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A few days later, we were walking along the sidewalk in the shopping district, enjoying a rare warm break in the rapidly encroaching fall weather. It wouldn't be too long, and All Hallows Eve would be here. It was my favorite holiday. Already, the shops were decked out with cheesy pumpkins and skeletons. I glanced at the guys strolling along beside me, arguing about the best way to drink spiced cider. Con was recovering from his moral crisis. But Oisin...something was off with him and I couldn't quite figure out what it was. He was wary. On guard when he thought I wasn't looking. And his reassurances that everything was fine were starting to ring with just a hint of falsehood.
"Ooh...Gesa, look!" Oisin dragged me to a stop outside a particularly garish-looking shop. It was dripping with pirate-themed decor. I followed the men inside what appeared to be a nautical-themed shop when it wasn't catering to the holiday. Kitschy nautical decor was popular around the Great Lakes. The guys milled about picking things up and putting them down like children.
"Argh, what say ye?" Oisin said, giving me a jaunty wink from under a black hat with a floppy feather. "Be I a fearsome pirate?"
I shook my head and moved past them, toward the back of the shop where there was less of the cheap holiday add-ons. Con and Oisin proceeded to mock battle with toy swords, Oisin calling out pointers the whole time about how Con was holding his arm wrong and how these replicas were absolute shite.
I was looking at a case of hand-painted seashells and jewelry when some instinct made me look up. A gorgeous woman was standing behind the counter, watching me with dark, almond-shaped eyes. She glanced down at the case and fluttered a hand over it, as if asking whether I wanted her to open it up.
I shook my head. "No thanks. I'm just looking, really." There was a theatrical cry as one of my companions met his death on the blade. "Just waiting for those two idiots," I said, shaking my head.
I was rewarded with a timid smile. Gods, I'd never seen someone so beautiful before. She was all flowing black hair and luscious curves, with a hint of Asian heritage of some sort in her features. She glanced back over her shoulder nervously, toward a closed door at the back of the shop, then came around the counter to take my hand.
I was startled at her suddenly getting up in my personal space. She squeezed my hand and pulled me over to another corner of the store, behind a display of stuffed parrots.
Her soft hands covered mine as she pulled it to her and placed it over her chest, a pleading look in those haunting eyes, a blue so dark it was almost black. I had not a clue what was going on. Sudden heat flared up and I knew I was blushing. She had planted my hand right over the biggest, roundest breasts I'd ever seen. And apparently, I didn't mind that so much. Huh.
"Gesa?" Con's voice brought me out of my trance as he came up behind us. I had been standing there, feeling up the shop girl, in a daze. Her eyes were still pleading as she patted my hand where it lay over her, uh...heart.
Oisin glided over a moment later, wearing a burgundy velvet captain's jacket that clashed horribly with his flaming hair. "Oh Gesa," he said with wonder when he saw me and my new friend. "What have you been doing?"
I tried to pull my hand away, but the woman held tight like a leach. She shook her head and stamped a delicate foot. She was on the tall side, for a woman, though not as tall as me. Her eyes glinted and I was struck by how she looked like a pirate herself, all exotic and dressed in a flowing peasant shirt and skirt. All she was lacking was tall boots and a sword. "I'm sorry," I said, trying that thing people called tact. "I'm...not sure what you...want?"
The door at the back of the shop opened and a mean-tempered looking older man shuffled out, his gaze searching the store. "Girl? Where'd you get off to?"
The woman grabbed a book off a table behind her and held it out to me, pointing at the back cover as if she was showing me something incredible. The old man huffed. "Come back here and help with the inventory when you get done with the customers." He shuffled off again.
The woman darted a glance between the three of us and I wondered if she was a bit...mentally impaired. What the heck was with her weird behavior?
She squeezed my hand again and glanced at where the man had disappeared, a frown marring her pretty face.
"You're not human," Oisin said, his smooth voice soft and lilting still, but wary.
Now that he mentioned it, yeah, there was a soft, cool magic swirling about her like waves. Very subtle, but it was there if you knew what to look for.
The woman shook her head and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, as if we were all idiots. Then she pulled at my hand again, tugging me toward the door, Oisin and Con following along. When we neared the door, she spun and patted her chest, then my chest.
Con tapped her on the shoulder, getting her attention. Then he moved his fingers slowly.
Her eyes lit up and she nearly jumped up and down. Her lips moved, and her fingers flowed through some complicated signing. Con held up his hand with a laugh. "Okay," he said "stop, slow down. I don't know very much."
He turned to me. Gods I was stupid. "She can't talk, Gesa."
"But you can hear?" he asked the woman. She nodded emphatically and made a choking gesture, bringing her hands up to encircle her throat.
She stepped back, nodding toward the back of the shop where her grouchy employer had disappeared. "Yeah," I said with a wry laugh. "You'd better not keep him waiting. He seems like a complete asshole."
She grinned at me with perfect white teeth, but it dimmed almost immediately. She turned to Con and made a slow sign. Then looked at me with those pleading eyes.
"She wants you to come back," Con said.
Great. I had a crazy lady admirer.
"Gesa will come back," Oisin said, taking the woman's hand. "You need some sort of help, yes?"
She nodded, her eyes tearing up.
I laughed when she flung herself at Oisin, engulfing the shorter man in long limbs and plush curves. His green eyes widened, then he patted her on the back with a smirk. "Yes, okay. We're definitely coming back soon."
After we left the shop, we headed toward the outskirts of town, just wandering. "Well, that was fucking weird," I commented.
Oisin gave me a sly look. "What? You just found your next case, Miss Lionheart."
I elbowed him. "Shut up."
Con sighed. "I didn't know you were bi, Gesa. Will you share her?"
I glanced at the meek human, shocked to find him leering at me. "You are spending way too much time with Oisin," I said flatly. "He's a terrible influence." I refused to comment on the rest. Gods, it wasn't as if I was out to collect a pride of lovers, despite what the stupid fae said.
"Hey," Con said, his tone changing. He had his face plastered to a shop window, where a brightly colored poster advertised a circus. "I've never been to the circus. Can we go? It's the last weekend they're in town!" He whirled back around, face lit up like a kid. "They have a fortune teller...it says he can tell you about your past or your future. How cool is that? I've always wanted to get see how they work. I'm sure they are experts at emotional body language and using psychological suggestion techniques to—"
Oisin snorted at our adorable nerd. "You realize that's all fake, right? Oracles are extremely rare these days."
I rolled my eyes at both of them. "You are both ridiculous. Oisin, stop being so literal all the time. Con, if seeing the fortune teller will make you stop fantasizing about me and other women, it's a deal."
I laughed at them as we made our way toward the fairgrounds at the edge of town. But I couldn't help glancing back over my shoulder toward the shop with the mute woman inside. Why did I feel like the shit was about to hit the fan?
My cell phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, swiping ignore call. My traitorous bitch of a mother could just sit and stew. I was going to the circus with my new family.