Page 13 of Blood and Bonbons

I reached up to feel my hair, and my hand came away with a sticky web. A whimper escaped me.

She pulled a large black spider from my hair and winced apologetically when she saw my horrified expression. I hated spiders almost as much as I hated fairies.

“A shower then cheesecake. How about a caramel mocha latte to go with it?” She scooted me from the cave opening and down the nightmare mountain. “You’ll feel so much better after a nice hot shower.”

No shower could make me feel better about bleeding on a vampire, but at least, I could get rid of the dirt and cobwebs. I shuddered.

CHAPTERTHREE

I wipedmy hand across the mirror, clearing away the steam to look at my cheek. The scratch, no more than an inch long, wasn’t deep. But it did look red and angry. Squinting my dark grey eyes, I psyched myself up for what I knew I needed to do.

Instead of reaching for the peroxide, though, I gave myself another few moments of reprieve and brushed my hair. It always looked dark when it was wet, but as soon as I blew it out, it would return to its sunny, un-webbed glory.

“I regret letting you go first,” Vena called through the door.

She was probably sitting in the hall, unwilling to get anything else in the house dirty since she knew she’d have to clean it.

“I’m disinfecting my cut,” I said.

My hiss when I dabbed the soaked cotton ball to my face elicited a quiet apology from Vena. With the scratch still foaming, I tossed the cotton ball into the garbage and opened the door.

“Not what I want to hear from you. I want to hear, ‘You’re right, Ev. Hunting is dangerous. I promise I’ll never do it again.’”

She stood gracefully.

“You’d really want me to give up my dream? The thing that brings me joy?”

I made a pained face.

“No. I want you to be safe, Vena. I want to be eighty in a senior-living community and look over at my best friend, knowing she’ll help steal an extra pudding from the nurse’s cart.”

“We’ll steal the whole cart, and they won’t have a clue.” She tugged me into a hug, uncaring that I only wore a towel. “Besides, I didn’t even get hurt this time. You took one for the team. See? You’re my lucky charm. If you start hunting with me, I’ll never have a scratch on me again.”

“I’d never survive.”

She released me with a grin. “You would if you started training.”

“Go shower and scrub extra hard. Hopefully, you can wash off the insanity.”

While she used the bathroom, I pulled on lounge clothes and went to the kitchen to show a piece of cheesecake that I wasn’t the type to take prisoners. Vena had been smart about her bribery. It wasn’t some mediocre store-bought confectionery. This creamy slice of heaven had my eyes rolling back in my head on the first bite.

I’d almost forgiven her by the third bite until I heard a key in the front door.

Narrowing my gaze, I moved into the dining room and waited for our visitor, the only other person with a key, to let himself into our house.

Miles’ grin faded at the sight of my scowl, and his gaze flicked over my face, lingering on my cheek.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Your sister took me along on the hunt.”

“Yeah, but what happened? It was literally supposed to be a walk in the park.”

“You knew?” I couldn’t keep the fury from my voice.

Vena emerged from the hallway and elbowed him before he could answer.

“Miles, I love you like a brother, but shut up,” she said.

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