Hunter: Fate & Fury

Chapter 14

The high that normally followed a visit to Richard was missing today. I had nothing to say, nothing I wanted to say anyway and despite his best efforts, we ended up discussing the art in his office. There wasn't a lot in there, a mass-produced print of a palm tree, another of a parrot and his very own, hand-painted ocean landscape. Stretching that discussion out for an hour had been hard. Not as hard as choosing to pick one life over another in front of your nearest and dearest friends or whatever they all were, but then I doubted anything else would ever compare to that.

Finding a seat outside a cafe that was far enough away he wouldn't manage to accidentally bump into me and try to continue our session; I ordered coffee and cake. Treating myself in order to feel better was something Richard advised would leave me empty and only looking for more hits of instant gratification until I dealt with the underlying issue.

I've decided Richard is an idiot, and seeing the nearby black and gold signage of Chanel nearby it would also be a good chance to prove him wrong.

"Oh, tarot! Love it!" The over-enthusiastic waiter grinned down at me as she put my order in front of me. "I started learning last year, it changed my life. Each morning I pull a hard, meditate on it for a bit. Keeps me centred."

"You sound like my friend Penny." I forced a smile.

"Which deck are you using?" I catch her name tag; Melissa. She hugs the drinks tray to her chest, expecting a response.

"I haven't got one yet."

"The right deck will find you." She says with knowing wisdom I doubt she possessed. "Enjoy your coffee!"

With a literal spring in her step, she bounces away and looking at my cake I cringe at the sight of one of her stray red hairs sitting on top of the icing. Pushing it away, I focus on the coffee and flip open the book. I hardly get through the introduction when Kara pulls out the chair opposite me and takes a seat.

"What are you doing?" Kara frowns.

"Reading. What are you doing?"

"Taking you back home with me." It sounds more like an order than what she was actually doing.

"Sorry, Kara. You're not my type. I also didn't think I was yours. What would Deimos say?" I tease. "But really, what are you doing here?"

She bit her lip, clearly trying to work out what to do or say next so I saved her the trouble and got up to leave.

"Good chat." I abandon my coffee and slip out the gate, but she's at my side instantly as I walk down the street.

"It's been a week, Elise. You can't avoid us forever."

"I'm not avoiding anyone. I'm staying out of the way." I shrugged, stopping to look into one of the higher-end designer store windows.

"You missed the Harpy interrogation." Kara snapped, stopping as an elderly couple passed us. "I asked Cain to make sure you were there!"

"Clearly I don't take orders from you, Queenie. Cain told me what happened. You didn't need me, and the way my stomach can't handle blood and stuff right now, I'm pretty sure it was the last place I needed to be."

I went into the shop, offering a tiny smile to the sales assistant that carefully rearranged a few purses on the centre display; one of which had my name all over it. After picking it up, and deciding it had to come home with me, I wondered what else they may have that I needed. Kara followed behind me silently, and I was tempted to hit her with the bag a few times to test out the durability first.

"Do you have baby bags?" I asked as the one I wanted was carefully taken from me up to the counter; almost as if they sensed my other intention for the purse.