Page 17

I straightened, proud of myself, and retreated to my office to get to work. Unfortunately, Tittwell’s file wasn’t among those she sent. Private Jensen’s was the only name I recognized, but I waited until I got to the Js to read it.

Not much there. I scrolled through the short contents, slightly disappointed. She’d been born in Japan and moved to the States when she was young, lost her father in her early teens, then joined SHADE’s military side at eighteen, the second she was able to. She’d transferred here not long before I got here. My heart squeezed. I should make an effort to get to know her better. She was younger, but we seemed to have a missing father and a new living situation in common. And the poor thing had to deal with the general constantly. It would drive me crazy.

When the sun dipped below the horizon, I stretched and put my station to sleep. Julian still hadn’t answered my text, though it showed “read” on the screen. Frowning at it, I gathered my things and decided it would be a good idea to walk home just as I’d suggested earlier. Somehow, in the short time I’d been on the island, I’d become far too dependent on him. It wasn’t healthy for either of us, and this would be an opportunity to rectify that.

Sparing only a moment to stare at his empty parking spot, I shrugged my bag up on my shoulder and headed for the woods. If I followed the path straight through, I’d come out right at our backyard. It should only take fifteen minutes or so, I reasoned.

I inhaled the scent of forest and relaxed into a smile. The high-heeled boots Daphne had supplied me with felt like cushioned slippers because of their magic, even on the somewhat uneven path. But about halfway in, the sky darkened considerably, and the canopy of trees blocked out whatever moonlight was available. The rest of the path forward was draped in shadows that seemed to move as a breeze rustled through the leaves. It wasn’t cold, but I shivered anyway.

Coming to a stop, I rummaged in my bag for my cellphone. As magical as my boots were, they wouldn’t stop me from tripping on a root or stone and twisting my ankle. That would only serve to back up Julian’s assertion that I should keep riding with him.

He’d been so insistent then deserted me at the base. Not that I was mad.

I flipped on my phone flashlight, revealing a dark figure crouched on the path ahead just a few yards. A gasp escaped as I froze in place.

Alerted to my presence, the figure twisted and hissed, revealing a monstrous face somewhere between a human and a bat. It stood to its full height, which was a hell of a lot taller than me, and spread its arms, which turned out to be attached to leathery wings.

We stood there, staring at each other, and I could’ve sworn neither of us knew what the fuck to do. Finally, I swallowed and spoke. “Uh, hi there. My name’s Char. I’m just heading home from work, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way. Goodnight.”

I sidestepped around the thing on the path, and it turned along with me so we continued to face each other until I was on the other side of it. Once on the correct part of the path, I started to back away when it let out a screeching sound that made me press my hands over my ears, phone and all.

It crouched again like it was about to spring at me, and I did the only thing I could think of. I ran like a teenage girl in a B horror film. I heard it flap and brush the leaves behind and above my head, and I knew it was flying. Was this why Julian wanted to drive me all the time? Why didn’t he just warn me? If I got out of this situation, I was determined to have a chat with him.

Should I use my mind-bending?

Pythia’s voice answered me. Duck. A quick picture of the creature grabbing me beneath the arms and hauling me upward flashed through my mind along with the word.

“Thank you!” I yelled as I dove to the ground just as it glided over me, long, taloned fingers brushing the thin material of the sundress Daphne had given me.

I rolled onto my back so I could see. It was perched on a branch a few trees over, staring at me.

Scrambling to my feet, I took off again only to see a dark shadow pass above me. I broke through the tree line, and it landed ahead, blocking my path. Definitely some sort of humanoid bat thing. A shifter? They didn’t stop half-way changed, did they?

“You’re going to have to leave me alone,” I said, holding out a hand like I was braver than I felt. I was pretty sure I wasn’t fooling anyone since every part of me trembled uncontrollably. “Or I’m going to report you to…to your sect leader.”

It cocked its head like it was considering this. Did it understand English?

“That’s Sam, right? Or Binx maybe.” I knew it was a bat, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with vampires. “Either way, it’s going to get back to them, and you’ll be in trouble.”

With a final screech of complaint, it bent its knees, which went backward, succeeding in creeping me out even more, and took off into the night. I clutched my stomach in relief as I caught my breath.

I wasn’t going to go running to Julian every time something happened. Maybe Daphne could give me some tips on dealing with situations like this. I definitely owed her a new dress.

By the time I reached the front door, I’d gotten the shaking more or less under control. I put on my happy-to-be-home face and let myself in.

“What the hell happened to you?” Zoe froze with a handful of popcorn on its way to her mouth. She sat near Mama on the couch, watching a movie, which she promptly paused.

“Char?” Mama leaped to her feet. “Did someone attack you?”

“No! Well, kind of. But not attack, attack.” I flopped into the plush armchair, not caring about the dirt caked on the once beautiful outfit. Mama would magic it away with a potion. “There was a…creature in the forest. I decided to walk home and, well, yeah. I’m okay, though.”

“Did you and Julian have an argument?” Zoe asked, narrowing her hazel eyes at me. Her aura brightened to orange, and pops of electricity shot out of it, warning that she was ready to put some spells on him in retaliation.

I rolled my eyes, but my insides warmed with the knowledge she had my back. “No. I just wanted some alone time. That’s all. I’m going to go chase down the bathtub.” I stood again. At least my enchanted bathtub had become a bit more accommodating than when we’d first moved in.

“I’ll heat you up a plate,” Mama promised, laying a hand on Zoe’s arm to stop her from whatever she was about to say next.

“Actually, I was thinking of going down to the pub. Do either of you feel like joining me?” I asked hopefully.