The Halfling (Aria Fae #1) Read online

  Now Sam’s eyes were downright gleaming. “You just need a new mission.”

  CHAPTER 16

  I managed to convince Sam that our plans to save the world could wait until tomorrow, and she called a taxi on her cellphone, since we both agreed walking the five blocks home was not an option.

  While we waited for the driver, Sam seemed to be antsier than usual, the avalanche of information she’d been given tonight no doubt throwing her mind through a loop.

  “Dude, what kind of seventeen-year-old doesn’t have a cell phone?” Sam asked, then held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Don’t answer that. Stupid question. I just mean, how am I supposed to get a hold of you? You don’t have a tablet, a computer?”

  I chuckled a bit at her total inability to accept my lack of access to such technology. “I don’t know… You could, like, flash the Bat Signal in the sky, or whatever.”

  “Hilarious,” Sam said. “But how would I get a high-powered search light back to my apartment without anyone noticing?” She reached into her jacket pocket and handed me an older version of an iPhone, smirking in that smug way she had once she relaxed. “No, I think this would be easier. It’s called a phone, and it’s spelled with a ph, not an f.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Sam, I know what a phone is, but I can’t take this from you. I can’t afford it, and even if I could, I can’t afford the bill.”

  She waved a hand. “Who said anything about money? It was just an iPod, but I reprogramed it to tap into wireless networks instead of just wifi, so there isn’t any bill.”

  Resigning, I took the phone and tucked it into my jacket pocket. “Isn’t that stealing?”

  Sam blinked at me. “You have a problem with stealing?”

  I considered this. “Not from huge corporations.”

  This made her laugh. “Good answer,” she said.

  Outside the window, I looked down and saw the yellow taxi pull up around the corner of the building, saw the red flash of the brake lights. A moment later, Sam’s cellphone rang. She told the caller she’d be right down, and I walked her down the four flights of stairs and out to the waiting cab.

  To my surprise, Sam pulled me into a hug when we got there, and I found that my throat was a little tight at the contact. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been hugged, though I was sure it was probably by my mother, and the feel of it now had me swallowing hard.

  Sam waved to me from the window, and I watched as the cab pulled away, hurrying into the building once it was gone and shutting the door behind me. Climbing up to the fourth floor, I reminded myself that I would need to keep up with my workouts.

  Before going back into my apartment, I glanced across the hallway at Reid’s door, my heart skipping a beat as I did so. Deciding I should thank him, I strolled over to his door and raised my hand to knock.

  But then I lost the nerve, feeling like a stupid little girl and knowing that after what Reid had witnessed me do, the best course of action was probably just to avoid him. It was bad enough that I’d told Sam about me. There was no need to add to the list. Especially when concerning overly attractive brooding men that I knew next to nothing about.

  So instead of knocking, I went back to my apartment and locked myself inside, feeling much as I had yesterday evening; that the world made no sense at all.

  But this would make night number two not crying myself to sleep. Night number two where I surfaced for air out of the Lake of Depression that’d been drowning me.

  CHAPTER 17

  I awoke bright and early on Sunday morning. I had gotten a good sleep, and I could feel the extra energy this gave me running in my blood.

  It was seven a.m., and I didn’t need to be at the flower shop for my first shift until nine, so I folded my bed back into the wall and did some high intensity workouts in the extra space this gave me.

  Then I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and threw on some jeans and a gray t-shirt. Listening to my stomach grumble, I decided it was time to spend some of my dwindling cash on food. Checking my watch, I saw that I should have enough time to find something to eat before going to Roses if I moved swiftly.

  When I opened the door of my apartment, I almost crushed the white paper bag that was sitting on the floor right outside my door. Immediately, I suspected foul play, thought that surely this mysterious white bag was a trap, a trick of some sort. My eyes narrowed as I scanned the hallway, using my stronger senses to assess the environment.

