Page 115 of Castings & Curses

As she hurried down the sidewalk, she glanced at the window displays. A curio shop caught her attention. Priya mentally noted its location so she could come back when she wasn’t pressed for time.

Two college-aged girls stood in front of a bookshop, ringing bells and wishing people “Happy Holidays!” as passersby stuffed dollar bills into a red kettle. A door opened to her left and the mouth-watering scent of cinnamon rolls assailed her.

Distracted by the luscious aroma, she walked right into someone.

“Sorry!” She looked up to find a young man with a devastating smile. The smile made her stomach rollercoaster-swoop and inspired an answering grin out of Priya. “I, uh, wasn’t watching where I was walking.”

Tall and lean was her kryptonite.

“Entirely my fault.” His cognac-dark eyes held a hint of mischief in them. “I was focused on getting to the bakery and not paying attention.”

His brown hair was short on the sides and longer on top. Given the tousled state of the longer locks, she wondered if he habitually ran his hand through it or if the wind had disheveled it. Either way, it was a good look on him.

The door opened again and more cinnamon goodness rushed out.

She must have moaned, or a rumble from her stomach betrayed her, because he laughed, and said, “They have the best cinnamon rolls in town. Don’t suppose you have time for one? My treat.”

The disarming way he looked at her almost had Priya abandoning her quest. She wondered what time the Science Center opened in the morning.

Meeting his gaze directly, Priya’s grin crumbled. He had a rim of gold around his pupil.

Fear spiked through her. The boy-band handsome guy in front of her was a vampire.

A freaking vampire.

Rumor was the thickness of the gold band indicated their hunger level. It seemed thin, and she doubted he would wander around among the holiday crowd if he were hungry. Right?

Her heart rammed against her ribs like a trapped bird trying to break free from a cage. Could he hear it? Could he sense her fear? Every witch knew vampires found their blood intoxicating. She’d heard even a little sip gave them a power boost.

“I’m sorry.” Priya squeezed the words out of her Sahara-dry throat. “I’m on a bit of a deadline.” She managed a semblance of a smile and jerkily edged around him.

Walk. Slow and easy. Don’t run.

The urge to look back and make sure he wasn’t following became an itch at the back of her neck.

At the next corner, a well-padded Santa wore a sandwich board proclaiming sixty-to-seventy percent off at Jones Galleria. There was a traffic snarl and several drivers expressed their frustration by laying on their horns. Priya chanced a glance over her shoulder. She couldn’t see the vampire. A group of teenagers, tired of waiting for the walk signal to change, threaded their way through the stopped cars. Priya hurried after them.

Of course, she knew there were vampires in Kingston. But in her four years of living in the city, she hadn’t encountered one before.

He wasn’t what she expected. Priya imagined vampires as aloof, sophisticated, glamorously attractive, and ethereally pale. He got full marks in the looks category, but the rest? He seemed down-to-earth, extremely friendly, and no paler than the geek boys she knew from college who rarely went outside.

Priya slowed, her attention snagged by a display of exquisite jewelry nestled amid fake snow. The array of colorful gems would have made Belinda Hawthorne salivate. An older man came out of the shop carrying a small, silvery-blue bag marked with Hollanders Fine Jewelry. Except for his deep tan, he looked almost exactly how Priya expected a vampire to look. He was 1950s Hollywood handsome. His sharply creased black trousers, double-breasted black wool coat, and artfully tied houndstooth cashmere winter scarf were undoubtedly expensive. And he carried himself with an air of arrogance. It might be stereotyping, but he hit every marker she had in her head.

The elegant gentleman nodded at her as he passed. No gold rim around his shockingly blue eyes.

Priya glanced back again, searching for the vampire.

That smile. Her tummy did another rollercoaster swoop.

Maybe she overreacted.

She resumed walking. The streetlights cast warm yellow orbs of light, pushing back the gray gloom. She dodged around hardcore holiday shoppers on a mission and strolling window shoppers as she watched for the Science Center.

Meeting a vampire caught her off guard. She regretted scurrying away like a mouse.

The guy probably didn’t even realize she was a witch. If she had a dollar for every time she’d been pegged for a non-magic human, she would be rich. And it was a little judgmental of her to think all he wanted to do was drink a stranger’s blood right out in public. She definitely overreacted.

Caught up in her thoughts, Priya almost went past the Science Center.

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