Fairytale Ambrosia (The Knead to Know Series Book 2) by Liz Schulte Page B

the kidnapper’s mind. So if I could figure out what attracted the old woman to the children, maybe I could determine what she would be looking for in the hotel maid. Not that once I had that information, I’d have any idea how to use it.
    The woman in white was obviously supernatural. She’d morphed from an old hag to a younger woman—yet continued to wear an archaic dress. Shifters could change their appearance, but those seemed like pretty banal choices unless they had personal meaning to the woman. What if my initial impression was right? Maybe it was some sort of eternal youth thing. So far everyone she had taken, or was going to take, was young. I vaguely remembered something I watched on TV around Halloween a few years ago about a woman, a countess or something, who bathed in the blood of young girls to make herself younger. People did weird things when it came to aging.
    However, people who could actually pull stuff like that off had to be few and far between—at least I hoped they were. I glanced at my watch. It was way too late, or early, to call anyone. Holden would probably murder me if I called him or Olivia at this time, which was reasonable. Boone was surely asleep. The bounty hunter I knew, Femi . . . well, it was hard to say. She worked odd hours, but she also needed sleep. I had a small acquaintance with a vampire, Corbin, but I had no way to reach him. That left me with the one person I didn’t want to call again tonight, but who else did I have to talk to about this stuff?
    While the bread was raising, I dialed Phoenix’s number, put the phone on speaker, and began to work on the sweet treats.
    “Miss me already?” he asked and I rolled my eyes.
    “Are you busy?”
    “Why? Have you killed someone else?” His dry tone didn’t take away the sting from his words.
    “Never mind. I shouldn’t have called.” I pressed end. Calling him was a mistake. I really needed to branch out and meet more people in the Abyss. He couldn’t be my only reliable contact—especially since he wasn’t all that reliable.
    The space in front of the green back door filled with black smoke. I didn’t have to guess who would be there when it faded.
    “That was rude,” Phoenix said as the wisps cleared. “What did you need?”
    I whisked a little harder. “Nothing. How did you know where I was?”
    Taking long, slow steps he moved toward me, craning his head to see the brownie batter for mini peanut butter cup brownie cheesecakes. He stuck out a finger. “May I?”
    “No.” I held the bowl away from him.
    He shrugged and swiped a peanut butter cup off the counter. “Did Valefor’s people come back?”
    I shook my head. “My call didn’t have anything to do with that.” I poured the batter into dishes and popped them into the oven. “I just have a question about the Abyss.”
    He raised his eyebrows with a slight smile. “I live to serve you,” he said with a mock bow.
    “See. This is why I hung up.” I started roughly chopping the peanut butter cups, leaving some untouched off to the side. “I know this is all a big joke to the rest of you, but I’m struggling.”
    His smile slowly faded and he nodded. “Fair enough. What’s your question, Maggie?”
    “Is there anything in the Abyss that preserves its youth by taking it from someone else?”
    He stole another peanut butter cup. It looked like I wasn’t the only one with a sweet tooth. “Nothing specific comes to mind. That’s sort of what vampires do. They feed on life force to stay alive, which in turn keeps them youthful. I suppose a witch could cast some sort of spell to have the same effect. Also there are demons who increase the aging process for no other reason than to be assholes.”
    Out of those options, a witch made the most sense. Plus there was the magical door she used to appear and disappear. That sounded witchy.
    “Dare I ask why you need to know this? Or what it has to do with Valefor?”
    My eyes flicked up from the