  But nothing was out of the ordinary. I took a deep breath, and bit my lip as the faint scent of Reid filled my nose. Swallowing, I stooped and picked up the white paper bag, holding it away from my body. Looking around to make sure no one was near, I sniffed the bag. My stomach grumbled again as I detected the smell of food inside.

  Staring at Reid’s closed door, I stood there a moment just trying to absorb this offering. Then I retreated into my apartment and closed the door behind me, taking the white bag over to the kitchen area and dumping the contents out onto the counter.

  A warm sandwich wrapped in foil fell out along with a bright red apple. I stared down at the two food items with the same awe and appreciation as I assume full human children do on Christmas morning with the gifts Santa brings them.

  It seemed so small, so trivial, and I’d lived most of my life in the human world under the guise provided by the Peace Brokers. But I was not a human. I was a Halfling, so I had grown up just pretending. My entire existence had just been pretend, in fact. The guardians I’d been placed with, they’d all been pretending, too. So the things that normal human children get to pretend with, like Christmas, and the Tooth Fairy, I didn’t get those.

  And, well, call me shallow, but that had always kind of sucked on my end. I’d wanted Saint Nick and the Tooth Fairy to visit me, too. I’d wanted to take part in the fantasies of all the children around me. Instead, I’d been trained, conditioned, regimented. I’d been taught discipline and survival skills.

  And then I’d been tossed aside the same way I would toss aside this foil sandwich wrapper as soon as I finished devouring this amazing-smelling ham, egg, and cheese croissant.

  I chuckled a little at the thoughts in my head, not completely comfortable with the way a gifted sandwich could make me turn all introspective.

  I couldn’t be sure, but I had to assume the food was from Reid, and despite my self-warning about all the reasons I should be taking no interest in that man, I found that it made my stomach feel funny and warm to assume this. It was such a small thing, to give someone a meal, and yet, it could mean so much.

  Finishing the food and reminding myself to tread carefully, I locked up my apartment and headed out. My old backpack was slung over my shoulder, and in the side pocket was my magic staff. This was the first time I’d taken it with me somewhere in nearly a month, even though it had long been a constant at my side. I’d decided last night when I’d taken it out to show Sam that I wasn’t going to be leaving it behind any more.

  I chose to believe this meant I was sort of healing. After I’d learned of my mother’s death and did the things I’d done to help a certain set of Sorcerers, I hadn’t been able to look at the staff without bursting into tears. I certainly hadn’t been able to touch it.

  And now I was carrying it again, feeling better than I’d felt for a while. Maybe Sam had been right about that new mission thing. Maybe here in Grant City, despite all the things I disliked about urban lifestyle, I would find whatever it was I was looking for.

  I didn’t know it then, but what I was looking for was the same thing every orphan looks for. I was looking for a home.

  The neighborhood I lived in was not nearly as daunting during the day, and I found I enjoyed the short stroll to the flower shop. When I got there, Rose was already behind the counter, a red apron tied around her slightly generous waist.

  She offered me a smile as I entered and looked at the round clock hanging on the faded pink wall. “You’re ten minutes early,” she said. “That’s a good start. Come on in
to the back. I’ve got some paperwork for you to fill out before we get started. Gonna be a busy day.”

  I smiled, rubbing my hands together a touch nervously. “Sounds good to me,” I said.

  Rose set me up at her desk in the back room so I could fill out the employment forms. One thing the Peace Brokers had let me keep was my false identity, and though I was still pissed about the way they’d treated me, I was grateful for this now. Had they stripped this away as well, I wouldn’t be able to attend school, let alone get this job.

  Sam’s words from last night came back to me, probably the millionth time they’d run through my head in the past eight hours.

  You don’t need those stupid Peace Brokers. You don’t need anyone. All you need is a new mission.

  Words were funny like that, the reason one had to wield them wisely. If they rang true enough with the listener, they had a way of changing things, of hanging around.

