Mercury

One

Curie

I swiped at the fogged-up windshield again. The car swerved. The sound of gravel under my wheels had me yanking the steering with both hands. Holy broomsticks. That was close.

Not wanting to crash, I leaned forward, trying to see through the rain that fell in buckets. Under normal circumstances, I drove in the rain with calmness, but not today. Today was the start of my new life out from under my father’s shadow. And if that wasn’t enough, I was headed to Silver Springs, an all-paranormal town. A place I’d never been to before.

As I got closer, my palms began to tingle. This would be my first time passing through magical wards without another paranormal with me and I worried. Would their wards affect me? Did I have enough magic in my blood to keep them from treating me like a human? From what my dad told me, the wards were not supposed to do anything to humans that were in the know. And I was definitely one of those considering my dad was a peacock shifter. Normally that would make me one as well, but when it was time to shift, I didn’t, making me a null. 

As for my mother, well…that was a whole other story. The only good thing she did for me was to give birth to me. Since then, radio silence. Which was why it surprised me when my dad gave me the keys to a condo apartment that supposedly belonged to her. Why would my estranged mother want me in her old house?

A bear bounded out of the woods to the grassy area beside the road. A wolf followed, jumping onto the bear’s back as the bear changed into a naked human male. I gasped. Wouldn’t the man/bear be injured by the wolf’s claws? But as the wolf landed, it changed into a naked woman. The man/bear swung her around before bringing her to the ground. When I checked in my rear view mirror, I swore they were making out, right there in the open.

Wow. I wonder if I’m going to see things like that all the time? It wasn’t like I hadn’t lived around other paranormals before, but that was at private school. When I was at home, my father only took me into the human town near his massive estate.

The rain didn’t let up for what was left of my drive. It made me thankful for the map my father drew that I memorized. Without doing that, I would have been lost since I was too busy watching the interesting things that passed by my window. Umbrellas hovered over women ladened with shopping bags. People changed from human to animals and back again. I even passed a store that contained flying dildos in the window. My laughter didn’t want to stop at that one.

At the condo building, I climbed the stairs to my new place, dragging two suitcases behind me. I would have taken the elevator, but a dusty sign hung on it stating that it was out of order. The amount of dust didn’t give me much hope that it would be fixed by tomorrow when my furniture arrived. At least the movers were big and strong because I wouldn’t want to carry my stuff up the stairs. And while I might have felt a little sorry for them, my hormones couldn’t wait to watch the movement of their muscles as they got all hot and sweaty. 

The condo surprised me. Having sat empty for over twenty years, the kitchen was surprisingly modern and it wasn’t as dirty as I feared. But as I walked through the two empty bedrooms and the bathrooms that didn’t contain toilet paper or even shower curtains, I knew that I’d need to make a shopping trip if I didn’t want to sleep on the floor. And I was definitely not skipping the shower since the rain increased the humidity in the air to intolerable levels, leaving me all hot and sweaty.

I parked my car off Main Street. Despite the rain I decided to get out and walk for a bit. Walking was the best way to learn a new town and to get the feel of it.

A sign saying Jewel’s Cafe peaked my interest. A warm cup of coffee sounded perfect. I pushed my way through the door, finding a cute coffee shop that contained less than a handful of people. After ordering my drink, I sat at a table near the window, wanting to watch the people as they walked past on the sidewalk. 

My half finished coffee sat in front of me when the doorbell rang to admit yet another customer. I’d ignored the others, but something had me looking up. And I was thankful I did.

A man who looked to be in his late forties with short dark hair that was streaked with silver, and silver scruff walked in. Yum. I clenched my legs together as heat gathered in all my womanly parts. The breadth of his shoulders, that trim waist, and those muscular thighs had me panting. And to top it off, he was dressed in navy blue suit pants with a white dress shirt open at the collar. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows showing off his drool worthy forearms. Silver foxes had never been an attraction for me before, but if more of them looked like him, I’d convert.

He ordered his drink and as he waited for it to be delivered, we made eye contact. I swore my ovaries clenched and begged to be put to use. He gave me a smile that had me ducking away so I could check my mouth for escaping drool. Maybe living and working in Silver Springs wouldn’t be so bad after all.

The bell rang again and I slumped in my chair when he left. But Silver Springs wasn’t too big so I’d hopefully run into him again. Even if he was mated, I could still look. Besides, I needed some new inspiration for my me time.

