10
“You smell like vampire.” Aedan greeted us at the SUV to help unload. “What happened?”
“A vampire got handsy—” I shrugged, “—then he got unhandsy.”
“You mean that literally.” Aedan swung his head between us. “Don’t you?”
Poor kid was going to learn fast I didn’t joke about amputation.
“Colby.” I pointed to the house. “Go clean up, then you can meet us at the creek.”
“Yes, please.” She zipped toward the porch, flying lower than usual. “This is beyond nasty.”
Once she closed the door behind her, I warned him, “My hair is now a sacred object.”
A laugh burst out of him at the absurdity of the statement, then it sank in I wasn’t kidding.
“Oh wait.” He took a generous step back. “Are you serious?”
“A hand-chopper-offer daemon is shadowing me. Just be careful, okay?”
“I’m under your aegis,” he murmured, “but I’ll keep my distance until I can talk to Asa about protocol.”
The only three people I could vouch for were Asa, who I was in fascination with, Colby, who was a child and therefore exempt, and Clay, who had no reproductive organs, thereby rendering him a nonthreat.
A rundown of who else was allowed, as well as how to prevent future incidents, was a must.
“You do not want a y’nai to happen to you. Seriously. They’re fast and don’t award second chances.”
Tilting his head, he frowned. “Then why are you smiling?”
“It’s like watching a horror movie that’s so bad it’s funny.”
That might be read as an indication I wasn’t as far along as I had hoped, but come on. Some days, it was laugh, cry, or ritually sacrifice that which annoys you, and my first choice was a no-go for white witches.
“You’ve had a long night.” He modulated his tone. “I can handle camp, if you want to go shower.”
“I do.” I loaded him down with boxes and shoved him ahead. “But Colby won’t rest until you’re comfy.”
Lucky for me, I was in the habit of leaving spare clothes in my vehicle, and I snagged a fresh shirt.
I’m not saying it was clean, but it was cleaner than what I was wearing.
I changed fast, gathered the rest of the supplies, and caught up with Aedan.
Brow tight, he glanced over his shoulder at me, but I couldn’t read his expression.
“Take a picture.” I smiled, flashing every tooth in my head. “It’ll last longer.”
“I don’t get it.” He slowed until I caught up to him. “Why are you doing this?”
“When you’ve never been shown kindness, it’s hard to accept it without feeling like it’s charity. Charity isn’t a bad thing, but pride tells us otherwise.” I mulled over how to explain it to him. “I try to live by a set of clear rules that I’ve established over the last ten years. They were much easier to follow before Black Hat dragged me back in, but it’s…” I heaved a sigh. “I’m terrible at this.”
“You make a lot more sense than you might think.”
“Thanks?” I laughed under my breath. “I guess I’m saying I believe in paying it forward. The people in this town bent over backwards to protect me, help my business flourish, and bring me into their community.” Without those bonds, I could never have thrived here. It was witch nature to form a coven, which I hadn’t known until I embraced white magic, and the human women in my life had filled that role for me. “I took a lot in those early years, and now I’m in a better place to give some back.”
“And I’m the lucky recipient?”