Page 73 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“First, we need to pack your bags,” she said. “Then, we’re going to a party. Nothing major, just a last hurrah for you before you leave.”
“You want to have a party now?” I twisted in my seat to look at her. “A room full of helpless humans doesn’t sound like an open invitation for demons to you?”
“Who said anything about humans? Look, I’m all for protecting them, but parties are way more fun when they’re not around. I reached out to some of our old friends. It’s going to be me and you and a room full of magical creatures who can kick those demon’s asses if they even think about spoiling our fun.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I shook my head. “I don’t know, Jackie. This seems risky.”
“Yes, I’m serious.” She rolled her neck as she spoke. “You’ve been working your ass off, and now you’re going to another world. How many times have you said you wanted a break or to reconnect with old friends? Hell, we’ve talked about meeting up for months now, and it never happened. So tonight, before you take off and go fight demonic entities, we’re going to let loose and celebrate everything you’ve accomplished and all the good that’s coming. Tonight, all our magical buddies are coming to town, so get your elemental ass ready for a party!”
“Elemental. I forgot that’s my official classification.” I smiled.
“Well, alien isn’t one we wanted to explore, remember?” She glanced at me. “Anyone who takes that on is bound to be probed!”
“True. I’ll gladly opt out of having anything put up my butt!”
“You mean Raymond hasn’t…” She looked away from the road to waggle her brows at me. “I thought you liked that.”
“Get it together, woman.” I slapped her arm. “No, he hasn’t… Well…at least not yet.” I stuck my tongue out, and she laughed.
“Girl, you’re still just as kinky as ever.” Jackie shook her head. “Can’t believe I used to try to keep up with you. Does he know?”
“I have a feeling he does.” I chuckled. “But let’s stay on topic. Really, the classification, however questionable, is oddly comforting right now. I neverexpected that.”
“It means you belong with us.” She winked at me. “Not to get too sentimental, but you were a foster kid. Your entire life, you’ve had to choose your own family and find a place that felt like home. With us, you’re home. So, make sure you survive this thing and come back. And when you get back, we won’t take so long to hang out again. Promise?”
“I promise.” I inhaled deeply as I realized just how much I needed to be around my girls and quickly thought of the other friends I’d been neglecting while building my business. The first thing I’d do when I got back would be to call them all and catch up.
“Okay now, you know if you’re lying, you’re going to owe me so much sushi!” she said, as if she hoped I was, in fact, lying.
We went to my house, packed several bags, one almost completely full of skincare, heavy on the moisturizer, and got cute for the party. After pre-gaming with street tacos, Jackie drove us to the event hall she’d booked. I’d expected a few friends, but she had gone all out, and when the doors opened, the faces of people I hadn’t seen in years met me.
“Ta-dah!” Jackie waved her hands as she presented a party hall decorated in my favorite colors: rosy reds, soft lavenders, and forest greens. There were fake vines and twinkle lights tracing the walls, with various strings of petals falling from the ceiling. They swayed softly overhead. It was like walking into a summer garden party, and it made my heart feel instantly full.
Jackie was right. I needed a proper sendoff. I just had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t sending me off to my death. It was Jackie’s way of telling me she loved me and distracting herself from what was to come.
As I walked into the space, greeting old friends and sipping the fruity drink that someone handed to me, my mind went back to our college days, when we were mostly carefree and had our entire futures ahead of us. Jackie had draggedme to more parties than I could count, even after I’d graduated and she was still in school. She was one of the few friends who refused to let me walk away from her when I shut down after Rose’s betrayal.
I spent the next few hours dancing and being grateful for healthy knees, singing, and avoiding the werewolf who still blamed me for his hair loss. Failed tonic…long story. I added way too much poinsettia sap, and he lost every hair on his body. Hairless werewolves are a terrifying sight. As far as I knew, he still hadn’t grown it all back nearly fifteen years later. My tipsy brain toyed with the idea of asking him to shift so I could see what he looked like, and that was exactly why I never drank.
As the hours ticked on and the drinks continued to flow, I felt like I would pass out, but I refused to end the night. The longer I could stretch it out, the longer I could avoid the inevitable. But the inevitable wasn’t planning on avoiding me. As I danced in a corner with Christa, a witch who used the luck of others to feed her spells, I spotted the shadow forming across the room.
I know damn well this heffa didn’t take my luck!
As I side-eyed the woman who started to shimmy away from me, he appeared: the man I had seen very little of since he went on security detail. The man whose presence made my temperature rise despite the chill that accompanied his arrival. Raymond.
He spotted me quickly, and when our eyes locked, a voice inside my head saidrun, girl!
So, I did. I hurried over to another group of women who were talking about rumors of a witch who had put an actual spell in her fictional book. I thought I heard them mention Lena, but I couldn’t be sure. I was too busy trying to monitor Raymond.
He stopped approaching,but why?
I looked at him closely, squinting my eyes, because his face looked off. Everything was fine except his lips. The more I tried to focus on his usually full lips, the less I could actually see them. It was like looking at them through a piece of plastic. I could almost make out the shape.
“You plan to run from me all night?” I heard his voice like he was speaking into my ear and jumped. The women looked at me like I was nuts, and how could I blame them? I’d moved into their conversation, added nothing to it, and was acting weird as fuck.
“Got a chill, sorry.” I played it off with an awkward laugh.
But he wasn’t done—far from it. As I stood there, trying to appear normal and clutching on to my purse like it would save me, he upped the ante.
