Authors: Quinn Loftis
Sally laughed at that. “Too true. Okay,” she let out a deep breath. “I understand what you’re saying and I can’t say that I disagree with your logic. So Rachel, you are going to stay here and take care of my best friend?”
“She is pack, Sally. I will always take care of pack. You need not worry about her,” Rachel reassured her.
Sally turned to look at Costin who still had his arms securely wrapped around her. “How do you feel about taking a little
vacation to America?”
“I’m always up for an adventure
, brown eyes, as long as you’re by my side then I’m game. I can get someone to cover for me at the bar.”
“Alright then, we meet in
the dining room at lunchtime and we’ll leave from there. Adam and Elle will be joining us along with their mates. There is really no need to pack anything because unlike the times before when we’ve traveled, this time we will be flashing to where we are going.”
Sally raised her hand and Peri clucked her tongue at her. “Sally
, how many times am I going to have to tell you that you don’t have to raise your hand when you want to ask a question?”
Sally shrugged. “I’m a product of the public school system, old habits die hard. Now, what I was going to ask was, is flashing across large distances that include bodies of water safe?”
Peri grinned. “I can promise you it’s safer than a huge, heavy, steel, cylinder held up in the air by the engineering of fallible humans.”
Sally frowned. “I know that should reassure me, but it also insulted my species so I’m having a hard time feeling reassured.”
“You’ll get over it,” Peri said flippantly as she took the hand Lucian was holding out to her and let him pull her from the room.
Sally shook her head as she stared after the retreating fae. “Does he even realize what he’s in for by being mated to her? I mean I seriously think she is going to be worse than Jen.”
Costin chuckled. “I would agree, but I would also bet that Lucian, who has been alone for so very long, does not care how much of a handful his mate is bound to be. He, like all of us males who have true mates, is just overjoyed to have found her.”
Sally continued to stare at the now empty doorway, still sitting in her mates’ arms. “I just hope Peri will realize her
own worth. For all of her flashy confidence that she portrays, she truly doesn’t believe she is worthy of having a mate.”
Costin kissed her hair tenderly. “Don’t worry
, Sally mine, Lucian will be more than happy to show her just how worthy he finds her. I think you know from firsthand experience just how much we males like to prove your worthiness to us.” Sally pinched him and blushed causing him to laugh as he picked her up in his arms.
They waved
to Rachel and Gavril who had been quietly talking and headed to say their goodbyes to their pack mates, before embarking once again on another mission. This one they both hoped wouldn’t turn out to be as dangerous or deadly as their past experiences had been. But then they both also knew that you had to expect the worst in the supernatural world, and then jump for joy when something less than the worst happened.
“I’ve constantly spent my life waiting for the other shoe to drop. With every corner I turn I’m always expecting to be smacked in the face and with every new person I meet I’m always waiting for them to yell
You’ve been punked
. Call it superstitious because I’m a Gypsy, or call it paranoia because I watch way too many Supernatural Saturdays on BBC, or you can just call it the ugly truth; I’m not normal.” ~Anna
“I’m sorry but we’re closed,” Anna called from the back of the store. It had been a slow day and she had dozed off and slept right past closing time, also known as
lock the door so the crazies don’t come in
time. When no one answered her she grabbed the can of Mace spray she kept at the counter and made her way around the book shelves and display racks.
Her feet came to a sudden halt causing her black Converse to screech on the dingy linoleum floor. Her mouth dropped open only to then close again as she stared at the
odd group of people standing crowded together at the entry way door. She knew something was off because unlike most shoppers who walk in and immediately start browsing, this group simply stood there. They weren’t looking at anything in the store, but instead were staring right at her.
“Okay
, before you spray us with that can of burn your eyes out, perhaps you can just listen to what we have to say?” The tall woman, with long white hair that shimmered as though it were lit by thousands of tiny lights spoke up. Though she was tall, Anna noticed that she wasn’t big by any means. She wore a simple blue dress that cinched at her waist and then flowed down in layers to her ankles. The sleeves were long and see through in the same color blue as the dress and hung gracefully off her shoulders. Her frame was thin and delicate looking but the ancient look in her eyes betrayed that delicacy. This woman was a predator. Her hands were held loosely in front of her, clasped together. Her shoulders were relaxed and her lips were turned up in a slight smile, but all it took was one look in those pale green eyes to know that she was deadly.
“I take it you aren’t here to buy a voodoo doll?” Anna asked nervously.
The white haired woman laughed and the sound was so light and beautiful that Anna wondered if it was real. “Only if you have them in the shape of wolves,” the woman answered.
