Chapter 13
Making it to work without anything strange happening, other than one of the werewolves waving at me from a parked truck—did they all drive trucks?—and following me into Mayday Hills, was a huge relief. I wasn’t sure what she was going to do while I was working, but I supposed that wasn’t my problem. I recognized her from the store but didn’t know her name.
I parked behind the shop, let Nimbus out, and took the leash he held in his mouth.
Before long, we were inside. Clare popped up from behind the counter, much as she had been the other day when we’d come in. Her owlishly-wide eyes and slight goblin appearance was still a little startling, especially now that I knew such things were real, but I took Katsuro at his word that she was human.
“Ahh, Nimbus, your post is there.” Her smile, however, was genuine and very comforting.
The cloud puppy wagged his fluffy curled tail and trotted over to the soft bed Clare had placed next to the counter for him. He had his own bowl of water and a bowl of treats sat on the counter. I laughed, shaking my head before unclipping his leash and placing it on the ground next to him.
“And Hannah, can you help me with this box?”
I went around the counter and helped Clare lift the box of books, placing it next to the register. She proceeded to tell me how to check in books and other details of my job.
The morning passed in delightful peace. The slightly musty scent of old books mingled with the sharper aroma of new ones and combined with the light incense smell the shop had in a soothing manner. Customers came in at a reasonable pace, and I didn’t have to worry about anything but working the cash register correctly and learning a few names of the regulars that stopped in that day. When Clare sent me out to stock shelves, I kept my eyes open for anything on the occult or supernatural that might help me learn more about my current circumstances. Even a history book about the towns might help. I might have to hit the library, too. I needed information.
When lunch came, Clare got me started on paperwork and we settled on my hours. I didn’t want a lot to start, and she was content with morning help four days a week with an occasional Saturday thrown in. She kept the bookstore closed on Mondays and Tuesdays since her other part-time help had quit a while back.
After I finished the technicalities, I browsed and found the books I wanted to buy and took them to the counter. Clare gave me a knowing look but didn’t outwardly comment on my selections. When I turned toward the door and got ready to head back out into the real-world, Nimbus put on the brakes and backed away from the door, lips wrinkled and a low growl rumbling from his throat.
Clare turned her attention to the door, trusting Nimbus’s instincts as I did.
Drake walked in, a smug expression on his face.
“You are not welcome here.” Clare grabbed her phone.
I took a few steps back to stand next to my growling nimbus, not sure what else to do.
“I’ve simply come for the creature. You’re no longer in protected territory, and I will have what is mine.”
“I already told you, you can’t have him. He’s not yours.” I stepped in front of Nimbus, heart speeding, adrenaline coursing through me.
“And he certainly doesn’t want to go with you,” Clare replied, putting her phone down and pulling something else out from under the counter.
“It’s not his choice.” Drake stepped toward us.
I took one of the heavier books out of the bag and dropped the rest. “Seems he’s intelligent enough that it should be.”
The shade ignored my statement, apparently done with talking, and came over to me.
I lunged forward, slamming the book into his throat, spine first, just as Clare tossed something powdery at the shade.
Drake gargled out a shout of pain as he clutched at his throat. We’d surprised him, but I wasn’t sure it was enough. If he’d been human, the book to the throat would have dropped him.
Nimbus howled, and a whirl of air stirred up the powder Clare had thrown, pelting the shade with it and driving him to the door. The door slammed open, and Drake was shoved out, still batting at the remnants of whatever Clare had tossed at him.
“I forgot to tell you, dear,” Clare said once the door clanged shut behind the shade and Nimbus’s howl quieted. “There’s a sort of repellant in this bag under the counter. Anyone supernatural comes in and makes a scene, throw it at them. It nullifies their powers to a degree. You’re allowed to defend yourself.”
The werewolf who had followed me to work slammed through the door a moment later. I didn’t know her name, but she had clearly been running. Her hair was disheveled, and a bruise faded on her cheek.
“Sorry. He had friends.”
I blew out a breath between my teeth. “Fuck. Clare, I don’t know if it’s safe for me to be here. Not if this is going to happen.”
“Nonsense.” She waved away my concern. “This problem will be dealt with soon enough.”
“You think so?”
She shrugged. “I sense it. Until then, we’ll just do the best we can.”
I wondered what ‘soon enough’ meant to Clare, but she seemed disinclined to elaborate, so I let it go.
“Nimbus, you did good.” I kneeled and rubbed his fluffy cheeks. All the fear I thought I’d left behind was creeping back up my spine, quickening my heart, sending tendrils of adrenalin through my veins.
The cloud puppy rooed and leaned into my touch. I got a very distinct image in my mind of him sitting in front of me being a very good boy and me feeding him hotdogs.
“You want hotdogs?”
He wagged his fluffy tail and grumbled happily at me.
I laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.” His happy attitude dispelled some of the darkness trying to overtake me. I thought back to the conversations we’d had last night. What could I do against vampires and werewolves and shades?
I didn’t know, but I had to keep Nimbus safe. Even if it meant hiding in a coffee shop for months until he got bigger and was no longer of interest to Drake.
“Let’s get you home, Hannah,” the werewolf said.
“I didn’t catch your name,” I said as I followed her outside.
“Kerin.”
“Thank you, Kerin.”
“I’m just sorry I couldn’t help with Drake.”
We reached my car, and she stopped me before I put my hand on it.
“Hold up, smells funny.”
Nimbus growled.
The old anxiety from dealing with the traffickers came crashing back down on me all at once. My throat closed, and my lungs stopped working. I sucked in air, trying to hold the panic back while Kerin sniffed around the small SUV.
If they were pulling tricks the humans had, I knew how to deal with it, but I’d never wanted to be in this situation again.
Nimbus leaned against my leg.
“Yeah, maybe we better take my truck. I’ll drive.” Kerin tugged on my elbow.
I glanced down at my puppy. His ears twitched as if he were listening to something, but after a moment he followed Kerin to the truck. Though uneasy, I followed. She was one of Davin’s wolves, and he said they’d protect us.
I got into the old-style bench-seat truck and pulled out my phone. I hadn’t checked it all morning and I didn’t have any messages. I shot off a quick text to Davin letting him know about my SUV and the incident with Drake. Then I checked but didn’t have any email.
When I looked up, I frowned, not recognizing the roads or surroundings. We were driving on a two-lane road through some hilly neighborhoods. The houses were set back into the trees on large lots. They looked older, but nicely kept-up large family homes.
“Where are we?”
“I didn’t want to be followed,” Kerin said.
Nimbus rooed, sounding concerned.
My phone chimed. It was a text from Davin.
I’ll come get you.
Too late, I sent back. I went with Kerin.
Where are you?
I don’t know.
“Something wrong?” Kerin glanced over at me.
“No,” I lied.
I pulled up my GPS app and took a screenshot and sent it to Davin.
After I sent another one a few minutes later, Kerin glanced at me, frowning. Before I could react, she snatched my phone away and tossed it out her window.
“What are you doing?” I’d been nervous before, but now I knew something was wrong.
“Just sit still.”
My hand went to my seatbelt. She growled softly and slammed on the brakes, throwing me and Nimbus forward. I was restrained. He shrieked when he hit the dash.
Still disoriented, I undid my seatbelt. Thanks to my past, I’d had some training in dealing with situations like this, and the training took over while my brain tried to catch up. I spun on my butt, slammed my feet into her head, and scrabbled at the door. It was locked, but I wrenched it open. I snagged Nimbus by the fluff and dragged him out of the truck after me. He shrieked again but didn’t struggle.
As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I ran.