Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) Read Free

jeans clinging uncomfortably, then closed my eyes
as my body absorbed the heat.
    Moments later I heard something being set on
the table beside me and opened my eyes. A mug of hot chocolate
mounded high with whipped cream sat there; Sofie had settled in the
seat across from me. I stared at her in awe. No one, aside from my
own mother, had ever shown a quarter of the compassion that this
stunning woman was doling out so freely and unwarranted to a girl
who had just broken one of her valuable possessions.
    “ So, how do you propose to pay me
back for my lantern?”
    Her words yanked me back to reality. My gaze
dropped to floor, and that pungent bile crept up to touch my taste
buds again. The simple act of breathing became difficult.
Great
question
. How was I going to come up with
ten thousand
dollars
? Though I’d tried hard to find a job in the last four
months, the rejections were always the same: experience needed. And
I was fresh from high school graduation—no experience
here.
    The silence dragged on as I studied the flames.
Finally I braved Sofie’s gaze again. She was leaning back in her
chair with the poise and style of a super model, her fitted black
dress accentuating her curves and highlighting her creamy pale
skin.
    She spoke before I could. “You know, many
people would say that it’s my fault for putting something so
expensive out on the sidewalk. It was bound to get broken,” she
offered, still with no emotion.
    My mouth opened to respond but no words came
out. That thought hadn’t crossed my mind. The excuse would
certainly get me off the hook, but I knew my conscience would never
accept it, instead pricking me endlessly like a sliver in my
clothes. “No. You’re nice, offering me an excuse, but I broke it
and I should pay for it … somehow.”
    An oppressive weight settled on my chest and I
sent my eyes to roam the room again. The tables were covered with
dirty mugs waiting to be picked up and I could see that the wet
floor was in desperate need of a mop. It dawned on me—I hadn’t seen
anyone serving customers. “I could work here?” I blurted without
thinking. A vivid image of me in my Sketchers and faded jeans,
tripping over a chair leg and scalding a customer with a tray of
hot drinks, popped into my mind. I quickly amended my suggestion.
“I could wash dishes, clear tables, run errands—whatever you need.
All day, seven days a week. Whatever you need. It may take a while
for me to earn the money …”
More like forever.
    Those cool, pale eyes studied me silently,
revealing nothing.
    “ I don’t know. Maybe it’s a stupid
idea.” I bit down on my thumbnail.
    She ignored that. “Yes, I believe I can find
something for you here. Can you start tomorrow night at
six?”
    “ Seriously?” I exclaimed, unable to
hide my shock.
    She nodded, once.
    As I glanced around the place, a thrill stirred
in my stomach.
What would I be doing?
I didn’t care.
“Okay. Yes. Thank you.” I made a mental note to call the shelter to
let them know I wouldn’t be coming in for the next few …
years.
    “ Wonderful.” Sofie rose and walked
over to the counter. She grabbed a pen from behind the counter and
scrawled something on a sheet of paper, then returned and handed it
to me. “Please fill this out. I’ve marked your starting pay at the
top.” I saw the slightest smile touch Sofie’s plump lips—the first
one that night. “Some say I pay too well.”
    I looked down at the elegant writing at the top
of the job application, and gasped.

    My watch read ten minutes to six when I pushed
through the heavy wooden door of Newt’s Brew the next evening, my
nerves performing a full circus production in the pit of my
stomach. I’d sat up in bed most of the previous night, replaying
the inexplicable evening in my head countless times. Half of me was
sick to my stomach knowing I wouldn’t be registering for college
before my fiftieth birthday, given the debt I had so clumsily
acquired. But the other half