Extraits

ONE

Jackie flipped shut the ledger, took the cash and threw it and the paperwork into the safe, then heaved a sigh when the clock chimed eleven at night.

Finished. Finally.

She ran her hand through her hair and crinkled her nose at the texture. "I need a bath," she moaned. Clearly, the charms she'd made to keep her hair in good condition during these twelve hour shifts had failed, and now she was in desperate need of a soak.

There would be no time for that when she got home since her mother put her on the morning shift.

Pat, Jackie’s mother, the proud owner of Patty’s Potions N’ More, treated her business like a favorite third daughter. So when Pat was too sick to come into work herself, Jackie needed to pull double hours to keep the place running smoothly, regardless of how much sleep she lost.

Jackie would have to settle for a quickie shower, go to sleep, get up, and do her day all over.

She looked out the shop window, cotton ball snowflakes raced to the ground with the wind. The vision was like out of Star Trek after the ship went into warp speed and the stars flew by.

It hadn’t been doing that a few minutes ago.

She had to walk in that?

She snatched the remote to flick off the little TV behind the counter. The voices in the black box weren’t soothing anymore and she didn't want to hear them.

“… Allegations of feral vampires in Griffon City.”

Jackie stopped, her finger frozen over the power button.

Feral vampires? One was rare enough but the fact that there could be several made her spine tingle.

“… Griffon City Police are investigating any possible leads, but have not issued a warning to citizens.”