Page 9 of Bright Dark Curses

She harrumphed. “Sounds more likely than a curse.”

“But a lot more boring, right?”

“I do miss watching you get into messes.” A wistful note had entered her voice.

“Filling out paperwork is mind-numbing, isn’t it?”

“You have no idea,” she said gloomily.

When we arrived at Lincoln Street, there were more onlookers gathered across from the crew and the cameras, and a lot of movement was happening on the filming side.

Excitement filled me all over again.

Oh, this was so awesome!

I stood on my tiptoes to see over the small crowd but couldn’t find any famous faces walking among the crew. Maybe they were inside the tent? Or at the makeup trailer? Were Key or Shane allowed to take photos inside the set?

Dru dragged me away, and we went to wait at the end of the sectioned-off street, by the Fairy Circle’s van, where fewer people were milling around since you couldn’t see the action.

A pity, if you ask me.

One single security guy guarded this side of the sidewalk, so we stopped one crossing away, and I sent Key a text. Not a minute later, she, Shane, and a young man darted by the security man and approached us.

I let out a breath of relief at seeing Key whole, unbloodied, and with no apparent need for a magical antidote. She and Shane were still wearing the thin Fairy Circle Cakes windbreakers while the young man was dressed in normal jeans and a gray fleece pullover.

Fluffy pushed forward, barking in happiness at the familiar faces. Rufus stood by my side, eyeing the newcomer with suspicion.

“Hope, you made it,” Key said, out of breath. She bent down to pat Fluffy but her attention didn’t deviate from me. A tentative smile curved her lips.

“Of course,” I assured her in a warm tone. “You know I’m here to help.”

She straightened, serious now. “Hope, Dru, this is Brett. He’s part of Clawstone Park.” Aka a wolf shifter. She gestured toward us. “Brett, this is Hope and Dru.”

I waved at the shifter. “Hello, Brett.”

Dru nodded once.

Brett gave us a pained grimace. “Hey.”

When nothing else followed, I turned to Key. “Something”—I peeked around and lowered my voice—“magical happened?”

The three of them exchanged glances. “We’re not sure,” Key said. “It’s a bit complicated.”

“Does it have something to do with the supposed curse on Olmeda?”

“You know about that?” she asked in surprise.

“Jim told me earlier. Why don’t you tell us what’s going on?”

Brett leaned toward Key, and whispered, “Are you sure we can trust them?”

“Standing right here,” I supplied with a helpful lift of my hand.

“They’re good,” Shane said in his usual curt, no-nonsense voice.

“Cool, cool,” Brett said, rubbing his hands and shifting from foot to foot. Even if shifters ran hotter than normal humans, it was still pretty chilly. He must be freezing.

“Let’s move out of the wind?” I gestured toward the nearby alleyway. It would also provide us with some privacy.

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