Page 81 of Thorn Evermore

Suddenly, one of them, a male presenting character, is in front of us, sharp white teeth bared and ready for a fight.

“Ah, a vampire,” it says, its voice high-pitched but with a lisp. “Mind your business, bloodsucker.”

“This is my business, you twisted elf. What the fuck is going on here?”

The fae’s eerie, almost white eyes roam over Kyson before they flicker back to me. “We’re looking for something. It’s somewhere in this shop.”

“What is it?” I demand.

“Why would I tell you, Nosferatu? You will take it from us.”

I grab the slight man by the neck, lifting him easily off the floor, which draws his two accomplices to his aid. The female one bears her teeth, hissing at me. Kyson moves slightly behind me, clearly terrified. Fair. He’s never seen fae before.

“You know I could snap all three of you in half before you can even blink, so you better start talking. I don’t want whatever trinket you seek, but we may know if it’s here. Right, my love?”

Kyson nods. “I-I know everything in here.”

“Ooh, do you now,” the female one purrs. These are definitely the ‘people’ we saw on the freeway. “Well, be a good vampire and direct us to the spellbook.”

“S-spellbook?” Kyson glances around, clearly trying to recall items. “Can you tell me more about it? We have a lot of books.”

“The cover is green,” she says, “with gold writing. It’s very small.” She tilts her head, her eyes flickering between green and black. “It’s important to us.”

“Fae don’t use spells,” I note, putting the man back on the floor.

“No, we don’t,” the other, smaller one says. “But they are used against us. That book contains a spell that killed our brother. We’ve chased it for two decades and sense that it is here.”

“Give it to us and we will leave this city and return to our forest in the north,” the female says.

Kyson nods. “I know it. It’s in the storage room waiting tobe priced. We were doing research on it to figure out its value.”

He tears off, followed by the group and me so I can keep an eye on them. They may sound straightforward but dealing with the fae never is.

Kyson opens a wooden door to what appears to be a small closet with shelves lined with books and other treasures. After dragging his finger across several of them, he smiles, grabbing the book.

“Here it is.”

The female grabs for it, but Kyson holds it to his chest. “I can’t just give it to you.”

She hisses again, but the smaller, quieter one steps forward. His hair is white and long, his eyes big purple-marbled orbs. He seems to be more reasonable.

“What do you request in return?”

Kyson glances at me and I shrug. “It’s your store, babe.”

“We have treats,” the younger one who first approached us says, pulling a napkin out of his jacket pocket. “Forest treats.”

He offers them to Kyson, but I politely push his hand back. “No thanks, fae. What else you got? From the human world.”

He pouts, looking at his mates. “We have human money.”

“How much?” I ask.

The female opens a small pouch and pulls a bundle of cash out. “Whatever this is.”

“And where did you get it?” I ask.

“Places,” she says, grinning. “Humans are easily distractible.”