Atter looked around for sight of the woman who had come in on a wave of fey magic tangled with that of shifter enchantments. He nodded to the other fey in the bar and on the street. A handful of familiar and exotic faces were in the Crossroads, and he and the other two he arrived with brought it close to ten.
The Bright Soul was a charming bed and breakfast, and when the host was revealed to be a djinn, it filled they fey with a bit of relief. They were in familiar territory, and Teebie was delighted to show them around.
Tony grinned. “Teebie can answer any questions you have, and I know there will be a few.”
Atter raised his hand. “I would still like to know about that earlier matter.”
Tony smiled and nodded to Teebie. “I am just going to give Artur Atter Nightsong a little briefing on some of the shifter-fey issues he might come up against.”
Teebie nodded, retrieved the other two fey from the tea party they were having and showed them to their rooms.
Tony waved Atter through a door and into a sitting room.
“Have a seat.”
A trolley with coffee and snacks floated into the room and settled next to them as the door closed.
Tony sighed. “Teebie is a very good hostess.”
“Tell me about the other woman. The grubby one.”
Tony poured the coffee and handed a cup to Atter.
Atter reached forward and snagged a cookie.
“Are you familiar with the penchant some of your kind have had for keeping shifters in private zoos?”
Atter scowled. “I am aware of the practice.”
“Well, the woman you saw was one of those held shifters. She was put into a crush box that forced her into her animal form, a bladed collar was put around her neck and under her skin, and they surgically removed some of the signature aspects of her beast.”
Atter put the cookie down as his stomach roiled.
“Surely the healers could have helped her.”
“If she had been healed within a few months of the surgery, yes. She did two years as her beast, and when she came out, she could not fully shift her teeth and the scars are still with her.”
He nodded and asked, “Why was she so unkempt?”
“From the reports we have, because of the surgery, she is no longer considered to be a shifter by her family. She has been living alone since she was set free by the Guild, and with no family resources and her physical appearance—the fangs—she cannot work for her living. She is living wild.”
“Her family rejected her for what was done to her?”
Tony sighed. “You have to realise that each type of shifter has a different method of communication that goes beyond speech. There is sound, sight and scent. If any of those signals are tampered with, it makes it hard to communicate once shifted. Despite what the fey think, we have a highly organized social structure within our animal forms. When something tampers with that, it makes the other members of that society uncomfortable, and uncomfortable animals bite. It was for her own safety.”
Atter scowled. “I have an animal form, but it isn’t like that.”
Tony snorted. “I know. What you call an animal form is just a shape. If you are invited to join lives with a shifter, you will understand what I am speaking about. But you wanted to know why she looks the way she does, and that is why. Now, welcome to the Crossroads. Teebie will show you to your room.”
Atter nodded and rose to his feet, setting the coffee down. “Thank you for shedding light on the situation. I did not think that any of those who were taken by my kind would be willing to consider a fey as a mate.”
“She does not blame all fey, only the one who took her.”
With that, Tony left the room and Teebie entered.
“Please come with me.”
Atter was still trying to imagine what had been done to the woman with the slow smile and bright eyes. He followed his hostess to his room, unpacked his bags and wondered where the dark-haired beauty was staying.
Chapter Three
Watching Emmy dig months of dirt out from under her nails would have been more fun if Stephan was not hauling a comb through her hair. The conditioner hadn’t done much.
She winced as he tugged. “Now you know why I just braided it.”
Stephan finally commented. “What is it made of, steel cable?”
Emmy grinned and Sera laughed.
“No. I have always had really thick hair. When it is straight, it will hang that way for weeks without tangling. Too much time in the bush and no hot water and well...you are dealing with it. Sorry.”
“No hot water?”
“Well, I can use the pump and heat it up on the stove, but my hair needs to unravel under water. I didn’t have a big enough bucket. Doing it dry just takes too long.”
Emmy chuckled. “Stephan, fill the sink.”
His chair squeaked and water flowed. “Anything to speed this up. Emmy, move your station.”
It was obviously a brother-sister act that she was dealing with. They not only looked similar, but they smelled like they were family.
Everything was on wheels, and soon, Sera was lying with her hair in the sink and the warm water swirling around her ears. Stephan was making happy, satisfied noises and Emmy finally finished the cleansing and scrubbing of Sera’s fingertips.
Emmy pulled out the bottles of polish, and she looked at them. “Are you sure about this?”
“With the dress that you brought out for me, trust me. I remember how I used to look. Hot-rod red is always a good look.”
Emmy sighed. “And the toes?”
“Everyone needs a little acid green in their life.”
Stephan was humming happily as his comb started to make progress.
Sera leaned back and let them take over her extremities. Her beast was confused, but her human was very happy.
The entire process had taken three hours, and Sera wanted nothing more than a cheeseburger, though the dress she was wearing said evening out at the ballet.
She thanked the exhausted Emmy and Stephan and watched as they high-fived each other over the transformation of her appearance.
