Page 2 of All My Hexes (Pine Gulch Ever After)
Shadow
“Where did you even get that dress?” Naima fingers the multi-layered frills of the purple dress’ tight bodice.
I spin in place, waggling my dark brows. “Got it from that thrift store you love in the Upper East Side. Isn’t it fab?”
She looks impressed. “Almost seems like you’re meant for the wild west, little lady.”
I laugh. “Let’s not go that far. I love Rainbow pizza and there’s no way I could move somewhere without a metro system. Imagine never going to a museum again.”
Naima sighs. “I didn’t grow up in the city, so honestly that sounds sorta nice to me? I mean…imagine just waking up every day and it’s beautiful and rustic and you’ve got the whole small town charm thing going on?”
Kingston emerges from the bathroom with her dark blue hair piled on top of her head. “Not to mention they make the men big out here, if you know what I mean.”
“That’s such a cliché,” Amadala says, rolling her eyes. “There are big men everywhere.”
I swat her knee. “Let us have some ridiculous fun. If we think the dudes are gonna be huge here, what’s the harm in it?”
She pulls her long braids up into a claw clip. “Just sayin’.”
Kingston and I exchange a look. Amadala just got out of a terrible one-sided relationship with a real a-hole. He was a pretty big dude, and I’m almost certain she’s thinking of him right now. Which is part of how we convinced her we should get out of town this weekend.
Naima glances out the window of the room she and I are sharing. It faces downtown Pine Gulch’s main street. “Looks like quite the party down there. Should we head down?”
“It’s gonna be a late night, ladies,” Amadala cautions, rising as she tucks her copy of the itinerary into a purse shaped like a seashell. “Make sure you wear comfy shoes.”
As if she needs to tell four monstresses from New York City about comfy shoes.
I laugh and open my small bag to reveal foldable slip ons that I can easily change into later.
They’re closed toed but squishy—perfect for a late night walk home or maybe a walk of shame tomorrow. We’ll see how the night goes.
Amadala grins at me as Naima crosses the room and opens the door, waving us through.
When we leave the Welcome Inn, Main Street is filled to the brim with monsters of all species, just as Naima said.
Lights are strung over the street, lending a very barn dance feel to the whole thing, not that I’ve ever been inside a barn.
Each business has its doors flung open wide, displays in front of each one spilling onto the sidewalk.
I take note of the businesses closest to us.
Brewhaha Beans. Whiskey Business Bar & Saloon.
Betty’s Burgers. The Welcome Inn. Buxom Bodice Outfitter.
Not a thrift store or deli to be seen, but it’s a welcome change, even so.
Stars twinkle in the sky above, and the air is brisk.
And according to Amadala’s write up, there’s a giant garden hiding somewhere around here too.
I’ve definitely got to see that for inspiration.
Music bounces off the buildings from a band playing off somewhere to the right. Dozens of couples line dance in the street.
“Let’s hit up the welcome tent,” Amadala shouts over the din. “Supposedly there’s a scavenger hunt and an overview.”
I nod and she turns, picking her way through the crowd to a big black tent with a white sign that says Start Here .
Inside the tent stands a handsome dark elf wearing a tan uniform.
His nametag reads Furyon A. Zayle, Head of Fish & Wildlife.
Next to him stands a huge minotaur female with her arms crossed.
She scowls as we enter the tent, but the dark elf flashes us a sexy, toothy grin, lifting his cowboy hat off his horns and setting it on the table in front of him.
“Hello there, ladies. Welcome to the Gulch, can I interest you in a scavenger hunt to get to know our community?”
“We’d love that,” Amadala gushes, waving at the ruckus behind us. “This seems like so much fun, we can’t wait to visit all the best spots.”
The female minotaur mutters something, but none of us can quite catch it. The dark elf grins and pats her forearm, never looking away from us.
“I believe what my friend Echo means is that you should grab one of the Scavenger Hunt lists from this table and make sure to visit each open business on Main. If you get all the clues, you can return them to me at the end of the night. We’ll enter all those folks into a drawing for a gift card to any haven business of their choice. ”
Kingston grins. “Does it have to be here in Pine Gulch?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. If there’s a little deli in the city you adore and you want five hundred dollars of roast beef, it could be yours, pretty girl.”
Kingston laughs. “Aww you’ve got us pegged as city girls. What gave it away?”
He makes a show of perusing us one by one, his smile growing a little wider. “City girls have an intensity about ‘em that we don’t tend to have here in the country.” He winks at Kingston. “We take everything nice and slow around here.”
Amadala waves a hand in front of her face, mouth dropped open as we share a surreptitious look. This dark elf is hot beyond belief, and obviously a flirt.
Kingston winks back at him. “Will you be, uh, manning this booth all night then?”
He beams at our group. “Sure will, girls. Here.” Reaching down, he grabs four sheets of pumpkin orange paper and hands them to us. “I’m guessing you came from the Welcome Inn, but make sure to grab the secret word from Keriann before she’s done for the night.”
We promise we will before we leave the welcome tent. Kingston flashes the dark elf a sultry smile over her shoulder. Outside, Amadala stops our group so we can take a look at the Scavenger Hunt handout.
My stomach rumbles at the promise of food from either Betty’s or Whiskey Business Saloon.
Amadala smiles at me. “Drinks and burgers, ladies?”
“Hells yeah!” we shout.
This is gonna be a night to remember.