  After I finished the paperwork, Rose put me to work filling orders. I found that I loved making arrangements, and that it sort of put me into a meditative state. Rose was a good boss, too. She didn’t hang over me while I worked, but instead, would check back periodically and offer praise or critique, for which I was more grateful than she would ever know. As an operative, I’d been weaned on the critique and approvals of superiors.

  I’d been taught that before one can truly lead, they must know how to follow. And Rose was smart and sweet enough that she made it easy to do so.

  At lunch, she even fed me. I was becoming like the neighborhood puppy, being fed by strangers in different locations because I was just cute and needy enough. It was a pretty sad picture, really, but beat the crap out of going hungry. And if I could do well here at the flower shop, I wouldn’t have to keep accepting charity for long.

  “You’re a hard worker,” Rose commented as we ate. I’d filled the orders and even rearranged and cleaned the back room in what Rose insisted was superhuman time.

  I grinned around the bite of turkey sandwich. “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Rose smiled and rested her chin in her hand, leaning on the table at which we were eating. “You an army brat?” she asked.

  I knew why she was asking that. It was my incessant use of ma’am and sir, which she’d witnessed plenty today as I’d served the customers in the shop. It was so ingrained in me, the way I’d been forced to address my superiors, that I did it without even thinking.

  “Sort of,” I said.

  Rose quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t know what that means.”

  I shrugged, feeling a little uncomfortable. She must’ve picked up on this, because she let it drop, and when the little bell above the shop’s door chimed, I hopped up quickly.

  “I got it,” I said.

  “You can finish eating,” Rose said, moving to stand.

  I waved my hand for her to sit. “I don’t mind at all,” I replied, already pushing through the door that led to the front of the shop.

  Glad for the interruption, I approached the counter and greeted the customer. “Welcome to Roses,” I said. “How can I help you?”

  My heart stopped in my chest as the customer turned around and I saw that it was Reid.

  “Oh,” I said. “It’s you.”

  I resisted the urge to face-palm myself, snapping my jaws shut so that no other brilliant utterances could escape.

  He approached the counter, his face that blank slate, though I could see in his aura that he was slightly amused. “I have an order,” he said.

  Before I could respond, Rose came out of the door behind me. “Hey there, Thomas,” she said. “How’s it going, dear?”

  Reid gave a polite smile that I had to admit was devastatingly handsome, and nodded at Rose. “I’m doing well, ma’am,” he said. “And how about yourself?”

  “Your name is Thomas?” I said, snapping my mouth closed again. What was it about this guy that turned me into a bumbling idiot?

  Be cool, Aria, I told myself, and resisted the urge to shake my head at this dumb thought.

  “You two know each other?” Rose asked.

  Reid only looked at me, and I found myself talking to fill the awkward silence that followed. “I ate his sandwich,” I said, and felt my cheeks go bright red.

  Again, a slight golden color touched Thomas Reid’s aura, and I could tell he found this as funny as I found it mortifying.

  “Well… great,” said Rose, moving to the end of the counter where one of the arrangements I’d put together earlier this morning was waiting. It was one of the best I’d done today, with multi-colored lilies and rose. Bows were tied tastefully to the stems and a matching ribbon was wrapped around the vase.

  She handed me the arrangement, gave me a wink, and retreated into the back room. Leaving me alone with Reid. Or Thomas, or whatever.

  I rang up the flowers and told him the total. He said nothing as he selected the money from his wallet. I cleared my throat. “Thank you,” I said. “For the food. That was you, right? You left the apple and the sandwich this morning?”

  He handed me over his money, those hazel eyes meeting mine and stopping the air up in my throat. He gave a nod so slight I wasn’t sure if it was an answer, and I made his change biting my lip, feeling horribly insecure and not knowing why.

  Taking the flowers, he offered me that breath-taking, polite smile that he’d given Rose. “You’re welcome, Aria,” he said, and left the shop.

  My eyes followed him the whole way.

  CHAPTER 18

  The rest of the day went by swiftly. I swept, wiped down counters, rang up customers, and arranged flowers. It was good, honest work, and Rose was good, honest company.

