Lasting Fury (Hexing House Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

Alecto’s style.
    The beefy man puffed out his chest and called, “I’m the leader of the Concerned Citizens For A Fury-Free County.”
    CCFAFFC? A little clunky isn’t it, buddy? You couldn’t at least try to spell a word? Something catchy?
    Thea bit back a laugh. First temper, then snark. None of this was like her. What the hell was going on inside her?
    A good question. But at the moment, there was too much confusion on the outside to worry about the confusion inside.
    Alecto flew over and landed beside Thea, addressing Mr. Beefy. “And your name, sir?”
    “Todd.” He seemed about to offer his hand to shake, then thought better of it. “Todd Caulfield. I’m also the president of the Hemlock Heights HOA.” When Alecto looked at him blankly he added, “That stands for homeowner’s association.”
    “Ah,” Alecto said. “Well, Mr. Caulfield, I’m sorry for your losses. But you appear to be acting on some bad information. We had nothing to do with the tragedy that struck your neighborhood.”
    He started to say something, but was drowned out by shouts of Liar! and Witch! from the crowd around him.
    “Can you tell me why you’re here?” Alecto raised her voice to be heard above them, although she still spoke to Caulfield alone. “And why you think we’re responsible for this?”
    “Mr. Agnew here had some very interesting information for me about what you do,” Caulfield said, gesturing at Mr. Fanatic. “It sounded like a pretty good match to me. And then of course there’s the picture. Some thought it was doctored, but we can see the truth of that now, can’t we?”
    Alecto frowned at him. “What picture?”
    “Enough, witch!” A woman shouted.
    “Stop letting her distract you! She’ll put a spell on you!” said a man behind Caulfield.
    Thea stared at them all, wondering how this could really be happening. Had Mr. Fanatic— Mr. Agnew , apparently—really just come to them with his crazy eyes (okay, a little bit less crazy than before, but still) and even crazier story, and they’d all just flocked down here, believing in witches and demons and spells?
    “Are you denying it was one of your hexes that caused this?” Caulfield asked Alecto.
    Her face was inscrutable, as always. “I am categorically denying it,” she said. “It was not one of our hexes.”
    More shouts. Alecto stayed calm. “Mr. Caulfield, if you’d like to schedule an appointment with my assistant to discuss this with me under more civilized circumstances, I’d be more than happy to do that. But for now…” She looked up as she spoke, addressing all of them. “You’re trespassing on private property, and interfering with our business here. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you all to go.”
    There was an outcry as the protesters closed in enough for Thea to spread her wings, tensing herself for flight. Cora and Alecto did the same, although neither looked like they’d regret it too much if things got out of hand.
    Unfortunately, Mr. Fanatic was standing too close. Thea’s right wing smacked him hard in the side as it opened. He fell to the ground, screaming like he’d been stabbed, although she didn’t think her talons had gouged him.
    The crowd surged forward, but the three furies were already in the air, flying out of reach to crouch on top of the iron fence. The Security guys did the same.
    The furies who’d gathered to watch the protest were mostly perched on the fence as well, though a few were in the trees. They began answering the shouts and insults of the humans with shouts and insults of their own.
    Once, when she and Baird had attended an awards show, Thea had somehow gotten separated from him and their handlers, and found herself surrounded by an unruly crowd. It didn’t matter that most (though not all) of them were admirers, that their reaching hands only wanted to touch her, not hurt her. It was still a way of taking from her, of claiming a piece of her for themselves that she did not want to