“Don’t get sappy on me.” She checked for danger in the parking lot. “Get your ass in there—wait, aren’t you supposed to be working at the troll place?”

  “Yeah, but after the basilisk attack, he told me I wasn’t welcome for the time being.”

  “That’s a good thing.”

  I opened the car door with a frown. “No, it isn’t. That’s the thing, like werewolves, the fairy folk don’t forget debts. Once this shit is sorted out, Kramkar will come knocking on my door with orders for me to work.”

  “That sucks.” She picked up her cup and finished her coffee with flourish. “I’ll be back to drive you home. I’m doing a shorter shift today.”

  I grabbed my tote bag, a new one with a festive Christmas wreath on the side, and hurried into The Bends.

  To my relief, the back office didn’t have any trunks, but other unexpected guests were there: Quinton the janitor necromancer and a few of his friends.

  I use the term friends loosely since the new folks shambling around the back office didn’t have a pulse and stank like burritos stuffed with incense and herbs.

  “Mornin’, Quinton.” I kept my tote bag tucked next to me. The last time I’d encountered his minions, things hadn’t gone well. It turned out his friends were rather protective of their master.

  “Good morning, Natalya,” he said.

  All I could do was stand there—believe me, there was plenty to do since I missed a couple of days of work. A pile of invoices sat untouched next to the computerized inventory system station. Boxes of unsorted merchandise, also known as cash waiting to be made, waited in unopened boxes. And, even worse of all, every employee passed through this room but not one bothered to toss out the rock-hard cream donuts the goblin left for us to eat.

  And now we had zombies in the mix, too.

  Five zombies, their faces pale and blank, milled about. Their clothes were wrinkled, but clean and tidy. Two shuffled in an apparent guard formation back and forth near the door while two more followed Quinton around. The last one held a broom upside-down.

  Based on past experience, my OCD never fared well with zombies. I’d come far in terms of therapy, but my mind kept flinging a message at me on repeat: they’re corpses. Walking Petri dishes full of decay and bacteria. And oh, look, one of them just lost a nose.

  “Uh, Quinton…” I managed to blurt.

  The minion nearly stepped on his lost appendage, but the nimble necromancer retrieved the part.

  “You have to be careful, Norbert,” Quinton said gently as he folded the nose in a handkerchief.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. “What are they doing here?”

  “They’re protection,” a voice said behind me.

  I turned around to see Bill sitting at one of the work desks. I hadn’t been able to smell him beneath the zombie funk.

  “You could’ve hired the pack or maybe even other goblins.” I reached for more reasons, but perhaps I was still dumbfounded as I darted out of the way of the sweeping zombie. The business end of the broom had yet to hit the floor.

  “Pay another goblin? Bah!” Bill’s usual frown deepened. “I’d rather take a spear up the butt than deal with those conmen.” He pointed to Quinton’s workers. “These guys are great. They do what they’re told, work for minimal pay—nothing—and they don’t talk back. It’s a win-win.”

  “Why would Quinton sacrifice his children?” I turned to Quinton. “No offense.”

  “None taken.” The janitor hauled boxes into the office from the back dock while two zombies pushed heavy merchandise across the floor at a sloth’s pace. It was hard to move heavy items when falling limbs were a work hazard.

  “What’s to sacrifice? Aren’t they dead already?” Bill said with a smile this time.

  I reached up to rub my face in exasperation, then I considered the situation, and applied hand sanitizer instead. “Well, I’m back from Kramkar’s for now. Do you have a problem with me working here?”

  “Money is money.” He shrugged. “The Bends has seen worse enemies cross my doors, and I’ve fortified the property.”

  Now would be a good time to discuss that very thing. “Bill, this may seem forward, but my grandma and I aren’t safe.”

  He crossed his arms. “So I’ve heard. I know what the Basilisk King wants.”

  I gathered strength to ask what I needed. The likelihood of him saying no was rather high. Okay, fine, make that damn near certain.

