Page 45 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

Without warning, Cress stood from his chair. “I’ll be leaving now. It’s late.” He turned for the door and slipped his uniform out of the coat where he’d hidden it. He paused by the front door. A second later, he reached back and grabbed thefreshly baked chocolate chip cookieoff the table. He headed out into the cold.

15

Kate Kole and the Fairy Intruders

Kate thwacked her head on the wall when she awoke. She moaned, realizing she wasn’t in her own bed, and where her open bedroom air should have been was Lily’s apartment wall.

Lily stirred on the pullout couch in the corner but didn’t wake up.

Kate rolled to the other side, tangling up the sheets. Her bare feet landed on the cold floor, and she shivered as she crept past Lily to the kitchen, thinking of coffee.

Lazy morning sun soaked the kitchen counters and the overloaded bookshelf beside the fridge, flickering as trees outside rustled in the wind. It seemed the storm didn’t die down entirely overnight. Kate checked the pantry and grimaced at the pathetic excuse for breakfast supplies. She’d be fine if all she wanted for breakfast was curry spice and nutmeg.

The fridge was no better. The coffee tin was empty, the milk was old, and even the orange juice sounded like thick syrup when she shook the jug.

Kate went to the window to watch the early morning travellers instead. She imagined curly hair and tattoos, or a set of deadly turquoise eyes waiting around every building corner. They would starve her to death soon at this rate.

Kate took her hoodie from the back of the living room couch and grabbed her wallet from the basket by the door. If she could at least get coffee, it might help ward off the shock Lily would experience when she woke up and remembered how a person had vaporized in front of her last night. Kate sniffed the collar of her sweater and sighed, deciding she would steal a clean shirt from Lily’s closet after she got back.

The wind froze her fingertips as Kate trotted down the sidewalk. She hugged her arms to herself and pulled on her hood, stuffing her wild red hair inside as she scanned the building tops for white-haired assassins and eyed the alleys for jean jackets.

She spied on Hanes Street on her way, peering around a building and realizing she left the outside lights on at the café. Cars puttered by, and customers went in and out of the breakfast diner across the road. Overall, things felt quiet. Toronto seemed to still be half asleep.

A mail truck rolled up to the café curb. Kate chewed on the inside of her cheek, contemplating whether she cared if a parcel sat outside for a while. Locals had sticky fingers when it came to unattended parcels on doorsteps.

But death wasn’t worth the trouble.

Kate almost turned away, pausing as the post woman slid out of the truck.

A package was beneath the woman’s arm, and her shiny opal earrings could be seen all the way down the street. She pulled around a clipboard and brushed a hand over her silver hair, revealing the slight tips of pointed ears.

Freida.

Kate bolted across the road as Freida leaned the package against the café door. “Wait!” she shouted. She panted as she reached the door.

Freida folded her arms to wait while Kate caught her breath. The fae woman wore lush, red makeup again and expensive heels… and a mail vest.

“Summer job?” Kate said sarcastically when she could speak.

Freida smiled. “Congratulations, Human,” she said. “I’m pleased you’re still alive. When you missed knitting club yesterday, we assumed you were dead.”

“Where’s my phone?”

“Ah. That thing.” Freida dug into her vest pocket and drew it out. She tossed it, and Kate scrambled to catch it before it smashed on the pavement.

“Don’t you think I would have needed this if you wanted me to survive?” Kate asked, sticking the phone in her own pocket for safe keeping. “I’ve been followed for days, threatened, and attacked. You stole my one way of communicating with my friend who could help me.”

“You’re wrong, Human. That thing wouldn’t have saved you if the Prince had gotten his hands on you.” Freida nodded to Kate’s pocket. “So, tell me, how did you do it? How did you live through the week?”

“Well, I found that book,” she started, “and I—”

“You enslaved them,” Freida interrupted with a weird grin. “Didn’t you?!”

“All but the Prince.”

Freida burst out laughing so loud, Kate was sure everyone down the street could hear.

“Hazel owes me fifty human dollars,” Freida said, wiping a tear from her eye. “The Prince of the North will tear the whole city apart now, I imagine. I heard he has a temper.” She sighed through her smile. “You better prepare your house, Human goddaughter. You’ll need ingredients to bake bread, fresh honey from a hive, cold iron butterknives, and… hmm…”

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