by Andrew Peed
“Baby Kaylie!” a tall beautiful woman said as they walked into the room. Artemis wore a tight lacy white dress that trailed off at her ankles. She had long platinum hair with ruby-red eyes.
“Mama Artemis!” Kaylie said with a squeal as they embraced each other. This interaction was not at all what Waylon had been expecting.
“How are you doing, love?” Artemis asked Kaylie, holding her arms so that she could take a close look at her face.
“I’m good. I could have used a little more notice before the last move,” Kaylie said with a smile.
“I wish we could have, but it all happened so fast,” Artemis said with a frown, “but you landed on your feet, right?”
“Of course. Speaking of which…” Kaylie grabbed Waylon’s arm and moved him closer, “This is my roommate, Waylon.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Artemis said, holding out her hand for Waylon to shake.
“Thank you,” Waylon said with a nod and smile.
“You’d better take care of my girl,” she said with a stern look. “Young warlock.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Waylon said firmly.
“So, what brings you here today? I’m guessing this isn’t a social call,” she said, taking her hand back.
“You’re right,” Kaylie said. “We came because we were attacked by Grymm, the guy I replaced. He also kidnapped a broker.”
The look on Artemis’s face fell and became dark. She took a step away from Kaylie, and her hands fell to her side. There was a window at the back of her office, and she looked out at the forests beyond their castle.
“Who have you told about this?” she finally asked.
“We went to the Mystical Authority. With my record, I thought it would be a good idea,” Kaylie said. “What’s going on?”
“Baby, when are you going to stop beating yourself up about that? It’s been so long,” Artemis said, letting her head sag a little bit.
“What about Grymm?” Kaylie asked, changing the subject back.
“We are aware that something is going on with him. I urge you to stay away from him. Do not get wrapped up in his mess,” she said, turning back to look at Kaylie.
“That’s it?” Kaylie said, severely disappointed.
“I’m sorry, love, that is all that I can tell you. Please do your work,” Artemis said straightening herself up. “There are two more brokers in your city, and the work needs to get done.”
“But Grymm—”
“I’m telling you to leave it alone!” Artemis said loudly.
There was a moment of silence in the room. Waylon dared not say a word because he did not think that it would go his way. He just watched and waited. Something about the whole conversation didn’t feel right to him after the warm interaction that they’d first shared.
“Yes, ma’am,” Kaylie said with a curt nod.
“Please don’t wait for so long to come back and see me again,” Artemis said, walking over to hug Kaylie again.
“I won’t,” Kaylie said, returning the hug but without the same enthusiasm that they had when Kaylie had first arrived.
“It was nice to meet you,” she said to Waylon as she showed them out.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Waylon said with a nod.
Waylon waited for Kaylie to break the silence as they walked back to the elevator. When she didn’t say anything, he opened his mouth to speak as they headed down. Kaylie stopped him and tapped a finger to her lips, so he remained quiet.
They walked through the market and out of the tall main gates. As soon as they reached the required distance, she reached out and touched Waylon’s hand. In a pop, they were standing in the living room, exactly where they had left.
“Something isn’t right,” Kaylie said with a concerned look.
“Yeah, I picked up on that,” Waylon said with a nod. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know, but for now I’m going to do my job like I was asked, but I’m also going to keep my eyes and ears open,” Kaylie said with a sigh.
“Well, that is terrifying,” Waylon said.
“Yeah, I’m not happy that it’s all happening around me, but that might be why I’m here,” Kaylie said.
“Master Waylon,” Albert said from the kitchen.
“Yes?” he said awkwardly, having never been called master before.
“Could you come into the kitchen, please?” Albert asked.
Waylon and Kaylie both walked into the kitchen, where they found Tome chewing on a table leg. He noticed Waylon, and all of his heads turned sharply. The creature lunged at Waylon, knocking him to the ground. Waylon screamed in terror, only to find that he was just licking him like a dog would.
“I told you that if he wanted to kill you, he would have,” Kaylie said with a smile petting one of the many heads.
