The girl smiles, her eyes lit. “That’s me.”
“Excuse me?” I squeeze the words out from the stranglehold my throat has on the rest of me.
“Yeah, I’m the shaman. I mean, my dad used to be the shaman, but he’s dead. So now it’s me. I know all his tricks.”
Her hand strokes the cat’s fur methodically, a meditation.
“We were sent here by a pair of witches.” I tell the girl their names, hoping against hope it sparks some kind of recognition in the girl. “We were told you can help us.”
The girl shakes her head. “They must have known my father, then.”
How in the world will this preteen know everything we need her to know? My heart sinks.
Flower dress, high voice,pink fluff everywhere…the trailer is a princess paradise.
The cat, taking one look at the pair of vampire newcomers, lets out another foghorn meow and hops down to wind around Colt’s ankles.
“Wow, Fifi likes you. That really tells me everything I need to know. Fifi Floofkins is the best judge of character. Aren’t you, my little lubbie wubbie?” The girl’s lips round with the nickname,her hands clutching her cheeks like this scene is so cute she might die.
Colt shakes his leg, a quick jerk of motion, but the cat keeps rubbing, leaving a blizzard of white behind.
“Can you do something with her?” His voice tightens with annoyance.
“Oh, I think it’s adorable. Fifi Floofkins is obsessed with you already! And it’sMisterFifi Floofkins,” the girl says adamantly.
Colt grimaces.
The girl wipes her hands together and slowly unfolds herself from her bed of blankets. She hops down and the folds of her dress sway down to her feet like she’s dancing.
“Let’s make this quick. I have to go on in a few minutes and being late will heighten the audience’s expectations, but it’s a delicate balance. You can’t be too late or they get restless and the spell doesn’t settle right.”
She sets us with a stern look but the effect is dampened by the twitch of a smile she can’t hide. For the cat.
Grayson allows himself to grin wide. “What’s your name?”
“Charlotte.” She rolls her eyes like it should be obvious. “Whatever you want, it’s got to be something crazy to bring two werewolves and two vampires into my trailer. So, what’s going on?”
She drops her gaze to make kissy faces at Mister Floofkins, who has curled like a knot around Colt’s ankles, ready to trap him in place if he dares to move.
“Moon madness.” I push the word free. “We were told you’d know how to cure it. Well, we heard the shaman can cure it. We’ve been trying to find a cure on our own but our packs are inundated and we need your…”
I trail off when Charlotte leans close, her head only coming up to my chest. I’m short but she’s delicate and tiny. A pixie with power.
She draws in a deep breath.
“Oh, honey.” Her eyes are much older than her face or her voice. “What happened to you?” She turns to Grayson to give him the same sniff test. “You might have put a band aid on your symptoms but you’re running out of time, aren’t you?”
A lump in my throat catches everything I want to say.
“We need the cure. Do you have one?” Grayson pushes.
Charlotte sniffs. “I mean, of course I do. My father worked on it for years before he died. I know exactly how to help you.”
I’ve never heard such a hypnotic tone.
Her skirts shift around her in a subtle flow but there’s no wind in the cramped trailer. And she says it so easily, like we haven’t been killing ourselves to outrun this madness.
“But it’s going to cost,” she adds.