Green - a werewolf story

18. Magic Umbrella

Vanessa and Green both jumped and turned around at the voice.

A short man with grey hair and a monocle over one eye had walked over to them.

"The shadow dimensions?" Green asked.

"Yes," the man said, moving closer. "People on this plane usually refer to them as Hell. As if there was only one of them," he added with a laughter that sounded more like braying.

"Are you... are you Mr. Terin?" Vanessa asked.

She couldn't see either horns or goat legs and she didn't want to be too obvious about looking for them. He had a goatee, but apart from the monocle he looked like a slightly pouchy middle aged man in a grey suit. If she were to guess his occupation based on his looks she would have gone for undertaker.

"The one and only," the man replied with a sweeping bow. "So what brings two werewolves to my humble store?"

"I'm here to pick up something for my friend Maria," Vanessa said.

The eye behind the monocle blinked. "A werewolf who makes friends with witches. Curiouser and curiouser."

Vanessa took an involuntary step back and collided with Green who put an arm around her to steady her.

"And you brought your mate with you... I've seen you before," he said, taking in Green.

"Yes, sir," Green said. "I came in a couple of years ago with..."

"Your sister, yes I remember," Terin said, moving closer to them. "How is Alyssa?"

"She's doing well, thank you."

"And her... purchase?"

"She looks after it as if it was her newborn baby," Green said with a sardonic smile.

That seemed to please the faun.

"I knew she would be the perfect caretaker for it," he said. "I never sell an object of such importance to someone unless they absolutely love it. All things deserve to be cared for, but when an object has been in one's possession for nearly two millennia, one grows especially fond of it."

Vanessa stared at him. Nearly two millennia? Just how old was this guy? She knew there were species out there who could live for a very long time. Jerome was three hundred years old and some of his friends had been around since the middle-ages, but millennia?

Terin didn't have any of the power or... gravitas, she supposed on might call it, that the vampires had which made it impossible for anyone to confuse them with humans. The faun had nothing of that. He looked a little pompous in the suit and monocle, but in no way would he scare you if you met him at a dark alley in the middle of the night. Well, his laughter might, Vanessa amended as Terin let roar his highly distinctive guffaw at something Green said.

"That's good to hear," he said, pulling off the monocle to dry his eyes. "She is welcome back anytime she wants."

"She'll probably visit sometime after the baby arrives," Green said. "She's as big as a house now. I have no idea how she manages to even walk around."

"Ah, the miracle of birth. Not something us fauns ever get to experience," Terin said.

"Aren't you born?" Vanessa asked. "You're not made like vampires, are you?"

Both guys looked at her. Then Terin set off laughing again.

"I haven't laughed like this in an age," he said when he was done. "I should do more trading with werewolves, it's surprisingly refreshing."

Vanessa didn't understand what was so funny about her question, but she didn't dare ask. All she knew about the faun lifestyle was that they liked to party. She didn't know what powers they possessed and what might happen to her if she pissed one off.