consumed (2 page)

Small shops lined each side of the street, nestled together as if they’d been there a hundred years. Dried leaves blew down the sidewalks, and more than a few stoops hosted arrangements of Indian corn and pumpkins to celebrate the season. A Norman Rockwell enthusiast’s dream.

As she neared the end of the street, a stately town hall-type building loomed into view. The midday sun sparkled off its plate-glass windows. At its base, a lone man stood, one hand raised as if in welcome.

Ava frowned. Where were the superstores or the gas stations with minimarts attached? Where were the fast food eateries that covered the ground quicker than dandelions? This tiny town of Destiny seemed stuck in the past. She glanced around, exhaling a sigh when she spotted other cars and even a light-blue scooter in one lot. Tucked away in one corner of the square, a handmade sign advertising an Internet café swung in the breeze. At least it confirmed she wasn’t dreaming.
I’m still in small-town, modern America and not a 1950s throwback.

As she pulled over to the curb in front of the Town Hall, she put the car into park, leaving it idling. She’d get directions from the man with the shoulder-length brown hair standing on the steps. Dressed in tan trousers, a green tweed waistcoat, and a brown jacket with long tails, he put her in mind of fairy stories of elves and other woodsfolk. She snorted.
Hey, if I can be a latent wolf-shifter, why can’t he be…whatever?

She’d get directions, then return to the road. At this point, she couldn’t trust the GPS anymore. Maybe the proximity of the hills screwed it up. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t be staying.

I like it here. We could belong in this town.

No, we can’t. I’d get bored too fast in this backwater burg.
“I’ll make this short and sweet.” Releasing her seat belt, Ava opened her car door and stepped outside. A cool breeze ruffled her blonde locks and sent shivers over skin not covered by her navy-blue suit. “Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me how to get back on the highway?”

The smartly dressed man moved down a few steps. Pointy ears poked out from beneath his top hat. He executed an old-fashioned bow from the waist. “Welcome to Destiny, Ava. I am Thelonious Evermore, founder and mayor of this town.”

Shock skittered down her spine, quickly followed by icy trepidation. “How do you know my name?”

“Everything in time, which,” a devilish light danced in his brownish green eyes, “you do not have nearly enough of at the moment.”

“Look, this seems like a nice enough area, but I have zero time for sightseeing, okay?” Ava glanced around the town square. A few other residents appeared in various doorways.
Great, here come the nosy neighbors.
“Do you know the way back, or don’t you? It’s not a hard question, and if you don’t, I’ll just ask someone else.”

Your mouth will get you into trouble, human.

She rolled her eyes. At times, her wolf annoyed her more than any flesh-and-blood person she knew.

“Only some know the way. Others have ignored it.” Thelonious moved down the rest of the steps to stand in front of her. “And no, it is not a hard question.” An enigmatic smile flitted briefly across his lips before vanishing beneath a mask of serious concern. “But you are correct. You do have zero time.” The man winked. He actually winked, and it made him appear even more enigmatic and youthful.

Ava opened her mouth to give the strange being a piece of her mind, but a whirlwind swirled around her. The vortex whipped her hair and tore at her clothes. Dust and leaves caught in the angry air, temporarily blinding her to the surroundings.

A flash of bright light cut across her vision, then darkness sucked her into a silent vacuum.

* * * *

She hit the ground with a hard thump that jarred every bone in her body. “Good grief! Talk about a stiff wind.” Struggling to her feet, Ava knocked the dust off the seat of her pants. “Is this normal weather for this area?”

“Welcome to Destiny, Miss Lesarris.” The greeting held lyrical notes that reminded her of birdsong—Thelonious’s voice.

“Um, you already said that.” Ava narrowed her eyes as the last of the whirlwind faded and she could actually see her surroundings.

Town Hall stood before her as well as the same cozy shops, except they held a veneer of newness about them as if they’d been erected not long ago. In fact, Ava swore she could smell the sweet fragrance of newly cut lumber in the air as well as paint.

Spinning around in a slow circle, she gawked at some of the other differences. The streets lining the square weren’t made of asphalt. Instead, cobblestones formed the ground cover. A horse pulled a smart, black carriage along one street, and the ring of its shoes against the brickwork echoed in the afternoon air. In the distance, the long, mournful whistle of a train put her in mind of simpler times.

When she turned back to stare at the strange man she’d just met, her stomach clenched.
I have a bad feeling about this.
Even more surprising, her wolf remained silent. That spoke volumes. “Where are we?”

Thelonious tapped the point of his carved walking stick against the cobblestones. “Destiny, of course, but it really is more a question of
when
we are you should consider.”

“What are you talking about?” A low-grade headache formed between her eyebrows. “Where’s my car?” As her heart tried to pound its way out of her ribcage, she glanced at the street. No sign of her rental. Which meant her pharmaceutical case, her cell phone, and her purse were also gone. For that matter, the street was no longer paved. It was just a track of hard-packed dirt. “Look, buster, I need answers, right now.”

Time to get to the bottom of this hallucination.

“I am sure you do, but I cannot give them to you.” Another enigmatic smile passed over his long, lean face. “I can tell you this. You have come to the right place, yet not the right time. You are here to find what you think you do not need.”

Ava blinked, unable to wrap her brain around the whole weird riddle. “Okay. Why am I here? What is it I need?” Her gaze skittered to a few residents walking along the street. Both males and females were dressed in the same quaint clothing Thelonious had adopted. Everyone wore hats and gloves, and it seemed they were all overly polite to each other. “Why am I here?” It seemed right to repeat her earlier question if only to stave off the tide of rising panic.

