Zephyr had been in town, picking up a book he’d ordered, when Amanda had phoned to book a meeting that night. She’d picked the Rusty Nail this time, one of her favourite local haunts. No doubt she probably planned to play a few rounds of poker afterward with the regulars. She’d apologised for the late notice but had thought it was better they all met today rather than later in the week.

Zephyr still had a few hours to kill before the meeting but he had decided that there wasn’t really much point going home. He hadn’t had lunch yet and Kass’s office was only a street over. He figured he’d stop by and see if she wanted to grab a bite to eat. It was a Sunday but Kass was known to work the weekends sometimes, and often through meal breaks. If she was there, getting out for a bit would be good for her. If she wasn’t then he’d just find somewhere to eat by himself.

He’d gotten half way to the law office when he heard a voice call out.

“Dr Kelly! Dr Kelly! What a lovely day we’re having isn’t it.”

He turned to find Margot standing on the sidewalk behind him. She was with a friend, a darker haired brunette lady, of similar height and advanced age. Both of them were clutching several bags of shopping. He could see a couple of leeks peaking out of the top of one.

“Hello Margot.”

She smiled at him and gestured at her companion. “This is Connie. Connie this is my shrink.”

“Hello,” Connie replied warmly.

“Psychologist really,” he replied with a smile. “How do you do?”

Margot leaned over to Connie and whispered loudly, “He’s very good.”

Zephyr blushed and started to protest with a shake of his head.

“Oh nonsense, you are!” Margot waved a hand at him, then whispered loudly to Connie again. “He’s the best.”

Connie smiled and nodded sweetly. But before she could say anything Margot was off again. To Zephyr she asked, “So what are you doing today? A bit of shopping?”

“I was just picking up a book, and then I’m off for lunch with a friend.”

“Oohh, are you now? Well we shouldn’t keep you then.”

“I’ve always got time for you Margot.”

“Oohh.” She leaned in conspiratorially to Connie again. “Isn’t he sweet Connie?” Then she looked at her watch and back up at Zephyr. “But it’s almost 3pm, and you’re telling me you haven’t had lunch yet?”

Zephyr shrugged. “Lunchtimes are a human invention. I eat when I’m hungry.”

Margot looked him up and down. “You say that but look how skinny you are. Connie don’t you think he’s too skinny?” She didn’t wait for her friend to answer. “You should eat more. And what about your poor friend who you’re having lunch with? You’re not keeping them waiting are you?”

“Actually, I’m not even sure she’ll be there. I was just going to stop by her office and check. Sometimes she works Sundays-”

“Ooh a lady friend.” She shared a knowing glance with Connie.

“She’s just a friend Margot,” Zephyr said, although he didn’t mind the teasing.

“Oh, well, you tell your friend I said hi. What does she do, this friend of yours, that she must work Sundays?”

“She’s a lawyer.”

“Ooooh, a lot of big case work then? You wouldn’t get too much in a small town like this would you?”

Connie leaned in and whispered to Margot, “There was that murder up at Quartz Ridge a few weeks back, and that teleporter they found in the gardens. There wasn’t much left of him. And that poor young girl...”

“What teleporter?” Margot inquired.

“The one Donny was telling us about. The one we’re not supposed to tell other people about.”

“Who?”

“Ariel’s niece’s husband. The policeman.”

“Ohhhh, that one.” Margot nodded and turned back to Zephyr. “Is she involved in any of those cases.”

“Ah, I’m not sure.” Zephyr ran a hand over the top of his hair. It was neatly tied back in a ponytail at the moment and he quickly removed his hand, deciding he didn’t want to mess it up. “She’s mostly been working on this deceased estate case at the moment.”

“Ooooh, not the old Milton place?” Margot’s eyes lit up. So did Connie’s.

“Do you know it?” Zephyr asked.

“Ohh yes, well no, not the place, but we know her. She was an eccentric old bird. Everyone knew her, or at least knew of her. She was an artist. A very good one I’m told but very strange. Liked to build things, not for her art, in general I mean. She was a painter by profession in her later years but she kept adding to that house, most of it after her forth husband died. I’d heard she’d passed over too. I didn’t quite believe it though. There have been false alarms before and the way she talked you’d think she would have lived forever. Some people say she killed her husbands to maintain her youth.” Margot giggled and then scoffed. “If you believe such magic exists. There were a lot of rumours that encircled her. Many of them she encouraged. I think she enjoyed the attention but not too much of it directly you know.”

