The Frozen Witch Book One Read Free

here it was fiendishly cold.
Despite the fact it was midsummer, and it should have been a warm,
balmy night, I felt a tight shiver press down my back. I shrugged
further into my thick winter jacket, just as I noted that the other
commuters were in shirts, skirts, and shorts. They hardly looked
like they were about to face a blizzard. But me? I couldn’t chase
away the sudden sense of cold that had descended over me in a
wave.
    Clenching my teeth and listening to them
chatter in my skull, I headed up onto the street beyond.
Immediately, I glanced up and stared at the clouds gathering along
the horizon.
    “Christ, those look like storm clouds,” I
muttered to myself as I huddled further under my jacket.
    A cold blast of wind slammed into my back,
chasing the loose ends of my hair over my shoulders.
    Despite the fact the street was packed, no
one else appeared affected by the gale. Which was just my luck –
even the weather was out to get me.
    After a few city blocks, I made it to the
right place. Dragging my phone out of my pocket, about as chipper
as a prisoner about to be sent to the gallows, I checked the
address Larry had texted to me.
    “Yep, this is it,” I said under my
breath.
    I took a few seconds to drink in how
expensive the building looked. It was one of those new towers that
had replaced one of the inner city parks. Weirdly, though I’d lived
in Saint Helios my whole life, I didn’t remember this particular
building.
    It seemed… kinda weird for some reason.
Almost like it was a cardboard cut-out someone had propped up on
the horizon. Kinda like if I turned back and blinked, the building
would disappear completely….
    As I tilted my head back and took in its
enormity, it looked as if it had cost more than the GDP of a small
country. As someone who always had to scrounge to get by, that
pissed me off.
    Before I headed around back to the service
entrance, I smoothed a smile over my face. I even checked my
reflection in the shiny door as I entered the kitchen. Larry, who
was always up in my face when I turned up for work, was nowhere to
be seen.
    Instead, Stacy appeared, holding a bundle
of clothes. “Hey, kid. You’re late.”
    “Sure am. Where’s the codger? Off robbing
old ladies?” I quipped as I looked over my shoulder in case he was
somehow hiding in one of the giant industrial ovens.
    “Haven’t seen him,” Stacy said as she
handed me the clothes. “Now change into this uniform; we’re already
running pretty late.”
    I frowned obviously, gesturing to my black
skirt and shirt with a brush of my hand. “I’m already wearing a
uniform.”
    “Not good enough.” Stacy shrugged and
handed me the new uniform. “This is a high-class gig.” She gestured
to the expensive kitchen equipment behind us. “I’m surprised Larry
isn’t making us wear evening gowns.”
    I snorted. “That, or lingerie,” I quipped
as I spied a bathroom sign and hustled over, tugging my jacket off
before I’d made it into one of the female stalls.
    I heard Stacey walk into the room behind
me. “Larry’s going ballistic about this one. Got a long list of dos
and don’ts. He made me personally promise to remind you to look
presentable. Seriously, he’s crazier than usual.”
    I’d left the door to my stall ajar, and
Stacey nudged it further open. She handed me a cute, little makeup
bag.
    “I’ve already got plenty on,” I said as I
wriggled into an extremely well-fitting skirt and
blouse.
    “It’s not enough. Larry wants everybody
looking our best. And Larry…” she trailed off.
    I frowned, finally managing to wrestle the
blouse over my bust. “Larry is what?” I nudged the door open with
my knee and faced Stacy as I zipped my skirt up and buttoned my
top. “He was weird on the phone,” I pointed out as I grabbed
Stacy’s makeup bag and rifled through it for a shade of lipstick
that didn’t belong on a news anchorwoman from the 90s. Clutching a
suitably soft pink, I darted over to the large mirror