Kept: A Coveted Novel

by Shawntelle Madison

  I scratched my head. I’d been attacked by an imp, and now I’d learned the back of the truck had been sealed by magic, presumably to keep people out. Should I add to the list that werewolves rarely use or even know any spells, so the fact that magic was involved made it even worse?

  Nick approached me with a frown and leaned in to look at me closely. His oh-so-faint scent of magic tickled my nose and made me think of fresh cinnamon rolls from the oven. “You have any plans to remove that curse from your neck?”

  I touched the burning area where the goblin had poked me. “I have a curse?”

  “A minor one. I don’t sense a deep wound.” His warm fingertips rubbed the spot for a bit, and the pain vanished. I avoided staring at him again as he checked me over, gently touching the places where Scabbard had cut me.

  Once finished he said, “I call shotgun.”

  But I wasn’t done with him yet and grabbed his sleeve. “So what would’ve happened if that goblin had really stabbed me?”

  “You wouldn’t be alive, that’s all.” He said it way too calmly. “Thankfully, he only nicked you. The curse would’ve killed you in a month or two, though.”

  That didn’t sound too good.

  “What about the lock?” I asked.

  “There’s nothing we can do about it now. I’ll dig at it while we ride.” Nick made a beeline for the passenger seat. Abby climbed in after him while Heidi and I used the driver’s side.

  “You might not want shotgun after you take a look inside.” Perhaps my face said it all, but when Nick entered from the other side, his already pale face appeared even paler.

  “The inside definitely looks a lot worse than the outside.” Nick opened his coat and pulled out two long blankets. With a whisper and a tap from his fingertips, the blankets spread along the seat to cover it, stretching until the two seats melded into one long one for all of us.

  I couldn’t help but spout, “Don’t you have a spell in there to clean this place?”

  Nick frowned and then climbed in. “It would take more than a spell to clean the filth off this thing.”

  Like me, Nick wasn’t too fond of germs. I’d have to thank him profusely later for being willing to get inside.

  When I attempted to get in the driver’s seat, Heidi pushed me aside. “Do you even know how to drive this thing?”

  “Sort of,” I replied.

  She took one long look at me and then shook her head. “Not only are you lined up all crooked next to the pump, you hit the fucking thing.”

  With an innocent voice, I said, “I merely brushed against it.”

  Heidi started up the truck. It roared to life and the heater turned back on. “Uh-huh.”

  She focused on the truck. “I sometimes drive semis when I need to get away from the coast. I usually prefer a bike between my legs, but a truck is just as nice.”

  “Was that a bike or a biker you tried to get between your legs last week?” the Muse asked with a wry grin.

  Heidi kindly offered the Muse her middle finger.

  I think I vote for the biker.

  Not long after, we set off northward up the Garden State Parkway. During the ride, I was snuggled between Heidi at the wheel and the Muse on my right. Poor Nick took up the leftover space against the passenger door.

  I warily watched the pine trees along the Parkway, trying to keep my mind focused on anything except an obsessive activity. Over the past few hours, I had been fighting an incessant itch to wash my hands. Ten years ago, I used to wash my hands all the time. Hour upon hour of running my hands through the lukewarm water.

  To shake away the revitalized compulsion, I spoke. “So. Where are you and Abby headed to in Maine?”

  Abby answered. “A small town. Not too far from Bangor.”

  “Sounds quaint. Do you go up there every couple of months? As needed?” For a second, I almost pictured Abby as a call girl. Heading up to an author’s place to provide her services.

  “She doesn’t do it often enough.” Heidi snorted. “I’m forcing her to make this trip.”

  I could tell the Muse wanted to cross her arms, but she had little space to move. “I didn’t need to go. He’d be just fine without me.”

  “Yeah, right. He’s not the problem, and you know it.” As I watched their exchange, I wondered how Heidi managed to drive and gesture at the Muse. It was rather fascinating—and slightly unnerving.

  Heidi continued. “If you don’t do your job, you go all Patrick Swayze Ghost on me, and then I have to drag your butt to your next gig.”

