Fire and Fantasy: a Limited Edition Collection of Epic and Urban Fantasy Read online

  At the back of the house, I swallowed hard again and took in another long, deep breath as I approached the sliding glass door. My heart hammered when I reached out toward the golden handle. The metal felt strangely cold on my sweaty hands. I slid the door open with ease and tiptoed into a vast room. The dining room table stood straight in front of me, and past that, the tile was interrupted by a layer of carpet, which housed a couch on one end of the room and a TV on the other. To my right stood a flight of stairs that led to the second level of the house, and on my left lay a kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances and an island separating the dining area from the kitchen area. Past that, a hallway stretched back into the rest of the house.

  Where do I start? I wondered. I paused for a moment in the dining room in thought. If I were Dr. Sloan, I’d probably leave my keys in my bedroom. My best bet for that was either up the stairs or down the hall. I took my first step toward the hall when I heard a high-pitched squeak, like a sneaker against tile, come from that direction.

  Instinct overcame me, and I immediately dropped to my knees and hurried across the floor behind the island in the farthest corner from the entrance to the hallway. The adrenaline spike that sent me into fight-or-flight mode quickly regressed back to normal levels as I pressed my back up against the cool wood of the kitchen cabinet. I exhaled slowly as to not make a sound and listened intently, my attention focused down the hall. Only silence met my ears. I let my full breath out and inhaled another one in relief.

  After another moment of silence, I turned and gripped the edge of the counter to pull myself up. It was only when I straightened up and was about to take another step that I heard another sound. Immediately, I dropped to the floor again. This time, the rhythmic pattern of footsteps echoed down the hall. I held my breath again, and my heart thumped so hard against the sides of my chest that my whole body began to shake. I quickly glanced around in search of a way out, but I wouldn’t reach the door in time, and there were no obvious hiding spots in sight. The footsteps only grew louder on their way to the kitchen.

  Curse words flew through my mind at record speed. I was sure I managed to think of every one I knew. Dr. Sloan is going to catch me, I thought. This time, he’ll do much worse to me. With my next deep breath, my pessimism eased only slightly. As long as I calculated this right and had a bit of luck on my side, I might be able to get away unseen.

  The footsteps finally reached the kitchen, and so did the sound of a woman’s breathing. I relaxed slightly. At the very least, it wasn’t Dr. Sloan.

  The refrigerator hummed as the woman opened the door. I really didn’t like how close I was to her. If I stayed where I was, she’d spot me. In the quietest move I could make, I crawled around the side of the island so I was facing the dining room table. It wasn’t the safest hiding spot in the world, but at least a full set of cabinets lay between us.

  “Hmm…” the woman mused.

  I didn’t know the voice off-hand, but I immediately wanted to slap myself in my own face for my stupidity. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? Of course Dr. Sloan didn’t live alone. He did have a wife, but it hadn’t occurred to me that she’d be home during normal working hours.

  What did she do for work, again? I racked my brain trying to remember the details about her. My mom had mentioned her once or twice, but I couldn’t remember the details. Wasn’t it something in health care? Was she a nurse or something? Maybe she worked on call or later in the day.

  I heard her cross the kitchen toward the sink. If I’d stayed where I was just moments ago, she would have surely caught me. I covered my face with my hands in an attempt to muffle my breathing. I thought I was doing pretty well at staying quiet until I heard her cough, making my stomach lurch again.

  The sound of running water filled the kitchen as she lifted the faucet handle. I was thankful for this bit of noise since it helped mask the sound of me shuffling around the corner of the island. Now I sat on the side closest to the hall. If I could only cross the last few feet unnoticed, I might find a better hiding spot in the next room.

  Slowly, I leaned my face toward the edge of the cabinets. In the reflection of the stove, I saw she was facing away from me and washing something at the sink. I poked my head out further to peek around the side of the island. As she dropped the item she was holding into a small blue lunch bag, I realized it was an apple. She turned from the sink, and I instinctively pulled back. I heard her make her way toward the kitchen table, and I rounded the last corner of the island so I sat right next to the fridge.

