Page 12 of Help Wanted, Vampires Inquire Within
Skyler tilted her head. “Why her aunt?”
“Great Aunt Nella didn’t have any girls, only boys,” Mason explained. “Nella and my mom’s mother, Akna, agreed that Elena would move north to learn from Nella.”
“Nella couldn’t teach one of the boys?” Skyler asked.
“Boys can’t be bruja, they don’t have the gift,” Mason said, then shook his head. “No, that’s not accurate. Occasionally, a boy will inherit the gift, but it’s rare.”
Skyler frowned. “Your mom wasn’t sad to leave her family behind?”
“It wasn’t like she was cast out of the family,” Mason said with a laugh. “They visited each other and there were plenty of summers spent down in Mexico. I think Mom was happy to move up here. She always said she liked big cities better than rural areas.”
Skyler gave a happy little sigh. “I love stories that have happy endings.”
“That explains all the books you like to read,” Mason said.
“Exactly,” she agreed. “I know people look down on romance novels, but the world is full of uncertainty and anxiety already. I don’t need more of it in the stories I read. I want a guaranteed happily ever after!”
“You’re not going to hear any arguments from me,” Mason said. He wasn’t a big reader, but he liked her theory of books.“Why add more stress when you could read something that takes away the stress?”
“Do you know anything about a book club?” Skyler asked. “I heard Tag talking about it.”
Mason winced. “I know of the book club. I wouldn’t go if I were you.”
“Because I might put people in danger?” Skyler's hurt expression made him want to take the words back.
“No!” he said, probably too loudly for the cab of the Bronco. He pulled in a breath and lowered his voice. “There’s a member of the book club that’s, uh, dangerous.”
She raised an eyebrow. “More dangerous than you?”
“Much,” Mason said with an emphatic nod of his head. He lowered his voice to a whisper, “One of the members is a hobgoblin!”
He expected Skyler to react with fear. Hobgoblins were one of the most powerful creatures in all the realms. They pulled from the void. Everyone else used magic that slowly trickled from the void because trying to draw directly from it meant madness and death.
Except for hobgoblins.
Skyler sat up, excited. “That means I have to join this book club! I love hobgoblins. They’re so interesting.”
Mason wasn’t sure how to react to her enthusiasm. “You do?”
“Sure,” she replied. “They’re so cute when they hyperfixate on something. We had a hobgoblin and his friend visit when I was about ten. I learned all about weaving and fiber arts. He even gave us a loom and asked if we could grow some flax for him.”
It took a moment for Mason’s brain to process Skyler’s words. Nymphs must be different from the rest of them. Everyone he knew would go running from a hobgoblin, not find them “cute.”
“Tell me more about your mom,” Skyler demanded. “And what it was like to grow up as a gargoyle in a family full of bruja.”
He talked about his mother, aunts, and cousins, enjoying the way she laughed at some of the funnier stories. Soon they were exiting the freeway. Within ten minutes, they had left paved roads.
The off-road part of their trip was only a few miles. Mason was grateful to find that the road was in good condition, which wasn’t always the case. He knew the route well. Every year he took his mom and her coven out here to perform a few ceremonies. He parked when the road abruptly ended. There weren’t any other vehicles, giving him hope that no one else was hiking the little-known trail today.
“Are we here?” Syler asked, looking around as he shut off the Bronco.
“Not yet, we’ve got a little hike to go. Do you need to eat now, or do you think you can wait?”
“I can wait,” she said, jumping out of the vehicle with an excited bounce in her step. She was wearing a pair of jeans that were a little big on her and the boots he’d bought her. The shoes were the only item of clothing she’d let him purchase because none of the used clothes she was given had shoes that fit.
Opening up the back, he pulled out a backpack. Skyler tried to grab the bag of food, but he got it before her.
“I can carry something,” she grumbled, even as she fought a smile.