  I couldn’t help but say, “Aww. That’s one of my favorite movies.”

  “Me, too,” Abby gushed.

  Next to me, I detected Heidi making a gagging face.

  Nick leaned forward. “So if you don’t inspire your authors, you start to disappear?”

  “Just a little,” Abby said.

  “She doesn’t just disappear,” Heidi said tersely. “She goes transparent. To supernaturals, too.”

  Abby turned to me. “So, what’s your favorite scene?”

  Her attempt to change the subject wasn’t bad. Better than my usual attempts. “The part where he has to go to Heaven is mine.”

  Almost as if on cue, we both said Sam’s loving words to his wife before he went to Heaven.

  Heidi groaned. Nick followed not long after.

  “You really do know that movie,” Abby said.

  “I’ve had a lot of movie nights.” Sadly, I’d had many more than even most married couples. “So, why do you disappear?” I asked. “What do Muses do during the day?” For the longest time, I’d assumed her kind simply hung around with their authors and inspired them to write books. After working in nonfiction publishing for a few years, I wished I could’ve employed one or two of them to make the company’s authors produce better books.

  “Muses influence mortals through our physical presence.” She smiled a little. “All I need is to be within one hundred feet to inspire them. They don’t need to see me or talk to me. When the connection’s right, the author—whether they’re a poet, screenwriter, or even a child scribbling on paper—will feel compelled to work on their craft.”

  I nodded while she spoke. It seemed logical.

  She continued. “We get our assignments from the gods. They prefer to give us mortals who will create literature or art of great importance.” She sighed. “I don’t think they choose very well when it comes to mine, though.”

  “That last guy in Queens you hung around wasn’t too bad. Well, when he wasn’t drunk or hooking up with those cheap prostitutes,” Heidi said with her gaze focused on the road.

  Between clenched teeth, Abby said, “He wrote about this crazy small-town physician who sewed his tools inside of people. In-side of peo-ple.” She emphasized every syllable with a look of distaste on her face.

  “Hasn’t he been on the bestseller list for the past nine weeks?” Heidi asked.

  “I don’t care what list he’s on,” Abby said. “He made my skin crawl every time I had to look into his head. What kind of human thinks this kind of stuff up?”

  Even though Abby was upset, I couldn’t help but snicker. “A man who wants a paycheck?”

  The Muse lightly swatted me, apparently unoffended. “Oh, shut up.”

  Nick, who’d been quiet for a bit, spoke up. “Just out of curiosity, how did you get the name Abby?”

  She quickly said, “Oh, that’s not my real name. But I’ve had it since the Black Death in 1349.”

  I couldn’t help but shudder. Abby had to be germ-free after all these centuries, but a small part of my mind couldn’t help imagining the superflu lingering under her fingernails.

  “And your real name?” he asked.

  Now this I wanted to know. Abby didn’t seem like it fit her as a Muse.

  Our quiet friend grinned slyly. A rare one for her. “Only my authors know my real name. And they never kiss and tell.”

  Chapter 9

  Not far outside of Bloomsfield, we sto
pped for lunch. We were still in New Jersey, but we’d made great progress. After riding in close quarters, the chilled air was welcome. Heidi’s choice of where to eat … not so much.

  “Has this place passed any state legal codes to serve food?” I asked.

  “Oh, c’mon, you two.” Heidi eyed Nick and me as if my personal tastes were a running joke. If only I could find the ketchup and mustard smear along the sidewalk equally hilarious. Or the greasy feel of the metal handle on the door.

  “Nick, you don’t want to touch that,” I advised.

  “Already ahead of you.” He pulled out a napkin and used it to hold open the door for the rest of us. “If I didn’t want to look like a weirdo, I’d have on plastic gloves right now.”

  I reached into my purse and yanked out two gloves from a brand-new bag. “I bring them in case of emergency. Now you’re not alone.”

  Thanks to being a clean freak, I was used to being stared at by the other werewolves back at home. In comparison, a few humans I’d never see again didn’t seem like a problem. The cheap plastic gloves brought me a strange comfort just looking at them.

