Page 23 of A Seer and Present Danger

She grinned. “If it isn’t, it will be in October when we turn it into a haunted house.”

I laughed and got back to work setting up chairs—this time for the book club meeting. I liked how Dusi was already planning ahead for events.

I hoped she was right about that future for all of us.

CHAPTER 5

“It’s absolute rubbish!” Fawn (werewolf) was on the edge of her chair, her walnut-colored hair cut short and wavy. She pointed one very sharp fingernail at the vampire.

Sage stuck out her tongue and popped another grape in her mouth. She rolled it around before chomping down. “You just didn’t like the ending.”

Fawn held the book up and shook it. “It said it was a romance. That means it has to have a happy ending.”

“Technically it does have romance in it.” Herman (troll) was a solidly built fellow, with a heavy brow, short beard, and a gravelly voice. “That nice man and other grumpy man fall in love.”

“But they break up at the end,” Fawn said.

“Well, they can’t be together. One of them is married.” Lochlan was a Bluecap, with a sweet sincere face and curly dark hair that stuck out from beneath his blue beanie.

“Divorcing,” Sage said. “His wife is divorcing him.”

“The men are still work partners,” Ottilie pointed out. She was a matagot (cat shifter), and looked like that actress, Julie Newmar.

Fawn sat back with a huff. “I wanted them to live happily ever after.”

“There are six books in the series,” Than noted. The (vacationing) god of death held a fine china tea cup in one hand, the book in question positioned exactly across his knee.

“So?” Fawn challenged.

“One might expect a happy ending when the series actually ends. This,” he said in a tone that invoked the grave and made me shiver, “is not the end.”

“They call that a slow-burn,” Jules said. “Plus, book one does end with a happy-for-now. I liked it. I’d read the next one.”

Xtelle (ex-demon queen who currently—and often—looked like a pink pony-sized unicorn) made a rude sound. “No horses, no explosions, no demon unicorns. Zero out of ten. Woeful, horrible trash. I agree with Fawn. It was a bad book.”

“I’m on Jules’ side,” I said. “Sorry Fawn. It was fun, the mystery kept me guessing, and I can’t wait to see how the two of them work things out. Ten out of ten for me. Will read the next slow burn.”

“Speaking of slow burns,” Herman said. “Did any of you hear about the fire?”

A clatter of voices filled the room, but Sage raised her hand. “I was there. I can tell you what happened.”

“Was it the storage lockers?” Jules asked.

“Yes. Two units out of the five went up in a blaze. The rest of the structure doesn’t look great, but it’s solid and still standing.”

“Was anyone hurt?” Lochlan asked. He genuinely looked concerned. I hadn’t known him long, but every time we hung out at book club, I was reminded of what a nice person he was.

“No,” Sage went on. “No one was there.”

“Not even Joanie?” Jules asked. Joanie was the owner of the storage units.

Sage shook her head. “The units were closed for the day. She said those two have been empty for a while.”

“Electrical failure?” Herman suggested.

Sage shook her head. “I’m not a firefighter, but I wouldn’t rule out arson.”

That was met with a variety of reactions from contemplative nods to sounds of surprise to a whoop of delight from Xtelle.