Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
About two miles from his office, Julien pulled into a well-lit pharmacy parking lot and parked. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Opening them, he focused on the streetlights, grounding himself back into reality.
Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t a part of their human world, so Julien knew he was going to need supernatural help with this. And he knew just what company could help him.
Chapter Three
Julien
The next morning, Julien stopped by his office to find that someone had turned in his briefcase before the appointment he hoped would solve his latest problem.
One of his employees knew that he could see through glamour magic. Rockford was a mothman, and Julien had given himself away when he’d first seen him because his huge, black wings and red eyes were just so startling. He’d been angry with his lack of control because normally, he had no issues keeping a straight face around preternaturals. But Rockford had instantly known Julien could see his true appearance and had come to his office. He’d told him about glamour magic and the term they used to refer to themselves—he’d explained a lot that had only been speculation before on Julien’s part. Rockford had also told him that his company had a reputation among preternaturals for being a safe place to work, and that was why so many applied there.
Thanks to that same mothman, Julien knew about Protective Solutions. He’d been told that it was run by a powerful sorcerer, and that he was trustworthy.
As he walked to the elevator to the third floor, the ground shook beneath his feet, and he braced his hand on a wall, wincing from his still raw palm. Seattle did have occasional earthquakes, but this was the third time in two weeks they’d been strong enough to feel, causing another niggling concern to hover in the back of his mind.
He did not like having these worries digging into the perfectly scheduled world he’d created. Both of the reasons he was here were out of his control, and if there was anything he hated, it was not being in control.
A man he assumed was Xavier met him as he stepped off the elevator. He was dressed surprisingly casually in dark jeans and white button down with the sleeves rolled up. Long, black hair was pulled back into a tail at the nape of his neck, and his eyes were a brown nearly as dark as his hair. Though he looked perfectly human, such an aura of utter power surrounded him that Julien would have known he was either a sorcerer or wizard—he wasn’t sure what the difference actually was.
Xavier held out his hand, and Julien shook it as they introduced themselves.
“My office is just up those stairs. Would you like some coffee?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.” He walked with the sorcerer, noting that many kinds of preternaturals were busy around cubicles. Demons and human-looking men and women with pointed ears. He even spotted several tails. He kept his expression smooth, having learned his lesson with Rockford.
Xavier indicated the chair in front of his desk and then took his own seat, folding his arms on the surface of his desk. “How did you hear about my company?”
“One of my employees told me about you. He said you are trustworthy and discreet, and that’s what I need.” He studied the sorcerer, getting the strongest feeling that Xavier could see him. Like truly see him. So he did something for the first time since the debacle with Rockford. “I know that this company employs supernatural beings. I can see them.”
Xavier slowly nodded. “I had a feeling that was the case. There are some humans who can see through our glamours. I take it a preternatural is the one who told you about my company?”
“He’s the only person who knows what I see.”
“Thank you for trusting me with that information. So, you said you had a couple of reasons for wanting to meet with me?”
“Something attacked me last night in the parking garage of my office. Something I couldn’t see.”
“Describe what happened. Did it say anything at all?”
“No, it just let out this low laugh a couple of times. It was invisible—mostly. I did catch shadowy glimpses right before it would punch or slap me, but not enough of a glimpse to tell what it was.”
“Was there any kind of odor?”
He frowned, thinking back to that awful smell. “Yes, there actually was. It’s hard to explain. Earthy and pungent. Kind of like a wet dog scent.”
Xavier sat back in his seat and regarded Julien closely. “You were attacked by a penumbra.”
“That tells me nothing.”
“That’s the name preternaturals have given it. Its other name is a hide-behind. A nocturnal creature that usually terrorizes people in the woods. It lives to cause fear, so it probably wasn’t there to kill you, just scare you badly.”