Chapter 8

Sure enough, the next day, Billy, Aunt Gene and Aunt Annie were all eagerly awaiting my arrival to the point that they were all lying in wait when I got to work at 10am, which was really early for a Witch - they tended to work best at night.

The apprentices had told what they'd witnessed, which would have been quite confusing considering they didn't know anything about either Andras or myself. That and they weren't yet trained in how to read people, so that was another level to misunderstand.

By the time I got through telling the story, I was more than horrified with myself for my extremely reckless behavior and immediately started apologizing.

"Stop," Aunt Gene ordered after letting me ramble. "First of all, nothing happened to the store or the girls, so stop apologizing. Second," she took a deep breath and I braced myself, "I'm proud of you."

Silence.

"What?!" To call me confused would be an understatement.

Aunt Annie smiled. "Of course we're proud of you. Aggie, you've been carrying this festering wound around for years, with this Vampire as the cause." I winced. "Being with Talon has helped a great deal," she went on, "but it still wasn't healed."

"You'd yet to confront your tormentor," Aunt Gene clarified.

"And now you have," Billy took over, squeezing my forearm briefly. "Plus, you came out victorious, not an easy thing to do, ever. Way to go!"

Now that they mentioned it, the last aches I'd been unaware I still possessed eased, taking away a great amount of guilt along the way.

"Thank you," I said quietly, looking them all in the eye. My surrogate family, for the most part, as well as my teachers, judges and saints.

"That doesn't mean you can do this again and get away with it," Aunt Gene warned. "Next time, it'll be time to redecorate the store."

I shuddered. What usually happened was a floorboard to ceiling scrub down, every nook and cranny cleaned and readied for new paint or wallpaper, the floors stripped and re-waxed and everything moved elsewhere. And that was just for the room itself, not counting the shelves and racks and display cases ... It was usually a nightmare, which was why it was a good threat. I'd have rather been whipped - at least that was over quickly!

Once Molly and Bethany were up and moving, Aunt Annie decided we all needed to go out for lunch, insisting I "invite" Talon and Marcus as well, or maybe "respectfully demand" was a better description. Because I was the only one with any suggestions about where to go, we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant, which would be both Marcus' and the girls' first time.

The atmosphere was light as we ate, which was surprising considering the last time we'd all been gathered had been after the almost-coup of my father's Werewolf pack in Montana. Not a pleasant time for any of us.

It became clear halfway through the meal why my Aunt wanted the two Demons to join us.

"So, what was the information he'd come to pass on?" Aunt Gene asked aloud after making sure Marcus knew as much as she did.

"Let's break this down a little," I suggested, pushing dishes aside so I could rest my arms on the table. "Andras is a Vampire, and a very old one at that. What does that tell us?" I aimed the question at Molly and Blondie and watched them squirm slightly as everyone's attention became focused on them.

"Vampires are one of the longest living races," Molly began timidly, eyes on the edge of the table. "Werewolves, some Shapeshifters and Demons being the rest." I recognized the phrasing as one found in a general races textbook and smiled. "Sustained by blood, they've been hunted for longer than any other Supernatural race, even when such practices were banned. As such, they are very practiced at stealth, often leading solitary lives after they mature to avoid detection and allow them to stay in one area for extended periods of time."