A woman with pink hair, wearing a jean skirt and a white tank top walked into the coffee shop from another door. I gasped when she looked around. On her nose was the biggest wart with three long hairs sticking out of it. My heart went out to her. To have a wart like that. On her face. She had to be the strongest woman or—well, you get the drift. No one that young would walk around looking like that.

Some people stared and snickered as she walked across the cafe to sit at the table next to me. 

She looked as lost as I felt. I heard her tell the barista something about a missing friend. A shiver went down my spine. This was something I could help with. A way to make inroads to my new home. Social media and getting it to do what I needed was my field of study and an innate skill I possessed. Besides, the woman looked to be around my age and I needed friends since I knew no one in Silver Springs. Not even the people I’d be working with, or for, at Foxy Com where I was a brand new intern. 

Excuse me? 

The pink haired woman looked at me. I tried not to stare at the wart, but it was so difficult. It was almost as if it had a neon sign flashing over it saying, Look at me.

Did you say that your friend is missing?

She nodded. Yes, Neptune. She’s been gone for hours and I don’t know where she went. She’s got my phone, wallet and everything.

If you want, I can help. I can put her description out on social media and have people contact you.

You would? She pulled out several concert tickets from her pocket. I can give you one of these for helping me.

Wow. You’re giving me a VIP ticket to Not a Vampire for tonight? Thank you so much. I gave her my biggest grin and suddenly I no longer saw her wart. It was still there of course, but it didn’t seem so intrusive. I pulled out my cell phone and opened my accounts. To start, I need your name.

It’s Venus.

Wow. What a coincidence. Two people, friends with each other even, who have planet names.

Nice to meet you Venus. I’m Mercury, but everyone calls me Curie. I’d never met anyone with a planet name like me before. I kind of liked it. Almost like it was fate that we should meet. Now can you give me your Screech name so people can tag you if they see her? 

A dazed look flashed across her face. When she blinked, it cleared. But she didn’t answer.

Um, Venus, I need your contact information if you want people to notify you that they found your friend.

You mean Neptune? You’ll look for her?

Of course. Her friend and her must be really close if she’s this upset. I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. Your contact? I reminded her.

Her face lost its smile and tears formed at the corner of her eye. I don’t have my phone. It’s in her car.

I placed my hand on her arm to comfort her. That’s okay. I’ll have them contact you here if that works.

Her eyes lit up. You would?

Of course. I know what it’s like to be all alone in a new place. I quickly typed in the initial information into my post. Now, can you tell me what your friend looks like?

She has shoulder length brown hair… 

As she continued to describe Neptune, I typed it all in while snatching glances out the window. My mouth dropped at the mirage that matched Venus’s description outside the window. She must have conjured that with magic. What an amazing spell; I envied her gift. I pointed the Neptune mirage out to Venus. Is that what she looks like? The vision disappeared before my eyes. That’s a cool spell you used. I wish I could do things like that.

Venus’s eye glazed over, a vacant look on her face, she asked, Oh. Hi. I’m Venus.

Does this sound right, Venus? I flipped my phone around to face her so she could see what I wrote.

Her eyes glazed over again and she turned back to the window.

Huh? I glanced around the coffee shop to see if anyone else noticed Venus’ strange behavior. The barista shrugged her shoulders before going back to make whatever drink the latest customer ordered. 

Not knowing what else to do and worried that Neptune was a figment of Venus’ imagination, I erased my post. But as I stood to leave the cafe, I vowed that I’d keep an eye out for this mysterious Neptune anyway as I shopped.

Two

Maverick

The noise was loud and the crowds pressed in as I pushed my way through them, heading toward the security gate. My hands fisted in the front pockets of my chinos. I hated being late and this was why. The girls—they were technically women, but since they were multiple decades younger than me girls fit—didn’t care that I didn’t look like a member of the band, Not A Vampire. All they saw was the special pass that said I was part of the band entourage. The holographic, striped card that hung from my neck was given out to the promoters, people who worked with the band, and a few others. I qualified on two accounts. And they reacted accordingly. 

Hands grabbed at my ass, pinching and squeezing as I walked. Palms brushed against the zipper on my pants hence the reason my hands were in my front pockets. I really didn’t want to hurt my heat seeking missile.

Hey there, daddy. Need someone to give you a massage? A blond with extra-large flotation devices pressed up against me. Her hands blazed a trail down my chest, dipping below my belt. I shifted my fists, giving myself a little more protection. Why did so many of them assume I wanted to be called daddy? Yes, my hair contained more silver than black, a product of the type of fox shifter I was. While I was technically a red fox, I displayed a genetic mutation