“Okay, I will,” he said, then kissed me again. And again.
“Pheromones!” Fluffikins cried from somewhere in the distance, but neither of us paid any attention as we basked in our hard-won moment.
I still didn’t know what to think of all that had happened over the course of the last several days, but I liked the person I was becoming.
Maybe being a temp really wasn’t the worst job in the whole entire world…
And maybe I wanted—needed—more.
3. VAMPIRE FOR HIRE
1
My name’s Tawny Bigford. I used to think the most interesting thing about me was that I write romance novels part-time to make my meager living… But then I met a little black cat who changed everything.
His name? Mr. Fluffikins.
His role? Diplomat in charge of the local PTA. That’s Paranormal Temp Agency, by the way—not the other organization that goes by the same unfortunate acronym. Just trust me when I say I have a fairly sordid history with those other guys.
Cough, cough. Cheating ex-husband.
Anyway…
Even though Fluffikins and I just met and I never asked for a job, he hired me as a temp and forced me to work two cases over the past week. The first was the murder of my former landlady. The second was a string of abductions that led us all the way to an island off chilly and scenic Maine.
I almost died at least once—and probably more—which might make it seem weird that I’m ready and eager to take on another assignment.
Let me back up a second here so you better understand the choices I’ve made.
The first thing you need to know is that magic is real. Seriously!
We’re all born with it, but most lose it along the way. I had a brief taste of that special brand of power on my first case, and I’ve been craving more ever since.
But even though I know about magic, I’m not part of the community. I’m an outsider, what the others derisively call a “normie.” Real magical folk are referred to simply as magicks. And the aforementioned PTA is a special governing body that protects their interests in our fair Peach Plains region of Georgia. They are but one of many such boards set up all across the globe.
There are seven permanent members of the board. Anyone else they need to work joins briefly as a temp.
Like me.
Usually temps get their minds wiped once they’ve served their purpose, but for better or worse, I remember everything.
The big boss is the bureaucratic black cat, Fluffikins. He is joined by the Town Witch, a role currently filled by my smoking hot neighbor Parker Barnes. I think we may be dating now, but we haven’t kissed again since that first time almost a week ago, so who really knows…
Anyway, after Parker and Fluffikins, we have the five board liaisons. Greta is an honest-to-goodness angel who oversees the Schools. Connie is the cranky vampire in charge of Commerce. Then there’s Buckley in Agriculture and some old dude in a suit for the Cemeteries. I know almost nothing about either of them.
We’re supposed to have a liaison for the police force, too, but that position was recently vacated due to an unfortunate string of events that would take way too long to explain here…
So instead we have an intern who is applying to be the provisional liaison, if only she can prove herself worthy of the job. I don’t have high hopes, considering she tried to kill me—and almost succeeded.
Yeah, I’m really not a fan, and that feeling is definitely mutual.
If you had asked me a week ago, I’d have told you I hate the PTA and want nothing to do with them. But our last big case made me spin a one-eighty.
There’s something the others are hiding from me, something important, something about me. And I won’t rest until I get some answers.
Last time, they dragged me to the local Paranormal HQ against my will. This time I’m going to show up at their door and demand their attention.
Our first two adventures also taught me something far more mundane. Namely, that it’s hard to survive in this world without a car. So much for shrinking my carbon footprint, because I used my last royalty check to purchase a ten-year-old sedan to help get me from point A to point B.
The last two times I visited PTA HQ, Mr. Fluffikins had flown me there with his magic, but I liked being in charge of my own transportation this time.
And I arrived almost as soon as I’d pulled out of my driveway, given the old office complex that houses the PTA sat just a couple miles past downtown Beech Grove.
The windows hung dark, but I knew that was just a ruse to keep outsiders away. And magic or not, I was part of this now. At least that’s what I kept telling myself as I gathered my carefully prepared package into my arms and marched up to the front door.
It was locked, so I knocked.
When no one answered, I grabbed a rock and smashed it through the glass door. Tiny shards flew everywhere, but I didn’t care. I needed a way in, and it’s not like they couldn’t fix my little oopsie with a bit of well-placed magic.
What I had to say was just too important to wait. Hopefully I could find someone who was willing to not only listen, but also to speak.
I’d been their pawn up until this point, but now I was ready to be a stronger player in the game…
Just call me“Bishop Tawny.”
2
No one came running to investigate my violent breakin. Even though I waited by the door for a few long, uncomfortable moments, no one came at all.
Huh. Didn’t expect that.
I shook my head, took a deep breath, and continued deeper into the dark building. First I checked the glass-enclosed conference room where the various members of the board got together to discuss important matters. No one was there, so I left the basket I’d prepared for my visit at the edge of the table and continued on to explore the rest of the building.
When I walked by Connie’s office door, I couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran down my spine. Even if she was there, I didn’t want to disturb the vampire head of Commerce. Sure, she’d claimed she had no plans to eat me, but I felt better off not taking any chances.
I hurried down the long hall until at last I came to the vacant warehouse-like space where Mr. Fluffikins had taken me to kick off my last two assignments. This was the same place he’d flung deadly magic at me to test my instincts when I was temporarily appointed Town Witch. It was also where he’d entrusted me with the special silver brooch that had given me magic for my first assignment and served as surveillance equipment for my second.
“Hello?” I called hesitantly before inching my way into the room.
Only a weak echo of my own voice answered, so I dared to go deeper still.
Each time we’d entered this place before, Fluffikins had brought me to the center of the room and then jumped into the ceiling to retrieve that brooch. Might there be other magical goodies up there?
I decided to find out.
Now before you get all angry with me for snooping around uninvited, I’d like to remind you that this was the same agency that had already played fast and loose with my safety twice before. For whatever reason, they’d brought me on to help with their supernatural kerfuffle, and now I wanted to find out why.
Sure, the first time they brought me in, it was because I’d stumbled right into the middle of a crime scene. It made sense they’d keep me close by until things got sorted out.
But the second time they forced a job upon me? There was no obvious reason they needed me specifically. Not at first. But then Mr. Fluffikins accidentally dropped a few stray hints that there might be something special about me, something he and the others had yet to share.
For one thing, the boss cat couldn’t undo the one spell I’d accidentally cast during my stint as Town Witch. He’d tried to turn my bubblegum pink hair back to its natural color but couldn’t. Then after we transported to middle-of-nowhere Maine, he’d been about to tell me something before the investigation came crashing into us headfirst.
I’d taken that all in stride and focused on the assignment, believing someone would surely explain everything once we saved the day and brought everyone home safely.