Page 8 of Night Owl Books

His cousin Arthur added, “Humans are at an unfair disadvantage. We need to stop the rabid among us, if for no other reason than to keep our existence a secret.”

“And to save innocent lives,” the woman—Arwyn—said on an eyeroll.

The big man shrugged. “Sure. That too.”

What was this weird excitement I was feeling? This was the opposite of the calm life I’d always wanted. Glancing down again, I realized I was clutching my book. I placed it out of reach on the table and met the gaze of each person fanned out around me.

“Okay.”

FOUR

Hostess with the Mostest

“There are more of us than who’re here,” Arthur said. “We all have lives. If you allow us to meet here, that means you’ll be part of the team more often than not. Arwyn here,” he said, gesturing to the woman, “has a huge gallery, but I’m afraid one of us will knock over a glass octopus and end up owing her twenty thousand dollars.”

“I told you we could meet on the deck,” Arwyn said. “Fresh air and the sound of the surf would cover our voices.”

“And,” the werewolf—Declan—began, “when my workshop is done, we’ll have that too.” He caught my eye. “We wouldn’t always need to invade your territory.”

The falcon Kaknu stood to the side, silent. Having him in my home felt like my feathers being brushed the wrong way. His stance said it was the same for him.

“You might not know this,” I told the others, “but raptors don’t get on well with each other. It would probably be best to decide if your investigation needs an owl or a falcon, but not both.”

“Oh,” Arthur said. He and the others looked between Kaknu and me. “We didn’t know that. Is it a problem right now?”

Kaknu glanced at me and away. “It would be best if we didn’t occupy the same space. You need to talk with her. We’re in her territory, so I’ll go. If you need me, you know where to find me.” Without seeming to hurry, he was out the door and starting up his truck before anyone had a chance to respond.

“Sorry about that,” Nick said, leaning on my table.

I gave a quick shake of my head and picked up my stool. “There’s a couch and chair in the back.” I led them to the rear of the store. I had a long brown leather couch and matching chair back here. I’d rationalized the purchase by telling myself I was giving customers a comfortable place to sit and peruse books. Really it was where I’d sometimes lie down to read.

Declan, Arwyn, and Nick took the couch. Arthur sat in the club chair. I sat on my stool. Nick opened his mouth to begin but I popped back up, causing everyone to turn to me.

“Sorry,” I said. “I just—I’m supposed to offer you refreshments and I forgot.”

Nick grinned and Arwyn shook her head. “You don’t need to get us anything.”

“No. I’m sure it’s true. I’ve read it in books across various genres,” I confirmed.

“Not so fast,” Arthur said to the others. “Let’s see what she’s offering.”

Declan chuffed out a laugh at that.

“Okay.” I moved to the doorway into the back. “Go ahead. I already know what he’s going to tell you, and I can hear from the kitchen.”

While Nick explained what had happened last night, I looked through the cupboards. I found a package of cookies. When had I bought those? I checked the date. They were only a little past the expiration date. The package was unopened. They were probably fine. I found a mixing bowl and dumped the cookies in.

What else? I found a pack of popcorn, so I programmed the microwave and then checked the refrigerator. I had eggs, some meats, cheese. Oh! Any crackers? I checked all the cupboards again. Nope. How about the freezer? Corndogs? Why in the world did I have a box of frozen corndogs?

When the microwave dinged, I dumped out the popcorn into multiple cereal bowls and then put the corndogs in. While they cooked, I filled up five glasses of water. I remembered a large cutting board my mom had. I found it under the sink, so I cleaned it and then started piling everything on.

Hmm. I’d clearly organized this wrong. I moved the popcorn to the big mixing bowl and the cookies to the smaller cereal bowls, which worked better. The microwave dinged again and I piled the corndogs onto a plate.

After grabbing a bunch of paper towels, I brought the board loaded with food back and then realized I had nowhere to put it down. I ended up kicking my stool closer, so it stood between the couch and chair, like a tall but narrow coffee table.

I handed everyone a paper towel and then sat on the floor, leaning up against the end of a bookcase.

Declan and Nick stared at the food, their eyebrows near their hairlines. Arwyn clapped her gloved hands on a laugh and took a corndog stick. Arthur scowled at the food but then took two corndogs and a glass of water. Nick stood and handed out the remaining water glasses, taking a corndog and three cookies for himself.

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