Page 24 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

Where was he?

“Watch where you’re going,” a shaggy haired boy mumbled and swerved before they could collide.

Kate swallowed and waved in apology. Her thumb hovered over the call button on her phone.

“…my assassins will find you soon enough…”

What kind of messed up prank was this? Kate was sure she’d never seen that turquoise-eyed fake cop before he showed up in her café. But in the university stairwell, he’d looked at her like heknewher.

Kate glanced down at her phone and realized the name on the screen was her grandmother’s. She’d been about to dial Grandma Lewis, of all people.

Kate dragged her feet forward, guessing it would take Lily another twenty minutes to show up at the café even after Kate got there. She took her thumb off the call button and slid her phone back into her pocket, scolding herself for nearly calling the one person in the world she was certain she shouldnotcall.

Mitten-covered hands pushed her shoulders. Kate spun just as she was shoved off the sidewalk.

She tried to hit him as she was forced into the alley—her hands balled into fists and came up in front of her—but she didn’t see wicked blue eyes, a mean smile, or a stolen police uniform.

A mid-twenties girl with big, curly hair blinked at Kate through large, bug-eyed glasses. A knit scarf wrapped her neck, and a high-collared knit sweater peeked out from a knit coat over top of that. Kate might have laughed at the sight another time, but with her pulse pounding in her ears, she could only stare.

“What are you running from?” the girl asked in a bored voice.

Kate blinked. “I think I was running from you,” she admitted.

The girl nodded like that made sense. “We’re going to be late for the meeting.” She pointed her mitt in a random direction and began heading through the alley. Her boots sloshed through dry leaves every other step, and she walked with a slight limp.

Kate didn’t follow.

The girl paused and turned back. “Oh, I forgot. I’m supposed to give you this.” The girl’s mitted hand disappeared into her coat pocket and brought out a postcard. She came back and handed it to Kate, then she left again, kicking the leaves.

Kate turned the card over. Pink yarn wove around the edges like an embellishment. Written on the page were a few simple words:

TO: THE HUMAN

YOU’RE INVITED

TO WHAT: THE KNITTING CLUB

WHERE: THE YARN & STITCH

WHEN: NOW

Kate looked back up at the girl covered in knitted attire, and her mouth parted in disbelief. If this really was a messed-up prank, someone had gone to great lengths to make it detailed and believable.

A finger jabbed Kate’s back, and she shrieked and whirled. The alley behind her was empty.

“Keep up or I’ll poke you again!” the girl called back as she disappeared around the building.

These had to be the people Professor Palmer had been trying to get her to before. Kate sprang after the girl, gripping the card in her fist.

The girl’s wild, curly hair bobbed above the crowd—the only map Kate had to follow. Kate wove through couples and moms pushing strollers, trying not to lose sight. The girl didn’t stop to wait even once; she kept moving, kept her attention forward, her back to Kate.

After ten minutes of battling the city hustle, they reached a narrow storefront tucked between two quaint shops. A chipped sign hung over a tinted window that said:Yarn & Stitch. The curly-haired girl pushed through the door. It slammed shut behind her.

Kate stood outside, looking both ways down the street. The girl didn’t come back out again.

Chimes filled the space as Kate opened the door and poked her head in. Fragrances of cinnamon, herbal tea, and warm vanilla flooded her senses, too. She closed the door behind her, eyeing a steaming, old-fashioned teapot on a table in the corner with trays of cracker-coated sandwiches and macaroons. In the middle of the store, three Victorian style couches made a “U” shape. They were filled with women—a few youthful, some middle aged, some old—hunched over, knitting.

“It seems you’re still alive.” An elderly woman with a bun atop her head rose from her seat, and strands of pink yarn spilled off her legs. Kate realized it was the same woman from the skyscraper, only she looked different now. Now she wore no makeup and was covered head to toe in yarn outfit pieces.

---