  Something jingled from across the room—presumably her keys. In the next moment, her footsteps became quiet when she stepped onto the carpet. The sound of the front door clicking shut reached my ears, and for the first time since entering the house, I breathed audibly. It was a long, refreshing breath, but it still felt like I wasn’t getting enough oxygen to my lungs. What if she came back? What if someone else was in the house?

  I didn’t let myself think on it for long. All I knew was that in this moment, I had my chance to escape the wide-open space and get to a place where I had less of a chance of being spotted. I crossed the floor hastily, crawling at first, and then getting to my feet and shuffling down the hall. I slipped into the first door on the right and behind the open door, pressing myself between it and the wall.

  Again, I forced my breathing to slow, but this time it was audible. I could only pray no one else was here to hear me. I couldn’t imagine they would be. Dr. Sloan and his wife surely had kids, but they’d be grown up and moved out already. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t have stopped by for a visit.

  I must have remained behind that door slowing my breathing and clutching the door knob for a good ten minutes. My eyes stayed closed, by my ears remained on full alert, listening for other noises throughout the house. For as long as I waited there, the only thing I heard was my own breathing, the hum of the appliances, and the occasional car passing by outside. Each car I heard sent off alarm bells in my body. I listened intently to see if any would pull into the driveway, but luckily for me, none did.

  Once I finally decided it was safe, I let the tension in my shoulders relax and stepped out from behind the door. It was the first time I noticed I’d been hiding in the bathroom. I paused before exiting into the hallway. I wouldn’t find Dr. Sloan’s keys in here, would I? No, I thought with careful consideration. Would you leave your keys in the bathroom? Of course not, you idiot. Now hurry up before someone comes back!

  I slipped out of the bathroom and tiptoed my way down the hall. The next door on the right was a laundry room, and I didn’t think I’d find anything in there. I continued down the hall to the door on my left. It was open all the way, spilling sunlight into the hall. Peeking around the corner, I spotted a king-sized bed opposite a large closet and next to a door leading to another bathroom. Two nightstands stood on either side of the bed, and on opposite sides of the room, mirroring each other, were two long dressers.

  I started at the dresser closest to the door. Only picture frames sat on top, so I couldn’t tell who it belonged to. When I opened the top drawer, the women’s clothing told me the dresser was Dr. Sloan’s wife’s. I closed the drawer quietly and rounded the bed to the long cherry-colored dresser at the other end of the room. This one was identical to the other with similar picture frames on top.

  Opening the first drawer, I found a pile of neatly folded button-down cotton t-shirts like the type my dad wore to work. I closed that drawer and tried another. All I found in each of the six drawers were clothes. No drawer of junk like I had in my dresser back home. Just clothes.

  Glancing around the room in search of my next target, my gaze fell upon the bedside table closest to me. I opened the top drawer, holding my breath in anticipation, but the drawer was nearly empty save for a few books. I read the titles on each, but they sounded like boring doctor stuff. The guy doesn’t even read fiction? Each book had a bookmark slipped between the pages as if he’d been reading them all i
ntermittently before bed.

  I closed the drawer in disappointment and continued searching, moving over to the other bedside table, which was clearly on Mrs. Sloan’s side of the room. I figured it didn’t hurt to look, but I didn’t find anything.

  I turned to the closet. The door slid open easily on its tracks, opening to reveal a wall of neck ties. Holy crap. How many did this guy own? Each one hung neatly on these sort of neck tie holder things I didn’t even know existed. They were organized by the colors of the rainbow, and I had to refrain from laughing. Jeez. Even my collection of sandals weren’t this organized, and I probably had enough flip flops in my closet to rival his tie collection for abundance.

  On the other end of the closet hung a row of Mrs. Sloan’s dresses. I ignored that side and glanced up and down Dr. Sloan’s side of the closet. A row of shoes lined the floor, but as far as I could tell, there was nowhere inside worth keeping a key.

