Spellbound & Hellhounds, page 23
part #1 of Coven Chronicles Series
Just then, the main doors to the Coven flew open, letting in a blast of freezing air and soon to be melted snowflakes. They blurred the image of a Hunter racing inside the main entrance. A sloppily slung spell slammed the massive doors shut behind him, gaining more attention as the sound it produced echoed through the hollow space and side halls.
The Hunter was huffing and puffing while carrying a stack of manila folders and paperclipped papers that was almost as tall as him. A few stray pieces of parchment became caught in the wind as he rushed right for Vanessa and the others at the main desk. The man clearly looked like he had been running for a while with the sheets of snow that fell off his ashen cape and slapped onto the floor with a thick, wet plop. The monumental stack of records most likely weren’t light either, and it showed on his reddened face and with his labored breathing.
The records were slammed onto the open space near Leon and everyone backed away as half of the pile toppled over into a wide-spread mess around them. Ell immediately started to gather the folders that had fallen over onto her side of the service desk. As the files were collected so they could restack them, the poor guy tried to stabilize his breathing. He didn’t seem to care one bit about the mess he had just made or about trying to clean it up.
“Whoa there, buddy. You all right? That’s a lot of files to carry all at once,” Leon said.
“Honestly, you should pace yourself, lad. That’s a good way to get your ticker to explode,” Bobo stated while trying to help organize the untidiness.
Vanessa grabbed a folder after it fell on the floor in front of her. She held it out for the young Coven member to take. It was then she noticed that despite the man fighting to inhale at a steadier pace. She shook the folder to gain his attention, and he blenched as if he had not noticed her there. His worried expression made it seem like he had just received the worst news of his life. Her brow pinched in worry as she put the folder down onto the service desk.
“Hey, are you… all right?” she asked while giving his attire a quick once over to be sure he wasn’t injured or singed from a harmful spell.
The man shook his head no and stabbed the pile of folders and papers with a single digit plowing into the remaining mass. He was still wheezing loudly as he attempted to catch his breath, his face twisted in pain as he struggled to swallow between gulps of air.
“This…” he swallowed again and coughed before continuing, “This is all the demon sightings in Aeristria,” he paused and slowly looked up to them and waited for all their attention to be fully on him and his wide-with-fear gaze. “In the past twenty-four hours.”
To be continued…
Nia Rose, Spellbound & Hellhounds
