“You’re too close, Jain Shin Hallow.”

  And I realized that in the effort to zoom in on her neck, I’d leaned closer and closer to her chest.

  “Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to–, er, I mean, I wasn’t trying to–” Stop staring and just–

  Closing my eyes, I made a conscious effort to lean back before opening them again. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine.” She said but the shell of confidence from before wasn’t as strong. But it was back just as quick. “How much do you know about your situation?”

  I decided to start from the beginning. “Well, I learned today that magic is real, and with it, everything that goes bump in the night, including ghosts, demons, monsters, and nursery rhymes. Plus, my parents were the magical world’s equivalent of FBI’s most wanted.” I pretended to think, “Oh, and I might die on Christmas Eve while trying to get my own inheritance. If I’m lucky, I get to do it on Christmas.”

  That earned me a smile. “That sounds about right.”

  “Ok, I have a question.” I asked, “How are you and the Paris guy related to all this?”

  “I’m related to this through Mr. Paris.” She answered, “Though he’s involved through his dealings with your parents, of which I don’t know about. This is much bigger than you think.”

  “Bigger? Bigger than me getting molested by spirits today?.”

  “You shouldn’t joke about that.” She frowned in doubt, “And there’s no way that happened.”

  “Nu-uh, did too,” I said childishly, “In a classroom to boot. The only thing missing was a bottle of baby oil.”

  “Mr. Paris briefed me on the information he wants you to have. I’m not going to argue with you about–” For a moment, under the make-up and the goth-maid dress, the scowl made her look years younger. She must have noticed too, because the secretary facade was back. “How much do you know about the supernatural community in general?”

  “I only know as much as I‘ve been told. Almost nothing.” I said blankly and put a pinky on the corner of my mouth, “I know that there’s a little country club for people like me called Society. All hoity-toity.”

  “Society is not the only one.”

  “Yeah. There’s also the Courts from Shakespeare.”

  “It’s the other way around.” She replied, “But I’m talking about here. This world. Like the U.S, New York, Conneticut, Florida, even different countries.”

  That perked my interest. “Such as?”

  “There are big ones and small ones. Society is one of the biggest, formed by the oldest family of Practitioners. But other communities exist, small town, big city, doesn’t matter. Sometimes it’s formed of just practitioners, more often than not, a mixture of everyone else.”

  “Ha. Like a pack of werewolves?”

  “Tribe of Werewolves. And yes.” She answered. “Though most are active only around Eastern Europe and Asia.”

  I didn’t expect that. “You’re telling me Werewolves are real?”

  “You told me nursery rhymes are real.” She countered, “Does that make you believe in werewolves or vampires any less?”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Picture this. In a small town of two hundred, maybe there are half a dozen hedge witches, a practitioner, a vampire, a gathering court of Fae recluse, and a tribe of goblins.”

  “Does the practitioner, vampire, and goblin walk into a bar?”

  Abigail cracked a smile. “Focus. They don’t like each other. But they all share the interest of wanting to protect their homes and the place that their home is in; the town. So maybe they start having weekly meetings, monthly meetings. Just to inform each other of what’s going on, smooth over misunderstandings and so forth.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “That’s called a home owner’s association and I know that’s evil.”

  “I said focus.” She gave me a half-hearted glare, “But you’re close. These organizations aren’t beholden to Society, or a Coven, or a wandering tribe of Werewolves, barring specific circumstances. It’s an organization unto itself; a community that’s supported by the fact that the members share a common goal.”

  More answers which led to more questions. What was this Coven and how was it different from Society? What were these specific circumstances? I shelved them for later.

  “There are thousands of these groups across New York alone. Now multiply that by the thousands of small towns and big cities across the country.” Abigail took a sip of her water. “And that’s not even including influential families excluding Practitioners.”

  “And they’re all protecting their towns?”

  “Less protecting the town, and more protecting the status quo.” She gave me a half shrug, looking years younger again. “It’s different for every group. Some want to keep outsiders out to keep from meddling in their affairs. Some gather to meddle with others. Others are financially motivated. Most are just small-timer fringe members who want to go on living their daily lives. The point is that they gather and talk.”

