ridiculous,” Ben said, shaking his head, ready to argue.
“Is it?” Amber asked.
Ben peered back out the window. Whatever he had been about to say, he swallowed the words, unsure.
The big redheaded barista stood in front of the doors to the store. He bent and looked up at the sky. “I think it’s stopping.”
Amber could have told him that. The avian assault slowed. A final gull swooped down, headed right for the front window of Starbucks, and then—even as they scrambled back to avoid shattering glass—it banked to the left, flapped its wings, and soared skyward once more, attack aborted.
The people inside Starbucks held their breath for ten or twelve long seconds before they began to wonder aloud if it was really over, and safe to go outside.
“Ben,” Amber said, taking his hand to get his attention. “Please take me to my home.”
“I thought you wanted to go back to campus and get your car.”
“I’ll get my dad to drive me later. Right now I just want to see my family.”
She’d lost interest in coffee.
AS Octavian drove along the rutted road that led past the sign for Summerfields Orchard, the willow trees overhead seemed to lean in toward his car, although whether they welcomed him or meant to keep him away, he did not know. It might have been entirely his imagination, but with a sprawling farm and orchard owned and staffed by earthwitches, it seemed entirely likely that the willows would respond to the witches’ intentions, conscious or not. Cat Hein and her wife would not be happy to see him; that much he knew. They looked at him as a danger to Keomany, and Octavian could not deny it. Whenever he and Keomany were together, it seemed there were dark and perilous events afoot.
One of these days, he thought as he turned into the Summerfields parking lot, I’m going to have to come here just to buy apples .
He piloted the silver Lexus he’d rented in Montreal across the yellow grass and dried mud of the field Summerfields used for most of its parking. It was after six o’clock now, and he assumed that the handful of cars still in the lot must belong to employees. On the far side of the lot, he turned into the narrow path that led to the enormous farmhouse where Keomany lived with her employers. Dust rose behind the Lexus, turning into a swirling cloud in his rearview mirror.
As he pulled up in front of the farmhouse, the dust cloud billowing around the car once he came to a stop, the front door swung open and Keomany came out onto the front steps, a big black shoulder bag and a lavender backpack her only luggage for their trip. A beautiful woman, Keomany had a gorgeous smile, but she wasn’t smiling today.
She didn’t even give him a chance to get out of the car. Pulling open the back door, she tossed her bags in. The rich, earthen scents of the farm and the sweet, slightly decaying smell of the orchard blew in on the breeze that swirled into the car.
“Do you need to use the bathroom or anything?” she asked, before shutting the rear passenger door and then opening up the front.
“I’m fine,” Octavian told her as she slid into the passenger seat and yanked the door closed.
“Good. Let’s get going, then.”
“Tori and Cat don’t want to come out and say hello before we go?”
Keomany shot him an impatient glance. “Tori and Cat don’t like you.”
Octavian laughed and feigned offense as he put the car into gear. “You’d think saving a woman’s life would earn you a little affection.”
“Cat appreciates that you saved her life,” Keomany said. “But that doesn’t make her like you any better. Maybe she’s just envious of how easily magic comes to you.”
Octavian grinned again, but this time he did it to hide the anger that flickered through him in that moment. He had a command of magic that Cat Hein could barely conceive of, but he had paid for that knowledge with centuries of torment in Hell.
“So, do you have a better fix on our destination?”
“Is it?” Amber asked.
Ben peered back out the window. Whatever he had been about to say, he swallowed the words, unsure.
The big redheaded barista stood in front of the doors to the store. He bent and looked up at the sky. “I think it’s stopping.”
Amber could have told him that. The avian assault slowed. A final gull swooped down, headed right for the front window of Starbucks, and then—even as they scrambled back to avoid shattering glass—it banked to the left, flapped its wings, and soared skyward once more, attack aborted.
The people inside Starbucks held their breath for ten or twelve long seconds before they began to wonder aloud if it was really over, and safe to go outside.
“Ben,” Amber said, taking his hand to get his attention. “Please take me to my home.”
“I thought you wanted to go back to campus and get your car.”
“I’ll get my dad to drive me later. Right now I just want to see my family.”
She’d lost interest in coffee.
AS Octavian drove along the rutted road that led past the sign for Summerfields Orchard, the willow trees overhead seemed to lean in toward his car, although whether they welcomed him or meant to keep him away, he did not know. It might have been entirely his imagination, but with a sprawling farm and orchard owned and staffed by earthwitches, it seemed entirely likely that the willows would respond to the witches’ intentions, conscious or not. Cat Hein and her wife would not be happy to see him; that much he knew. They looked at him as a danger to Keomany, and Octavian could not deny it. Whenever he and Keomany were together, it seemed there were dark and perilous events afoot.
One of these days, he thought as he turned into the Summerfields parking lot, I’m going to have to come here just to buy apples .
He piloted the silver Lexus he’d rented in Montreal across the yellow grass and dried mud of the field Summerfields used for most of its parking. It was after six o’clock now, and he assumed that the handful of cars still in the lot must belong to employees. On the far side of the lot, he turned into the narrow path that led to the enormous farmhouse where Keomany lived with her employers. Dust rose behind the Lexus, turning into a swirling cloud in his rearview mirror.
As he pulled up in front of the farmhouse, the dust cloud billowing around the car once he came to a stop, the front door swung open and Keomany came out onto the front steps, a big black shoulder bag and a lavender backpack her only luggage for their trip. A beautiful woman, Keomany had a gorgeous smile, but she wasn’t smiling today.
She didn’t even give him a chance to get out of the car. Pulling open the back door, she tossed her bags in. The rich, earthen scents of the farm and the sweet, slightly decaying smell of the orchard blew in on the breeze that swirled into the car.
“Do you need to use the bathroom or anything?” she asked, before shutting the rear passenger door and then opening up the front.
“I’m fine,” Octavian told her as she slid into the passenger seat and yanked the door closed.
“Good. Let’s get going, then.”
“Tori and Cat don’t want to come out and say hello before we go?”
Keomany shot him an impatient glance. “Tori and Cat don’t like you.”
Octavian laughed and feigned offense as he put the car into gear. “You’d think saving a woman’s life would earn you a little affection.”
“Cat appreciates that you saved her life,” Keomany said. “But that doesn’t make her like you any better. Maybe she’s just envious of how easily magic comes to you.”
Octavian grinned again, but this time he did it to hide the anger that flickered through him in that moment. He had a command of magic that Cat Hein could barely conceive of, but he had paid for that knowledge with centuries of torment in Hell.
“So, do you have a better fix on our destination?”
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