Page 13 of Sprite Wedding
When we returned to work the next day, I headed into my office with its comfortable surroundings. It had my desk and a workbench where I worked on supernatural weapons as well as a bookcase full of books on magic and defenses. Vacation was great, but I was ready to get back to work. Cases could be piling up. It had been quiet in Salem while we were away, so I read reports from other networks to stay current on what was going on in the world. There was always something, somewhere.
Cassandra, a thirty-something witch with blond hair who was a skilled interrogator, stopped by. “How was the wedding?”
“Great,” I replied. “The ceremony was beautiful, right on the beach. Gianna and Sebastian are still there, spending their honeymoon.”
Cassandra and most of the staff at the Network knew the newlyweds as they’d volunteered to help out as needed.
In addition to the investigations that I focused on in our group, witches such as Cassandra, Nova, and Pandora worked on spells and potions. We also had others who helped with housing and job placements, travel planning, civil matters, security, and so on. Whatever a supernatural needed to navigate a human-dominated world, we had it covered.
“How about the cruise?” Cassandra asked, twirling one of her blonde ringlets around her fingers.
“Relaxing for the most part,” I replied. “How was everything here?”
“Quiet, fortunately.”
“Good. Actually, there’s something Lucas and I need to tell you about.”
We gathered in the conference room with our team, and Lucas told the story about the sprites.
“I’ve never seen one myself,” Pandora, a powerful witch who led our division, replied. Her raven hair was pulled into a tight braid today, which fell down her back.
“Neither have I,” confirmed Cassandra.
“The buggers were about yay big.” Lucas spread his hands about six inches apart. “And in shades of green and brown.”
“That sounds handy for camouflage,” I said.
“Indeed,” Lucas agreed. “I didn’t see any until one flew up and bopped me in the nose.” He lightly smacked his nose for emphasis.
“And that evening is the one when you acted out of character?” Pandora confirmed.
“Right. I can’t believe I did that in front of”—he shuddered—“families.”
I placed my hand on his thigh under the long conference table and squeezed. “Lucas appeared to be under the influence of something. His eyes were dazed and unfocused.”
“Yeah, I was out of it, all right. Fortunately, I remember everything.” He contorted his face and hissed. “Actually, maybe that’s not a good thing.”
Lucas rarely showed embarrassment, but how he’d acted that night rattled him. I didn’t blame him. It would have horrified and haunted me. He had a much higher level of tolerance of not worrying about other’s opinions, so for him to be bothered, it had to be a big deal.
“And nothing has happened since?” Pandora asked.
Lucas shook his head once in a decisive manner. “Nope.”
“That’s good.” Pandora closed a thick book on supernatural lore on the table. “They fit the description of sprites. If you leave them alone, they tend to leave you alone.”
I nodded. “Good.”
Lucas gestured with a raised hand. “Fortunately, they are an ocean away, so we won’t be bothering each other again.”
“It doesn’t look like we have anything to worry about then,” Pandora declared.
“Looks like I got a good vacation story out of it.” Lucas’s lips curled into his signature lopsided smile.
That was indeed the case. The more Lucas regaled the story to others at the Network, the more he appeared to enjoy it. No signs of embarrassment remained.
Gianna and Sebastian returned from their honeymoon that weekend. Nova, Diego, Lucas, and I sat with them in the living room of the guys’ side of the house. This space had turned into the hangout spot for whoever was around. It had comfortable couches and chairs, a TV, video games, Lucas’s record player and stereo system, and a coffee table that was often covered with our beverages, snacks, or board game of the night.
In fact, I had been spending more of my free time here than at home in the apartment I shared with two roommates, both witches who worked at the Salem Supernatural Network. Lucie coordinated housing and employment while Becca focused on travel arrangements.
