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CHAPTER ONE

It was times like this I wished Hall off to fight a supernatural war" cards, because I certainly didn’t kno to say that to my father Especially not over my cell phone, after I was already overseas

"So what are you doing in Britain again?" My dad asked skeptically, as soon as I told hi hiive him a heart attack, especially so soon after he’d just been healed So I took the coward’s way

I lied

"Oh, you know Just doing some supernatural stuff But safe stuff, of course Safe, supernatural stuff"

I’, I consoled myself I’ll be safe as houses with Blondie and Anyan

And I kneould be Anyan was a fierce warrior--a barghest, with not only the ability to change shape between a sexy ie, but also the ability to tap into two ele, as most of us could only tap into one Mine ater, of course, since I’m half-selkie Don’t clubolder and stronger than anyone else I knew She was an Original, and I’d only recently learned what that really meant Turns out she was one of the first huic in a way no other creature could Even the Alfar, who could manipulate all four elements and were usually our (rather shitty) leaders, had their limitations Blondie didn’t But it was even more complicated than that, as Blondie was the reason ere all the ere She’d been conned into using an artifact--the horn of a really ancient ical creature--that hadn’t worked as it was intended Instead of being the powerful weapon she’d been told it was, it had caused the Great Schis like Blondie is, with access to all that power, and became as we are now: divided into different factions with different powers

"And who are you working for, exactly?"skeptical

"Oh, just soood Definitely good I think you’d like the

For the creature who had sent us to Britain was the very same creature who lived beneath Rockabill If Blondie was ancient, this thing was prehistoric No, it was pre-humanic--it existed way before the Earth even looked the way it does now Not biological in a sense that we understood, it did still have a body that lived underneathof pure Earth and Water That didn’t mean it could just manipulate earth or water, as supes like me could It meant it was Earth and Water--its parents were the actual ele but bad I’d been in its ine It was also as close to omniscient as we could hope for, under the circuo to Britain and start a war," we daet to Britain and start a war

"And you’ve got everything sorted for your visit? You have a ride and everything?"

"Of course!" I said, confidently

I hope so, I thought, less confidently I’d gotten through custo nervous as shit Noas supposed to bea contact, for whom I had a code word, but I’d walked out of Heathrow’s customs area to findin on separate flights--all part of our atteic da as a college student, which wasn’t le control of the conversation "I’m fine and I’ll stay in touch And you can always call et worried But what about you? Isn’t today your first day?"

"Yup," he said "I did all the other training already Today Grizzie ith me on all the coffee stuff She’s deteret the hang of it And, hey, you can start drinking coffee again Enjoy the fruits of your labors"

My dad had only recently been healed of the heart defect that had made him an invalid for lamoured the whole town and medical system to believe he’d always been healthy But that had left hi on the creature’s mission had actually worked out well, in that he’d been able to slot intoback into doing all the stuff he’d once taken for granted My dad used to love coffee, but for a very long time he’d only been able to drink the very watered down, mostly decaf version I’d o nuts, if he wanted

"Well, we allin the bookstore," my dad said "Grizzie and Tracy want you to know that you can co the twins, she’ll mostly be at horinned What would happen when I returned had been a concern for me, and there it was--solved

"Tell them I love theet a chance Oh, hey, I think I seewo the concourse And Iaoddly on her body, as if she had an extra soht, hon Call me soon I love you"

"I love you too Bye, Dad," I said, as the woave me a small nod She walked towards h, I looked around furtively before skittering up to her

"Pachanga!" I shouted, causing the crazy-haired woe Maybe I was a little loud, but I was so relieved my ride had shown that I was a little slaphappy