Dangerous Diabolical: Book 1 (Iridescent) ✔️

3.2

The tree fae was fishing in her pockets for a cigarette outside Members Only. I tried not to break into a run with all my packages. Evidently, I still looked odd enough to draw attention from passer-by's, and that caused her in turn to glance at the commotion. With a toothy grin, Willow gave me a soft wave as I grew closer.

"Hey girl!" today she was sporting a purple Afro, flawless ends, and a soft glittery hue. Once within earshot, she tilted her head curiously, causing the curls to bounce. "You look like you forgot what you did with your lunch." She took a puff of her cigarette, eyeballing me, brows raising at the bags. "That better not be a body stuffed in there."

"Have you seen anything odd about?" I demanded, cutting to the chase. She pursed her lips as if considering, cigarette poised for another inhale.

"Erm, nope." Then changing her mind, tapped off the residue building. When I said nothing else she paused, her cigarette halfway to her lips. Her eyes flicked to the plastic bags in my hands. "What happened?"

Glancing around I leant in, confiding softly, "he died." Her other eyebrow quirked up to create a quizzical look, and then her eyes grew wide as she realised who I was talking about. She lunged towards the bags, the cigarette fell from her fingers.

"Shit! You killed him?" Her voice was part laughter, part surprise as she tried to see inside. I wafted them out of her reach.

"Of course not," I retorted adamantly. "This is just steak."

Disappointedly she pouted, eyeing up the half-used roll on the floor. "Here was me thinking you'd brought me something nice." For a moment it looked like she was going to pick it up, but then decided better and stomped it out instead.

"People saw me with him, you know I wouldn't dare attract the attention of the SPCC!" There was no need to mention that killing him was my aim at the time he'd expired. She relaxed, resuming her usual slouched pose, fishing her pockets to get another cigarette.

Clarifying, I explained; "I just watched him whilst he died." She froze again, taking on that eerie forest stillness as her brain tried to string together what I was saying. Sometimes, when things weren't planned in advance, she tended to overthink the little details. Willow had a lot more to risk than I did when it came to being discovered, considering she wasn't registered at all.

"Where's the body?" She asked suspiciously. "Please tell me you didn't eat that mess of meat." She was completely flabbergasted.

"Gods no!" It didn't seem the time to mention I almost considered it. "I left him in the street."

"WHAT!" With a giant twitch, she scanned around as if the SPCC was going to jump out. "Are you insane? The minute they get your magic signature they'll be on you like a pack of dogs!" Her hands shook as she tried to take a drag from the unlit cigarette. "Jesus girl, I can hide you in one of my trees for a while but I couldn't bring you meat forever!"

I felt warmth bloom in my chest. She'd do that for me?

"Stop panicking! No magic was used." I protested. Willow, the friend of little faith. "He had a heart attack. The human was all like..." I clutched my chest and staggered to show her. She grew very still again.

I regained my composure. "It's not like there was a phone about, otherwise I would've called for help."

With a blank stare at the sky, she held out the cigarette for me to light. I obliged. The smell of burning tobacco warmed the air.

She took a deep breath. "Let me get this straight. You waited for Creepyson to have a heart attack, considered calling an ambulance for one of the greasiest, cringeworthy humans known to man and now you feel bad about it. Are you a vegetarian suddenly?"