Free A Cat's Chance in Hell by Sharon Hannaford Page A

immensely proud of both his children, who had each become involved in their own way within the SMV, even though neither of them had any supernatural talent. Lara was a well known attorney in the city, having made a name for herself in the male-dominated world as both hard-nosed and compassionate, and she often took cases for Werewolves and Shapeshifters. His son, Ian, was a doctor at one of the largest hospitals in the city, his work was absolutely vital to the SMV as he could spot a Were or Shifter, and have them patched up and discharged before any of the other staff became suspicious or got to draw blood for testing.
    Byron was officially retired from his job as a city councillor, but he still did consulting work for them, and still regularly attended government meetings and assisted on various committees. His involvement with government and local councils had been invaluable to the SMV over the years, and he was still able to get the inside track on many issues which affected the supernatural community. He exuded calm self-assurance which inspired trust and respect from others. No one in the human world would ever have suspected his thorough involvement in the supernatural world.
    His parents; both alive and well in their nineties, as was common for Magi, and living out their retirement in a small seaside village, respected his need for secrecy and never let slip about their own extraordinary talents to the general public.
    “ Gabrielle, honey,” he said in his warm, comforting voice. “How are you holding up?” He moved back slightly to hold her at arms length and have a good look at her.
    They usually kept a careful façade of polite friendship when in the company of others, besides Kyle and Rose. There was politics involved even in a group like the SMV, and Byron and Gabi didn’t like to advertise their personal relationship to everyone. The longer-standing members knew, of course, that Gabi was like a second daughter to Byron, but they rarely saw it demonstrated outwardly.
    “ I’m fine, Daddy Fuss Pants,” she teased him. “My vision has cleared a lot since I went to sleep, I’m sure it will be back to normal in a few more hours. So you were right to wait and see what happened.” She heard her own voice change suddenly from teasing reassurance to cold annoyance. “Athena really didn’t have to drive all the way out here before I even woke up.”
    The implication was clear; Athena wasn’t welcome in her house, and anyone who had invited her in was in trouble. The Magus in question was sitting at the dining room table with a steaming cup of tea in front of her; trust her to be different, Gabi thought sourly. She was looking steadily at Gabi and Byron, a deadpan expression on her face; if she was surprised by Byron’s actions away from the normal SMV environment, or by Gabi’s obviously displeasure, her face didn’t show it.
    “ Er,” Byron seemed to know he was in trouble, but ploughed on, trying to ease the tension in the room. “Athena was very worried about you,” he explained, ignoring the sarcastic quirk to Gabi’s eyebrow. “She thought you may feel like we weren’t taking your condition seriously enough, after our advice last night. We both know it must be a horrible feeling thinking that your eyesight may be permanently affected. So Athena suggested we be here when you wake in case there hadn’t been an improvement.”
    Gabi knew anything she said now would just sound ungrateful and childish, so she bit her tongue and kept quiet.
    “ Come and sit,” Byron pulled her gently towards a chair at the table. Kyle was already lounging in one of the chairs on Gabi’s left, Athena the only one on the far side of the large rectangular table. “Kyle says your vision is still quite fuzzy, tell us exactly how much you can see. Are you in any pain or discomfort? I spoke to Ian earlier, and he insisted that you stop in at the hospital and let him check you over too.”
    “ We’re also keen to