  “So they gather together, stir the cauldron, and have their equivalent of HOA and Town Hall meetings?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Yes. Exactly.”

  “...Is there a meeting like this in New York?”

  “Of course. Mr. Paris is part of it.”

  “God, that must be a mess.”

  “Less than you think,” She admitted, “To prevent chaos, they grabbed the most powerful and influential members from each faction and held monthly meetings. They call it the Table.”

  “Jesus Christ.” I shook my head. “All the state reps, coming to talk together. Is it also corrupt, just like the American government?”

  “Big words, coming from a citizen of Society.” She said defensively, a ring of purple appearing around her pupils.

  Whoa, forget the eye trick, there had been emotion there. More than she had shown all night.

  I lifted my hands, “Don’t forget, they’re literally trying to steal from me. And probably going to kill me while I’m at it.”

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. My Third Eye acted up again, as the outlines of monsters coming off of her went wild. They went still a moment later, disappearing entirely. When she looked at me, the purple was gone.

  I knew better than to think it was just my imagination, or a trick of the light. I’d stepped into a world, willingly or not, where nightmares were real. I had to keep reminding myself of that.

  Note to self, don’t piss her off.

  “You are right, Jain Shin Hallow.” She said, “You didn’t deserve that.”

  Funny how she didn’t apologize. But being the gracious person that I am, I didn’t mention it. Definitely not because I was intimidated by her.

  “Your boss wanted me to know this. Why?”

  “Because he wants you to know that he is on your side.” Abigail looked out the window, “He wants you to see the big picture.”

  I took the bits and pieces I knew, putting them together.

  One. Society wanted to keep my Mom and Dad’s practice away from me and keep it for themselves.

  Two. Society wasn’t the only player in this scenario. There were other groups too. I.E, the Table.

  Three. My parents saw this coming.

  Four. My parents had been dangerous people.

  I laughed.

  She gave me a look like I was stupid. That pissed me off.

  “Does this work on everyone?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The scare tactic. Send the goth-baddie, reiterate how all the big-bad scaries are in on it together. How dangerous my parents were and how the whole freaking world hated them. How I’m so all alone.” I said dramatically, rolling my eyes, then snarled, “Are you serious? And then he tells me he’s on my side? So what? I’m supposed to go running with my tail wagging and thank him? Because he’s the only one who can save me from the big bad men? If you’re going to send veiled threats at me, say it to my face. Don’t waste my time to explain why it’s a threat”

  Then to my surprise, she lifted an eyebrow. “There’s something you should know.”

  “...What?”

  “That through favors, debts, obligations, every major faction in the tristate area is involved in one way or another. And I imagine those who are not will be indirectly impacted by the results of the next few days.”

  “You already implied that.”

  “What does that tell you?” She said.

  I frowned, thinking. “Ok, fine. I’ll bite. How many of them don’t want to see me win? Let me guess, all of them?!”

  I knew I asked the questions because she went absolutely still again, and the purple rings around her pupils began to glow. We drove through a stretch of street where the street lamps were all dead and darkness fell over the inside of our limo.

  The only thing I could see were twin purple circles.

  Holy shit. If she timed this, she was a genius and I was stupid.

  “A week ago, there was an emergency New York Table gathering called on whether to put a bounty on your head.” She said, “Mr. Paris voted against. The Hudson Witch, the Sewer Mistress, and the rest abstained.”

  “So it failed then.” I scoffed.

  “The two financier Vampyr families, the godling house, the Wickerman, and the Intellect Transit voted yes.”

  “Oh my fucking god.”

  The shadows stretched and stretched and stretched.

  I had to ask. “How… much?”

  “Six hundred thousand dollars. Or equivalent amount of knowledge, debt or obligations. ”

  “SIX HUNDRED–” I choked.

  “Dead or alive. The deadline is Christmas.” The car stopped in the middle of the warehouse district. “Let’s go see Mr. Paris now.”

  Boy, did I feel stupid.