  All in all, I thought this position at the flower shop was going to work out just fine, and by the time four o’clock rolled around, I realized my shift was over and it was time to go home.

  Rose showed me how to clock out and then handed me a hundred dollar bill.

  I looked down at it, slightly confused. “I get paid in cash?” I asked.

  Rose waved a hand, hanging up her red apron on a hook behind the door. “Not usually, no,” she said. “I do paychecks every other Friday, and I’ll just take that out of yours… Unless you’d rather wait?”

  I shook my head, wondering at how she’d intuited my neediness, and feeling a warmth toward her that was uncharacteristic of me. I was an Empath, yes, which meant I shared and absorbed the emotions of those around me, but outside of the Peace Brokers, I’d never made any real friends.

  Apparently, you didn’t make any inside the Peace Brokers, either, said a small voice in my head.

  I folded up the money and put it in my pocket. “Thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”

  Rose stared at me in an evaluating way that made me slightly uncomfortable. When I was just beginning to shift on my feet and preparing to say goodbye, she said, “You’re a good girl, Aria. I can tell.”

  I paused and gave a half smile. “And you’re a kind person, Rose,” I said.

  “I don’t know what it is you’ve been through, or what you’re going through still, but I can promise you one thing.”

  I held my breath, swallowed, waited.

  “I promise,” Rose continued, “that if you do right by me I will always do right by you. How does that sound?”

  My eyes were beginning to sting a touch, but I took a deep breath and nodded. “That sounds good,” I said, and meant it. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  I hesitated. “What do you know about Thomas Reid?”

  A slow smile came to Rose’s lips and one of her eyebrows rose over the rim of her glasses. “Not much. Why?”

  I shrugged. “Just cuz.”

  She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “He comes in once every month and orders the same arrangement. Been doing it for years.”

  “Who’s it for?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. He never gets a card. He’s been coming almost a year no
w. He’s always polite, short-spoken… And super hot, of course.”

  My cheeks went beet-red, the words somehow shocking coming from Rose’s motherly mouth. “Well… that… doesn’t have anything to do with it,” I mumbled, zipping up the front of my jacket.

  Rose shook her head, her face serious, but a slight sparkle in her eyes. “Of course not,” she said. “Nothing at all.”

  I blew out a puff of air and waved my hand, making a knowing smile come to her lips. “See you tomorrow,” I said, heading toward the door. “I’ll report right after I complete school.”

  Something about this must have struck her as amusing, because gold filled her warm purple aura, and she nodded. “You’re a strange girl, Aria Fae,” she said, but not with any malice, only as an observation.

  I winked at her, pushing the door open and turning to go. “You have no idea, ma’am,” I said over my shoulder, and the sound of her chuckle followed me out.

  ***

  I found a small grocery store a few blocks south of Roses and used half of the one hundred dollars she’d given me to grab some essentials. It felt good to have money in my hand, to be providing for myself, and for the first time in a long time, I realized I was proud. I’d been shoved out into the world and was thus far succeeding at taking care of myself.

  When I got back to my apartment, I put up the groceries and measured out what I supposed was the equivalent of what I’d accepted from Thomas Reid. Then I wrapped that food up separately and went out into the hall, going to set it down in front of his door.

  I didn’t like feeling like I owed people things, and this would make us even.

  I tiptoed over in my socks, t-shirt, and pajama pants and was just about to set down the bag of food when his door swung open.

  Thomas Reid stood there looking at me, and I stood there slack-jawed, because he didn’t have a shirt on.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  I snapped my jaw shut, floundering for words. “I, uh, what are you doing?” I said. “I mean, I, uh,” I shoved the bag of repayment food into his hands. “Here,” I said. I turned to retreat, shutting my eyes as I did so as if to turn a blind eye to my own embarrassment. He didn’t say anything as I scurried back to my apartment and shut the door, but I could feel his hazel eyes burning my back the whole way.