“You are here to help fulfill a destiny that does not belong to you.”

“Why is this my problem?”

Thelonious didn’t answer.

It didn’t make sense. “What if I have no clue how to do that?” Not to mention, why would she want to expend the energy on somebody else when she needed the resources to find a way home?

“Again, I cannot tell you that.” Thelonious shrugged as if the matter didn’t concern him. “You will remain stuck in this time period for as long as the task takes. I have no control over the whims of fate.”

Nausea made Ava’s throat prickle with warm saliva. “What’s the year?” Like passing a car wreck, she wanted to know but didn’t at the same time.

“The year of our Lord, 1899. You have come during a wonderful anniversary year as I founded Destiny last month on Halloween. Outcasts like yourself are welcomed here with open arms.” He grinned. “I can tell you this: I didn’t want the beauty of my town marred by endless subdivisions, fast food joints, and strip malls of the future, so I keep tight control on who is allowed into Destiny.”

“I see.” Ava frowned, still not comprehending, but her mind latched on to one word. “Outcasts?” She forgot the sickening sensations in light of this new info. “Why would you assume I’m an outcast?”

One of his eyebrows arched. “You are a latent wolf, are you not?”

How could he possibly know that? “Maybe.” Best not anger the natives.

The man chuckled as if he knew a secret or two. “There are a few rules here.
If you’re not living peacefully, you’re not allowed to live in Destiny. If you think you’ll be allowed to ‘freeload’ in Destiny without serious thought as to discovering your own paranormal fate, you’ll be asked to leave.”

“Freeload? Off whom?”

He didn’t answer the question but instead continued. “If you haven’t found your truth or happiness while in town, you’re not in the right frame of mind. Don’t be surprised if the town suddenly ‘pushes’ you.”

“Pushes me where?” Panic rose in Ava’s throat. It was sounding more and more like a nightmare she couldn’t wake from.

A smile touched his lips. “You’re not better or worse than anyone else. Remember your own unique qualities. Jealousy and coveting what your neighbor has are frowned upon. Anyone visiting Destiny who bullies the residents will be asked to leave. If you’re reprimanded a second time, you might be disposed of by the very residents you’ve derided. Instinctual urges will not be curbed.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” She looked around. No one paid the slightest attention to her.

Thelonious’s smile widened. “Feel free to mingle with the townsfolk, but I will caution you to procure clothing more suited to this time period.” He walked toward the Town Hall. Almost as an afterthought, he paused and turned to hold Ava’s gaze. “I wish you luck, Miss Lesarris. More lives than just your own depend on you figuring out this riddle.”

The panic she’d been holding in check exploded into full-out terror. Cold chills raced over her skin. “What I am supposed to do? Where will I live? All my money is in my car, and I don’t even have that right now.”

Thelonious waved away her concerns. “There is a dress shop not far from here. You will find their clothing selection most pleasing. Afterward, feel free to wander the town. If you’re ever feeling sentimental, the train station will be your best bet. This is all I can tell you.”

As Ava stared, alternating between bursting into tears and screaming obscenities at the man who couldn’t—or wouldn’t—understand her viewpoint, Thelonious Evermore literally vanished into thin air.

Her wolf picked that moment to chime in.
I think we’re screwed.

“No crap.” And definitely not in a good way. What exactly did a person do when suddenly whisked back in time without a valid explanation or reason? “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

Of course, her wolf had no smart answer this time.

Chapter Two

Samuel Tremaine checked his pocket watch for the second time that afternoon, with the same results. Time moved altogether too quickly, and he had absolutely nothing to show for its advancement. After thirty-four years, his life came down to a handful of days—four, in fact—including today. No matter that he held an exalted position as one of two partners in Destiny’s only bank, as a phoenix and the last of his kind, his imminent death meant he’d never be remembered.

Replacing the watch into his waistcoat pocket, Sam rose from his chair. An impossible situation at best, he’d known that the day would come; he’d merely hoped when it did, he’d have accomplished something…more. As it stood now, he had no wife or children. Hell, he’d never even accidentally impregnated any of the bevy of women he’d had sexual relationships with over the years. This was a double-edged blessing. It meant he’d never need to see those grasping, vapid females again, yet there would be no one to carry on his family name; no one to speak of his legacy. Of course, fathering any sort of offspring now was not viable. No matter how stunning the female appeared, at his advanced age in phoenix time, sustaining an erection for longer than thirty seconds was beyond his power. Thus, he hadn’t sought any woman out for bedding purposes for years. No one could know his secret shame.

A heavy sigh escaped him. No use dwelling on the issue. There was no hope for it.

He moved from the massive cherry-wood desk to stand before a plate-glass window at the front of the office. In the next room, the faint scratch of pen nubs on ledger books filled the silence, punctuated by the gentle click of coins as they were stacked for counting. Beyond that, Sam recognized the soft murmur of his partner Jamison as he tried to convince one of the town’s residents to let the Community Bank of Destiny hold the note for their mortgage.

As if the person had a choice. Yes, Thelonious gave each new resident a “place” to live, yet the Fae interpretation of that was vague. At times, it was only a plot of empty land; at others, the residence wasn’t fit for habitation, or worse. Sam and his partner had jumped on the chance to make money, thus the lending business had been born in the town. Sam grimaced. He repeated it when he saw his expression reflected in the sunlit glass. The bank was the only lending institution for miles in the area. Most of the properties in the small town were owned by the bank. Under his and Jamison’s reign, the moment one of their customers fell behind, they made swift action to reclaim the delinquent note.