Page 4 of Nix and Tell (The Arun Nixes #1)

4

Violet

I ’ve never been much of a drinker. My dad was a little too fond of his beer, so I’ve never really overindulged myself, but I do enjoy a suitably sweet concoction every now and then. Something fruity, which’ll make me smile and feel as if spring is right around the corner.

Which I suppose it is.

Chlo doesn’t drink, but she sits with me anyway, sipping at a non-alcoholic beer, and insists on covering both our drinks. I try to protest, but she’s quicker with her card, making it to the contactless machine before I’ve even had the chance to get mine out of my bag.

I just have the one drink, which Kit makes as sugary as she knows I like, and then realise how very very tired I am.

Work was good today, a low hum of customers coming in and out consistently, and I’m only just now realising how much energy it’s sapped from me.

It’s easy for me to get distracted if I’m not careful–even at work–and so I make sure that I am ‘on’ all day. That way I don’t miss anything, sales or otherwise. But it does mean that I use up a lot of my energy pretty damn fast. I’m about to say something to Chlo when I realise that she’s standing, holding my coat up for me to slip on.

“How did you…?”

She shrugs, not answering the question, but her consideration warms me. I’ve only been here a year, but somehow Chlo knows me better than I know myself.

“We’re off,” I call to Kit, as we exit the door. She shouts a goodbye after us, and then we’re in the cool night air, wind whipping at our cheeks.

I shiver, and pull my coat closer around me, hands shoved in pockets, and smile at Chlo. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She lives on this side of the river, in a tiny cottage near her parents’; I’m back over the bridge, in a small apartment above Spellbound.

“I’ll walk you home,” she says.

“It’s less than a five-minute walk,” I say, protesting. “I can see the shop from here.” I’m not lying; crystals twinkle in Spellbound’s windows, and I know that I’ll be home in an instant.

She just looks at me, and I roll my eyes.

“Fine, but I just want to point out that you’re being ridiculous. This is Wyrten. Nothing ever happens here.”

That’s not entirely true though, and I know it.

For all that Wyrten Bridge is idyllic, there’s a reason that there’s a funeral home in a place this small. More people drown in the river than I care to think about.

“You coming?” She’s stepped onto the bridge, and for a moment I see a shadow behind Chlo, as if there’s something or someone hovering over her, watching her. But when I try to look at it directly, it floats away.

I walk to join her, and tuck my hand into the crook of her elbow. We walk in companionable silence past the church, across the bridge, and finish up by my front door.

“Come in for a second?”

She pauses, even as she’s turning to go. “Come in?”

“Yeah, I’ve got something I want to give you.”

Chlo doesn’t argue, merely ducks her head as she walks into the shop. Just the fairy lights are on, and it makes it feel even more magical than usual; the room lit by a soft glow.

I hurry over to one of the cabinets, fumble for the key, and retrieve a small bracelet. “For you.”

“What is it?” She looks at it, not taking it from me right away.

“Onyx. It’s good for protection.”

“Protection?” Her eyebrows raise and I can tell that she’s amused. “What do I need protecting from, Violet?”

There’s a gruffness in her voice that has my fingers all trembly, and I fumble the bracelet, catching it just before it hits the ground. I’m on my knees, glad that I caught it, but when I look up at her, Chlo’s staring intently at me. I’ve never seen her from this angle before, and it makes me want to sink back onto my heels and lure her into doing whatever she likes with me.

Neither of us say anything for a long moment, and then her hand reaches down towards me.

I take it, and allow her to pull me up to standing again.

“Like I need protecting from anything else.”

“It’s just–” I stumble over my words, because if I’m perfectly honest, I don’t know what she needs protecting from. I just know that she needs protection. I think of that shadow on the bridge, but it’s a shadow at night. Nothing untoward about that at all. “It’s just in case.”

She doesn’t dismiss it out of hand, her face curious. As she picks it up, she runs the beads through her fingers, much the same way I do when I’m stimming, and I realise that she’s learning the beads. Feeling each one individually, until she’s completed the circuit, and slips it onto her wrist.

“Thank you,” Chlo says, and when she leaves the shop, I sigh in relief. I just feel better knowing that she has something on her. Something that’ll ward off any bad vibes that may accost her on the short walk home.