Sanguine (Kreuzberg Dragonshifters Book 2)

Sanguine Part 17

The following day, Richard and Paul stood outside the house that belonged to the head witch of Berlin. Whilst they had expected something dark and gothic, what they actually were faced with was something far more non-descript, even normal, indistinguishable from any other house in Berlin. Paul had already pointed out the dearth of maniacally grinning garden gnomes posing on the minimal front lawn; Richard had pointedly ignored them, which had made Paul laugh. The fact that the Alpha had found the gnomes cheesy, even garishly offensive, was obvious and Paul found that he had to agree, at least with the cheesy aspect of them.

After an interminable wait, the door was opened onto the grinning, welcoming face of Adrienne Belikov herself, who ushered them in with expansive motions of her hands, floral perfume flowing subtly around her body as she did so.

"You must be Richard and Paul," she stated, rather than asked and Paul thought he even detected a faint American accent grinning through her admittedly excellent German. "Sorry for the wait; I was on the phone."

"We are; thanks for seeing us," Richard offered, as the couple followed Adrienne into her expansive living room.

Paul pointed discreetly at a terrarium behind Adrienne's back, which held a few slowly moving terrapins within its warmed depths. Richard suddenly spluttered a laugh, even as Adrienne followed the direction of his gaze and grinned at the terrapins.

"They're my familiars, or what pose as my familiars," she said, a little embarrassed by the sight of the small shelled creatures. "I never could get on with cats, as they mess with my hayfever; I always find that animals are always good for appearances, at least with some people. Humans never seem to think you're a proper witch unless you have some kind of animal nearby. Don't ask me why. Humans are weird. I think they'd shit a disappointed brick, if they found out that the power actually comes from inside the witch, not from another source. Anyway, I'm babbling. You wanted to see me about something?"

Paul laughed, deciding that he liked Adrienne, despite the fact that he'd only just met her. He could tell, through his bond with Richard, that his mate also liked her, and the Alpha's amusement flowed hard upon the wheels of his immediate trust in waves of vivid violet. Paul couldn't help but think that Adrienne didn't seem as though she was the most powerful witch in her coven, let alone the entirety of Berlin; instead, she seemed normal, more like the proverbial girl next door type with glittering dark blue eyes and near-black hair that complemented the shade of her eyes.

"We actually came here on the reccomendation of a friend of ours, who I think you know, as well. Oliver Riedel? Works at Sanguine?" Richard asked.

"Oh, sure, Olli! Nice guy," Adrienne said, with a grin, as she bade them sit down. "I've been helping to fix Sanguine, actually. Shocking state that place got itself into, isn't it?"

"Hmm," Paul said, as he cast a glance towards Richard. "I think it is because of us that Sanguine actually got into that state, to begin with."

"Yeah? How so?" Adrienne asked, in sudden interest. "I I thought I heard someone say it was an attack of some kind, but no one seems to know what happened; you know the score. Get three eye witnesses at the scene of a crime and you can guarantee the story will be different for each one."

Paul and Richard smiled at her, and once again, Paul looked to Richard, in a clear plea for the Alpha to speak. That time, Adrienne noticed and she looked intrigued by the obvious deference.

"Before we explain what happened, d'you think you could explain to us what an elemental witch is, exactly?" Richard asked. "This isn't the first time that we've come into contact with one, and I think we both would appreciate some answers of our own."