  I slid the door shut and glanced around again, letting out a breath in exasperation. Think, Bree, I told myself. Where would I keep a key hidden? Honestly, I’d probably keep it with all my extra keys in my purse. Not that I had a lot of keys, just the extra keys to my parents’ cars and this little key to a toy safe I had as a kid. It was useless considering you could pick the lock pretty easily with a bobby pin.

  Those curse words quickly returned to my mind. What if Dr. Sloan hid the key away in a safe? No, I thought. That’d be silly because then he’d have to carry around the key to the safe. Unless it was a combination lock… Crap.

  The idea was a silly one, but I couldn’t help it when dread overcame me. What if we were never going to find these keys? Honestly, Bree, I thought to myself. The alternative isn’t that bad. We’ll just break in. Either way, we’ll end up with the magic they stole from us.

  Disappointment followed. If we broke in, someone would notice almost immediately, and we’d hardly have a head start getting out of town. They could catch us and do much worse to us this time.

  They could catch you here, too, I reminded myself.

  In that moment, another thud in the next room sent me back into fight-or-flight mode. I chose flight and immediately dropped to the floor next to the bed. I still didn’t like how exposed I was. Sure, someone passing by the door wouldn’t notice me, but if they came into the room, I’d be caught for sure.

  Glancing around to form an exit strategy, I noticed quickly that I only had one option. Though there wasn’t much room, the only thing I could do was squeeze myself under the bed. The corners of the metal frame dug into my shoulder blade as I tried to wiggle my way under the bed. Carpet scratched my exposed belly as my shirt rode up. Despite the small struggle, I managed to make it under the bed. There was just enough space between the edge of the comforter and the carpet that I could just barely see a sliver of the room from where I lay.

  Small, soft footsteps padded down the hall, quickening my heart rate the closer they came. Someone was going to catch me.

  Twenty-Two

  I relaxed when a black and white cat entered the room, purring loudly. It didn’t notice me as it jumped up onto the bed and lay down.

  I let my forehead rest on the floor in relief. I only had a moment to enjoy how lucky I was before I went into full panic mode again. The phone in my pocket vibrated. It sounded like a fire alarm in the silence. Fumbling for it quickly, I lifted my hips the most I could in an attempt to reach it. There wasn’t much room between the floor and the bed, so even with my tailbone pressed tightly against the underside of the box spring, I had to wedge my hand between my hip and the floor. At the same time, I attempted to twist my head around to my right, but there wasn’t much room for that, either. Pinching the phone between my middle and index finger, I finally got it out of my pocket. Liana’s name flashed across the screen, and I answered it quickly.

  “What?” I hissed in a low whisper. Though I was sure I only had to worry about the cat, I didn’t want to take my chances.

  Liana’s voice came over the line. “Found anything yet?”

  Yeah, I felt like saying. That’s why I’m squeezed into a space I can’t move in!

  “No,” I said. “You?”

  “Well, I just saw Dr. Sloan. My exam isn’t done, but when he stepped out of the room, I caught a glimpse of Noah leaving his office. He gave me a thumbs up, but I think he only got the key to City Hall. I don’t think he got the key to the room.”

  “Okay. I’ll keep looking,” I told her. “I’m putting the phone to silent until I’m done. You almost scared the crap out of me!”

  “Now that would be funny,” she teased.

  “Shut up,” I bit back. “Oh, and thanks for the warning.”

  “The warning?” she asked in confusion.

  “Yeah. Dr. Sloan’s wife was here when I got here. I almost got caught!”

  Liana drew in a sharp breath. “Oh, my gosh! I didn’t even think of that. I thought she’d be at work.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I told her honestly. “We all should have thought about it. Anyway, I’ll call you back if I find anything.”

  “Okay.”

  I hung up and clicked the button on the side to mute the ringtone. It was easier to slip it back into my pocket in the tight space than it was to pull it out. I paused for another moment to listen again for signs of life in the house. The only sound came from the cat purring loudly from above me.

