Page 14 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

Phlox

“Damn, I’d forgotten how much I missed Phil,” Johnny lamented as I flew back down to the floor. “Before I spent much time with pixies, I didn’t give a thought about wings and how handy being able to fly is. Makes me wish for a pair.”

Lizbeth snorted. Fisted hands on her hips, Lizbeth’s lavender hair caught in the light. She was small, even by human standards and although I’d known her less than an hour, it was enough time to instill a healthy dose of respect. Human or not, Lizbeth was a force to be reconned with.

“Stop complaining, Johnny.” Lizbeth rolled her eyes. “Wings are great, but I’d kill for your legs.” As if to prove her point, Lizbeth stuck out her shorts-clad leg, twisting the lean appendage back and forth.

Running a hand down a fur-covered leg, Johnny’s answering grin was wicked. “I always said you had good taste, Lizbeth.”

With another eye roll, Lizbeth threw a dirty towel at Johnny before loudly huffing and flouncing away.

Chuckling, Johnny picked up the towel and offered a warning. “Bit of advice, don’t go poking that particular human. First time I met her, I made the mistake of thinking she was a weak, pink bag of human flesh. The boss thought the same. Lizbeth proved us wrong by climbing Bax like a mountain, wrapping her arm around his neck, and putting the big-ass troll in a head lock. Bax passed out and went down like a sack of potatoes. The boss hired her on the spot.”

I grinned, liking Lizbeth even more. My gaze followed her as she wove around the still empty tables, tidying up and checking every last detail before Dusk opened its doors. Leon and Lucroy were nestled together in a corner booth. Johnny told me it was their usual spot, or at least it was Lucroy Moony’s typical area. From what I understood, it was the same space Lucroy, Peaches, Sedrick, Phil, Vander, and Parsnip occupied when they were around. When they weren’t, it was Leon’s spot. In other words, the biggest fish in the building ruled from that little corner.

Leaning an elbow on the bar top, I stared at Leon. His attention was taken by Lucroy. My inner pixie didn’t like that Leon’s attention was elsewhere. Compounding that problem was the fact I was irritated that it bothered me in the first place. Two negatives didn’t equal a positive.

“Got a question?” Johnny intuitively asked.

“Not really,” I lied.

“The way you’re starin’, seems like you might,” Johnny argued.

I hated being so obvious. Adding a third negative in there and I was well and truly in a downward spiral.

Gritting my teeth, I finally settled on a question that might be rude but was relevant where vamps were concerned. “How old is Leon?”

Johnny’s eyebrows shot skyward. Despite his obvious surprise, he answered, “To the best of my knowledge, around three hundred, give or take a couple of decades. If I were a betting faun, I’d say older rather than younger.”

Three hundred. It wasn’t ancient by vampire standards, but it was impressive. It meant Leon had made it through the dangerously moody teenage vamp years. He was considered well-seasoned. Leon also had to be powerful. Not as powerful as Lucroy Moony, but nothing to sneeze at either.

“That all you want to know?” Johnny asked.

Was it?It should be and yet I found myself asking, “What kind of a boss-man is he?” I’d heard Johnny refer to Lucroy asbossand Leon asboss-man.

Johnny shrugged while polishing a glass. “In the simplest terms, the good kind. Leon’s got Mr. Moony’s back. He’s got mine and everyone’s back in this bar too. I’ve worked for Mr. Moony for a lot of years, and I’ve seen a lot of vamps come and go. Lucroy’s a different kind of king. I wouldn’t work for any of those other asshole vamp kings and queens. Trust me when I say the boss didn’t want that shit in a second either. Goddess forbid something happen to Lucroy. But if it did, the nest’s in good hands with Leon. It adds stability and a second layer of protection. That’s a big part of why the Southeast vampire nest is one of the fastest growing in the US.”

Johnny offered up a lot more information than I expected, and I offered a nod of thanks. His reassurance should have settled that twisted feeling in my gut. It didn’t. If anything, my insides twirled and turned a little more.

“Anything more personal and you’ll have to ask the boss-man himself,” Johnny added.

“Understood and appreciated,” I answered easily.

“So, that’s the vampire side of things. What’s your story?”

I blinked, expression doing an excellent vampire impersonation.

Johnny’s chuckle sounded more like a coughed wheeze. “I don’t mean the real story. I mean, what is the bullshit line we’re supposed to tell our customers when they ask?” Pointing his glass in my direction, Johnny assured, “Because they will ask. Trust me on that one. This bar’s got a pixie reputation and now we’ve got a fourth one—all shiny, new, and unattached.”

“Ah…yes, an excellent question.” The council and I’d gone over my cover story. I needed to look like easy pickings and the best way to go about that was to make others believe I wouldn’t be missed.

“We’re gonna take the KISS approach,” I answered.

“Keep it stupid simple.” Johnny nodded.

“Exactly. My backstory is sweet and simple. Or maybe sad and simple. No family. A smattering of loose friends. I’m originally from the West Coast and moved to Rutherford Haven hoping for a new start in life. Feel free to make up some hazy, tragic history that no one truly knows the details of. You can just say it’s not something I like to talk about.” The key to a successful lie is building it around a core of truth and keeping the facts minimal and easily subject to understandable change. No one would think twice when hearing different theories regarding my tragic past. Nearly every species had an innate need to gossip, to fill in knowledge gaps with questionable theories.

Johnny’s eyes momentarily scrunched before he answered, “I can do that. Sounds easy enough. I’ll let Lizbeth know. She’s not aware of why you’re really here. She’s not a gossip and when she tells others to shut up and mind their own damn business, it will add a touch of reality to things.”

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