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Lately things had gotten too busy for just one person alone to run The Lost Lamb so I had hired some help—a Natural Witch called Sarah. She had moved to town after her Grandmother’s will called to her and she was now living on the far side of Hidden Hollow.
Sarah had a bit of Kitchen Witch in her as well—she loved to bake and nurture people—so she was a perfect fit for The LostLamb. She’d been introduced to me by one of my regulars, an Orc called Rath, who had turned out to be her Heartmate.
I think it was seeing Sarah and Rath together that was making me so blue—that and the fact that I was turning forty. The two of them were so in love with each other you could practically smell it in the air when they got together. (It smelled like marzipan if you’re wondering.)
Up until then, I hadn’t missed having a man in my life. Like I said, the ones I kept matching with on the dating apps were all horrible and my daily routine was extremely busy. But when I opened my eyes on the morning of my fortieth birthday and realized that I was still single and I probably wasn’t ever going to meet my own Heartmate, I began feeling blue. I had taken my birthday off to do something special…and now I realized that I had no one to do anything special with. It really sucked.
“It’s not just Sarah and Rath,” I muttered as I paced around the kitchen. “It’s those damn dreams I keep having! What’s wrong with me, anyway?”
The dreams had been coming steadily for the past six months—but the crazy thing was I couldn’t remember them very well. I just woke up all hot and bothered with a sense of longing filling me. I would have chalked the whole thing up to perimenopause but Madam Healer, the town doctor who treated every one—both human and Creature—in Hidden Hollow, had given me magical herbs to fend it off.
Besides, the dreams left me with more than just hot flashes—I had a feeling like someone had been touching me and giving me pleasure, bringing me almost to the brink of coming right before I woke up and everything faded away—including my dream lover, whoever he might be.
“It’s those damn dreams!” I muttered again, still pacing. “If I could just stop having them, I’msureI’d be happy again. After all, I have a wonderful life! I own my own bakery, which is verysuccessful. I have friends and a fulfilling career that I love—I mean it’swaybetter than working in the accounting firm.”
I stopped pacing and stood in front of the small mirror hanging on the kitchen’s far wall. A full-figured woman with a plump but pretty face, big blue eyes, and long golden-brown hair stared back. Sure there were a few crow’s feet forming at the corners of my eyes and there were laugh lines around my mouth but I hadn’t found a single gray hair yet—probably because my hair was already a light color but so what? It still counted, right?
“I don’t look half bad—for my age,” I went on. Listing my attributes and successes was one way I cheered myself up when I was feeling down. Only this time it didn’t seem to be helping. Nevertheless, I kept trying. “I’m a strong, beautiful, intelligent woman and I don’t need a man or a Heartmate to be happy. I need to stop feeling sorry for myself!” I concluded, giving my reflection a stern look.
But it was easier said than done. No matter how I lectured myself, I still felt blue. Having finished my affirmation, I was about to sit down and pick at my birthday cupcake again, when the front doorbell rang.
I really wasn’t in the mood for company. I was thinking of just ignoring the bell when I heard a familiar voice calling my name. Sighing, I turned to answer the door.
I had no idea what I was about to let into my house or how it was going to change my life forever…
CHAPTER TWO
“Celia? Are you in there? I know you must be because Sarah is running The Lost Lamb by herself. Come out here and hurry up—this thing is heavy!”
I hurried to the front door and jerked it open just in time to see Goody Albright standing there with one of the many Brownies she employed.
Brownies are magical beings who are kin to Fairies, though they’re not nearly so pretty. They have brown, bark-like skin, knobbly knees and elbows, and long, crooked noses. They’re extremely hard workers and I had been thinking of hiring one to work at The Lost Lamb, running the register, before Sarah had come along.
Goody Albright is also a witch—like most of the humans in town—and she owns The Red Lion, Hidden Hollow’s stately old bed and breakfast. Today she was wearing one of her many brightly colored muumuus and had her curly gray hair tied up in a paisley kerchief. Her sharp green eyes were narrowed with effort behind her gold rimmed spectacles—possibly because she was holding one end of a perfectly enormous portrait. The Brownie was holding the other end and her skinny arms were trembling.
“For the Goddess’s sake, let us in!” Goody Albright exclaimed. “This is so heavy we’re bound to drop it if we don’t put it down soon! And if that happens I’m just sure the frame will crack—it’s positively ancient!”
I didn’t think the frame—which was made of some heavy, dark wood—looked likely to crack even if you went after it with a sledgehammer, but I didn’t want to be rude.
“Come in, come in,” I said, standing to one side and holding the door open for them.
“Thank you!” With much huffing and puffing, Goody Albright and the Brownie lugged the enormous portrait into my living room and sat it on the foyer floor with a solid-soundingthud.
“What in the world is this and why did you bring it here?” I asked, looking at the portrait curiously.
It showed a very handsome man—no, not a man, I thought, looking at it again. He must be a Creature of some kind—he had horns and his skin had a reddish cast to it. Also, I thought I saw a tail curving around from behind him. Could he be a Demon of some kind?
He was dressed in a neatly tailored suit which looked somewhat old fashioned. It had a high collar and instead of a tie he was wearing a white lace cravat. There was a devilish glint in his black eyes—which held a hint of red, as though he had been staring into a fire when the artist painted him.
The strangest thing about the picture though, wasn’t the subject—it was the fact that I felt like I had seen the Demon somewhere before. For some reason he looked extremely familiar to me. Maybe he resembled one of my customers? I had been seeing so many new faces in the bakery lately since the town was expanding…
“This, my dear, is your birthright,” Goody Albright said importantly, dragging my attention away from the portrait.
“My what?” I said blankly, staring at her.
“Your birthright,” she repeated impatiently. “Before your Great Aunt Gertrude left town, she instructed me to give it to you on your fortieth birthday—but only if you hadn’t found your Heartmate yet.”
“But she never said anything like that to me,” I protested. “And why didn’t she just give it to me herself back when I first came to Hidden Hollow?”