  Nick offered to put one of them on me. “Here you go.” His hands were warm and smelled of fresh mint. I rather liked the smell of both mint and antiseptic. Most folks wouldn’t get off on such things, but the scents made me feel safe.

  “You good?”

  I’d been staring at my hands. When I glanced up at Nick, he flashed that warm smile he always had on his face when he looked at me.

  I couldn’t resist the smile that tickled my lips. “I’m good.” Then I held up my hands. “I’ve got my protection on.”

  His eyebrows danced as we strolled up to the counter. “You shouldn’t do it without protection.”

  I snorted, but my face warmed nonetheless.

  Heidi was at the front of the line and obviously couldn’t resist joining in. “I’ve always wondered if safe sex was possible in the ocean.”

  “I don’t,” Abby said with a laugh.

  While Heidi ordered, I checked out the eatery. The inside of the restaurant wasn’t the cleanest. Matter of fact, I suspected the mermaid just picked the first place she could find that had gas. To her, this place was clean, but after I picked up my tray of food, I noticed it felt slippery underneath.

  “It’s just water from the washer.” Nick must’ve noticed my expression. “I should’ve offered to carry your tray.”

  Heidi laughed and then whispered, “Why not just levitate them to our table?”

  “And frighten the humans?” the Muse asked.

  Nick chose a spot in the corner, a booth where Heidi and Abby sat on one side. I took a seat on the other side with Nick.

  Heidi said, “We could do anything in here. Half of these truckers look like they’re barely running plays on the field right now.” She’d hardly sat down and she had her burger unwrapped. Somehow, on the way to the table, she’d inhaled half of her bottle of water.

  I expected things to quiet down while I performed surgery to extract my food from the wrappers, but Heidi continued to gab. Nick, my ever-present sidekick in cleanliness, took my wipes and went over the table and condiment containers.

  “I find that most of these places have really interesting people,” Heidi said. “I once met a trucker who was a dark elf hiding out from the leprechaun gangs.”

  I laughed. “Did he steal their pot of gold?”

  “I hope not. They cut off people’s hands for stuff like that.”

  Once Nick finished helping me, he excused himself. “I need the keys to move the truck.”

  Heidi frowned. “Is something wrong?”

  “Other than the fact you parked it right out in the open?” he replied.

  “We can see it from here.” Heidi gestured to the window next to us, through which we could see the truck.

  Nick extended his hand. “Keys.”

  “Whatever. Don’t hit anybody.” She tossed the keys at him. “Or ruin your nice plastic gloves.”

  The Muse picked up the conversation, taking her food from Heidi’s tray. When Nick returned, I couldn’t find a single sign of the truck.

  “Where did you put it?” I asked.

  “In a warded place,” he replied. “We’re not safe here anymore.”

  He gestured with his head to two patrons along the far wall. They were seated closest to the door. My nose told me they smelled like humans.

  “What’s up with them? They look like tourists to me,” I said.

  “You don’t see them like I do.” He’d taken off the plastic gloves to drive the truck, so he offered his hand to me. “It will only take a sec, and you can wash your hands after I’m done.”

  “Okay. But the humans better be naked or something cool like that.”

  The mermaid’s hand shot out real fast. “I sure as hell wanna see them if they are.”

  Nick mumbled a few words under his breath. As to what tongue he spoke, I didn’t know. His palm wasn’t warm like before. It blazed hot and made me grimace from the touch. His black eyes, usually shiny, reflected a fire that made me want to look away.

  I slowly turned, in a manner that wouldn’t alert the couple, and saw through Nick’s eyes. The whole place changed. I should have focused on the couple first, but everything around me writhed with life. Strange little creatures that looked like caterpillars shuffled along the checkout counter. On the wall above the spot where customers could get straws or packets of condiments, something that resembled a speck of light pulsed along the wall. Another one from the other side of the room joined it.

  Like a curious kid, my hand almost went up to point at what I saw, but then I noticed my hand—or should I say I noticed how my hand looked. It glowed. Almost as if coals burned under my skin. Fire churned there, surging up and down my fingers. My skin barely contained what swam underneath.

