I blinked in surprise as the guy lurched across the table and took one of my hands in both of his. “Oh. Thank the goddess.” He pressed his forehead to the table while Squishy continued to inch towards the edge, eyes blinking out of sync.
Ooh! Look at all the pretty colors!
I glanced up at the clock that partially hid the big crack that ran down the wall. 4:00 a.m. Sweet, sweet relief.
I pried my hand out of the guy’s grip and he looked up. I gave him a tight-lipped smile and flipped my palm up. “Glad to have been of service. Tips are encouraged.”
THE CLINIC
Minutes later, I fished my keys out of my jeans pocket and gritted my teeth as I strained to work the lock closed. I’d complained to my landlady, who had the delightful nickname “the dragon,” about it half a dozen times. She seemed to think the fact that I’d consistently been late on my rent (until recently when I started my police consulting gig) meant she could neglect fixing anything in my apartment.
She was right—there wasn’t much I could do. Except continue to complain to her about it, and if she thought that was going to let up, she greatly underestimated how annoying I could be.
The lock turned, and I rattled the door to double check it was secure. Peeling band posters and graffiti covered it. The optimist in me liked to think of it as an ever-changing work of public art. I curled my lip. Right.
Cool rain pattered my head. I flipped the hood of my sweatshirt up and jogged into the wet, bustling street. I headed for my friend Will’s back alley vet clinic.
Heidi, black hair wound around her head in a milkmaid’s braid, let me in. I tugged my hood back and looked around. The small lobby was empty, the flickering fluorescents overhead casting a sickly glow off the linoleum. Heidi grinned at me. “Busy night?” She moved back behind the tall counter and slipped on her jacket.
I followed her and leaned my folded arms on the counter. “Unfortunately.”
She rolled her eyes. “Wish I could say the same. I got so bored.”
I looked toward the swinging double doors that led to the exam room. “What’s Will doing?”
She raised her brows and shot me a significant look. “No idea. He went out.”
I frowned. “He left? When’s he coming back?”
She shrugged and stuffed a stack of magazines with magically moving models on the covers into her purse. “He told me I could close up early.”
I scoffed. “Okay, weird. Where’d he go?”
Heidi shrugged her purse over her shoulder. She sported long pink spandex shorts and a highlighter-yellow crop top, with a furry short coat over it all. She was the only person I knew who could pull the look off.
“He said he had to make a house call.”
Her tone clearly expressed her doubt and I didn’t blame her. My friend had been one of the island’s top surgeons until he lost his temper at a fancy shindig and publicly shifted into a bear. He’d lost it all and been forced to use his skills on pets and shifters. I lifted a brow. Making house calls for pet surgery seemed unlikely… and unhygienic.
I followed her out into the dark alley. She turned and locked the clinic’s nondescript metal door. A few rats scurried nearby, rattling some paper trash and an empty bottle.
Rupert, we’ve been over this—I don’t want our children picking up bad habits.
Oh, come on, Glenda! It’s street food—a delicacy!
Yes, but if they learn to eat human food it could lead to risky behavior. I vote we stick with a diet of crickets and—
Mom! He’s biting my tail!
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. I’d assumed that when I’d been cursed a few years ago, the intention had been to end my powers and ability to shift and that this gift of speaking to animals had been an unintended side effect.
But given the overwhelming amount of asinine chatter I had to listen to from rats, insects, spiders, and birds all day and all night, I was starting to wonder. Slow claps to the creator of that potion—if they’d intended this as the real curse, it was not only creative, but effective.
“Headache?”
I looked up at Heidi’s concerned face and softened. “Nah.” We started down the alley side by side. “Want to grab some dinner? My treat?” I’d intended to ask Will too, but since he was mysteriously absent, a little girl time would be fun.
She groaned. “Totally! But I can’t this time, I’m sorry.” She shot me a pinched look. I could barely see her features in the darkness of the alley, but enough pale moonlight filtered through the clouds to highlight her cheeks and eyes.
I waved it off. “No worries.” I waggled my brows at her. “You have a hot date?”
She sucked on her lips. “Maybe.”
I nodded. “Who’s the lucky guy this time?”
“That bouncer from the Unicorn’s Horn.”
I smirked. “Another bouncer, huh?” The girl had a type.
She giggled and shrugged, the shoulders of her furry coat bouncing. We reached the end of the alley and stepped into the neon lights of the street. The narrow, crooked buildings that lined the alley had sheltered us from the rain but now it pelted our heads. Heidi drew her wand and cast a protective spell around the both of us.
“You heading this way?” She tilted her head.
“Other way.” I decided in that moment to grab a quick bite by myself and treat myself to a visit to the bridge.
She bit her lip. “Sorry about the—” She lifted her eyes to the falling rain. She wouldn’t be able to shelter me from it with her spell if we parted ways, and without magic, I was at the mercy of the elements. But tonight, the rain didn’t bother me. The nights
