Magic and Mayhem: When You Witch Upon A Star (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Melanie James
Authors: Melanie James
Ads: Link
my brain has been a busy little slut!”
“Ha! I know exactly what you mean, Gina.” After my confession, we laughed ourselves to tears. Even Tiago joined in.
Chapter Nine
T he shrinking reflection of the ugly Evergreen Motel in my rearview mirror was a wonderful sight to behold. I hoped to never see its faded paneling and orange shag carpets again.
Gina’s offer was nearly perfect for me, although I would need to be extra careful not to reveal my true purpose in moving to West Virginia. I’d already blabbered on and misled her. That made me a liar, no two ways about it. The thought soured my stomach.
“She is so sweet. What will happen if one day she finds out? Her offer was based on everything we talked about today. I feel like a fraud.”
“Liar, liar,” Tiago squawked.
“I can’t tell Dee Dee, Wanda, Rollan, or anyone in town. I might as well go back to Chicago. If I could be certain that Gina had no ties to the paranormals in town, I’d tell her everything. What should I do? Try to keep it hidden or just take a chance and tell her?”
When I returned to the diner, Gina was leaning against a tiny orange Smartcar, waiting for me.
“Do you want to put your car in the back of my Suburban?” I shouted, but I was actually embarrassed to be driving my pollutant-belching monster. Gina smiled at my poor attempt at a joke.
Then it struck me: A witch wouldn’t drive a Smartcar! Half the witches I know don’t need a car at all, and the ones that do own a car wouldn’t be caught dead in a Smartcar. Take my cousin, Kelly, for example: She owns an expensive sports car. There was no way Gina was one of the witches I’d been warned about. She couldn’t be a Shifter either. Otherwise, she would never live outside the town, by herself. The rumor was that all witches and Shifters lived inside the Assjacket city limits.
“Just follow me, Jessica.”
The drive only took a few minutes. You really couldn’t miss the two-story farmhouse. It was huge and it was yellow, exactly as Gina described. The yard was spacious and shaded by many large trees. Most of the land nearby was wooded or open pastures.
“Wow, Gina! This is nice. But I can see how you’d feel lonely out here.”
“I manage, but I’ll feel more relaxed with some human interaction around here.”
“Speaking of human interaction, there’s something I want to tell you, now that we’re out of town.”
“Okay, here it comes. Federal marshals are hunting you.”
“No. Here, take a look at something.” I opened the back of the Suburban. “See these waterproof cases? I’ve got equipment in here that I plan to use to discover legendary creatures that have eluded science for centuries.”
“Legendary creatures? You’re talking about Bigfoot, right?”
“Yes, sometimes. But I came here to find a Shifter. I have good information that Assjacket is practically infested with Shifters. Everything else I told you at the diner is true. I just couldn’t speak about my quest in that town in case someone or something with extraordinary hearing picked up on it. I’m sorry if I seem dishonest. I hope you understand.”
“Whew! Thank God. Earlier I was afraid you were going to tell me you were a serial killer. When you showed me those trunks I guessed you were hauling a mobile meth lab. If you’re just into hunting for Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and werewolves—I can live with that! I’ll even help if you let me.”
“Really? You’d like to help? Because that would make it awesome.”
“Why not? I believe in Bigfoot, but to be honest I think the legends about Shifters have some sketchy sources. It seems biologically impossible.”
“No, Gina. Believe in them.” I sounded pretty damn preachy, even to myself. “Nature is filled with Shifters. Take the butterfly. She starts out as a caterpillar, and shifts into a beautiful butterfly. The radical transformation of a living creature is a proven fact.”
Gina shook her head and smiled.
“Ha! I know exactly what you mean, Gina.” After my confession, we laughed ourselves to tears. Even Tiago joined in.
Chapter Nine
T he shrinking reflection of the ugly Evergreen Motel in my rearview mirror was a wonderful sight to behold. I hoped to never see its faded paneling and orange shag carpets again.
Gina’s offer was nearly perfect for me, although I would need to be extra careful not to reveal my true purpose in moving to West Virginia. I’d already blabbered on and misled her. That made me a liar, no two ways about it. The thought soured my stomach.
“She is so sweet. What will happen if one day she finds out? Her offer was based on everything we talked about today. I feel like a fraud.”
“Liar, liar,” Tiago squawked.
“I can’t tell Dee Dee, Wanda, Rollan, or anyone in town. I might as well go back to Chicago. If I could be certain that Gina had no ties to the paranormals in town, I’d tell her everything. What should I do? Try to keep it hidden or just take a chance and tell her?”
When I returned to the diner, Gina was leaning against a tiny orange Smartcar, waiting for me.
“Do you want to put your car in the back of my Suburban?” I shouted, but I was actually embarrassed to be driving my pollutant-belching monster. Gina smiled at my poor attempt at a joke.
Then it struck me: A witch wouldn’t drive a Smartcar! Half the witches I know don’t need a car at all, and the ones that do own a car wouldn’t be caught dead in a Smartcar. Take my cousin, Kelly, for example: She owns an expensive sports car. There was no way Gina was one of the witches I’d been warned about. She couldn’t be a Shifter either. Otherwise, she would never live outside the town, by herself. The rumor was that all witches and Shifters lived inside the Assjacket city limits.
“Just follow me, Jessica.”
The drive only took a few minutes. You really couldn’t miss the two-story farmhouse. It was huge and it was yellow, exactly as Gina described. The yard was spacious and shaded by many large trees. Most of the land nearby was wooded or open pastures.
“Wow, Gina! This is nice. But I can see how you’d feel lonely out here.”
“I manage, but I’ll feel more relaxed with some human interaction around here.”
“Speaking of human interaction, there’s something I want to tell you, now that we’re out of town.”
“Okay, here it comes. Federal marshals are hunting you.”
“No. Here, take a look at something.” I opened the back of the Suburban. “See these waterproof cases? I’ve got equipment in here that I plan to use to discover legendary creatures that have eluded science for centuries.”
“Legendary creatures? You’re talking about Bigfoot, right?”
“Yes, sometimes. But I came here to find a Shifter. I have good information that Assjacket is practically infested with Shifters. Everything else I told you at the diner is true. I just couldn’t speak about my quest in that town in case someone or something with extraordinary hearing picked up on it. I’m sorry if I seem dishonest. I hope you understand.”
“Whew! Thank God. Earlier I was afraid you were going to tell me you were a serial killer. When you showed me those trunks I guessed you were hauling a mobile meth lab. If you’re just into hunting for Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and werewolves—I can live with that! I’ll even help if you let me.”
“Really? You’d like to help? Because that would make it awesome.”
“Why not? I believe in Bigfoot, but to be honest I think the legends about Shifters have some sketchy sources. It seems biologically impossible.”
“No, Gina. Believe in them.” I sounded pretty damn preachy, even to myself. “Nature is filled with Shifters. Take the butterfly. She starts out as a caterpillar, and shifts into a beautiful butterfly. The radical transformation of a living creature is a proven fact.”
Gina shook her head and smiled.
Similar Books
