Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny 2) by Helen Harper

in danger – but I was starting to think that I could actually trust her with who she was.  And maybe it was time to stop running and looking over my shoulder like some frightened rabbit.  I’d been a nervous wreck lately.  I’d never have let a Fae like Solus frighten me away a year ago.  Trying to hide from a Fae was also a particularly pointless thing to attempt anyway.  I tugged at my hair thoughtfully, wrapping a strand around my finger.  People were normally scared of me, not the other way around.   As they should be - my temper was legendary.  And I was a dragon to boot.  Well, almost. 
    Here I had a job and a roof over my head.  I flicked a glance over at Mrs Alcoon looking at me both patiently and benevolently.  Maybe I finally had a friend now too.  And I couldn’t spend the rest of my life running away.  Besides which, she had said that Corrigan wouldn’t come here.   For some strange reason I did feel as if I could trust her. I closed my eyes for a heartbeat, mentally balancing up my options.  Then I smiled at Mrs Alcoon, with what I hoped was conveyed to her as genuine warmth. 
    “You’re right.  I was going to leave.  Perhaps you’ve just convinced me to stick around for a while longer.”
    “That’s simply fabulous.  I am so happy to hear that, Jane.”
    I took a deep breath, and a very big chance.  “Actually, it’s Mackenzie, not Jane.  Mackenzie Smith.  You can call me Mack, though, if you want to.”  Please do in fact, I don’t like Mackenzie, I thought to myself.  No such luck though.
    “Mackenzie?  What a lovely name.  Very Scottish, you know.  And it definitely suits you better than Jane.  That one just didn’t sit right with me.  Now, come along.”  She took me by the arm.  “Let’s have a cup of tea.”
    “Actually, if you put the kettle on, there’s just something I want to get first.  To ask you about.”
    Okay, so there were a few lingering traces of paranoia.  Figuring it would be better to completely clear the air of everything first, I stepped out into the shop front and headed for the pile of books where I’d buried the Fae text.  Would Mrs Alcoon recognize it?  Would she try to explain it away as some kind of Cyrillic book?  I pulled it out from under the other books and managed somehow to avoid disturbing the entire tower, then followed Mrs Alcoon into the little kitchen where she already turned on the kettle and was spooning more dried green stuff into the teapot.  I would really have to bring my own coffee tomorrow.  It felt good to be thinking about tomorrow. 
    As before, the vibrations of the book made my skin tingle.  I thrust it out to her.  “I found this when I was cleaning up earlier.  I don’t recognise the language,” I lied.  “Do you know what it is?”
    She took it and opened the cover with care, then her eyes widened and she put the book carefully on a shelf behind her.  “Now you are probably really going to think I’m crazy.”
    I looked at her askance.
    She explained.  “It’s from the Wee Ones.  At least that’s what my grandmother told me.  There are several books like it kicking around here.  They never seem to be there when you look for them but, when you’re least expecting it, they suddenly appear as if out of nowhere.”
    Much like the Fae themselves, I though sourly.  Still, I wanted to know exactly how much she knew so I pressed her further.  “The Wee Ones?  Who are they?”
    “Faeries, dear.  Sorry, I mean, Mackenzie.  They really do exist.  Or so I’m told – I’ve never actually seen one.”  She looked at me with intelligence behind her eyes.  “Oh, I see.  You don’t think I’m crazy, do you?  You already knew it was a Faerie book.  You DO actually recognise the language.”
    I nodded, feeling a bit bad at being caught out at trying to test her.  Might as well tell the truth then, I figured.  “Yes, I knew.  I just – I just wondered why you had it.  Or