Page 60 of Whispered Warnings: Part One

He shrugs as we walk the last few feet to the bikes, and he starts to put the stuff from my bags into the saddlebags on his bike and then mutters something that I can’t hear, and a big backpack appears that he can fit the rest of it in. I stare in awed wonder at him, since it hadn’t even occurred to me how we were going to get the stuff home, so it takes me a moment to remember what we were talking about when he continues the conversation.

“My parents, yes, I won’t get into it but their treatment of me was unnecessary to say the least. My sister's husband though, he wasn’t cruel, it’s just how it is done with reapers. I wasn’t strong enough for the family name so it was stripped from me, and Mor should technically have stopped talking to me, but she has never done what she was told.”

I frown, “But you aren’t as weak as they think, are you?”

He glances around and shakes his head, “No, but that’s a story for another time.”

His tone leaves no room for arguments, and it’s clear that is all he is willing to say on the matter.

“Okay,” I reply as I grab my helmet and swing my leg over my bike. “Can we still go into town, or do you want to head straight back?”

He once again looks surprised, as I change the subject without pushing him for more information, but replies with a smile, “We can head into town, grab a coffee and walk around for a bit.”

I grin, and put my helmet on, waiting for him to do the same and then follow him out of the lot.

I want to learn more about reapers and the way that they work. Unfortunately, I know that I won’t be able to find any of the information that I want in books because reapers are an incredibly secretive species. It’s understandable after the way that they have been treated.

This town is pretty small and cute, so we are only back on the bikes for a few minutes before we’re parking up again, right outside of the coffee shop. Inhaling deeply as soon as I take my helmet off, the strong smell of coffee and sweet-smelling pastries immediately hits my nose, and my stomach growls loudly.

Raiden chuckles, “Come on, let’s get something to stop your stomach shouting at us.”

“That’s probably a smart idea. It’s only going to get louder,” I agree. “Oh, I need to get a cinnamon bun for Wallace.”

He frowns as he opens the door to the coffee shop, gestures for me to go in first, and asks, as he follows me inside, “The moose?”

I nod, “Yeah, I asked Winston how to thank him, and he said that Wallace liked cinnamon buns.”

“Huh, you know, I don’t think I ever would have guessed that,” Raiden replies.

He is looking slightly uneasy again, since everyone is looking at us, but nowhere near as uneasy as he looked when we arrived at the mall. I nudge him with my shoulder and smile up at him.

“So, what do you want? My treat,” I ask, then add because I can see that he’s going to, “don’t even try to argue with me.”

“I would never,” he replies seriously as his lips twitch, fighting back a smile. “I’ll have a caramel latte, please, the big one, and a blueberry muffin.”

I nod and turn to the woman behind the counter, I like her immediately simply because she is smiling at both of us and not judging Raiden. She’s a supe. I can feel it, and judging by her pointed ears which are just visible through the curly waves of her bubblegum pink and soft green hair, I think she is a fae. That’s a pretty broad classification; there are high fae, pixies, trolls, sprites, and so many more that all technically fall under that category.

“Hey, I’m Neera. What can I get you?” she asks with a big smile.

I quickly reel off both of our orders, and make sure that I get two cinnamon buns for Wallace, he’s a big moose and I figure one isn’t really going to do much. She nods, getting on with the orders quickly. She’s bubbly, and friendly but I sense more behind her smile and that immediately intrigues me.

“So, you’re new in town,” she starts, as she gets the things that we have asked for. When I look at her in surprise, she laughs, the sound like tinkling bells as she adds, “It’s a really small town, Raiden I recognize, as well as all of his friends, but you’re new.”

I smile, “Yeah, it was kind of an accident, really.”

Understanding flashes across her expression, “Same.”

Chapter Twenty

Neith

“Since you’re new in town, and I’m assuming that you don’t know many people yet, we should get a drink sometime. As friends, I’m not asking you out. I mean, you’re hot, but I don’t swing that way,” she groans as her ramblings cut off and actually face-palms herself. Glancing up at me with a wince, she adds under her breath. “This is why I can’t make friends.” Speaking at a normal volume, she says, “Never mind.”

I burst out laughing, “I would love to, anyone who can ramble like that is good with me. I should warn you though I’m likely to ramble more than you.”

Her face lights up as she looks surprised, “Really? Even though I was just super weird?”

I nod, “Yeah. I am way weirder than you.”

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