"Yes," Bran said. "We're from a place called Dream."
"And what exactly is Dream?" I asked. I was starting to feel a bit dizzy from all of the revelations, but I pushed on.
"Dream is a place where monsters are banished to. We want to move back to Earth, to Gaius, but the humans here have forgotten about us. They don't believe in monsters anymore. And what they do believe is generally bad."
"Yeah," I said weakly. "Yeah, they'd definitely freak out about you guys. Call you demons. Except for the ones who’d want the name of your stylist."
Bran nodded and exchanged a look with the other two men. "Which is why we need your help, Andromeda. We want to move back to Gaius, and we want to be able to do it without being feared or persecuted. We need someone who can help us bridge the gap between humans and monsters."
I frowned. "But what does that have to do with Franklin or with me having magic? And what sort of magic do I have? Am I a goblin?"
"No, I believe you're a witch," he said. "If you knew how to harness your power, you'd be quite a powerful one, too."
I swallowed hard. A witch. Me. I always knew I was a bit odd, but a witch? "Okay. And what does that have to do with Franklin?"
All three goblins looked toward the door, and a split second later, someone knocked. "Oh, geez, what now?" I muttered.
Reaching out my hand for the doorknob, I jumped when Bran put his hand on my shoulder. "Let me," he said, looking like the human man I'd met and gone on a date with again. "Just in case."
I stepped back. "As you wish, oh mighty one."
With a snort, Bran leaned forward and looked through the peephole. "That's Reynard."
"Who?" I spread my hands and looked at the goblin-man-date-person. "You're inviting people to my home now?"
He gave me a sheepish look as he opened the door. "Sorry, but you're in the thick of it now that I know what Franklin was doing."
"What was Franklin doing?" the man, presumably Reynard, asked. "Who is Franklin?"
"Franklin owns Repupair," I explained. "And my boss." I sighed, sucking in a deep breath. "And my brother-in-law."
"Ah." The man bowed his reddish head and winked. "I've only had the pleasure through email. What has he done?"
Something about him made me want to trust him. The rest of me after the day I’d just had, pushed that part of me into the closet. “Why should I burble all this to you? I don’t know you.”
He grinned at me. “Because I’ve been in the modern world thirty-five years now, and only been arrested a few times. Never convicted! Could you trust a man who’d never been in trouble with the law?”
I stared at Reynard, bemused. He winked at me and pointed at Bran. “This is a man who will never need bail. Dull, dull, dull.”
In response, Bran gave him a patient look.
The laugh snorted out of me. Reynard was absurd, but the playfulness did help with the sheer awfulness of the situation. He did seem to have much more of a sense of humor. I moved back to the recliner, this time sinking back into it. "Apparently, I'm a witch, and according to Bran, he's been stealing my magic then using a spell to make me forget, which also gave me horrible, incredibly painful migraines."
Reynard touched his chest in horror. "No." The anger in his eyes seemed genuine, but who knew? Was he also a goblin?
"Yes," Bran said gravely. "I just told her she's a witch."
With a slight sniff in my direction, Reynard nodded. "I'd agree with that assessment, though it'd be difficult to pinpoint her particular flavor before she's harnessed all that power floating around her." He sniffed again, then waved at the two goblins still on the couch. "Harry. Christian."
They gave him short, curt nods. Not fans? I couldn't tell.
"Why are you sniffing me? Is that a goblin thing?" I asked bluntly. I was so far past the point of politeness.
"My apologies, I try to be discreet, but I find out most of my information with the good old olfactory senses. And no, I’m not a goblin, thank the divine. I'm kitsune."
"Kitsune?" I asked weakly.
He ducked his head, then looked back at me through flashing hazel eyes. "A fox shifter. We’re a trustworthy folk, kind, gentle…think of us as the scouts of the monster world."