  I thought, Holy shit, and turned to Nick in amazement—and saw the unthinkable. Nick was pure light. An absolute white without a speckle of dirt or darkness. The urge to reach out and bathe myself in his warmth pulled at me. Was this what all white wizards looked like when they truly checked out each other? Without glamours or walls of magical protection?

  I only knew for sure it was him when the lights that were once his eyes blinked a few times. Something that had to be his lips smiled.

  “Behave yourself, Natalya.” The white wizard’s grip on my hand tightened, and he chuckled under his breath.

  My head turned to the couple. I wanted to look at the mermaid or the Muse, but I’d fulfilled my curiosity enough for today. Whatever signal Nick projected was feeling slightly weaker by the second. The couple in the corner had skin the color of coal. Not a natural color either. Their skin appeared shiny, as if dipped in oil. I wanted to focus on them, but something inside warned me not to stare. A tracker takes in information quickly to stay on the trail. I let my mind snap a photograph, and I processed what it took in: One of them was tall and thin, while the other had a medium build. The tall one focused on the door, the other one maintained their disguise by eating. Their heads had a fine sheen of black hair. As shiny as their skin.

  “Who are they?” Heidi’s smile had disappeared. She was all business now.

  “Assassins. Most likely dark elves employed by whoever—or whatever—used the imps. Maybe fairies,” Nick said.

  “Not good,” the Muse responded. “They usually leave people alone.”

  “Unless their target has something they want.” Heidi eyed me.

  I should’ve been afraid. But naturally the first words out of my mouth weren’t productive. “What kind of fairy assassin scopes out their target in a fast-food joint?”

  Heidi shrugged. “One that not only wants to kill you but also wants fries along with a double cheeseburger?”

  “What do we do now?” The Muse took a sip from her drink, then swallowed a final bite of her burger. She had resigned herself to the fact that it was time to go.

  “They’re heavily glamoured,” Nick said. �
�Since I had to use a nice dose of magic to see them, they should know by now that I’m not human.”

  He’d released my hand not too long ago, but my palm still tingled.

  “If we go out the door, they’ll just follow us to the truck.”

  “How do you know there aren’t more of them waiting for us by the truck?” I asked.

  “Well, instead of leaving it out in the open, I parked it in a safe place.” He stood. When we moved to follow, he gestured for us to stay.

  “A no-fairy parking zone?” the Muse joked.

  “You could say that. Stay here and wait for my signal. They’ll follow me; after you get my signal, make a run for it outside. I’ll meet you there.”

  He didn’t say what his signal would be. Naturally, him being a wizard, it would be something we couldn’t miss. At least I hoped so.

  Nick walked toward the door, but instead of leaving, he strolled to the bathroom.

  Every part of me cringed, and I mumbled, “He’s definitely taking one for the team if he heads in there.”

  Heidi said, “Not all bathrooms are disgusting, Nat.”

  “It’s not what your eyes can see that’s the problem.”

  The dark elves rose, and then put their food away in a waste container. They casually talked between themselves before one followed Nick into the bathroom. Bingo. The other one stayed put.

  “So,” Abby whispered, “what’s the signal?”

  Faintly, I heard a thump, and then smelled the scent of something burning. Like someone searing cinnamon in a pan.

  I resisted the urge to stand. Nick had gone in there alone. Was he all right? I clutched my hands together and waited. The other elf glanced at his watch then rushed into the bathroom. I guessed even though people saw the elf as a woman, it wouldn’t stop his cohort from helping his friend out.

  “So?” Abby leaned forward. “The signal?”

  “We need to go in there and help Nick.” I stood, but the mermaid grabbed my arm.

  “Look.” She glanced at the table. On one of the napkins in the center, bright red ink flowed into words: What the hell are you doing? Run!

  Heidi didn’t need to pull me away from the booth. We ran for the exit. The door to the bathroom slammed open. As I burst outside, I caught the faint clicks of claws against the tile floor of the restaurant. The scampering of little feet raced after us. The snapping of jaws.