Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(5)
“A task that requires cooperation,” Jeremy said softly. “I’m willing to do it, but you’ve spoken your peace about me at length.”
“Fine. We’ll rely on each other for now, but if you hold back important info that leads to someone trying to kill me again, I will have your ass.”
Jeremy’s eyebrow rose. “That is the most unromantic proposition I’ve ever heard.”
The side of Simone’s lips quirked, but she sucked the smile right off her lips. She pointed at the hall doorway. “Go back to your office before I change my mind.”
Jeremy turned on his heel but stopped midway. “What about Edarra? How can we rely on her when she has two strikes?”
“We’ll come to that bridge when it happens. Now shoo.” Simone waved Jeremy away, and Jeremy left, wondering how they could keep history from repeating itself.
MOST OF the cultural integration classes had been ridiculous, but for once, watching all those movies and reading that children’s book about MacDonald’s farm came in handy. It was as if the stories were unfolding in front of Edarra on the property they had arrived at. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “Those are a lot of animals.” Goats, sheep, horses, cows, and various smaller animals crawled, walked, and flew along the property they had been called to, blocking most of the driveway. It was her first job in the field with Jeremy. Simone couldn’t stand him and had told her not to trust him if he said the sky was blue. That was probably good advice. Very few honest witches continuously smelled of sage and mineral water. Not once had he walked into the office without the scent of a recent cleansing spell about him. In her old world, only fugitives from the law were so secretive. “We’ll park here and go on foot the rest of the way.”
They got out of the car, taking in the chaos.
Jeremy shook his head at the different kinds of animals. “No wonder the client is getting so many animal-control complaints.”
Instead of following Jeremy to the house, Edarra told him to go on without her. If the cause was outside, it would have to be where the animals were clustered the thickest. Edarra chose a spot where she couldn’t see any separation between fur and feathers. As she made her way past the gravel road and to the newly made dirt path in the grass yard, it was harder not to step on the smaller creatures. Sometimes her foot became part of the journey for ducklings and turtles who didn’t care how big she was. In the middle of it all was a large brown horse, standing calmly. It looked normal and didn’t give off any of the magic that saturated the air. She stepped closer, hoping not to spook it, and her toes itched as the magic grew stronger. Underneath the horse was a disturbed circle of dirt with a leaf popping out of it.
Is that what I think it is? Edarra frowned. I don’t think fey with pure enough blood to give birth to that are allowed in this realm. “This is not in my pay grade.”
“The client is giving us carte blanche to get rid of this mess—fuck me, is that a fairy tree?” Jeremy, who must have changed his mind about checking in with the client first, squatted by Edarra’s foot. He stretched his neck out to get a better view. “It is.” He straightened. “Thoughts?”
“You get a box from the owner while I dig it out, and then we’ll contact the fey.”
Jeremy looked around, past the animals, squinting as if something else might jump out at them. “I agree, except we do the second part when we reach the office. Calling them now might attract poachers before we hit the road.” He pointed his thumb at the horse. “Good luck with that.”
When Jeremy was gone, Edarra stared at the animals with her hands on her hips. I left my world so I wouldn’t have to herd a bunch of stupid creatures. Blowing out her breath, she punched her fist into her open palm. “Let’s get started.” Cautiously, she reached for the horse’s flank. It eyeballed her and only swished its tail in response. It must be entranced by the tree, she thought. That meant the darn thing wouldn’t move on its own. Edarra glanced at the house. She blocked out her surroundings so she could focus on the windows. The shadows inside sharpened into the owner, who had his back to her in the entranceway. Good. She gave her attention back to the horse and clicked her teeth. No movement. Edarra slid her hand up the horse’s back until she was petting its mane. “Sorry about this, fella.” Securing her arms around its middle, she hoisted it into the air over her head, making sure to avoid its kicking legs while it squealed, free of docility. Edarra walked ten feet and settled the horse on the ground again. It tried to rear up, but she pressed her weight on it, forcing it to still. “Calm down,” she said repeatedly until the horse stopped moving on its own. She stepped back inch by inch. The large animal grunted and swung its head toward her. After several minutes, it returned to its trancelike state.
“Now with that over with….” Edarra returned to the sapling, but a Great Dane stood over it. “Dammit.” It took multiple rearrangings, but the animals eventually gave up blocking her, and she could examine the tree in peace. Edarra dug her finger in the dirt surrounding the plant and closed her eyes. Nearly a hundred different heartbeats thrummed against her skin. She used both hands to carefully scoop dirt to the side, and only stopped when Jeremy set the box beside her. “What took you so long?”
“The client needed calming after looking out the window and seeing your strong-woman routine.” Without being asked, he scooped the piled dirt in the box.