Page 38 of Midlife Witch Unexpected

“So where do we get monsters?” I asked, suddenly feeling a chill on my skin. It was as if someone was watching me. I glanced around the horizon but couldn’t see anyone or anything out of the ordinary.

“Monsters are sent by their master,” Hilda shrugged.

“It was a Dark Fae who sent them,” Anita said.

“You can’t know for sure,” Hilda said.

“No, but I can surmise it.” Anita said. “Dark Fae always want what the demigods have.”

“But this was a long time ago,” Branson informed me. “Before the boundaries of New Attica were completely sealed. There was a lot crazier crossover back then. Monsters and demons and all sorts. Now mostly we just deal with zombies and vampires.”

“Good to know.” I felt my insides growing cold. Was there anything safe in this world? My skin tingled. Something was wrong. “What do you mean the boundaries are completely sealed?”

“It’s like your borders only absolute. The world is divided between Fae and demigods. We live in the Demigods half,” Branson explained.

“And there’s no going over to the Fae half,” I reasoned looking around the perimeter trying to see what was watching us.

“Precisely,” Branson said.

Suddenly the earth started rumbling and I looked just outside the fence. The rock split apart and standing there on top of the rocks was Joachim, his hands on his hips and his teeth bared. There was nothing human about him. I got chills up and down my arms, my heart racing.

“That a new trick you learned how to do, Joachim?” Hilda asked

“Make all the jokes you want, Hilda, but you know the power here is weakening. You can get a High Priestess, but it won’t save your precious cemetery. I’m not alone. Soon there will be hundreds and thousands coming here for your precious remains.”

There was an earthquake so hard we fell to the ground and when I looked up, the vampire was gone.

Chapter 23

Strong arms lifted me off the ground and helped me back to my feet. I gripped onto Branson’s forearm to stabilize myself, inhaling his musky scent.

“I didn’t know a vampire could do something like that,” I said.

“Vampires are beastials,” Branson growled. “They can’t do that.”

“What the hell was it?” Anita asked.

Branson was helping Hilda, who seemed a little sturdier on her feet than I was, but it seemed right of Branson to help her, nonetheless. It made me warm and happy.

“He’s tapping into Dark Fae magic,” Branson said. His eyes rode over me as if he was making sure every single piece of me was all right. And well, it was, but…there were so many questions.

“What was he doing out in the daylight?” I asked. “Does he have some sort of crazy ring that allows him to walk in the light?”

“Vampires prefer the night because they can see better in it, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be out in the daylight. Vampires are cunning. They’ve learned all their tricks from the Dark Fae. So they’ll never fight a battle where they don’t have the upper hand. It’s why he’s bringing in dark fairy magic. He must have a powerful ally.”

"Isn't there somebody we are supposed to report this to?" I asked. "I mean if I am here to work, is there a Demigods liaison I should talk to?"

You would’ve thought I had suggested doing a deal with the devil himself by the look of negative shock on Hilda and Branson’s face.

“We’ll go to the bakery,” Hilda said.

“Great idea,” Branson agreed.

The bakery? Seriously? A vampire is taunting the crap out of us and wants to kill me and you want pastries.

“I don’t need more tartlets,” I said. Pastries had never been my thing. I was more of a smoked salmon and bagel kind of woman. I liked my dough savory, not sweet. But right now, I didn’t really care so much to eat anything. “Don’t you think we have a vampire problem we should be sorting out?”

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