  I continued. “You mentioned having powerful wards around here; I need to protect my grandmother and the safest place for her to be would be The Bends. In particular, the showroom.”

  Bill laughed so hard his glasses fell off.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Does The Bends look like a retirement home?” he grunted. “’Cause the last time I passed the sign outside, it said the place was open for business to sell antiques and not hand out bed pans.”

  Wow, I sometimes forgot how harsh he could be. A tart reply sat on the tip of my tongue, but I checked myself. Based on past experiences, I knew every creature had their price and Bill responded to the kind that folded and crinkled in his pocket.

  “How about this: while my grandmother is here, what if I worked double shifts and took less pay until the Basilisk King situation is contained?” I made sure to give an endpoint to keep myself out of trouble.

  Bill slowly picked up his glasses. “She’d have to stay put and not bother the customers.”

  “That’s easy. She’ll probably people watch or knit scarves for everybody.”

  His jaw twitched. “Give me a couple of hours to think about it. I’m taking a hit now to keep this place safe. Double the trouble means double the work on my end.”

  One of Quinton’s zombies hauled a box too close to me and I got out of the way. When I turned to speak to Bill, the goblin had vanished again. He was likely still sitting there with a glamour covering him, but speaking into open space like a damn fool wouldn’t fix the situation.

  He’d reappear when he was good and ready to give me his verdict.

  A half-hour later, the rest of the crew arrived and the zombies finished bringing in the new goods. They gathered on the back dock and gave me space to begin working on cataloging products. Falling into work soothed my frayed nerves. We had a dusty box from Argentina full of arrayán wind wands. The rare arrayán tree was found only in the higher elevations and our customers would be clamoring for such a rare—and expensive—find.

  I was sorting out the inventory numbers for a set of possessed first edition encyclopedias when Erica approached me.

  “Good to see you back at work.” She watched as I glanced up from my work, my hands still moving to type and catalog. “How do you do that?”

  “Muscle memory,” I admitted. Seeing her up close after what happened at her apartment felt weird. “I cleaned your clothes and have them with me. Would you like them now?” I shifted to stop working, but she shook her head.

  “I can get them at the end of the day.” She sighed, and I realized why she kept glancing at the pile of papers. She was the one who was supposed to have finished the cataloging over the last couple of days.

  “You can finish these if you want?” I offered.

  “I don’t feel like working the floor today so I’ve been hiding in the back office. Ever since the troll mart opened, we haven’t had as many customers.” She searched the room, likely unaware that Bill was probably still here. “Bill is fussier than usual.”

  I finished adding one of the products into the computer system and got up. Might as well see what kind of mess waited for me in the showroom. “Bill is always fussy. How about you finish this while I handle the front?”

  I turned to her, but I couldn’t read her face. She appeared impeccable as always, dressed in tailored pants and a red, chiffon blouse. Her blonde hair hung in loose waves. Even her nude makeup was flawless.

  Our gazes connected, and she didn’t look away.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked. “Do you need more time off work?”

  “No, I’m fine.” I was fine enough to work, but I wasn’t sure how long things would be awkward between us. I had to figure out how to meet her in the middle someday.

  I smoothed my skirt and headed into the showroom to see what disasters I’d uncover. The first wasn’t hard to spot. Right next to the front door, a spellcaster browsed. My gaze locked on Sedgewick McGalleon, and the casual salute he gave me sent a chill down my back.

  There went the neighborhood.

  Chapter 26

  As I suspected, the state of The Bends showroom had fallen from my high standards. The fire witch left her cigarettes beside the register—not sure why she didn’t toss them in the bin outside the door. The jewelry in the glass displays were scattered about as if a heist had occurred, and to my absolute displeasure, the selection of Amish gnome furniture was turned toward the aisle instead of angled so folks could walk by. (This was basic stuff, people.)

  For most of the morning, I gave in to the compulsion to arrange, organize, and chastise my co-workers.