“Do you know what her power was?” Zephyr asked.

“Yes, she was a polyglot I believe. She could speak any language. Even worked as a translator when she was younger before she married her first husband.”

“Hmm.” Zephyr frowned in thought.

Seeing he didn’t have anything immediate to add and perhaps realising she’d been talking for awhile now, Margot patted Connie gently on the arm, while she spoke to Zephyr. “Well we should let you get to your lunch. We’ve kept you long enough haven’t we Connie? It was lovely seeing you dear.”

“Yes, lovely seeing you too Margot, and meeting you too Connie.”

Connie nodded.

“See you the usual time next week. Too-da-loo,” Margot called as the pair continued their walk down the street.

Zephyr waved them goodbye and then rounded a corner into an alleyway that led to the next street over. The law office was only a few doors down.

He was so busy thinking over what Margot had said about Mrs Milton that he was barely paying attention to where he was walking. As he swiftly rounded onto the law office steps he collided right into a woman coming from the other direction and turning up the same flight of stairs he was.

“Oof!”

“Ow!

The woman had been carrying a bunch of files which scattered about her over the pavement.

“Sorry!” Zephyr apologised.

“Oh gosh,” remarked the woman as she started to bend down to pick up her dropped folders.

“Here, let me help.”

As Zephyr bent down to aid her she suddenly glanced up—“No, no, it’s my fault.”—and she accidentally smacked him in the nose.

“Ow!” His hands flew to his face.

She gasped. “I’m so sorry.” Her hands flew to cover her mouth.”

For one long moment they stared at one another, each a mirrored expression. She was decidedly pretty, tall and slim with grey eyes. Her hair was long, almost waist length and it shone in the sun an orangey red colour, lighter than Amanda’s auburn locks and darker than Kass’s strawberry blonde.

After a moment of staring at one another, they both almost simultaneously burst into laughter. There was more apologising from both of them and then Zephyr helped her pick up her files.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Are you a lawyer?” Zephyr asked as he handed her the last one.

She put a slender hand to her mouth and laughed softly. “Oh no.” She shook her head. Zephyr was instantly mesmerised by the silky movement of her hair over her bare shoulders. She wore a navy blue tank top but in a soft flowy material, something akin to chiffon, that made it look much dressier and nicer than any regular tank top had a right to be. It was loose but half tucked into the top of her dark blue jeans where a black belt with large silver belt buckle drew the eye. On her feet were a pair of black boots with heels that made her even taller than she already was. She was still at least a couple inches shorter than him, perhaps not quite as tall as Cat but close. She was definitely more on the thin side than muscly though. She looked like a strong breeze might bend her in two.

Zephyr felt suddenly under dressed in his casual loose fitting jeans and comfy grey woolen jersey.

“I’m here to see a lawyer,” she told him.

“On a Sunday?”

“Are they not open on a Sunday?” She frowned and looked towards the double doors of the building and then back a him. “Why are you here if that’s the case? Are you a lawyer?”

He smiled. She had a sweet voice, smooth, young, and high cheek bones. She wasn’t young though, something in her expression and the choice of clothing suggested she was at least 30, maybe even closer to his age. What was he now? A couple years off forty? He tried not to think about it too much. Truth was, she could have been anywhere between 20 and 80, and some people didn’t even really start aging until they hit 100, or much later if they were a vampire. He could tell from her smile that she wasn’t a vampire though.

“You’re not from here are you?” he asked.

She blinked in surprise, then she tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear. “Well no, I’m from a few valleys just north of Ruin, up the Ivory Coast but inland a bit. A friend mentioned they were sometimes open on Sundays.”

Zephyr nodded. “Sometimes. That’s pretty far. What are you doing in Little Rock? If you don’t mind me asking,” he added at her slowly raising eyebrow.

Her questioning look collapsed back into a smile that made Zephyr feel far bolder than usual. But that boldness had already almost gotten him in trouble.

Realising he’d already been prying perhaps a little too much and seeing that she was going to tell him anyway he tried an old age technique of making her want to give him more information while taking the pressure off. “You don’t need to tell me. I was being nosy.”

