Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
At the very end of the bar, tucked in the corner where they could see the door and most of the room, sat Aurora and John.
“Oh. Look.” Sebastian pointed at them and headed that way immediately.
Niamh slapped his hand out of the air and jostled him toward the end of the bar nearest the door.
“But—“ he said.
“Leave them to it,” Niamh murmured, nearly under her breath. “Let them come to us.”
Sebastian frowned as Aurora noticed them. He gave her a lame wave. She didn’t move. Her expression stayed blank. John glanced up, and noticing him, said something to Aurora that elicited the barest of shrugs. He was probably asking about this stupid cape, Sebastian mused darkly.
“I look like an idiot,” he groused.
“Nonsense.” Niamh sat him down on a barstool and patted his shoulder. “You’re grand.”
“I think I look good.” Edgar sat next to him and leaned too close. “Wings fit me.”
The clasp of Edgar’s cape pulled way to the right, draping loosely over one shoulder and leaving the other mostly bare. It didn’t fit even a little.
Jasper and Ulric wandered down Aurora’s way, all smiles and easy friendliness.
“Why do they get to go down there?” Sebastian once again whined. He felt like a child every time Niamh took him drinking.
Nessa leaned against the bar next to Edgar, not at all worried about the vampire’s proximity, as Niamh sat down next to Sebastian.
The bartender glanced their way and did a double-take, his eyes narrowing as he spied the capes. Sebastian’s guts churned in warning. He really didn’t want to get in a bar fight. He’d use magic and it would create an issue, he just knew it.
The Guardians’ voices reduced to a soft murmur as Ulric and Jasper threaded through them to the other side. The Guardians didn’t step out of the way or even twist to create a little space. When they were new, they did that in O’Briens, too. Ulric and Jasper bumped shoulders and disturbed wings as they passed, not once offering an apology or even noticing the rudeness of either party.
The bartender approached Sebastian first before staring hard at Edgar. “What’s with the capes?” he asked.
“Yer the last person who should be concerned with fashion, like,” Niamh said, settling against the bar with her elbows on the worn wood. “Got any cider?”
The bartender glanced down at his brown shirt with the dark patch at the bottom that was some sort of stain. “Yeah.”
Niamh lifted her eyebrows expectantly, but no more information came.
“How about a book? Bartending one-oh-one, heard of it?” she asked.
Sebastian slouched against the bar, hiding a grimace. She was coming out strong, and they’d only just gotten there. Usually, she went after a surly patron before working her way to the bartender.
“No.” He waited.
“Grand. Shot of whiskey,” she said. “Anything will do. Two more, for my superhero friends, and whatever the lady wants.”
Ulric
Aurora and John leaned back a little as they reached them. That meant an invite to sit down.
“Hey,” Jasper said as he took a seat next to John and Ulric plopped down next to Aurora.
“Hey,” Aurora replied. “I just got done telling John about the battle at my Dad’s.”
“Yeah, you’ve probably missed a lot of what’s gone down in the last couple years,” Ulric told John, but he didn’t keep up the conversation. He was tuned into Niamh’s show at the other end of the bar. He told them what Niamh was doing and why.
“Smart,” John murmured under his breath. “I wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“What kind of wine do you have?” they heard Nessa ask the bartender pleasantly. Her voice wasn’t loud, but she was intentionally making it carry. She wanted the bar to notice.
“She’s not what she seems,” John said about Nessa. “She has a beautiful face and a gorgeous smile until she slips a knife into her enemy’s ribs.”
Jasper snorted. “She’d smile doing that, too. Then laugh after. She’s cool, though. She’s fun to have around. Very smart.”
“Red or white,” the bartender answered Nessa.
“Oh, good! I love when there are a lot of options.” Nessa laughed. “White would be great, with ice cubes.”
The bartender didn’t move for a moment, staring her down and earning more wattage in her smile. His gaze slid to Edgar, who was strangely perched on the edge of his stool and leaning close to Sebastian, who was very obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation.
“He’s the notorious mage?” John asked in confusion.
“Yeah,” Aurora answered. “You see it when he’s around other mages. It’s a persona. You see his power and skill in battle. With us, he’s just a big, magical nerd who gets pushed around by Niamh. A lot.”
Ulric and Jasper laughed.
Once the bartender turned to get the drinks, Sebastian peered around Edgar to speak to Nessa. His words were lost to the murmuring of the Guardians, but his crinkled nose suggested he was questioning her choice.