Fate just leads you to them. The rest is up to you.”

I think about that for a moment, “But, the chemistry? That can’t be real. No one has that kind of chemistry right off the bat. And, there are FOUR of them!” I protest.

“I keep forgetting that you were raised among humans, dear. If you’re worried that the Matestone is forcing feelings onto you or them that are not real, forget about it. Think of the stone as more of a... catalyst. It amplifies the natural chemistry at its purest form and takes away your inhibitions while it is activated. It gives you a taste of what the good stuff will be if you choose that mate. It does not promise an easy life, or a union that will be free from conflict. It doesn’t control your behavior, or theirs. It just gives you a taste. You choose what happens next.” She smiles reassuringly. “You’ll see, dear. At the Festival. Let other incomplete pods hold your hand and you can see.”

I look down at my necklace with renewed interest. “So, while it’s glowing, it’s like a relationship-success-o-meter? It can tell me or show me or something, whether or not we’re a good match? That’s actually really cool. Weird as all fuck, but, man, if you could make this work on human matches as well as your shifter dudes? This would be a gold mine.”

Glenda smiles at me with a little too much teeth and nods her head regally. I replay her words in my mind. “Wait, are you telling me to try different pods on for size? Earl would shit a brick. I’m pretty sure Trevor has a dark side that involves hiding bodies, and Bryan and Darren would be full-blown furious if some rando-pod came up to me and started getting handsy. There would be a fight. Guaranteed.” We don’t even need to talk about the fact that going near another pod holds exactly zero appeal for me. Nope.

“Well, yes, dear. They are protective and possessive of you because you mesh well with them. You represent the completion of their pod, but more than that, your chemistry aligns with theirs very strongly. It would be difficult for them to observe you with other Pods but they would never interfere. It’s against the rules of our society.”

I have my doubts on how many fucks Earl would give about rules if he saw me making out with some random guy from a different pod, but I keep that thought to myself. Despite the options that would be paraded before me, I actually don’t have a strong desire to ‘test out’ other groups of men, but the knowledge that I could is oddly comforting.

Glenda and I stop our walk in front of a grimy black door that I hadn’t noticed before. It looks shady and out of place in the bustling vibrancy of Main Street.

“We’ve arrived!” Glenda announces. She pushes open the door and walks ahead of me with total confidence.

I linger in the doorway, trying to process the weird feeling in my stomach. It’s a kind of tingling sensation, as though someone is watching me closely. I scan the passersby, but no one stands out. With a shrug of my shoulders, I follow Glenda into the shop. It’s dark and creepy in the best kind of way. There are skulls on the shelves, and a cast iron cauldron in the corner with a bunch of dried tree branches stacked in it. A stuffed raven in a gilded bronze cage hangs from the ceiling and I have to duck under it to catch up with Glenda.

“CAW!” it calls out, scaring the piss out of me. Not stuffed then. Check.

The air smells earthy with a slight layer of incense woven through it. I want to spin in circles to take it all in. The feathers and baskets of herbs. A small selection of crystals in a woven basket. The dusty leather bound books stacked haphazardly in crooked piles on the floor and every other available surface.

“Fortuna! I’ve brought you a visitor,” Glenda calls out and I hear a rustling behind a dusty curtain, and I look around eagerly for the source of the noise. Terra would lose her ever-loving-mind to be here, and I want to try and commit all of it to memory so I can tell her about it whenever I get to talk to her next.

“Ah, merry meet, Fortuna. You look well,” Glenda greets her friend but I am still looking around, not seeing anyone else.

Glenda catches my eye and inclines her head discreetly and I follow her gaze. Sitting on a pile of lavender on the edge of a desk piled high with books and yellowed papers is an ancient black cat with amethyst-colored eyes that appear to be twinkling.

I have no idea how to greet a cat-witch. Witch-cat? But I have to do something.

“Uh, merry meet, Fortuna?” I copy Glenda and hope for the best. The cat inclines her head regally at me before offering me her paw. I look frantically at Glenda for instruction and she takes pity on me.

“She wishes to read you. Place your palm under hers.”

I do as requested and the cat lowers her paw into the center of my palm, flexing her claws gently while making a mewling noise. I watch in complete fascination until one of her claws strikes suddenly into the pad of my finger, drawing blood.

“OW!” I yell, causing Fortuna to hiss at me and her eyes to glow red and menacing. Red Alert: HellKitty! HellKitty! Glenda places a restraining hand on my arm.

“Fortuna, she is human. She doesn’t know about the tax. She’ll make amends, don’t you worry.” Glenda speaks softly to the cat and slowly, the red fades from its eyes and the amethyst returns. Fortuna turns her glare back towards me and I feel a spidery sensation crawl up the back of my neck.

“Um, I am sorry I yelled, ma’am. You startled me.”

As far as

Вы читаете Surf's Up
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату