“Jacob, we’ve got trouble,” I call out since he’s so focused on filling the coffee machine he missed the commotion. For a man that harps on me for being spacey, he’s just as bad.
When I peek out of the window, the men are on the other side of the street but still searching. I take a mental note of their descriptions so I can tell the police, before dialing the non-emergency number.
“How can I help you?” A bored voice answers.
“I work at Deb’s café, and there is a group of men outside chasing down a fae male for merely speaking to a human woman. They are threatening to physically harm him,” I practically growl the words into the phone.
“Okay, I’ll possibly send an officer out, I’m sure it’s nothing. They’re just protecting the streets.” She’s clearly unmotivated by my anger and lacks a decent conscience. What the hell is wrong with people?
“You are kidding, right? I just told you that they attacked him for speaking to a human. Last time I
checked that isn’t a fucking crime, but attacking an innocent civilian is. Do your damn job.” As I scream my words into the phone, I realize it’s probably pointless to keep going. I slam down the receiver and move outside to the sidewalk to wait. All seems quiet now and I feel like a bobble head as my head swivels back and forth, searching for the men. After twenty minutes, I give up and head back inside to check on the poor guy.
“Keep an eye out for the cops, Jacob,” my voice is fierce as I growl out my command on my way to the back.
“You didn’t have to do that, they won’t help anyway,” the man says as soon as I step behind the curtain. I look up in confusion to meet his resigned gaze.
“Who?” Surely he doesn’t mean the police? It’s literally their job. One woman can’t represent the whole department… right?
“The police. They don’t respond to calls for fae. We tried to call for break-ins before, among other things. They straight up told us that they won’t come out for us,” he explains with a shrug. My emotions surge through me like a tornado. I try, and fail, to calm myself. The man’s eyes go wide as the lightbulb above us explodes, raining shards of glass on our heads and shoulders.
“You’re fae? You can still use magic on Earth to glamour yourself ? How?” His voice is full of awe, though it’s definitely misguided. I’m as human as they come, short and powerless, relatively boring in nature.
“No, I’m completely human. I’m so sorry, we must have faulty wiring or something. I’ll let Deb know to check it out. Are you alright?” I ask as Jacob bursts through the curtain. His face is frantic, then it melts away to concern as he takes in the glass from the lightbulb, shimmering in the sunlight like a blanket of fallen snow. I’ve never seen it explode into such tiny pieces. Crazy.
“I thought something horrible happened! Did the light just explode all over you guys?” Jacob grabs the vacuum and uses the hose to clean the floor and then our shoulders and hair. I probably look like a poodle now, but at least I won’t cut myself on glass shards all day.
“I’m awful for not asking… what’s your name?” My cheeks grow warm with embarrassment, I have a real problem with forgetting to be polite when I’m worked up.
“I am Andras,” he says formally, apparently still assessing me for my supposed glamour. His eyes slowly travel down my face and body, they narrow as he watches me like I’m a science experiment.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Andras. Please stick around until closing, so we can follow you home. Power in numbers and pepper spray,” I say, holding up my trusty tube of spray. “Why don’t you come sit out in the café? I won’t let them come in.” He nods and follows us out to the front. Thankfully it’s only an hour until closing time, we don’t want to have to fight off a group of self-righteous assholes. Damn this tiny stature of mine.
The hour flies by, but still no sign of any cop cars patrolling the area or stopping by for a statement. I even told the ridiculous woman where I worked. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach as I realize Andras is right. How did we let things get this awful?
It never affected me directly, that’s why.
Disgusted with myself and humanity as a whole, I decide that I’ll try to meet any fae who may come into town, so they know they have a friend and ally here.
“Ready, Andras?” I ask as we finish our cleaning routine an hour later. We lock the doors and Jacob and I flank him as he points us in the right direction. It isn’t until we’re well into the walk that I realize Sam didn’t show up tonight… again. I glance over at Jacob and notice he seems a bit more reserved now that all of the chaos is over. I make a mental note to check on him after Andras is home safe.
“Does this happen to you often, Andras?” I ask, almost not wanting to know the answer.
“It isn’t the first time, and I doubt it’ll be the last. I try to keep my head down usually,” he explains quietly. What’s even worse is he seems like the quiet type, not at all built for fighting off an entire group of men.
“No more. You call me or Bella if you need us.” Jacob’s voice has an edge to it that I haven’t heard before. He looks determined and angry, eyes blazing with fury. Jacob knows what it’s like to be alone and have no family to support you, so this is probably getting personal for him.
“Thank you. River was right in telling me to come here. I’m glad I met the two of you. Though I still want to know how you maintain your glamour here.” He stares pointedly at me. I just shake my head, at a loss for how else to explain it. Jacob lets out surprised laughter at his words.
“Bella is human,” Jacob announces, clearly confused by Andras’ conclusion. He looks at me and his expression clearly questions Andras’ sanity.
“Last time I checked, humans can’t explode lights in anger,” he replies with a raised eyebrow, humor clear in his voice like we are the ones making a joke.
“That was you?” Jacob asks skeptically. I shake my head no and roll my eyes. I’d know if I could do magic. This is ridiculous. Andras just smiles and drops it, very obviously not believing us.
“This is where I live. Thanks again for the help and escort.” He bows to us. Yes, legitimately bowed. We smile and wave as he enters his small home, not quite sure what to make of him.
“So he thinks you can make light bulbs explode now?” Jacob, of course, doesn’t hesitate to bring it up.