Page 27 of A Spark of Something (A Librarian’s Guide to Witchery #1)

W ith antiques as far as the eye could see, Ollie’s gaze flicked around from table to table with an excited giggle. “I can’t believe I forgot about Westerly Heights’ Annual Antique Fair! If I had known it was starting this week, I would have scheduled time off to come! How did you find out? I signed up for the community newsletter, yet I feel like I haven’t gotten a single email from them since like March.”

“Ah, well, it was the headline in the local paper today.”

Ollie’s head tilted and let out a hum. “Was it? I wouldn’t know as I don’t get newspapers.”

“Really?” Noble asked. “I’m surprised. I’d think that, considering you have a Newspaper Archive, you would.”

“Ah, to be honest, I’m far more interested in the past than I am in the present, reading-wise. And the archive is full of many decades old, some centuries old, newspapers, but not anything recent. I am a bit surprised you do, though.”

Noble shrugged. “Old habit.”

He laughed. “You talk like you're old. You are, what, thirty-eight?”

The man chuckled. “Close, forty actually.”

“Oh, well, you don’t show even a bit of those two extra years.”

Noble snorted. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.” He giggled as he neared a table, looking over a tall free-standing mirror, tsking as he caught sight of the price. “This is way overpriced and mislabeled. It’s nowhere near 1850s. I wouldn’t say it was produced before 1960.”

“So you have real training in…appraising, was it?”

Ollie smiled as he moved past the table of misdated and overpriced items. “I do, in fact, I’m certified and everything. But enough about me! Tell me about yourself. What do you do? I have to say, I’m curious, as you usually come in at odd hours, and rarely do I see you there at the same time, and well, your research topics are definitely always supernatural. Are you, like, on a spooky podcast or something? I’ve listened to a few of those before, just to try, and always found them nonsensical—OH!” he gasped, wincing.

Ah yes, Ollie, insult the man, why don’t you , he thought with disgust.

“Um, sorry. I mean, they are cool?” Ollie wrinkled his nose. “I will admit I’m a skeptic. At least, I was.”

Noble chuckled. “No, I’m not on a podcast. It’s more just a…hobby.”

“Ah, I see.” He frowned. “So, what do you do then?”

What did Noble do besides indiscriminately murdering witches? Well, the only other job he held this century, and usually it was just out of boredom rather than needing money, was… “I’m a bodyguard.”

“HAH! I knew it had to be something with your—oh!” Ollie’s face flushed, and the man covered it with a groan, murmuring, “Well, you’re just so in shape, and your thighs…”

“Thank you,” he said with an amused chuckle. His thighs?

Dropping his hands, Ollie cleared his throat and glanced at the table they were passing, before stopping near the next as he turned to ask, “So, outside of bodyguarding, what do you like to do?”

Yep, that’s where he thought this had been going. “I don’t really have hobbies,” he admitted.

Ollie’s head tilted cutely. “Beyond the supernatural stuff?”

“Ah, yes, beyond that.”

Almost slipped up there. Good job, Noble , he thought with an inner sigh.

The little witch blinked up at him, as if shocked. “Not into sports?”

“Not really.”

“Hmm, personally, I only really watch baseball. My godfather is a fan.” Ollie wrinkled his nose. “As for the rest, I'm not too interested myself. What about shows? Do you have any TV shows that you like?”

“Nope.”

“Hmmmm.” The little witch pursed his lips, but they spread into a smile as he asked, “Do you collect anything?!”

“No.”

The smile dropped into a frown as he gasped, “No?! Oh, Noble, I feel it is my duty, as the ultimate collector, to drag you over to the dark side!”

Ah, Ollie, sweet Ollie, I’m sadly already there, he thought as he plastered a fake smile onto his face. “Dark side, huh?”

“Yep!”

“And what do you collect, Ollie?”

“All sorts of things!” The man giggled. “Books, documents, papers, antique gnomes, most antique figurines, as long as they are small, and so much more.” Ollie looped his arm through his. “Come on! Surely there is something here for you to collect!”