He started to walk up the steps again. She fell in next to him.

“Oh no.” That damn smile. “My dad died recently and well, turns out he’d inherited some stuff just before he died from another relative and now it goes to us kids only everything’s all a horrible mess and our lawyers up there didn’t have any of the info so it seemed easier to just come down here.”

“I’m sorry,” Zephyr replied genuinely and now feeling horribly guilty for even thinking about working some moves on the poor girl.

She smiled again, sadder this time and shook her head. “No, it’s alright, I mean it’s not alright but what can you do you know?” The force in her smile was obvious but he could see she was trying.

He held the front door to the office open for her. “Was it sudden?” He watched her reaction closely. That would determine the direction his next response took.

She nodded. “It was. I’ve got a lot of brothers and sisters though so plenty of family comfort.” Her voice trailed off softly at the end and she glanced around the foyer.

There was a front desk but no one at it. Given the front door had been open though, Zephyr knew that someone must be in, probably Kass. For a moment Zephyr’s question had seemed to relax the woman but then she’d also sort of changed the subject by mentioning her siblings. Plus, she was obviously a little lost here.

He decided he’d help. He held out a hand. “I’m Zephyr. Do you know who you’re looking for?”

She gave him a genuine smile but it was still a little uncertain. “Arianna, I mean, I’m Arianna, and I’m not sure.” She shook her head. “My brother was down a couple weeks ago but he had to head back and I don’t know who he saw. A Tony something I think. It’s about the Milton property...”

“Wait, did you say Milton?” Zephyr stared at her.

She nodded.

“I know who you need. Wait here,” he told her.

He left her waiting in the foyer and set off down the hallway to find Kass’s office. He knew where it was and when he knocked on the door he heard her voice call back,

“Hello?

“It’s Zeph.”

“Oh um, come in.” He could hear her shuffling papers about.

He pushed the door open gently. “You know it’s a Sunday right?”

She paused in moving things about on her desk and peered up at him over the top of her reading glasses. A frown creased the middle of her forehead. “I was just catching up on some things. Did you need something?” she asked cautiously, sounding frazzled, and just a touch hopeful perhaps that he did not need anything at all.

Zephyr glanced around the small dingy box of a room. The only natural light came from a window in one wall far too high up to be able to see out. A solid wooden desk took up the bulk of the space in the room. The only other piece of furniture apart from the three chairs was a small bookcase in one corner. It held a tidy selection of books and what looked like a plastic plant. In contrast to the neatness of the rest of the room, Kass’s desk was covered in papers. An open box sat to one side of her, on top of some of the papers. Even her keyboard and mouse were hidden under a mountain of printed word and scrawls.

“I came to see if you wanted to grab some lunch actually and-”

Kass was already shaking her head and her gaze kept glancing back to the papers in front of her as if they demanded her attention. She butted in before he could finish. “I already had a salad, sorry.”

Zephyr stayed silent until she finally stopped glancing back and forth between him and her work and paused to actually register his expression.

When she did she opened her mouth again and stuttered, “I...um...” before trailing off and looking worried.

He felt sorry for her. She always seemed in such a hurry whenever she was working or had just come from work.

He picked up where he’d left off. “As I was about to say, I ran into someone on my way in here who was is apparently related to that lady who owned the Milton place.”

He noticed the drop in Kass’s shoulders. She looked exhausted. She took her glasses off and sat them down on her desk. He was starting to think he should force her out into the fresh air work or no work. She definitely needed a break.

“Hello,” in a cherry voice, Arianna made herself known as she poked her head in through the doorway. “Are you Kass?”

“You’re here about the Milton place?” Kass inquired, still frowning. Zephyr wondered if her face was stuck like that now.

Arianna nodded. “The guy in the lobby said you I could find you here.”

Zephyr was unsure who she was referring to.

Kass knew. She closed her eyes for a moment longer than a blink then pinched her forehead. “That’ll be Benji. I told him to go home hours ago.”

“Nobody here works sensible hours,” Zephyr quipped with a smile at Arianna.

She returned him a small smile and then looked uncertainly toward Kass.

“Have you filled out the forms?” Kass asked more formally than she probably needed to be. Kass had never been one for much small talk though.