“We will send the clothing that I picked out for you over to the Bright Soul. Anyone will be able to lead you there, but if you get lost, go find Teal or Tony or a blue woman. She is your hostess, Teebie.”
“So, you are throwing me to the wolves?” Sera arched her newly shaped eyebrows.
Emmy chuckled. “Wolves, elves, whatever you stand still for.”
“Fair enough. How do I look?”
Stephan put his hands on his hips. “You are lovely. If I had not been here for every moment of the transformation, I would not have believed it.”
“Aw, shucks. That is so sweet. Now, where can I get a burger?”
Emmy held out her hands in a plea. “Get them to cut it in half so you don’t ruin your nails and don’t bite your fingers.”
“Yes, ma’am. Have you already burned my clothing?”
Stephan gave a beatific smile. “Three hours ago.”
She made a face and Emmy picked up the large basket full of clothing, makeup and toiletries. The shoes for the evening were already on her feet and others had been delivered to her room, wherever that was.
Lifting her chin and closing her mouth to conceal her extended canines, she headed out the door of the spa and followed her nose to the café near the end of the block.
To her surprise, one of the fey got to the door before her and he held it open. “Good evening, my lady.”
She smiled tightly and nodded her head in thanks. Sera passed him and entered the café, moving to a booth on the side of building and settling into place as her doorman slowly followed her.
“Lady, I see you are eating alone. May I join you?”
She waved for him to sit; amusement grew inside her. This was going to be hilarious.
A waitress named Molly brought them menus, and Sera smiled sl
ightly.
“I will just have a cheeseburger with bacon and fries, and a cup of water with lemon, please.”
The elf sitting across from her addressed Molly as well. “I will have a salad with chicken and a cup of tea.”
Sera tried not to roll her eyes. She enjoyed salad now and then but not just chicken. She had grown up in a large family with a taste for large meals in the evening and boisterous activity afterward.
“So, lady, when did you get in? I have not seen any new arrivals through the shifter portal.”
She cocked her head and took in his startling green eyes and mink-brown hair. He looked like a tree come to life.
“I arrived a few hours ago, but I had something to do.” She quirked her lips.
“Ah, it must have been while I was in the forest. It is really quite something.”
That settled that. He was one of the forest fey that she had heard of since she was a child. She had never seen one before, so she stared a little too long.
“Are you as entranced by me as I am by you?”
Sera blinked and leaned back. “No. I just have never seen a forest fey before.”
He sighed in disappointment. “Pity. You are entrancing.”
The burger arrived and she daintily cut it into four pieces. “Thank you, but hold that sentiment.”
She opened her mouth, let her lips slide back to show her teeth, and he jerked as she bit ravenously into the burger.
Her admirer was out of the chair and out of the café in under twenty seconds. Sera sighed, and when Molly brought the salad over, Sera pointed to a spot near her left hand. “Put it down here. It has been a while since I have had food this good.”
Molly looked to the empty space. “Did you scare him off?”
“He thought I looked sweet and pretty. Like many men, he was fine until I opened my mouth.” Sera winked and took another bite of the burger. Molly laughed, patted her on the shoulder and walked back to the kitchen.
When Molly returned, she had a cup of ranch dressing and grinned. “He seemed more of an olive oil and lemon kind of guy. You look like you know what a day’s work actually is.”
Sera continued on her burger and avoided nicking her new nail polish. The fries were next and the salad disappeared with the dressing and the chicken.
Two fey came in, and it was obvious that the tree guy had warned them off. They looked at her and sat on their own without coming over.
When Sera was done, she declined dessert and swiped the charm over the pay plate. Molly wished her luck and gave her a thumbs-up before sending her on her way.
Sera straightened the silky black gown over her hips, and she stalked out of the café and to the Crossed Star Bar.
Three fey took a look at her and turned their backs. She shrugged and headed to the bar where a perky woman was working.
“What can I get for you?”
“Something orangey? I have been craving orange today.” Sera smiled.
The woman grinned, rubbed her hands together and set to work. When she was done, she presented Sera with a tall, thin glass with layers of colour ranging from pale yellow to a deep scarlet.
“Drink it without stirring. Each layer is a different flavour.”
Sera grinned. “Alice in wonderland?”
The bartender gave her a thumbs-up.
Raspberry, cherry, orange, tangerine, lemon and a weird sherbet flavour all came to her as she drank. The next thing that hit her was the huge buzz of drinking five ounces of alcohol. “There was booze in every layer?”
The bartender grinned and extended her hand. “I am Spike. I will be one of your bartenders. The other one is Chuck, but I am much more fun.”
“Sera. I am one of the new fey-match candidates. This should be a fun vacation. It seems that none of them want to come near me.” She chuckled and swayed a little. “I think it’s the fangs.”
“Yes, they are very impressive. You are one of the weasel family?”