  Here it goes again, I thought, reaching out from under the bed to try to wiggle myself out. Before I made it halfway out, a shadow in the corner caught my eye. I had to do a double take to confirm there was actually something under the bed. Yes, there definitely was something there. But what was it?

  Pushing myself back under the bed, I reached out to grip the small dark cube. Pulling it closer to me, the sliver of light filtering in under the corner of the comforter showed it was a small metal container about the size of a shoe box. Heart pounding and fingers quivering, I slowly opened the top. Its metal hinges squeaked in a high pitch.

  Inside, I found what looked mostly like junk. The contents were probably important to Dr. Sloan, but most people would only throw this stuff away. Old photographs sat on one side, each one stacked nicely on top of each other. The other side was full of old pieces of lined notebook paper, each note folded as neatly as the pictures were stacked.

  I didn’t care to open the notes and inspect them or to shuffle through the pictures because what caught my eye inside the metal box made snooping through Dr. Sloan’s keepsakes drift far, far from my mind. On top of the pile of notes sat a key. Could this be the one? I couldn’t tell in the dim lighting under the bed, but excited jitters overtook my body. Had I found what I came here for?

  Sliding my body along the carpet again, I pulled myself out from under the bed, the box still in my hands. In the light, I could make out the shape and color of the key better, and my excitement flared.

  “Yes!” I practically shouted before covering my mouth with my hand. I knew no one was around at this point, but that didn’t keep me from wanting to stay quiet.

  The black and white cat on the bed glared at me as if to ask who I was, where I came from, and what I was doing in his house.

  “I don’t care what you think,” I told the cat aloud. Apparently my insanity was reaching a new level. “I found the key.” I held up the golden key triumphantly in his direction.

  The cat didn’t seem to care. He only went back to licking himself, and I returned my attention to the box and key. This had to be the right key. It was the right size and the right color. It’s not like Dr. Sloan entered the room with my magic in it often, so it made sense that he hid it away when he didn’t need it.

  I slipped the key into my left-side pocket, hoping beyond hope that this was the key I was looking for. I closed the box back up and slid it under the bed where I’d found it butted up aside the wall and bedside table. If everything went as planned, we could return the key right here without anyone ever noticed it missing.

  I hopped up f
rom the floor and hurried down the hall. Just before I reached the end, I slowed and listened again to my surroundings. I didn’t want to enter the vast open space again if someone would catch me. The sound of another car passed the house. I held my breath, hoping it wasn’t Mrs. Sloan returning from wherever she ran off to. Only, if she’d packed herself a lunch, I was guessing she’d be gone for a while. But what if she forgot something?

  To my relief, the car continued down the road. Satisfied that I was alone, I crossed the kitchen to the back sliding glass doors, keeping low the entire way in case I needed to hit the floor again and hide. I managed to slip out the back unnoticed, my heart pounding the entire way.

  Twenty-Three

  Only when I stepped off the back patio did I realize that I didn’t have a game plan from here on out. I didn’t want to walk back to Liana’s house in case anyone spotted me, and I certainly didn’t want to go back inside Dr. Sloan’s house where Mrs. Sloan could catch me if she returned. Instead, I opted for a clump of bushes lining a neighboring fence. Pulling my hat low on my head to shield my face, I walked toward the bushes with purpose and slid behind them. I was surprised at how thick they seemed, but once I crouched down behind them—after receiving a few scratches along the way—I was satisfied with my hiding spot. I could hardly see out through the bushes myself, so I didn’t think anyone would be able to see me. The only thing I could do now was hope no one saw me hide behind them and pray that Liana would be here to pick me up soon.

  I pulled Noah’s phone back out of my pocket again and checked to see if Liana had called or texted again after I turned the phone to silent. I didn’t think she would have since it’d only been a few minutes, but I thought I should check just to make sure. There weren’t any notifications.