“Um, I’m not sure. My brother’s been in here before.” Arianna searched through the files she had with her to no avail.

“How long ago?”

“A few weeks.”

“He spoke with Tony?”

Arianna nodded.

Kass signed and opened one of her desk drawers. She pulled out a bunch of pages stapled together and held them out for Arianna. “Fill this out and bring it back to me. It’s pretty straightforward.”

Arianna took it and flicked through. As she glanced at some of the questions frown lines appeared on her forehead. She started to open her mouth.

Zephyr could see she had questions and he could also see Kass’s shoulder slumping as she realised the same thing. Her gaze was starting to dart between them and the papers on the desk again.

Before Arianna could get a word out Zephyr jumped in. “How bout we go to a cafe down the road. I’ll buy you a drink and help you fill that form in? I work with Kass and I know a place that does good burgers if you’re hungry?” Zephyr did not specify how he worked with Kass but she had said the form was straightforward so he figured he could probably help out with whatever was needed.

A glance at Kass showed that her face had not been stuck after all. She even managed a small smile.

Arianna appeared to relax at the idea too. “Okay.” She smiled and turned to walk out the door.

Zephyr followed her out. When he glanced once more back at Kass she mouthed him ‘thank you.’

Kass watched them until the door was shut then she breathed out a huff of air in relief. That old lady had too many relatives and Tony’s record keeping had been atrocious. Meanwhile she had five other cases she was supposed to be working on. So much for a small town. But anything that kept her busy kept her mind from thinking about other things, so she was only too happy to lose herself in her work for the next couple hours.

She got so caught up in what she was doing that when she next looked at her watch it was five minutes past the planned meeting time.

“Oh shit!” She jumped up from her desk in a hurry, shuffling papers as she moved, a half-hearted attempt to leave things in a somewhat orderly state. She grabbed her coat on the way out the door, draping it over her handbag as she locked her office behind her.

She was on her way out through the foyer when a voice called out behind her.

“Oh! Hey! Kass!”

She turned, half expecting to see Benji but quickly registering that it hadn’t been his voice. Instead she saw another lawyer, Charlie, walking out of the other office wing, carrying a box from the archives.

“I didn’t think anyone else was here,” she remarked.

“Murrey and I are in court tomorrow. We’re just finishing off some last minute preparations. What are you doing here?”

“Finishing off Tony’s work.”

Charlie gave a sympathetic laugh. “Aw yeah, I heard the boss dumped half his things on you. I hope they find the poor bloke soon... no, you know what, that’s a lie. If I never see his smarmy face around her again it’ll be too soon.” Charlie grinned widely then sighed. “I probably shouldn’t say things like that or the next thing you know his body’ll turn up in that swamp they’re draining out at Quartz Ridge.”

Kass didn’t reply but she managed a small strained smile and a glance toward the exit.

Charlie got the hint. “Anyway, you know how you were looking for stuff related to the Milton place and and there was nothing in the archives. Guess what I just found?” He rotated the box so she could see the words ‘Milton’ clearly listed on the side.

Kass turned away from the door and back to face him fully with a puzzled look on her face. “Where did you find it?”

“Far back corner, hidden behind some other boxes, which is crazy because I swear I checked there weeks back when Tony asked me to have a look while I was in there getting some other stuff and I know Ben and you have been over that place from head to foot. Alisha too. I mean it wasn’t in it’s correct place so maybe we just all happened to miss it. It was pretty well hidden. Anyway, here you go.” He held it out.

Kass hesitated and glanced at her watch and then toward the hallway that led to her office.

Charlie withdrew the box. “Or I can just leave it on your desk for tomorrow? It’s not like the locks bother me.”

Kass nodded. “Yeah, thanks. I have another appointment to get to.”

“No worries.” Charlie was what most witches called a wallbreaker. He had the power of intangibility, meaning he could effectively push other objects through his body without the object touching his body or any damage occurring. This extended to things like walking through walls. Kass’s son Jesse had been born with the same power so she was quite familiar with it. And while the law office did invest in some substantial security, it didn’t extend to quite cover all possible scenarios.

Kass had considered staying and checking it out but she was already late and it would probably take awhile to sort through whatever was in there. She’d take a look once she got back.