Speaking of…
She glanced over her shoulder, trying to look casual about it, but fully aware that it was probably the most obvious thing in the world. Covert ops, it turned out, was not really her strong suit… but, to be fair, she’d never done this before!
She spotted Natasha and Kieran in the middle distance, setting up a marquee, while Kira lifted some boxes out of a van. She knew that the others were also spread out strategically around the place – Sylvie had even gotten some of the other staff to cover her shift and not gone to work today, which, apparently,was a kind of minor miracle – and they were all keeping an eye out for the mysterious Madame Fortuna.
Which was good, because Luna had to admit that shewasa little worried. Sure, the curse she’d apparently put on Henry was harmless – even the bears seemed to want to cuddle him more than eat him – but who knew what other kinds of powers she had?
“Do you really think this will work?” Luna asked suddenly, surprising herself with the question.
Henry smiled, and she instantly felt safe. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
“I do,” he said. “I’ve gotten myself out of way worse situations on my own – even though I don’t want to underestimate our opponent, I’d like to think that the eight of us could defeat one witch, especially in a public area where they wouldn’t want to show off their magic.” His smile widened. “If anything, we almost havetoomany people for my liking – hellhounds tend to work alone or with other hellhounds, so having this much backup is weird.”
Luna laughed, feeling lighter. “Well, I’ll try not to worry. And I’ll make sure not to eat any poison apples she might offer me!”
She did feel better, though. Henry was right: it was likely that four shifters and four shifters’ mates could safely handle one curse-slinging fortune-teller.
Especially since we have our own lucky charm…
She peered over toward Eula’s stall, where Caleb was dutifully serving up hot dogs to customers. He didn’t appear to be a natural at it, and she had no idea how he’d managed to convince Eula to let him work there, but the only thing Luna cared about was his good luck powers. If the witchdidtry something, hopefully she would slip on a banana peel before she could finish the job!
Still, Luna was glad that they had decided to leave Fillmore back at the B&B, just in case. She didn’t want him to face even the slightest risk. Fillmore hadnotbeen happy about it, even when she promised to bring him a treat afterwards… although whether it was her or Henry he would be missing more, she couldn’t tell.
Henry himself was now leaning back slightly in his chair while he munched on a chocolate-dipped banana, seemingly at his ease, though she could see the way his eyes scanned the crowd. She definitely felt safe with a former security guard who could turn into a giant hellhound and who also happened to be her fated mate watching over her.
He was also a good citizen – she smiled helplessly as he hopped up and tossed the banana stick into the trash, while throwing their coffee cups in the recycling.
He cleans up after himself, he sorts his recycling, he looks even better with another day’s growth of stubble, if that’s possible… what more could a girl want?!
“Anything?” she asked as he sat back down, though she knew what the answer would be.
He shook his head. “Nothing. But we booked her for midday, so she might not be here for a while anyway.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, occasionally chatting, but mostly just enjoying each other’s company and the festival’s ambience. The day was chill and the ground dotted with puddles, but the weak sunlight took the edge off and warmed her cheeks. Luna closed her eyes so that she could better enjoy the sensation.
She reminded herself that she would have to write her article at some point – and she would, she really would – but this was far more exciting! When would she get another chance to confront a witch and break a curse?
“She’s here,” Henry murmured, and Luna opened her eyes to see a purple van pulling up in a side street. A quick glance around indicated that the others had noticed her as well.
Her stomach did a flip-flop.
Okay. Now or never, I guess.
She stood up, legs trembling slightly, but Henry’s calm, solid presence at her side gave her strength, and she felt her nerves easing.
As far as she knows, you’re just here to talk to her and make sure she has everything she needs to do her job. There’s nothing to worry about.
As they made their way toward the purple van, Luna could see that Madame Fortuna was busy setting up a tiny tent that was barely large enough for two people to sit inside. She was facing away from the two of them, and her head was covered with a shawl; suddenly, Luna realized that she had no idea what to expect.
I’m assuming that she won’t look like me. Or at least, I really, really hope she doesn’t look like me!
Swallowing hard, she came up behind the woman and cleared her throat.
“Uh… Madame Fortuna? We’re the people who made the booking. We just wanted to, ah, check whether you needed anything?”
Madame Fortuna turned – and really, it was kind of an anticlimax. She didn’t look like Luna, but nor did she look like an evil fiend. She just looked like a nondescript, slightly harried woman in her twenties.
Her expression, though…