  Instead of grumbling, Millicent grinned and said, “I missed having you around, Nat.”

  Not sure if she was genuine, but I’d take what compliments I could.

  By lunchtime, I got a text message from Bill that my grandma could stay here. Great! After that good news, I was ready to take a break, so I wandered around The Bends outside in search of anything amiss. The wood building appeared like any other outlet along the road, but as I rounded each corner, the ground hummed beneath my feet. When I brushed my fingers against the grass, the fronds seemed to push back. How strange. Bill didn’t bother with flowers or any of the flashy landscaping Kramkar employed, but what little flora that Bill had was vibrant and well-kept.

  “Folks want to buy my wares, not sniff the foliage. I’ve sold goods out of dumps even more successful than this place,” he’d said a couple years ago.

  Honestly, I never bothered with the outside of The Bends. Keeping the inside tidy was hard enough, and besides, Quinton handled mowing the lawn from spring into fall.

  On the way back to the loading dock, I gave into the urge to touch the store’s exterior walls. Could this place truly protect us? The wood was warm to my palm, and as I lingered the warmth spread up to my wrist. Something murmured against my hand. Almost like a little girl whispering in a voice as thin as a thread.

  I leaned toward the wall and pressed my ear to it. The whispering grew louder, speaking in a guttural tongue, maybe German.

  Die Stärke des Meißels des Kobolds wird seine Feinde schlagen…

  The words came to me in repeat. What did they mean?

  “Nat, what are you doing?” Erica said from behind me.

  “Just resting.” My face heated in embarrassment.

  Erica walked up to the wall and rubbed her palm against it. “Is there something wrong structurally? Maybe pests?”

  If only our problems were the size of rodents.

  “Well, I heard something strange, but it’s gone now,” I replied. It wasn’t a lie.

  We strolled to the back of the Bends where I sat on the docks. I expected her to go inside, but she took a spot next to me. We stared at the cars passing along the Parkway until she ended the silence.

  “You were acting strange this morning,” she remarked. “Usually you’re barking out orders.”

  “True, guess I’m still recovering.” I picked at a non-existent snag in my skirt.

  More silence.

  “I know we’re not the closest of co-workers,” she said hesitantly, “but I am trying to get to know you better.”

  I bit my lower lip. “You really want to get to know me better after what happened between us?”

  She drew in a deep breath. “Yeah, even after what happened between us.”

  “I have to work with you every day at The Bends, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about how you treated me in the past or that little meeting you had with Rex ever since the Basilisk King showed up.”

  I even told her about the zmee mentioning a wolf helper.

  Her eyes widened. “I’ll address our past in a second, but what do you mean by my little meeting with Rex?”

  “Rex used to never come to The Bends. He avoided this place like he might catch fleas from me, but the moment Basilisk King appears, he shows up to see you and wants to talk. Why?”

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Then educate me. I trust Rex to stay out of trouble as much as Bill.”

  “He does want power—I’ll give you that. But he’s never mentioned helping the Basilisk King.” Her face hardened. “Wow, so you thought I was behind all this?” She slowly shook her head and waves of anger floated off her. “He’s been hitting on me, but I’m not biting on that foul-tasting bait.”

  I didn’t detect any lies as to her allegiance with the Basilisk King, and honestly, I was relieved. We’d exposed the foul circumstances of our past—might as well dig up the entire rotted tree, roots and all.

  “When it comes to you, I have trust issues because of what you did to me that night,” I confessed. “You not only broke my leg, but you burned me, too. It was cruel of you, Erica, and it’s been hard to see you—to maybe even start to like you—and know you also did everything you could to hurt me. And you did it to punish me because Thorn loved me.”

  Erica stiffened, but her eyes searched the horizon before she spoke. “Months ago, I was so angry. I still get mad, but it’s not the same. Honestly, I still don’t understand why he loves you. What makes you so special?”

