Page 67 of Haunted Hearts

As if snapping out of a trance, the group as a whole moves. Three of them step forward while the others turn back around and strike up their conversations again.

“Sorry, Brock, but when you mentioned you were bringing a special ‘guest’ I didn’t expect it to be a goddess,” a tall, red-headed, Fae woman says softly. Beside her, a massive man with blond hair, the color of corn silk, and hands the size of hams, nods. The small pink guy standing on the Fae’s other side, nods as well.

I chuckle, both from amusement and a little apprehension. What’s with all the staring? Kwil’s chest bumps against my back lightly. The softest of growls vibrates through his chest as his fingers wrap loosely around my left wrist, almost possessively. My heart swells at the small comfort.

But I got this.

“I’m not a goddess but thanks for the compliment,” I flash everyone a grin that I work to make look easy. This seems to thaw out the rest of the tension. I look over to Brock and raise an eyebrow. “You told them I was a special guest?”

Brock tilts his head, smiling sheepishly at me. “Aren’t you?”

That little smile loosens the worry in my chest a little bit.

Not sure what to say, I look away from him as he waves his hands at the three people in front of us and introduces everyone starting with the red-headed Fae. “This is Tootsie, Arty, and this giant is Caveman. They’re probably my closest friends. You guys, meet Willow, Theo, Viktor, Kwil, and Jonah.”

I don’t know if ‘Caveman’ is a nickname or not, but it fits. The blond giant with long, untamed hair and a matching beard is taller even than Kwil, and about twice as wide as Viktor.

I take a step towards the off-duty reapers. Kwil moves with me like a shadow.

“Thanks for letting us crash your party this evening. It’s been a while since any of us could relax,” I wave my hand towards Jonah, who holds a platter of small cakes that Theo had the staff back at Dad’s house whip up when he returned. “We brought food.”

“Thank god, I was afraid we’d starve tonight,” Caveman says, stepping towards Jonah with his arms outstretched.

“Brock wasn’t calling you the special guest, Willow, he was talking about me, clearly,” Jonah objects at once as he takes the first step towards the rest of the group, holding out the tray of cakes in front of him like an offering. “I call dibs on at least three of these things, by the way!”

“If someone doesn’t take that tray from him in the next few minutes, he’ll call dibs on all of them,” Viktor promises and, to my surprise, follows Jonah over to the rest of the large group.

Tootsie laughs, “Well, luckily we have more than enough food, come join us.”

As Viktor joins Jonah and the others, my eyes are drawn to the house set a few yards away from the pond. I blink. There’s something oddly familiar about the place. Unease creeps down my spine as foggy memories of pain and terror cloud my thoughts. Did something happen here?

“Let’s go claim a stump before Caveman takes three for himself,” Brock tilts his head towards me, but shoots his friend a playful look.

The giant rolls his eyes. “I do not take up that much room.”

“Ah, yeah you do, Cave,” Arty replies. His voice is strangely high-pitched.

Brock steps closer to me and, after the smallest hesitation that I don’t fail to miss, he reaches out to take my hand and pulls me towards the band of merry reapers. Kwil remains right behind me, and Theo walks a small distance away, on my other side. Are they herding me?

No, they’re protecting me. The thought is a bit unsettling, but now that I’ve noticed, that’s exactly what they’re doing. Jonah and Viktor walked ahead to assess the threat while Kwil and Theo remain by my side.

Their need to protect me and the strange sense of déjà vu when I look back at the house, causes my steps to falter.

Brock’s hand tightens around mine as I slow down.

“You ok?” He asks as Theo and Kwil move just a bit closer.

My eyes flicker to the house. “Whose house is that?”

“Mine, why?”

Really? My brows come together. “Why does it feel like I’ve been here before?”

Brock looks down at me in surprise. “Because you have. I’m surprised you remember, since you were pretty out of it.”

“Brock brought you here to heal you,” Kwil whispers in my ear from behind me.

Ah, ok then. I let out a heavy sigh of relief and start walking again. This is Brock’s house and I’m safe.

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