Ice Hot|| Rewriting

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

            I woke up to the sound of pounding on my door. I yawned and stretched my back. Sleeping on the couch was not fun. I strolled down the stairs and through my store to find two guys at my door. From the fact that they’re standing in front of Herbs and Things at seven, two full hours before opening meant one of three things: junkies, cops or people in serious need of specialized herbs. None of them sounded good.

The one on the left quickly asked, “Hi, are you Vera Hall?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” I dragged out the ah. What do they want?

“I’m Detective Kameron Carlisle, this is my partner Detective Devin Guillory. We’re Enforcers for the Society.” Cops. And for The Society nonetheless.

 The Society was the high and mighty of the Middle American Sector. When most of the world became magical, the world redivided itself into eleven sectors with different rules for each. The Middle American Sector covered everything that used to be the Main 48 United States and Mexico.

The Society was the most powerful of each species in the Middle American Sector and their Enforcers were brutal. There used to be a rumor going around that to become an enforcer, you would have to kill to people who were training with you. The Society squashed the rumor before it really went anywhere.

Guillory was built like a Scandinavian bodybuilder—blonde, tall, and looked like he could take an ox in a wrestling match.

Carlisle was leaner than his partner, but still ridiculously toned. He looked like the weaker of the two, but something about the glint in his eyes told you that he was the clever one in the pair.

“What can I do for the sector’s finest?” My face was painted in a sweet saccharine smile and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Nothing to see here but a friendly woman who wants nothing to do with the cops.

“We need you to come down to our office to talk to our boss.”

“And you needed to come down here why? There is a perfectly usable phone sitting on my desk.”

An odd look overtook Carlisle. Got you. “I was under the impression that you weren’t able to use a telephone.”

Technically I wasn’t, but why ruin a perfectly good story? “You shouldn’t depend on what your impressions tell you. They can be incredibly faulty at times.”

Guillory finally decided to grace us with his voice. It was gruff and an didn’t sound like it got a lot of use. “Ms. Hall we still need you to come with us.”

“Can I at least put on some actual clothes and brush my hair?” It was one thing to stand in my doorway in the morning, half-dressed and being harassed by two Enforcers. It was a completely different thing to be in the middle of the Society’s center half-dressed and looking like a complete and utter mess.

“I am sorry Ms. Hall, but your presence is required immediately.” The two of them seemed to position themselves where it would be easy for them to run.

“I’m not going to run. You two can come upstairs to make I stay put. Hell, one of you can stay out here to make sure I don’t try to hop out of the window.”

“Ms. Hall I’m not sure…” Carlisle trailed off. I smiled and tried to make myself more innocent looking. It wasn’t that hard because I had never completely outgrown all of my baby fat making me appear a lot younger than I actually was. If I ever wanted to, I could pass as a teenager instead of twenty. “Alright,” he conceded, “but you better be quick.”