It had nothing to do with me… hopefully.
I dropped into Mochas & More for my blood chai latte on my way to the mayor’s office at Town Hall. My body didn’t require much more than a few swallows of blood to function, but the stuff was delicious and helped take the edge off the razor-like pain in my throat. It eased the cravings infinitesimally.
Almost all vampires in existence these days had some non-vampire ancestors, and we were able to survive off a combination of food and blood. Most of us needed both, sometimes one more than the other.
Unluckily, my family was almost entirely vampire, which meant we suffered the consequences of thirst deprivation more acutely than others.
Blood chai lattes were one of the highlights of my day here in Moonvale. The barista was extremely efficient and hardly spoke two words to me. It was awesome.
“What’ll it be today, boss?” I asked as I entered Mayor Tommins’ office. I never knew what to expect when I reported for a new job assignment. This town liked to throw me curveballs. I had only been here for a week and the experience had certainly been… unique.
Mayor Tommins was slumped over his desk, his golden hair greasy and his eyes dull and droopy. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Maybe he hadn’t. “There’s been some sort of shelf collapse at the trinket shop in the town square, it’s the one on the corner across from that giant tree. Just read the signs, you’ll find it. It’s rather impossible to miss. Do what you can, please.”
He didn’t even look me in the eye as he spoke, his gaze wandering to somewhere off over my shoulder.
Another day, another problem. It never ended. “Yes, boss,” I responded, not wanting to stress the gryphon out any more than necessary.
Sipping on my latte and trying to get my thoughts in order, my tool bag tucked against my hip, I made my way to the square. It was nice to be able to walk this entire town. There was rarely the need for horses and carriages or other transportation methods like there was back in Sunhaven.
My family ran a woodworking and building shop in Sunhaven, and we were all involved in the business. It was lively and busy, but nothing was ever surprising. Everything was scheduled and planned and thought out ahead of time.
This current predicament was taking a lot of adjustments. I felt knocked out of alignment.
I quickly realized which shop was my destination, as it appeared to be sinking into itself. The sign on the front was longgone but I could reasonably make assumptions, based on the crumbling facade.
Collapsed shelves, my ass. This whole place has collapsed.
I sighed and finished off my blood chai with a huge swallow.
I pushed open the fragmented door and made my way inside, catching a whiff of death and grease remover in the air.Gross, this place stinks. There was a pleasant, and mildly familiar scent of warm skin and berries lingering that made my fangs prickle, but it was being suffocated in dreadful fumes.
It looked like a tornado had ravaged the place. When I had heard about the broken shelves, I had pictured a minor mess. A few boards that would need replacing. Something I could fix in just a few hours.
The situation before me was overwhelming. The destruction was so widespread I couldn’t even tell if the floor was made of wood or stone.
The place smelled sickeningly putrid, and a thick cloud of dust particles hovered in the air. Everything was wrecked. Destroyed. I didn’t know if anything would be salvageable.
I couldn’t prevent my astonishment from escaping from my lips. I grumbled, “Nope. No way. Absolutely not.”
CHAPTER 7
Fiella
My brain felt as though it had been pummeled with an iron rod, stomped on, and then pummeled once more.
I’m never drinking again.
I had shown up to my shop with two extra pastries in hand, determined to at least make a dent in the disaster. I had cried my eyes dry this morning while telling Kizzi what had happened and thought I had no tears left, but apparently, I was mistaken.
This travesty was enough to rattle even the most solid of souls. The waterworks continued. My cheeks were salty and raw, and probably bright red. But every time I had pulled myself together, some new wrecked discovery pulled the tears out of me once again.
I mean, come on. My adorable stuffed critters weresquashed. My hand-carved stone mixing bowls were shatteredon the dirty floor. And worst of all, my tiny shelf of vintage miniature books had been absolutely annihilated.
There was even a chilly breeze coming from the collapsed corner, disturbing the papers fluttering about.
At a glance, it seemed that nothing had survived the destruction.
At least Sookie was back. She must’ve been hiding somewhere yesterday. I couldn’t blame her–that was a mess that no living being should witness. For the millionth time, I wished that she could speak so she could tell me what in the realms had happened.
