Dark Swan Bundle Read Free Page B

“schizo” vibe. It was highly possible that the gentry could simply have been a figment of his imagination.
    â€œThis is her.” He brought me a five-by-seven picture showing him and a pretty girl leaning into each other against a grassy backdrop. “Taken just before the abduction.”
    â€œShe’s cute. And young. Does she…did she…live with you?”
    He nodded. “Our parents died about five years ago. I got custody of her. Not much different than how it used to be.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Bitterness crossed that neurotic face, an odd juxtaposition. “Our dad was always off on some business trip, and our mom kept sleeping around on him. So it’s always just sort of been Jasmine and me.”
    â€œAnd what makes you think she was taken by gen—fairies?”
    â€œThe timing,” he explained. “It happened on Halloween. Samhain Eve. That’s one of the biggest nights for abductions and hauntings, you know. Data supports it. The walls between the worlds open.”
    He sounded like he was reciting from a textbook. Or the Internet. Sometimes I thought Internet access was like putting guns in the hands of toddlers. I tried not to roll my eyes as he rambled. I didn’t really need a layman explaining remedial information to me.
    â€œYeah, I know all that. But a lot of scary people—humans—roam around on Halloween too. And lots of other times. I don’t suppose you reported it to the police?”
    â€œI did. They weren’t able to turn up anything, not that I really needed them. I knew what had happened because of the location. The place she disappeared. That was what made me know fairies did it.”
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œThis one park. She was at a party with some kids from school. They had a bonfire in the woods, and they saw her wander off. The police traced her tracks to this clearing, and then they just stopped. And you know what was there?” He gave me a dramatic look, evidently ready to impress me. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of asking the obvious question, so he answered it for me. “A fairy ring. A perfect circle of flowers growing in the grass.”
    â€œIt happens. Flowers do that.”
    He shot up from the table, incredulity all over his face. “You don’t believe me!”
    I worked hard to keep my face as blank as a new canvas. You could have painted a picture on it.
    â€œIt’s not that I don’t believe what you’re describing, but there are a lot more mundane explanations. A girl alone in the woods could have been abducted by any number of things—or people.”
    â€œThey said you were the best,” he told me, like it was some kind of argument. “They said you kick paranormal ass all the time. You’re the real deal.”
    â€œWhat I can or can’t do isn’t relevant. I need to make sure we’re on the right track. You’re asking me to cross physically into the Otherworld. I almost never do that. It’s dangerous.”
    Wil sat back down, face desperate. “Look, I’ll do anything at all. I can’t let her stay there with those—with those things. Name your price. I can pay anything you want.”
    I glanced around curiously, taking in the books on UFOs and Bigfoot. “Uh…what exactly do you do for a living?”
    â€œI run a blog.”
    I waited for more, but apparently that was it. Somehow I suspected that generated less money than even Tim made. Hmphf. Bloggers. I didn’t get why everyone and their brother thought the world wanted to read their thoughts on…well, nothing. If I wanted to be subjected to meaningless blather, I’d watch reality television.
    He was still looking at me pleadingly, with big blue puppy dog eyes. I nearly groaned. When had I grown so soft? Didn’t I want people to think of me as some cold and calculating shamanic mercenary? I’d vanquished a keres