“Yup.” She got to her feet and bowed. “Serapha the broken wolverine, at your service.”
The world spun around her, so she settled on the stool once again.
“Broken?”
“I was held in one of those menageries for a while. They did things to me that made my beast angry enough to keep my fangs in place at all times.”
“Whoa. How long were you held?”
“Two years.”
In a matter of a minute, two more drinks lined up in front of her. “I won’t say that you need this, but one night to forget isn’t a bad thing.”
With the straw in, she sipped at the first of the new drinks. The colours were the same but the flavours were different.
“How did you do that?”
“Fey magic. It will give you a helluva headache if you don’t let yourself flush it out of your system tomorrow. One day on, one day off.” Spike chuckled and went to attend the other patrons.
Sera took her current drink and she turned around slowly to get a feel for the room. There were shifters courting shifters, but they couldn’t see her. She was invisible to their senses and that little fact freaked them out.
When she had taken in the courting couples and the folks just having a drink in the bar, she finished her rotation and faced Spike again. “Why don’t I freak you out?”
“The lack of scent thing? I have been here a while now. You are not the first. You are not the last. I work with a snake shifter, my husband is a swan and I am a nearly extinct species here under the shifter equivalent of witness protection. Once you have done a month at the Crossroads, you have a whole different scale for weird.”
Sera lifted her glass and drank to weird.
“The power in you, that is different. That is something that ripples around you with every motion. It was probably that that attracted Trebor, and seeing the animal so close to the surface sent him running in here.”
“So, he gossiped about me?”
“As fast as he could. There are a few fey here strong enough to hold their own with you, but he isn’t one of them.”
“Who is?”
Spike grinned. “I am not going to tell you. You would go out of your way to scare them off.”
Sera picked up her third drink. “See? Bartenders really do know everything.”
Chapter Four
Atter entered the Crossed Star, and he saw the woman from the Meditation Centre. Only, her appearance had altered so dramatically that it was her power signature that confirmed her identity.
Her tangled braid was now a heavy black wave down her back with a silver streak that was not due to age. It was as much a part of her as the golden tone to her skin or her pale-blue eyes.
The scruffy clothing was replaced with a black silk gown, and she was kicking her feet in the air like a child as she chatted with the bartender. Her shoes were under the barstool.
He walked in with a nod to the other fey and took a seat a few chairs down from his lady.
He didn’t know why he was so sure, but she struck something inside him. The stillness of her form echoed in the space surrounding her. When she moved, it was like watching light on ice.
Atter caught the bartender’s attention. “A shot of vodka and a glass of whatever she is drinking.”
The woman looked over at his lady and raised her brows. “Are you sure? You might not have the metabolism for it.”
“I will take that chance.”
She grinned. “I did warn you.”
The woman poured with her back to him, and when she produced the brightly striped cocktail, he blinked. That was a lot of colour.
His shot looked like a pallid glass of water next to the blinding drink. He took a sip and raised his brows at the flavour. It was every summer berry he had ever tasted. Cool mint was the next layer and it went on and on.
When the straw sucked futilely at the bottom of the glass, he sighed and took the shot. His body hummed with energy, part magic and part sugar.
Before he could order another drink, he got to his feet. If he continued, he would be hugging the bar in no time.
“Excuse me, lady. Would you dance with me?”
She turned slowly and faced him. The bright white fangs in her mouth gave her a feral look, but her pale eyes betrayed her shock. She had truly thought to skip through without anyone asking her to dance.
She blinked slowly and finally she licked her lips. “I don’t have my shoes on.”
Atter grinned. “I can take mine off if it will make you feel better.”
The bartender muttered, “It is now or never. Better get it over with.”
His lady hopped off the barstool, and he had to catch her. Her body pressed to his and there was a riot under his skin. “Easy, lady.”
Her wide eyes would have done an owl proud. “You are pretty.”
“And your beauty shines in the night, but I still wish to dance.”
* * * *
Sera’s head was spinning, and her new support beam smelled as good as he looked. He had pure white hair, not the yellowy white of the northern reaches, but white with a touch of the silver of the moon. His eyes, hair and skin were the same colour. He was a man made of moonlight with pointed ears and a wicked smile.
She stood up straight, her body whining as she left his heat. Sera let him lead her to the dance floor, her feet still bare. It didn’t matter. She didn’t like shoes anyway.
He pulled her against him, and they swayed to the music, his body brushed against hers and she returned the favour. She was amazed at her nerve, but she was honest enough that those cocktails were backing up her normal brash behaviour.
When the music picked up the pace, he stepped with her, twirled her and sent the silk of her dress spinning outward in a circle. She laughed and landed back against his chest with a light thud.
He swayed with her to the jazzy tune, and they flicked, twisted and jumped to the music, the occasional bright glow flared up when they touched. When she landed on her butt and laughed helplessly, he lifted her to her feet with ease. “And that is enough for tonight.”
Snarling at the Moon Page 2
