gwen and Bernice.” I turned my attention toward the other half-breeds. “Does anyone know if demigods face the same issues as us?”
“Oh, yeah, they do.” A petite, honey-blonde patted her large, round belly. “How do you think I got stuck with these three?” She twisted her lips. “My boyfriend, who’s a demigod, did this to me. I was on the pill, and he wore an extra thick condom. We also used a lot of spermicide. Of course, the condom broke,” she whined as she counted off her key points on her fingers. “I went to the store the next day and bought the morning-after pill. And guess what girls?” she paused for dramatic effect.
“You still got pregnant,” Bernice Crag replied with a dry voice.
“I still got pregnant. Unbelievable, right? At least now, we can fuck whenever we want to.” She licked her lips and gazed off into the distance.
“Thank you for sharing, Rebecca.” The young half-breed received several envious stares while the others’ faces seemed filled with pity. I did my best to hide my emotions behind a mask of tranquility. I didn’t feel the urge to have a belly full of kids just to get laid. There had to be a better solution than getting pregnant. Suddenly, my job issues did not seem that important anymore. I glanced back and forth between Gwen and Bernice. “So, umm, what do you think we should do about it?”
A heavy silence filled the circle once again. Beads of sweat trickled down the side of my face. Out of the six demigoddesses present, no one seemed eager to say anything in front of my boss. Every so often, I would catch one of them shifting her gaze toward Inez, as if hoping she would disappear. I couldn’t blame them for preferring not to say anything; but still, it would have been nice if someone came up with a suggestion. The air conditioning kicked on as I leaned forward in my chair. I raised my brows. “Anyone?”