I nodded. “He’s leaving the casino.”
“I know, dear. It’s for the best. Can you walk any faster? I don’t want you mixed up in this until you have more training.”
“Martha’s dead, isn’t she?”
“She jumped out the broken window.”
I swallowed hard and pushed to walk faster. “She said that it was us or her.”
“She was right. I’m sorry that I haven’t done more to train you for a fight. I will. I promise. And we’ll get you all trained in your new lifestyle.” She pressed the elevator button to go up. “I’ll get you all cleaned up and healed.”
I limped into the elevator car and leaned against the side. The mirrors inside revealed that my face was far bloodier than I had thought, and a large goose egg had risen above my right eyebrow. I was set to have a rather black eye. My face screwed up, and tears flowed down my cheeks mixing with the blood. I could still taste Vin’s kiss on my lips. “Got anything for a broken heart?”
“Only time,” she replied as the door slid shut.
If it had taken me almost twenty-eight years to find love the first time, I couldn’t imagine how long it would take to forget it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I loaded a few more books into the bag then lifted it onto my good arm with a wince. Four days after the fight, I was still in rough shape. Magic had taken care of my fractured clavicle, shattered wrist, five cracked ribs, and sprained ankle, but the doctor at the hospital had told me that I would heal better if I skipped the magical painkillers and suffered the old-fashioned way. I had no idea there were magical medical doctors, and I had been pretty disappointed to discover that mine couldn’t take away all the pain and heal me instantly. But I would be stronger and mentally sharper if I let the bruises and muscles heal on their own.
I couldn’t complain. What might have been six months of healing and permanent damage was down to just a week of bed rest then a few more weeks until she swore I would be back to my old shape. But I hadn’t been resting in my bed at all.
I limped over to the couch and unloaded the bag of books onto the overflowing coffee table. It held virtually every book I had, plus notebooks and pens, and all of it was a mess. Since I had been home, I had been attempting to learn everything at once, but now it was time to get organized. I had a lot to catch up on.
Vanessa, Auntie Ann, and even Olivia had brought me food once a day. Even though my sweatpants were getting tight, they insisted I continue to eat as much as possible so my body could heal. Because my arm was weak, almost unusable, from the broken collarbone and wrist, Vanessa had even come over an hour ago to help me wash my hair in the sink. She brushed it out and braided it before tucking me into bed for the night.
Once I heard the door shut, I had gotten out of bed to study. The loft was too quiet, and there was too much time to think in the dark bedroom.
I looked out the large windows toward Rambler. My building was in the industrial part of town, but since it was the tallest in the area, I had a clear view of the avenue, the long line of casinos on the main street. The lights and neon nestled in the city of white lights was like its own fireworks display.
Somewhere out there was Vin. How could he have kissed me then left? I reached up to wipe my eyes and hit myself in the face with my notebook. Anger built up in me. He could have given me a chance to explain. He could have waited. The notebook slammed into the far wall, and a magical boom exploded in my head. I shook and cried and cried some more before I dragged myself over to the notebook. It wasn’t hurt… but I was.
My trail was set, and it was one I would walk alone. I turned over the notebook. It was filled with my Monza notes, and so far, they had confirmed that I was meant to travel the path alone. I hadn’t bothered to talk to Vanessa or anyone about my feelings. Not Bear and Badger when they had checked on me or Auntie Ann when she had carefully prodded to see how I was doing. I had merely said that I was tired and needed to rest. I would go back to training next week, and I would use my downtime to progress faster than I had before. Only work. There would be no resting, no vacation, no fun, and especially no Vin.
A tear rolled down my face, and I scrubbed it away angrily before pulling out a pen to continue studying. Even if I had to do it alone, I was going to train night and day until I was the best mage I could be.
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The Case of the Exploding Luck Pumpkin
Vanessa is home in Rambler, Nevada for the biggest holiday of the magical calendar, Halloween and some time off from her mage training. When the traditional Luck Pumpkin disappears prior to the party, Vanessa makes a bet that she can find it. What’s at stake? Only midnight’s kiss with a handsome man! She will have to out navigate spells gone awry, slippery desserts and an exploding pumpkin if she wants to win the bet.
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Nikki Haverstock is a writer who lives on a cattle ranch high in the Rocky Mountains. She has studied comedy writing at Second City and has published 10 cozy mysteries that are heavy on the humor.
Before fleeing the city, she hosted a competitive archery reality show, traveled the world to study volcanoes, taught archery and computer science at a university and now works on her family’s ranch herding cattle. Nikki has more college degrees than she has sense and hopefully one day she will put one to work.
Nikki likes to write comedy pieces that focus on the everyday humor of one-uppers, annoying family members and strange behavior of the ultra-rich. She tried stand up but the cattle weren’t impressed.
© 2018 by Ranch Dog Entertainment, LLC
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Which Mage Moved the Cheese? Page 15
