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Authors: Kate Baray
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to benefit from the advantages of keeping a written history. Did you rely on an oral tradition before the books?”
He looked amused and raised his eyebrows.
“Make fun. I took an anthropology class ages ago. I might have had aspirations of an Indiana Jones-type life…until I realized how boring most of the classes were. But some of it apparently stuck.” She wanted to stick her tongue out at him. But that would be juvenile. Right? She refrained.
“ Yes, that’s my understanding. I’ve no idea if one pack discovered the method and shared it—a thought I find unlikely, even though it would be mutually beneficial. Or if several different packs simultaneously discovered the method. In any event, the use of record books became common at some point in Lycan history.”
“But what about Record Keepers? They aren’t Lycan, right? So how did the two get together?”
“ Originally, I’m not sure. Now, I know some packs actively recruit Record Keepers. Even enticing Keepers away from another pack with promises of greater prestige or better pay. It’s not always a paid position, but it can be.”
Lizzie tapped her fingers on the table. Waited. Squirmed in her seat. Waited some more. Rubbed her nose. And she thought he had been downright talkative for a moment. Her fidgets went unheeded, and he remained silent.
She couldn’t stand it. She prompted him, “So what else do you know?”
Lizzie could see him trying not to laugh at her. His mouth tugged upwards slightly at the corners, and his eyes were starting to crinkle around the edges.
“Go ahead. You can laugh. I know I’m acting like a kid in a candy store. But really—magic? Werewolves? Can you blame me?”
He let out a single short snort, then in all seriousness said, “I do know Record Keepers have magic that can be used to access the record book and record new information. I know they’re always women. I also know the books are passed down from one generation to the next. I’m not sure if that’s for the practical purpose of keeping the information together, or if maybe the art of creating the books has been lost over time.”
During their conversation, a few customers had come and gone , but their corner was isolated and they’d been undisturbed. It was now approaching 5:30 and the after-work crowd was making its way into the shop.
John looked at the increasing crowd, then turned to her and said, “Well, what’s the decision? Interested in meeting the family?”
Lizzie had received a text from Kenna around four o’clock giving her an update on the background check. Her investigator would need at least three days to pull together more than a cursory report. And Lizzie needed to tie up a few loose ends work-wise before she could leave town.
Lowering her voice, Lizzie baldly stated , “I’m having a background check run on you. I wanted to give you a heads up, in case…well, in case it might mess with your super-secret conspiracy of wolfy silence. I’d like to go. To learn more about Lycan and Record Keepers. But I can’t abandon all common sense, either.
John didn’t blink.
“You appeared on my doorstep only a few days ago, completely out of the blue,” she began cautiously. “But—if the check comes back clear, you provide me with an address for the B&B where I would be staying, and you give me a week to clear my desk at work—I’m in.”
“Fair enough. It’s a deal.” He stretched out his hand, and they shook on it. They agreed to keep in touch to discuss the details over the next several days. As Lizzie left the shop to catch a cab home, her mind skipped back to the firm, but not overpowering handshake. On the short ride home, the feel of John’s large, warm hand wrapped around her smaller fingers, replayed in her mind. And her stomach fluttered just a little bit. Okay. Maybe a lot.
Chapter 1 1
Three days later, Lizzie smacked herself in the head for being so cautious. Metaphorically. She would have actually smacked
He looked amused and raised his eyebrows.
“Make fun. I took an anthropology class ages ago. I might have had aspirations of an Indiana Jones-type life…until I realized how boring most of the classes were. But some of it apparently stuck.” She wanted to stick her tongue out at him. But that would be juvenile. Right? She refrained.
“ Yes, that’s my understanding. I’ve no idea if one pack discovered the method and shared it—a thought I find unlikely, even though it would be mutually beneficial. Or if several different packs simultaneously discovered the method. In any event, the use of record books became common at some point in Lycan history.”
“But what about Record Keepers? They aren’t Lycan, right? So how did the two get together?”
“ Originally, I’m not sure. Now, I know some packs actively recruit Record Keepers. Even enticing Keepers away from another pack with promises of greater prestige or better pay. It’s not always a paid position, but it can be.”
Lizzie tapped her fingers on the table. Waited. Squirmed in her seat. Waited some more. Rubbed her nose. And she thought he had been downright talkative for a moment. Her fidgets went unheeded, and he remained silent.
She couldn’t stand it. She prompted him, “So what else do you know?”
Lizzie could see him trying not to laugh at her. His mouth tugged upwards slightly at the corners, and his eyes were starting to crinkle around the edges.
“Go ahead. You can laugh. I know I’m acting like a kid in a candy store. But really—magic? Werewolves? Can you blame me?”
He let out a single short snort, then in all seriousness said, “I do know Record Keepers have magic that can be used to access the record book and record new information. I know they’re always women. I also know the books are passed down from one generation to the next. I’m not sure if that’s for the practical purpose of keeping the information together, or if maybe the art of creating the books has been lost over time.”
During their conversation, a few customers had come and gone , but their corner was isolated and they’d been undisturbed. It was now approaching 5:30 and the after-work crowd was making its way into the shop.
John looked at the increasing crowd, then turned to her and said, “Well, what’s the decision? Interested in meeting the family?”
Lizzie had received a text from Kenna around four o’clock giving her an update on the background check. Her investigator would need at least three days to pull together more than a cursory report. And Lizzie needed to tie up a few loose ends work-wise before she could leave town.
Lowering her voice, Lizzie baldly stated , “I’m having a background check run on you. I wanted to give you a heads up, in case…well, in case it might mess with your super-secret conspiracy of wolfy silence. I’d like to go. To learn more about Lycan and Record Keepers. But I can’t abandon all common sense, either.
John didn’t blink.
“You appeared on my doorstep only a few days ago, completely out of the blue,” she began cautiously. “But—if the check comes back clear, you provide me with an address for the B&B where I would be staying, and you give me a week to clear my desk at work—I’m in.”
“Fair enough. It’s a deal.” He stretched out his hand, and they shook on it. They agreed to keep in touch to discuss the details over the next several days. As Lizzie left the shop to catch a cab home, her mind skipped back to the firm, but not overpowering handshake. On the short ride home, the feel of John’s large, warm hand wrapped around her smaller fingers, replayed in her mind. And her stomach fluttered just a little bit. Okay. Maybe a lot.
Chapter 1 1
Three days later, Lizzie smacked herself in the head for being so cautious. Metaphorically. She would have actually smacked
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