Page 42 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

“One of them.”

“He just… disappeared…” Lily pulled her radio from her belt with slow movements and held it to her mouth. Her lips parted to speak, and she pushed the button, but no words came out.

“Don’t say anything,” Kate said. “You can’t call this in.”

Lily’s thumb came off the button. She was still staring at the spot on the floor where the fae had vanished. “Why not? Didn’t you see what just happened?!”

Kate’s fingers curled tighter around the broomstick. “Because no one will believe your story. These guys have ways of making evidence disappear and making people forget what they saw.” She stood to her full height as she caught her breath. “Don’t call it in. You’ll lose your job. Officer Riley, whom you’ve met, is one of them, too.”

Lily lowered the radio.

Heavy wind whistled outside, and leaves brushed across the windows. There was no sign of the fae with curly hair and pretty eyes.

After several moments where neither of them spoke, Lily said, “You can stay at my place tonight.”

14

Prince Cressica and The Haunted Library

Cress waited until nighttime to return to the human academy library when he knew his brothers would be long gone. He inched over the filthy floor, inhaling the scent of old books, new knowledge, and something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He didn’t bother to light a candle since he hadn’t come to read. Cold air swept in from an open window at the back.

He stood as still as if he’d turned his whole self to stone. Torn pages ruffled along the floor as power moved through the space. The collar of his human officer uniform fluttered along with his hideous short hair.

Traces of mischief were left out everywhere like it had been dumped over the academy floor, and the faint scent of old fairy blood laced the air. There were exactly two scents of fairy blood—one old and one new. The old smelled familiar in a way that reminded Cress of a dream he once had. The new blood was fresh—maybe only days old. It was unfamiliar. It left bumps over his faeborn skin and a quickening in his veins.

Cress tilted his ear toward the library’s past, reaching for the old blood to learn its story first. He listened.

Phantom howls rose in the wake of his power drifting through the shelves. For a moment, he thought he saw someone from the past tucked around the corner of those shelves, panting and gripping a long fairsaber sword. Monstrous wails rumbled below his boots, whispering along the walls, and tucking themselves between the tight pages of unopened books.

But the glimpse of the past vanished as human footsteps echoed from the hall just outside the library. Cress unflexed his arms, and the rustling of the pages ceased.

The Prince tucked himself behind a shelf and waited in the spot his senses told him a fairy had once hidden days, months, or years ago. Two humans entered through the double doors in bright orange vests and yellow war helmets, carrying short, oddly shaped metal weapons. Cress tilted his pointed ears toward them.

“The police finally closed the investigation,” the first one said. “They decided it was just a bunch of teenagers who trashed the place. The dean gave us the green light to start doing repairs. I’m estimating about four weeks of construction until we can get the students back in here again.”

“So, you don’t believe the rumours?” the second human asked as he scanned the heaps of litter and damaged books.

The first one laughed. “About that whack job professor who thinks he heard growling in the floor? No way! Do you?”

The first human released a strained laugh. His eyes nervously darted up to the cobwebs in the corners. “No.”

Cress crept to the back shelf where the ancientFairyBook ofRules and Masterieshid. Once he ensured it had not been tampered with again, he turned for the open window and noticed a piece of yarn on the floor. He shrank to pick it up, rolling it between his fingers. He sniffed it and held back a faeborn curse.

Fairy yarn.

He stuffed it into his pocket and hopped out the window.

Cold bit his bare arms as he marched beneath the stars, pulling a slipof parchment from his pocket. He read an address in his own elegant script, and he headed to a building with seven identical human chariots on wheels outside marked by the human brotherhood of officers.

“You’re here.” Officer Westbow leaned back in his office chair as Cress entered the police building. “We thought maybe you changed your mind about the transfer.”

“I’ve been ill. Can you tell me the name of whoever lives here?” Cress handed over the parchment. He hadn’t time to waste on humouring these charmless fools like he did on his first day in the realm. And this officer in particular was chatty.

Officer Westbow frowned as he read the address. “Sure. But you should really call the boss the next time you’re sick. He was pretty mad when you didn’t show up all week.” The human officer’s chair squeaked as he turned toward his large, glowing rectangular device and began tapping buttons.

Cress stole a glance at the dark, storming skies as he waited.

“Thelma Lewis.” Officer Westbow squinted at the glowing rectangle. “Oh, I remember her,” he said. “Sad story. Are you re-opening the car accident case? That was handed over to the detectives.”

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