Soon, tourists were all over the shop, admiring the old books, but most selecting the newer ones on the display stands. The cash register was busy, but for the first time since she had taken over the shop, Calli didn’t feel the excitement or the contentment she used to. This store had been her safe place, the place where she felt connected to her grandmother. Now all she felt was… empty. All she was doing was working a job. No connection.
“You gonna be okay?” Sage asked.
“Yes.” It was a lie and they both knew it.
Sage’s brows rose in sympathy. “I need to get back over too Mystic before the fire truck rolls into town. Call me if you need anything, okay?
“I will,” Calli promised.
Calli walked over to the check-out counter after Sage left and sighed.
Just breathe. Take it one day at a time, just like when Gran died.
Cain Henson had been studying the town of Moonstone Falls for the last two days.
Human mayor… human residents… partially. It felt almost normal… except for the kitschy Halloween shit everywhere.
But his senses were honed now, and he’d been able to see the abnormal elements now that were hidden just beneath the surface. He’d clocked at least a dozen witches and more than ten warlocks. The bookstore had a vampire that ran the nightshift, and he was pretty sure the local pub was run by werewolves. They all must feed on the tourists and not the locals. That had to be how the town got along so well. The locals knew they’d never have to face the consequences of their supernatural neighbors because the tourists would give the vampires and wolves what they needed.
He grimaced as he remembered coming home to his wife and that… that bloodsucker. The citizens of Moonstone would never know that they needed saving, but he was going to save them anyway, at any cost. Starting with the dark haired witch in the bookstore.
Cain crossed the street as soon as he recognized the witch that looked so familiar from his childhood memories. She was a grown woman now, but he would have recognized that face anywhere. She was beautiful, and duplicitous, like all magical creatures. Witches were the worst. They bent men to their will with spells and potions, and then destroyed them. The only good witch was a dead one.
Cain pushed the bookstore door open and stepped inside. His skin prickled, sensing magic all around him. Plastering a smile on his face, he approached the desk as she handed a credit card back to a customer. He waited until the pretty witch with autumn colored eyes looked up at him.
“How can I help you?”
“I was interested in some good thrillers. Do you have any?” he asked.
“Absolutely. We have an entire section.” She led him through the store, weaving through the shelves until they reached the right one. “This is our mystery and thriller section. We’re having a buy one, get one sale today,” she said.
Even though her smile was big, Cain noticed the emptiness in her expression. It was as though her gaze had gone straight through him.
Cain pretended to examine the books on the shelves in front of him as she left. After an appropriate amount of time, he pulled two books off the shelf and returned to the counter to pay. After the books were bagged, he met the woman’s gaze.
“How late are you open tonight?”
“We stay open until four am this time of year because of our Halloween festival.”
“When do you get off?” He flashed her his most charming smile. One that had made more than one witch follow him into a dark alley.
“Me? Oh, I’m flattered.” Her pale face reddened. “But I’m seeing someone—” She seemed to halt herself and started over. “I mean—I just got out of a relationship.”
“Oh… Bummer.” He gave her an embarrassed laugh. “Well hey, I’ll be in town a few days if you change your mind.”
“Thank you, that’s very sweet,” the witch replied, but again her focus was distracted, as if her mind was miles away.
He took his books to the coffee shop across the street, Mystic Mornings. Another witch was behind the counter working. He had also tried to get her to meet him tonight, but she had glared at him. Then some tall blond asshole stepped up beside him and politely told him to get lost. He hadn’t really wanted to go after the coffee witch, she’d merely been an easy one to target. The one in the bookstore was who he’d come to find.
He couldn’t get that memory out of his head. Seeing her as a girl, running through the maze ahead of him. He’d almost caught up to her, then she’d hopped onto a small broom and just floated up in the sky, giggling… leaving him behind to stare after her in envy.
Now, the tables would turn. This time, she wouldn’t get away from him. He would catch her when she left the shop, tonight or tomorrow. He’d wait until the moment was right.
Malcolm dropped his bags on the floor of his new apartment in Boston. It was comfortable enough, like his old one in New York, but nothing like Calli’s home on the edge of a magical town. No spells laced the windows to channel sunlight to potted plants. No heavenly smells of pumpkin and spices filled the air. No cozy armchairs. No full bookshelves. No garden with an enchanted archway that glowed at night, or pumpkins as big as carriages growing amid curling vines.
There was no Calli.
This was his life now, and it would have to be enough.