  Wow, Erica Holden was a piece of work. Domesticated animals like her housecat got better treatment than I had. I opened my mouth to reply, but telling her Thorn’s endearments—how my imperfections made me perfect to him—would be callous and pour acid on her wounds.

  A thick and heavy silence slithered between us. The pain from the night she struck me had receded from my mind, but her harsh words remained in my head and festered. Even if she didn’t like my relationship with Thorn, somebody had to be the grown up, and since I was the alpha female of our pack...

  “Erica, I’m sorry I accused you—”

  She lifted her hand but kept her head lower than mine. “Considering our history, I’m hardly the cleanest dog in the kennel.”

  She shifted as if she planned to get up from the docks but remained seated. Was she not done?

  “After you left for Russia, I wanted a fresh start,” she added. “I should’ve moved to Boston and moved in with one of my girlfriends from college, but my dad wasn’t doing well after he lost all his money so I stayed and got a job at The Bends.” She paused as if collecting her thoughts. “After seeing you standing around all the time, I thought it was an easy gig. I even asked Bill to give me the same enchantments he gave you. Can you guess what he said?”

  Erica wanted to get something off her chest so I remained silent. She heard my side, and now I needed to give her the same courtesy.

  She continued. “His whole face scrunched up like he’d eaten bad sushi, so I point-blank asked him why he didn’t want me to be better at helping his customers. He told me I couldn’t organize my way out of a luxury shopping bag, that he’d never seen anyone with passion for his business like you.”

  Yep, still time for me to shut up. It was getting harder now, but I kept my peace.

  Her frown melded into a straight line. “…Maybe if I spend more time with you, I’ll understand you better. And maybe I’ll become a better person, too.”

  A smile tickled my lips. I hadn’t received an apology for what she’d done to me, but had Erica Holden admitted she wanted to meet me halfway? I thought she had. Perhaps in time, Erica would apologize even if she wasn’t there yet. Grandma often said St. Petersburg wasn’t built in a day.

  The workday ended, and I trudged outside with a heaviness to my gait. Talking to Erica helped me understand her, but it didn’t take away the burden within me.

  I waited patiently. Aggie hadn’t arrived yet. Erica emerged a couple of minutes later.

  “Aggie’s late for the pick up?” she asked with chuckle.

  “Yeah, she’s probably handling business at work.” Or maybe a drive-thru caravan ensnared her again. The enticing scent of fresh fries from McDonald’s was the downfall of mankind.

  “C’mon. I’ll give you a ride,” Erica offered.

  I hurried after and we strolled up to a dated BMW coupe. “This isn’t your car,” I remarked.

  Usually, Erica drove a sensible Kia Rio.

  She’d once admitted that the payments were much cheaper than her pink convertible, but still, it took me by surprise. “My dad lent the Beamer to me for the day. The Kia is in the shop for repairs.”

  I nodded with sympathy. Werewolves had increased strength and senses, but we couldn’t magically fix broken cars. Rather sad, actually.

  She hit the unlock button on her key. “Get in. I need to grab something out of the trunk.”

  I slid into the passenger seat, and she popped the back open. I expected her to return to the driver’s seat, but she stood there.

  “Everything okay?” I called.

  When she didn’t answer, I got out and joined her—only to see what stopped her cold.

  In the trunk of Oliver Holden’s car was an open trash bag. Stones and bones from the zmee’s altars lay inside.

  “What is this shit?” she whispered.

  I reached for one of the rocks but stopped. Would touching them trigger an attack? I motioned for Erica to keep her hands away as well.

  “What’s your dad doing with these?” I hissed.

  “I don’t know. Really.” The shocked look on her face and truth lining her words made me back off.

  “Fine. We need to call Thorn and—”

  “No.” Her voice was brittle with fear.

  I wanted to shake her. “If you’re dad has been carrying these around, that means he’s the wolf minion who’s been helping the Basilisk King.”

  “He’d never do that,” she replied, but the doubt in her voice only strengthened.

 

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