Page 60 of Feral

Director Dearborne hung up and I stared at my phone for a few seconds after, my mind trying to process everything. As I put the USB device back into the field kit, I ran through all the possible ways to neutralize a class five artifact.

I glanced back at the kit, knowing full well that there was nothing in there that would bring a class five artifact to heel.

Unless…

It was possible for artifacts to cancel each other out, which was why shelving was so important. If I could find a strong enough artifact with the inverse properties, it would cancel the dangerous one long enough to allow me to get it back to the Archive. The tricky part was going to be getting just the right one.

I opened my email and sent out the idea to the Director, asking her if we had anything in the database that would do the trick since I couldn’t access it remotely. It was the only plan I had at the moment, and it was thin at best, not nearly enough to take the edge off my worry. Without anything else to occupy it, my mind began to spiral into all the ways this could go wrong. The risk to Fraser’s clan, the risk to the city of Dublin, hell, even the entirety of Scotland. It sounded crazy and perhaps a little dramatic to anyone outside of the Archive. But for those of us who knew the power of artifacts, it was a very real possibility.

And I might not be able to stop it even if I do find the damn thing in time.

My self-confidence had been hard won in the face of so much derision from my family. But even so, in moments in like this, I was that sobbing teenager whose second place history medal wasn’t good enough for her family.

But I am. I am smart, I am worthy.

I repeated the affirmation that a therapist had suggested years ago and tried to remind myself of all the things I’d achieved at the Secret Archive, the people that trusted me there. And now, the fact that the new Director had trusted me with a very important mission.

That has to mean something…it does.

I was just finishing up my notes when Fraser walked in with two bags of food. The scent of burgers and fries hit me and I groaned with hunger.

“Oh my god, please tell me there’s a cheeseburger in there for me.”

He chuckled and handed me one of the bags.

“There’s a cheeseburger in there for ya.”

It was pure instinct that had me jumping up onto my tip toes and planting a kiss on his cheek. He turned his head in surprise just as my heels hit the floor. Our eyes locked for just a second and the heat there shot straight through me. But before either of us could do anything that would make this more awkward, I took a step back and he cleared his throat.

There was a small table near the window and we sat down to eat while I told Fraser what the director had said.

“So, it might be one of those two items?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Has anyone seen Ruben with an old, strange book or a small apple?”

Fraser chuckled.

“Sorry, the picture that paints...”

“I know, it’s odd but chances are that he won’t leave them anywhere if they’ve attached themselves to him.”

“I’ve not heard anythin’ but we’ll find out tomorrow.”

I gave him a wobbly smile and finished my dinner. The burgers were delicious but I only half enjoyed mine. Worry gnawed at me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in way over my head.

We cleaned up and decided on an early night since someone from his clan would be here bright and early to pick us up.

As I brushed my teeth and slipped into the sleep shirt from the gift shop, I thought about what had happened just before Fraser had left to get dinner. I could still feel the phantom press of his tongue on my skin and I worried that I was developing quite the crush on the Werewolf.

Which is the last thing I need.

I stepped out of the bathroom to find Fraser on the floor next to the bed. The bandage was hidden beneath his glamour, but he still winced when he laid on his side.

“Fraser, if you think I’m letting you sleep on the floor in your condition you’ve got another thing coming.”

“There’s only one bed, lass, and I’m enough of a gentleman that I won’t have ya sleeping on the floor.”

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