Blood Magic

Chapter 1: What's In A Name...

Birdie

Never trust a guy named Steve. I don't know why but for some reason I've always felt like it was an untrustworthy name. As far as I could remember I hadn't had any past run-ins with any Steves to make me weary of the name. Still the name bothered me and I was going to trust my intuition on this one. Maybe it was completely irrational but nothing in my life ever made sense anyway.

Because of my irrational predisposition I had to decline when the man named Steve asked me out. It wasn't just the name, something about him just didn't feel right to me. He could be a perfectly nice man he just wasn't the one for me. Sadly I was tragically single and definitely a spinster and dates for me were few and far between. Which was why I should probably give him a chance. But there was something. So I politely declined and handed him his bag and change.

Getting hit on in a bookstore seemed a little ridiculous anyway. In the years that I had been working a Moonlight Magic Bookstore, this would probably be the 3rd time that ever happened. People didn't come here to find love they had other things in mind when they crossed the threshold. Unfortunately for me Steve wasn't one to be easily deterred. A few points for persistence, too bad they were to be deducted due to annoyance.

I was nice, it was a problem. Being mean didn't come naturally to me so it might have been my fault that he didn't get the message. Part of me felt like that wasn't it though, something was still bothering me about this man. He looked like a perfectly ordinary person nothing seemed to be amiss and yet... something was. And because this just wasn't my day a tingle of awareness zipped down my spine alerting me to the trouble that was coming.

"Really, I'm not interested and I'm not going to change my mind," I said a little more forcefully.

At the end of the day this was a business and we needed customers so I couldn't afford to be rude. Though I wasn't exactly worried about myself in that moment because I knew Ash was coming before he came out of the back. I always knew when one of them was near and Ash and Ace were always near. As luck would have it only Ash was in the store today so it wouldn't be as bad, but that wasn't saying much. My boys took their jobs way too damn seriously.

"I know it must be weird I'm a stranger I get that but we could just go for coffee right across the street," Steve was saying. He froze when Ash came up behind me though I ignored him.

"Problem?" Ash asked his arm coming to rest possessively around my waist. This was why I was going to die a spinster I couldn't do anything with them always around.

"No," I replied without looking at him, if I did then I might hit him. No I didn't want to go anywhere with Stranger Steve but I could fight my own battles.

"Oh, of course someone as beautiful as you already has a boyfriend," Steve said shaking his head. Even his expression of disappointment seemed off somehow.

"Leave," Ash growled and that startled Steve put his hands up in surrender and backed away. A few customers peeked around to see what was going on but I ignored them watching Steve leave.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to pull shit like that?" I asked Ash expressing my displeasure in a voice low enough that most of our customers wouldn't hear.

"How many times do I have to tell you it's my job? Your life is my life, you know that," he replied.

Oh yes I knew that I heard those same damn words almost every day of my life. He could choke on them for all I cared. I did not ask for this I didn't want it but nobody cared what I wanted. Everybody swore there was nothing to be done about it, one day I would find a way to be free. I Birdie Victoria Mason was the unfortunate recipient of a blood debt. Because of a debt that wasn't even technically mine I had two protectors that had been making my life Hell since I was 5 years old.

"What did you sense?" I reluctantly asked Ash who was still staring at the door. Steve was long gone but the feeling of unease lingered.

"Nothing good, if he comes back don't be stubborn just tell one of us," he said. It was then he finally looked at me all serious so I just nodded for once I didn't want to argue.

"You owe me a new shirt," I told him and he raised his eyebrow in question.

Ash looked from my unamused expression down to where his hand still rested on my hip. Only instead of regular old fingers there were claws poking holes in my t-shirt. I would like to say it wasn't a common occurrence but that would be a lie. The fact that he didn't even notice the slight change in himself was a whole other issue I didn't want to get into. There weren't enough hours in the day to work and deal with my ridiculous life.

"Do not let that man back in this store," he growled withdrawing his hand. "Swear it Birdie, promise me you will stay far away."

"If I can help it I never want to lay eyes on that man again," I said honestly. He nodded then stalked off back to one of the back rooms.

Ash was the more level headed of my two protectors, anything that riled him was something to stay away from. I had no idea what it was about that man that set off alarm bells in us but there was something. Trust your instincts, something my grandmother drilled into my head all my life. Because I didn't have all day to dwell on strange occurrences I turned and smiled when another customer approached the counter ready to check out. There was always work to be done.