Page 26 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

That probably had something to do with trauma. Had anyone cared enough about us to put us in therapy, we might have been able to adequately process seeing supernaturals slaughter our parents when we were ten. We’d have had something in the way of actual coping mechanisms.

Instead, Helen had shown up at their funeral, informing everyone that she was taking over the family business and that she’d be raising us. Our uncles had been in their teens when our parents died. They weren’t viable options then, and at some point over the last decade, Helen had managed to run them off as well. We’d not seen either of them in years.

I couldn’t speak for Mina, but I missed them. Simon and Ash had been good to us. They’d reminded me of our father. Strong, handsome, and caring. So unlike Helen.

What we did remember of our parents was good—it was of happier times. Laughing. Playing. Being kids. Not surrounded by death and destruction all the time.

Demon hunting was a dangerous calling, proven by the loss of our parents. I wasn’t even sure my uncles were still alive. Helen never spoke of them. She preferred to surround herself with strays, as my father had once called them. Lester and the other rogue hunters. Ones who were no longer with their original lines or groups for one reason or another. My guess was they didn’t play well with others. Heck, they couldn’t even share a room. I couldn’t imagine how demon hunting together went for them.

Headlights splashed over the line of trees near us, pulling me from memories of my parents. Mina grabbed my arm, dragging me around the side of the inn.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

She gave me a stern look. “It might be Helen or Lester.”

“So?”

“I don’t want them knowing what we’re doing,” she stated.

I groaned, permitting her to push me into the shadows of the inn. If a spider got on me, she and I were going to have major words.

We watched as the SUV that our aunt and her crew had been using to get around came speeding down the one-lane dirt road, kicking up dust behind it.

Whoever was driving slammed on the brakes and threw the SUV into park. Lester stepped out of the driver’s seat, and Helen exited from the passenger side, her long dark hair pulled back from her face.

Mina clutched my arm tightly as we peered around the side of the inn, watching as Lester checked his watch as they stood not far from where we’d been only moments before.

They exchanged words, but at a volume level that we couldn’t hear before Helen left Lester standing there to head into the inn.

Lester lit up a cigarette and stared around as he smoked. Several times, he looked in our direction, and I tensed, wondering if he’d see us. I wasn’t exactly sure why I was so worried since we’d not done anything wrong, but Mina had me paranoid.

Helen exited the inn, stuffing something into her waistband, and for a second, I was sure I’d seen the glint of silver coming from the item.

Lester watched her closely before tossing the remainder of his cigarette onto the ground. “You get it?”

“Yeah,” she said, sounding winded.

“Are they still sleeping?” he questioned, and I knew right away he was talking about us.

I leaned as if that would help me hear better.

“Yes. There isn’t any noise coming from their room,” said Helen with a shrug as she continued to her side of the SUV. “I didn’t open the door. Didn’t want to risk waking them. Mina would start with endless questions and want to come with us.”

“Hard to believe she’s Alvin’s daughter,” said Lester with a grunt as he stepped on his still-smoldering cigarette butt on the ground. “I mean, she’s better than the other one, but I expected greatness from Alvin’s offspring since he was such a legend.”

Mina tensed and then started forward, no doubt to go at Lester.

I yanked her closer to me, keeping her held back.

She opened her mouth to say something, but I shook my head, clamping my hand over her mouth tightly. While I shared her frustration and anger, everything in me said that now wasn’t the time to confront him.

Events from two weeks ago played out in my head. I was still sure I recognized some of the men who had been in the white van. If I was right and they were working with Lester, he was a real threat to us.

“I blame Kate. She didn’t let him train the girls when they were little,” said Helen. “Alvin, Ash, Simon, and I were handed stakes when we were old enough to walk.”

“Exactly why you’re all legends,” said Lester. “Kate was soft. Weak.”

“She was,” added Helen, going to the passenger-side door. “We need to go. We’re late enough as it is.”

---