A low growl emanated from one of the others but Anna couldn’t tell which.
A young girl about her age cleared her throat and quickly stepped forward. She was average height with long brown hair, golden tan skin, and huge brown eyes. She was wearing shorts, a sleeveless shirt that tied in the front and sandals. She had a very gentle look about her, and Anna would never have put the brown eyed beauty anywhere near the deadly white haired lady. Just then a large, obviously strong arm wrapped around the brown haired girl’s torso pulling her back against a large chest. Anna looked up to see who owned the arm and her breath caught when her eyes locked with shockingly hazel ones set against tan skin and a face too handsome for words. Anna was sure he couldn’t be more handsome, but then he grinned and a deep dimple appeared and she was wrong.
“
Shuck a duck,” she muttered slowly under her breath.
“You’re going to give him an even bigger ego if you keep that up.” Anna’s eyes snapped away from the handsome
man back down to the brown haired girl standing in front of him. “Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not upset, I mean let’s just be honest, he’s gorgeous. But if you keep that up he’s going to be impossible to live with.” A small smile formed on the girl’s lips. “I’m Sally Miklos, this is my husband, Costin,” she motioned to the GQ model standing behind her. “And I’ll introduce the rest of our ragtag bunch as soon as you understand that first of all we aren’t here to hurt you. Do you believe me?”
“Isn’t that what the bad guy always say
s to the stupid blonde chick in horror flicks?” Anna asked skeptically.
“Good point,” Sally conceded.
“Oh good freaking grief,” the white haired deadly woman groaned irritably. “Look, we’re here to take you to a safe place and teach you all about your Gypsy heritage and magic. We don’t want to sell you on the black market, we don’t want any of your organs, and if you’re lucky you will even get one of those,” she pointed to the guy named Costin, “of your very own. Okay?”
“Oh, okay,” Anna replied.
“Really?” Sally asked.
“No,” Anna said dryly. “Not really.”
“Oh I like her,” a laugh came towards the back of the group from a guy every bit as handsome as Costin, but with sandy brown hair and sharp eyes that seem to see everything.
“Would you be willing to meet with me and Crina
?” Sally pointed to a beautiful dark haired girl standing next to the sandy brown haired god. “In a public place of course.”
“To talk?” Anna asked.
Sally nodded. “Yes, just to talk. Don’t mind Peri, she has no bedside manner.”
“Sally dear
, I would remember if we’d been to bed together and since I don’t swing for our own team, I know we haven’t. So how would you know anything about my bedside manner?” Peri retorted.
Sally blushed. “And she has no couth either.”
“So she’s generally honest then?” Anna asked, not able to help the small smile that appeared despite her reservation towards the group.
“Brutally so,” Sally confirmed.
Anna glanced hesitantly towards the group and then back to Sally. “I can meet you in twenty minutes. There’s a Starbucks just a block up the road.”
Sally smiled and nodded. “Great, we’ll see you in a few then.”
Anna watched as they all filed out of the store. The door finally swung shut and the chime that usually didn’t even register to her ears was like the warning bell in a boxing match. Round 1 had just ended and round 2 was coming. As she hurried forward to lock the dead bolt on the door before any other oddities could come through, she tried to figure out her next move. Did she go and meet with Sally and the girl she called Crina? Though they looked normal enough, the others that had been standing in that bunch were definitely not normal. The one called Peri had mentioned Anna being a Gypsy. How would she know that she was indeed of Gypsy dissent?
Her mind was a chaot
ic mess as she counted her till and closed down the cash register. As she went about her usual closing routine her thoughts continued to bombard her with
what ifs
and
what should I dos
. She wished, not for the first time, that she could call her mom and ask for some guidance, but true to her Gypsy heritage, her mother was a nomad. As soon as Anna had graduated high school two weeks ago she had taken off. She said it made her antsy to stay still for too long, that it would draw evil spirits to her if she didn’t keep on the move.
Whatever that meant,
Anna thought as she rolled her eyes. She might be a Gypsy and she might work in a voodoo shop called Little Shop of Horrors, but she didn’t buy into all that magic mumbo jumbo. Anna was a realist. She believed in what she could see and touch. Since her mom was so frequently out of touch with reality, one of them had to be firmly fixed in the here and now.
With everything done, she glanced at her phone to check the time. She had five minutes until it was time for her to meet with Sally, if she was even going.
She paced back and forth in front of the door with her purse slung diagonally over her shoulder. Her loose, dark brown curls were thrown up into a messy bun as the humid heat of the New Orleans’s June evening clung to the back of her neck.
