Page 3 of Beneath the Cursed Veil

Sadie pulled the cash from her back pocket, holding it out in front of me. I smirked, blowing gently over the top. The bills shimmered, the spell on them flickering. Counterfeit. Jenkins paled, somehow managing to shrink in on himself even though he was tied down. “How did you . . .”

“Meera finds things, understand? That’s her specialty.” He looked at me and I waved, taking another bite of my candy, uninterested in the exchange. “People come from all over, paying for her services. Me included. Of course, I get a family discount, but that’s beside the point. See, Meera knows that underground fighting is a dangerous business, and a few of our patrons are sketchy. So I had her find me a way to track and expose spells on money. Can’t have little weasels like you stealing from my profits, now can I? How would I feed my family, Jenkins?”

“What did a weasel ever do to you? Poor thing doesn’t deserve to be compared to him,” I muttered, butting in. She side-eyed me and I shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

She shook her head, looking at Jenkins again. “I’m going to make this really simple. Make my money appear inthe next two minutes, or I’m going to start cutting things off.” She glanced down, insinuating she’d start with his manhood. Would she actually do it? Ehhhhh. Beating the shit out of someone was one thing, but real, true torture? We usually leave that to Cadoc, our second oldest brother. However, threatening a guy's dick typically proved to be their breaking point.

Shocking, I know.

Sadie sighed, holding her hand out to me. “Hammer.”

Reaching over to a shelf, I grabbed one and exhaled just as long and loud as she had, but that was all it took.

“Okay, okay!” Jenkins shrieked, nodding his head in quick successions. “I have it. Just give me a phone. I’ll get your money.”

My sister bent over and patted his cheek gently, then softly pinched his nose as though he were a child. “See? Was that so hard?”

“Well, my part here is done.” I waved my hand in a circular motion. “It’s been lovely, Jenkins. Say hi to your sister for me. Don’t steal from my family again. Better yet, get help for your gambling addiction. You suck at it, and it’s going to get you killed. Just my two cents.”

“Thanks, sis,” Sadie said, giving me a hug. “I’ll lock up back here.”

I gave her a salute and left the room, closing the heavy wooden door behind me. She’d call Fearghal, our youngest brother who was still older than us by three years, and he’d handle moving Jenkins through the back door to the unmarked van that would take him to a random drop location.

Strolling through the quiet space, I sat behind the counter on my favorite stool and placed a Beatles record on the record player. I set the needle on as it started spinning,turning down the volume so it was more of a soothing background hum. The lights of my store had been dimmed for hours, and the closed sign had been flipped. Not that it was likely someone would stop by, given I hadn’t had a buyer in weeks. Human buyers were scarce, but their antiquities weren’t my primary focus—just the front I gave to the world for the occasional straggler that wandered through.

No, my real specialty was finding items of magical variety. Rare trinkets, imbued with power. I was more interested in their history and creation, but their usefulness is what usually brought in the cash.

Unfortunately, in the last few months, work had been scarce. While I had quite a few items in my back room, my antiques shop still couldn’t pay the bills. Which made my dream, this store, more of a hobby than a business. Something like failure burned in my chest. I knew Sadie would lend me the money, but I would never ask. I didn’t want her to know that the business I poured my heart, soul, and savings into was floundering. I’d chosen this line of work for myself because it’s what I loved.

The family business was fighting, but it wasn’tme. While I could hold my own in a fight, I didn’t live for it the way Sadie did. I didn’t feel that rush in my blood that she described. I attributed it to the fact I was adopted, and not a full redcap. I didn’t have the full-blown desire to beat the crap out of things like they did. I was more . . . crafty and suited to undercover type work. I suppose in a way that was a saving grace, because taking those undercover jobs for specific buyers was the only thing keeping me afloat right now. Besides, getting hit sucked. As a fighter, you had to be willing to dish it outandtake it.

I didn’t want to take it. The very idea of being in thefight ring made me cringe. No, I’d much rather acquire rare knickknacks and read romance books.

When the cuckoo clock started its loud, obnoxious announcement, I wondered for the hundredth time why I kept the damn thing. It was horrible, and the shrieking grated on my nerves. It was no wonder it hadn’t sold. The only reason I hadn’t gotten rid of it was because it served as an excellent security system, going off anytime someone stepped foot in my shop.

“Well, well, well,” I said casually as my ‘buyer’ came around the corner. “If it isn’t Lousy Lou, late as usual.”

He smirked, glancing at his watch. “It’s good to see you too, Meera, the mighty pain-in-my-ass. See, we can all do nicknames, ya’ fiery ginger.”

“It’s about time you showed up. I was going to close up if you kept me waiting any longer.” I slid from my stool and arched my back, letting out a series of pops.

Lou tutted playfully as he stepped into the light, his smile mischievous in nature. His tall, wiry stature was cloaked by a black trench coat that went down past his knees. He wore a matching deerstalker that tucked away his jet-black curls, his beard kissed by droplets of rain. “You weren’t,” he said, calling out my lie.

I huffed, settling my hands on the curve of my waist, tilting my hips to the side. “That hat looks ridiculous on you. You look like Sherlock Holmes.”

“You don’t like it? I wore it just for you, lass.” He winked, grasping the edge between his index finger and thumb, tipping it just slightly.

Always the charmer. I fought the emotion playing on my lips, biting down on the side of my tongue. As much as I valued my working relationship with Lou, this past jobpissed me off and I couldn’t give my amusement away by doing something stupid like grinning.

“I highly doubt you do anything for my benefit, Lou.” I swallowed, holding my ground as I narrowed my eyes at the leprechaun. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m missing my bed, so let’s get this over with so I can go home. Unless you don’t have the cash . . .”

Was I tired? Yes. Did I have a book to finish? Also yes. Was I behind on the building’s mortgage and needed him to pay me no matter how brazen I acted?Gods, yes.

“Relax. I wouldn’t show my face around here if I didn’t have the money,” he said, stepping closer to the counter. Reaching beneath his trench coat, he pulled out a wad of cash. I went to take it, but he pulled it back quickly. “Did you get what I asked for?”

“Would I be here if I didn’t?” I rolled my eyes, reaching beneath the counter and pressing my hand onto the scanner of a biometric safe. It looked like any safe you’d buy at a sporting goods store, but this one was enchanted. It didn’t just read my palm print. It read my scent. My magic. And most importantly, my intent. That last bit was a special addition I was quite proud of. And it cost me a pretty penny to imbue it in such a way, but when you worked with magical artifacts, the last thing I wanted to do was leave them unsecured. They were just as important as the cash.

I pulled out the pouch, showing him the small leather bag. A grin curled up one side of his face and his emerald green eyes sparkled with mischief as he plunked down the stack of neatly organized bills. I shook it around, slightly smiling in return before I tossed it to him.

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