Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
I stared in surprise. How had he gotten a fake tail to act so realistic? I followed it to see if it was really attached to him and it really did seem to be sticking out of the backside of his trousers, just above his muscular buttocks. What the hell?
“That’s one silver, please,” the devil guy repeated.
“Uh…” I was still mesmerized by his tail as I pulled out the crumpled five and held it out to him.
“I’m sorry—we don’t take human money at The Lost Lamb anymore.” The tail sat the cup of hot chocolate down on the counter.
“Human money?” I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”
The devil guy sighed and shook his head. Then he turned and yelled towards the back of the shop,
“Celia, sweetheart? I think we have another one. Can you come help?”
A woman wearing an apron covered in flour came bustling out from the back. She looked to be around my age and she had bright blue eyes and golden-brown hair tied up in a neat bun at the back of her neck.
“What did you say?” she asked the devil guy, but then she caught a look at me. “Oh dear—are you new here, hon?” she asked.
“Um, yes.” I nodded. “I’m sorry I look like this,” I added. “I know this sounds crazy but I was in my house alone a minute ago.”
The woman raised an eyebrow.
“Let me guess—a magical door appeared, and you walked through it and found yourself here?”
“Yes!” I stared at her in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Because it’s been happening more and more frequently around here.” She dusted the flour off her hands and reached across the counter to shake with me. “Hi, I’m Celia—the owner of The Lost Lamb. And this is my Heartmate, Malik.”
“Oh, um, nice to meet you.” I shook her hand, feeling bewildered. “Uh, can you tell me where I am?”
“This is Hidden Hollow,” Celia told me. “It’s a magical town set in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains and—”
But just then the door jingled again and two of the strangest looking people I’d ever seen came in.
One of them was a centaur—an honest-to-God centaur. I couldn’t fool myself into thinking it was a costume. The lower half of her—because yes, it was a woman—was a real horse. Her tail swished back and forth as she clomped into the bakery. She had long, chestnut hair, the same color as her horse half’s flanks and she was wearing a loose-fitting top that barely covered her large breasts.
Flying right beside the lady centaur was a tiny woman no bigger than my hand. She had iridescent wings on her back that were fluttering so rapidly they looked like a rainbow blur. She and the centaur were having a discussion just as if they were old friends or possibly work colleagues…which I guessed they probably were. If this really was a magical town, why shouldn’t centaurs and fairies work together?
“So I think the speaker made some valid points,” the flying fairy woman said in a high, piping voice. “The variants in the spell are doubtless going to have a huge effect on the magical outcome.”
“I don’t know,” the centaur lady said, frowning. “I think magical intent is more important in these instances.”
“Oh my God,” I breathed, looking at them. “What the hell is going on here? Where is this place?”
“I believe my beautiful Heartmate told you that this is Hidden Hollow,” the devil guy—who I now realized was probably not wearing a costume—said helpfully.
“No, no, Malik—she’s not actually asking where we are. She’s in shock!”
Celia bustled out from behind the counter and took me by the arm. She grabbed the hot chocolate and shoved it into my hands as she pulled me back towards the door.
“Look, I’m really sorry I can’t explain everything to you right now, but there’s a big convention in town,” she told me. “I think one of their lectures just let out so we’re about to be swamped.”
As she spoke, more fairy-tale creatures started pouring into the bakery. There was another Minotaur and then I saw a huge, green, muscular guy with tusks growing out of his bottom teeth. Was that an Orc?
“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “Is this real? How can this be?”
Celia sighed and shook her head.
“Yes, it’s real. No, you’re not dreaming,” she recited rapidly. Behind her, a line was forming and her demon husband was beginning to take orders as fast as he could.
“But…but…”
“The person you need to talk to is Goody Albright at the Red Lion Inn,” she told me. “I’m really sorry—I would take you over there but Sarah went out for a minute and I can’t leave Malik to deal with this crowd alone. So just go to the Red Lion and ask for Goody A. You can’t miss it.” She ushered me out the door, which now had a line standing outside, and pointed up the street. “I’m sure I’ll see you later,” she added. “Hot chocolate’s on the house.”