Read The Dead (The Thaumaturge Series Book 1) for Free Online Page B

unpredictable.
    As early as it was, the trailer park remained beautifully silent, the cars lumpy white mounds and the trees dripping snow from their branches. I scraped my windshield, and sat in the truck, waiting for it to warm up while my breath puffed out before me. I shivered against the cold and took in the morning.
    The snow put me in a good mood, and I felt vaguely embarrassed for my moodiness the night before. Whatever it was I had with Leo – and it remained very loosely constructed – it was a damn sight better than nothing. When I really thought about, he was really the ideal ... partner. Boyfriend. Whatever. We were never around each other enough to get on each other’s nerves. We had done some stupid shit together, particularly when I was younger, and we had bailed each other out, always had each other's backs. I trusted him. Plus, the sex, though infrequent, was fantastic. It had to be enough. I couldn't start thinking otherwise.
    I headed to work and parked in the snowy lot. The building I owned had been given to me as payment for a resurrection, and I’d decided on a tea and herbs only because it sounded plausible and because a sex shop felt like it would attract the wrong crowd.
    Sandwiched between a hair salon and a private art studio, my shop did well enough. I had an established customer base of mostly young professionals, the few dozen men and women in our tiny town that had REI gear, listened to NPR, and wanted something other than gas station coffee. Heckerson had a seasonal influx of ski bums, thanks to the nearby ski hills, and those kinds of people seemed to really like my selection.
    There were others, high school weirdos who bought sage and yarrow; the tiny hipster population that came in several times a week to drink tea and bitch about the rednecks. Others, too, like the Christian stay-at-home moms that treated all their kids’ maladies with herbs, and the intense survivalist guy that regularly cleaned me out of aspen bark and red Korean ginseng. Whatever – I was grateful to be able to pay both for my groceries and my heating bill. Of course, selling tea and herbs was not my only source of income.
    I let myself in the front door, and moved behind the counter, stashing my car keys and coat. On my way to the storeroom, I gave the back counter a cursory once over, looking for any evidence of last night’s activities. There was none, other than a few crumbles of rosemary and some melted candles. I reminded myself to get a new mop head and went on my way.
    In the storeroom I cranked the heater and grabbed my work tablet out of the safe. I took my time wandering back up to the front, enjoying the quiet. I gazed out the frosted windows at the slowly waking street. I munched on leftover Halloween candy, eating the mini chocolates where I stood and crumbling the wrappers in my hand.
    With the roar of the old heater and some Pandora radio to keep me company, I worked in a contented daydream, preparing the first tea blends of the day. These I poured into two porcelain cups, and with them in hand, headed out the front door to the beauty salon beside my shop.
    The cold stung my bare hands and bit through the thin sweatshirt I wore. The cups steamed in the frigid air, and I rapped at the beauty salon door with the toe of my boot.
    “Ebron, I could kiss you.” Dahlia said, holding the door open for me.
    I hemmed and hawed, but obligingly tilted my cheek towards her and she smiled a little. She stood on her toes to give me a peck, taking one of the cups from my hands.
    “Is this the hibiscus blend?” she asked, putting her nose over the cup and taking a deep breath, her eyes fluttering close.
    “Yeah, the same one you liked last week,” I replied.
    Another voice called out from further within the shop, and then I heard the click of high heels.
    “What a gentleman!” Brittany exclaimed, taking me by the shoulders and kissing me on each cheek, her flaming red hair brushing my face. She smelled like