It was Thursday morning in sunny West Virginia. It was going to be a warm day, but, right then, I didn’t care, I was shivering. Mornings were typically chilly and there I was without my winter coat. Ugh, I’d grown soft when it came to colder weather. Whatever.
I checked the time, noting my client was five minutes late. I prided myself on being punctual so where the hell was this Greyson person?
The meeting place he’d sent me was on a public dock called Princess Boat ramp. Personally, I’d never visited the place, but it was a nature lover’s paradise. There were lots of trees, the lake had a few runoffs into the woods, one of the streams wasn’t too far from where I stood, and an old stone building that appeared to be empty. Maybe it had once been a school? Not sure, but I checked my watch once more.
Footsteps sounded behind me and I turned. A man with shoulder-length, brown hair and a nice, thick build approached. His gait was solid with confidence. His gaze met my own and, for a moment, I thought I saw him crack a smile.
Nope, he was scowling. Perfect. He was a grumpy man who was, hold the phone, holy shit, he was hot! He had gorgeous, chocolate-brown eyes, long, thick lashes that framed his lids as if he were wearing eye liner, and his lips were slightly full and so damn kissable.
“Hello,” he said, and his voice was lovely, no, not lovely, it was deep and gravely, like a seducer would use on his prey.
Well, consider me the hunted.
“Hi,” I said and offered a wave. “Are you Greyson?”
“Who the hell else would I be out here at this time?”
He had a point, but, damn, rude much? “Well, all right, but you don’t have to be so mean about it.”
“I don’t have time for games. The situation I’m in is grave, and I need your help.” He stepped closer and I could smell him, like really smell him. It was intoxicating, like a musk mixed with woods and some sort of pheromone.
“You smell amazing.” Then my eyes widened. “Well, not that I’m sniffing you.”
He cleared his throat and took a step back. “Right. Um, okay. What I need from you is to track someone down.”
“Oh, I’m not a private investigator.”
“I understand that. Your talent is for finding rare and precious items, correct?”
I nodded. “I get it, you’re searching for someone precious to you, but I don’t look for people.”
“What I’m looking for is not human.”
Was this guy for real? “Yeah, I don’t mess with shifters. Unless there’s anything else, I’m leaving.” I started to turn when he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. He was almost in my face and, call me transfixed, the man was just damn gorgeous.
“I need you to track down a Fae for me.”
The spell must have been broken because I swear I thought I heard him say Fae. “Wait, what?”
He let go of my arm. “Yeah, I need you to hunt down a Fae creature.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help myself. “You find me, ask me to meet you, then come at me with a fairy tale?”
“Why is it so hard to believe when shifters exist in your world?”
Well, hell, he had a point, but Fae aren’t real.
Then, again, there was that universe I sort of fell into. Why couldn’t Fae be real? Nevertheless, it wasn’t my thing.
“Sorry, Greyson, I don’t hunt down people—shifters, Fae, or otherwise.”
“Please, reconsider. I’ll pay you whatever your price.”
I let my head fall back with a groan. I thought about what he was offering. If I entertained this idea, I was opening myself to a lifetime of scrutiny. The lone witch who went to hunt Fae. Then she was committed to a mental institution.
“Look,” I said and lifted my gaze to his. Good Lord, was he beautiful. “Greyson, I can’t do this. Shifters are real, but humans don’t know about them. It’s better that way, you know? Being alone in the world and shit works for them.”
He sighed and brought his hand down over his face, as if he were removing a sort of veil. He then tucked his hair behind his ear, and I gasped, taking a few steps back.
“Your ears,” I pointed to him, “are pointed!” I then smirked and shook my head. “Nice prosthetic. Now, if you’re done? I’m out of here.”
“Look, I have money. Come on, Cesha, please. I’m desperate here.”
“Yeah, the look isn’t good on you. I liked you better when you first approached.”
“What?” he asked and frowned.
“Nothing. Look, I need to go.”
He pulled out a leather bag and shook it. “This is full of gold pieces. I’m willing to give this to you now.” When I looked at the sack with interest, he opened it and pulled a few out. He handed them over to me.
They felt like gold, but what did I have to compare it to? Earrings? Instead, I closed my fingers around it and my magic worked around the pieces. In my head, I pictured the elements that made up the coins. It was, indeed, gold.
“All right,” I said and dropped the pieces back into his hand. “Against my better judgment here, I’m in, but who am I supposed to find?”
“It’s complicated, but I’m hiring you to find the missing Princess Laila.”
I sighed and I knew I might grow to regret it later, but how many could say they were brought in to do a search and rescue for a lost princess in another realm?
“Missing princess as in run away from her duties because she’s a spoiled brat, or missing because someone took her and now she needs to be found?”
“This is not a game, Cesha,” he growled.
“Got it. Understood. I want to know what I’m in for.”
“She was taken as a baby. As I said, it’s complicated.”
“Right,” I paused, then crossed my arms over my chest. “Now, where are we headed?”
He grinned and tightened the strap on the bag, then handed it over to me. I tucked it into my purse when he pulled out a map. He pointed to a spot, and I frowned.
“Right here is the cavern. I’ll meet you there in the morning. Be there at nine a.m. and come prepared for anything.”
I took the map. What I didn’t say was it was the cave I’d been in. Where I’d stumbled into the other world, almost fallen over a waterfall, and had heard something massive fly through the sky.
All I could do was nod. I folded the map and put it into my bag.
“Thank you for this, Cesha. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah,” I said and couldn’t think of anything else to say. Greyson offered his hand and I took it. We shook then he released me, turned, and left.
I opened my bag and looked back at the leather purse he’d given me, full of gold. I then thought about his ears. Was he really a Fae? Was this for real or was I being pranked? Only Zelda knew about what I’d experienced, but I hadn’t told her where. And I definitely didn’t mention anything about Fae.
Tomorrow would give me more answers. Till then, I had to get my affairs in order. I needed to get my house with a realtor, store my precious car, and figure out what to take with me. I had a feeling I’d need warm clothes if we were going where I think we were headed. I’d found my destiny, or maybe destiny saw me coming and sent tall, dark, and handsome with pointed ears to steer me in the right direction.
At this point it didn’t matter. I was excited to get started and get the hell out of bumfuck West Virginia.