“Okay,” she finally stopped
, facing the door her hands held out dramatically beside her. “I’m going. We’ll be in a public place,” she continued to talk out loud as she took a step towards the door and reached to unlock it. “What’s the worst that could happen?” As she exited the shop and relocked the door she muttered to herself. “The last time you asked yourself that you wound up in a belly dancers costume on a float with a sign on it that said
Gypsies do it for the five finger discount
. So ask yourself again, do you really want to do this?” Anna was lost in her thoughts and didn’t notice that someone had joined her until the female voice hit her ears.
“Do you always talk to yourself?”
Anna jumped and her hand flew out to catch herself against the side of the building. “HOLY CRAP!” She hollered. Her breathing was heavy as she leaned down with her hands braced on her knees. She looked up and was instantly hit with a sense of familiarity. This woman hadn’t been with the group that had come into the store, but she was definitely a member of their weird club. She reminded her of the white haired one called Peri. She had the same delicate features, her hair was the same white color but it didn’t shine with the same intensity and her eyes were pale blue instead of green. She was wearing some sort of cloak which Anna might have found odd if she hadn’t been from New Orleans.
“You really should pay more attention to your surroundings,” the woman
said in a cool, detached voice.
Anna didn’t respond. She righted herself and
straightened her purse and started walking again. “I told your people I would meet you in twenty minutes, I don’t need an escort,” Anna told her tersely. She was irritated that she had allowed herself to be so distracted that someone had snuck up on her. This part of town is not a place to find yourself caught unaware after dark. She had lived here all her life and knew better than to let her guard down.
“What do you mean
,
your people
?” The woman asked as she suddenly appeared right in front of Anna causing her to stumble and take several steps back or run straight into her.
Anna once again righted herself and folded her arms across her chest. She pulled her shoulders back and straightened to her full,
albeit unimpressive, height of five foot, three inches and met the woman’s hard gaze. “I mean the group of people that showed up at my shop just a little while ago spouting off about Gypsies and magic. You can’t tell me that they weren’t with you because one of them looked just like you.”
“What do you mean just like me?”
Anna rolled her eyes as frustration began to dance across her nerves. “Do you speak the same language as me? Because you keep asking what do I mean, when I’m making myself pretty stinking clear.”
“I will ask you one more time
, healer,” the woman practically growled, “what do you mean just like me?”
“
Hell, fire and brimstone,” Anna muttered, then added in an equally irritated voice, “I mean as in related like maybe your sister. She looked like you.”
∞
Lorelle stood frozen, staring at nothing as the healer walked around her. She should follow her, or at least turn and see where the girl was going but she couldn’t seem to move. Her heart was pounding in her ears and for some reason her lungs didn’t seem to want to work as she struggled to take a breath.
Like you,
the healer had said, someone that looked like her had been to see her today and not only did she look like Lorelle, but she looked as if she could have been her sister.
Lorelle
turned suddenly just in time to see the young healer slip into a coffee shop. Her mind was jumping rapidly from past to present. She remembered the forest and Peri dying, yet this gypsy was giving her reason to think that her sister was alive. Oh, no she didn’t say Peri’s name, but there was nobody else who the girl would have compared to Lorelle’s appearance and said she looked like a sister. She had to know. She had to know if Peri indeed was still sucking up precious oxygen instead of feeding the maggots like she should be. Lorelle cloaked herself in her magic, making herself invisible to those around her and practically sprinted across the street to the coffee shop. She would like to say she wasn’t shaking like some pathetic human junky craving their next fix, but then she would be lying and frankly her sins were beginning to rack up.
As she pressed her face closer to the glass window her eyes landed on the Gypsy and then quickly moved past her to the brunette sitting on the other side of the table.
“No,” Lorelle gasped quietly, her warm breath fogging the glass in front of her. She took a quick step to the left and blinked several times to make sure that her eyes were working properly and hadn’t just suddenly taken a detour to the twilight zone. But still, there she sat, Sally Miklos, gypsy healer, mate to Costin and weeks ago dead to the world. If Sally was alive, then the odds of Peri being alive had just increased exponentially.
“This is going to put a damper on things,”
Lorelle muttered to herself as she quickly flashed away from the coffee shop. She reappeared at the edge of the Dark Forest and began pacing as her thoughts raced. All the while the pull of Volcan’s magic to find the healers tugged at her insides like a hook caught in the gut of its aquatic victim. With each tug she felt the rip and tear of the foreign magic, but even that discomfort was nothing to the knowledge that her sister had somehow escaped fate. Now not only did she have Volcan to contend with, but she had to kill her sister—again.
“This time
, sister mine, you better damn well stay dead.”