New World, Tome 1: Fire Maiden

Chapter One

Frank

The vein above Frank’s right eye pulsed, as it always did when he was on the verge of a headache. He rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off the inevitable. He was having a crappy day.

It started early with clients not knowing how to keep up with what they spent and saved. It was simple. If they told him everything, he could get them in lower tax brackets and recommend investments, but he couldn’t do his job if they lied. Aside from client malfunctions, he also had an IRS audit, and they always seemed to pick the most inopportune time to show up.

As if that wasn’t enough, one of his computers was on the fritz. Frank wasn’t sure if one of the interns downloaded something they weren’t supposed to or were watching porn, but he was trying to keep smoke from pouring out of his nose. He was so close to quitting his entire practice that he didn’t check the caller ID when the phone rang.

“What?” he growled into the receiver. An awkward silence greeted him. “Hello,” he demanded, seconds from hanging up. He was in no mood to take calls. The call should have gone through Cathy, but since it didn’t, whoever had his personal phoneline’s number shouldn’t be too offended by his tone.

“Maybe I have the wrong number,” a soft voice said on the other line.

Frank didn’t recognize the voice on the other end, and he remembered everyone’s voice. He jolted upright in his seat, realizing he’d just given the worst first impression he could muster. But Frank was never one to backtrack, and he could only move forward if he got the soft-spoken woman to stay on the phone.

“Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t,” he said in a softer tone, his headache starting to fade. “Who were you calling for?”

“I was calling for a Frank Lodge. My friend Claire told me to give you a call. She had me under the impression… Well, it doesn’t matter what she said or implied. You sound quite busy, so I’ll just call someone else. Thank you. Have a nice day,” she said so fast Frank almost didn’t process what she said.

“Wait!” Frank didn’t know why he had screamed into the phone or why he cared so much about the person on the other end, but he could tell from the sound of her breathing that it worked. She hadn’t hung up.

“Yes?” She sounded so uncertain that he immediately felt guilty for snapping at her.

“You didn’t tell me your name,” he said.

“Violet.”

“Violet,” he repeated. He liked the sound of that.

“Yes. Violet Green,” she said.

He didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t want her to hang up, so he went with the first thing he could think of. “You found the man you were looking for. Is there something I can help you with? Any friend of Claire’s is a friend of mine.”

“So, you’ve known Claire for some time?” she asked in a suspicious tone.

He wondered why it mattered and hoped it wouldn’t be a problem. For some inexplicable reason, he hoped it wasn’t. “Yes. For some time now. She knows I’m always available to help any of her friends. Do you need an accountant?”

She paused, and for a moment, Frank wasn’t sure if she was still there.

“Yes,” she said after some time as if she had debated on hanging up.

“Tell me about your business,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

“Well, honestly, there’s not much to tell. I’m just a small business owner. I make and sell custom jewelry. On weekends, I teach jewelry-making workshops. I’ve been in business for a little over three years, and I’ve done it all alone. I don’t have any assistants or interns, just me. I use the jewels customers bring in, stones from my hiking trips, and other trinkets I buy for cheap online.”

She sounded proud of her business and Frank liked that. Not only did she work with her hands, but she did work she was proud of. Frank knew a lot about jewelry himself but now wasn’t the time to say that. He only hoped they got another opportunity to talk about it.

“You probably already know this, but Claire owns the store across the street from me, The Crystalline Aurora. It’s one of those new-age stores that sells incense, books on mythical creatures, spells, and stuff like that. Sometimes Claire hosts fortune-telling events with her tarot cards too. On those nights, I come over and sell some of my jewelry since the fortune-telling always brings a big crowd,” Violet said. “Aside from my Etsy shop online, most of my sells are custom orders based on jewelry the customer brings in.”