Free How Beauty Met the Beast by Jax Garren

“I’m with Jolie on this. Magic isn’t real.”
    Catrina huffed. “How can you of all people insist that?”
    The hooded look in Hauk’s eyes betrayed the presence of yet another deep secret.
    “What do you mean, him of all people?”
    His eyes widened in a subtle threat.
    Catrina hunkered down but pursed her lips defiantly. “He’s on the front lines fighting them. He’s seen it. For God’s sake, man, you’re Pagan. How can you not believe in magic when you’ve seen it? ”
    He tugged on a hammer-shaped charm hanging on a cord around his neck. “I’m Heathen . We’re not into the woo-woo. I’ve seen nothing that can’t be explained by science and psychology. People see weird shit when they’re fighting. The mind doesn’t have time to process all the details and fills in with whatever dogma you’ve got trained into you—God, magic, universal nihilism—we see what we expect to see. Me? I believe in gods. I believe in my ancestors. I can even buy that some people have a sixth sense about things. But hocus-pocus, shake my Anubis rattle and poof , the world changes? No.”
    “Wait a minute,” Jolie inserted and turned to Catrina. “Why do you believe they do magic?”
    Catrina shot a questioning glance at Hauk. Jolie looked between them as something passed again.
    Whatever it was made Catrina grumble under her breath before she turned to Jolie. “You might’ve heard someone mention my day job. I’m in marketing and I work at a funky little place on the East side. What most people don’t know is that I used to be corporate. I’m good. I’m really good.” She gave a half smile full of pride without one ounce of pompousness. Jolie took her at her word, even as the notion of Catrina as a dude in a cubicle stra K cufull of prined her imagination. “Good enough to be noticed by important people with big connections and deep pocketbooks. I was courted by Ananke. I’ve been in their temple—”
    “Temple?”
    “Temple,” she said firmly. “To that bitch goddess. But I was young and still figuring out who I was. It became clear they wanted Carlton and only Carlton. A fast track to money, power, success, and all I had to do was give up this new person I’d discovered, the one I wanted to be.” Her eyelashes fluttered before she looked Jolie steadily in the eye. “The real me.” She took a deep breath. “Believe me when I say they can do magic. I’ve seen it. So has Hauk, even though he won’t admit it. And that, my sweets, is more powerful than any gun.”
    Hauk shoved a change of clothes into his rucksack and tied it shut. “You done?”
    Catrina narrowed her eyes at him. “Bring her back in one piece.”
    His expression softened and he nodded before turning to Jolie. “Ready?”
    The weight of the question settled on Jolie more heavily than she’d anticipated. She licked her lips. “Yeah.”
    He tossed a slip of fabric and it landed in her lap.
    “What’s this?”
    “Blindfold.” He crossed his arms as if daring her to protest.
    Jolie didn’t buy the magic bit, but that didn’t change that she was in some serious shit and Hauk was risking his home to help her out. She slipped the fabric across her eyes and tied it, then offered Hauk her hand.
    The hand he placed in hers felt warm, even through the gloves he’d slipped on that morning with the rest of his clothing. His fingers were gentle as they pulled her up next to him. Recognition flashed, blind touches through fabric, heat and pleasure. But she squashed the memories along with the blush that heated her cheeks. Her beautiful fantasy with wicked hands was not the same as this mess that Hauk had literally dragged her into ( while saving your life ). She shook her head and squashed that thought, too. “Lead the way.”
    * * *
     
    Hauk’s low voice rumbled, telling her she could remove the blindfold. Jolie found herself at the electric company, standing in front of the makeshift stage she’d commanded. Was that only last night?