Excerpt: Turned Around

Then why the hostility towards Breanna? A voice he typically listened to chorused loudly in the back of his mind. It’s not like she’s a threat, right? The voice sounded smug. Callum didn’t like it.

“Of course she’s not a… threat.” Callum muttered quietly to himself, “She’s barely even Fae, I’m just being careful.”

The voice snorted, and he realized how weak that excuse was. Not that his realization stopped the voice from spelling it out to him. You’ve been dealing with Fae for… two hundred years now? And you’re a Guardian of the most powerful Gate in Europe because you’re careful? That’s rich. What about the newborn Banshee?

That was different.

Sure it was different. That was just a baby; forget that she could blow an entire block’s eardrums with a whimper. No problem, I’m sure.

He didn’t really have an answer to that.

And I suppose the Jack-In-Irons’ uprising was just a tiny skirmish, hm? They’re not ten feet tall or anything, I’m sure you were perfectly safe.

Okay, fine. He was afraid of dealing with her. She was too human. Not at all like the Fae. She wasn’t alien enough for him to comfortably handle the way he was used to. He was accustomed to treating each Fae “situation” with an iron fist. He wasn’t a diplomat; he was an enforcer. Sure, he helped Fae transition into the human realm, but he was more of a… a parole officer than a parent. He scared everyone into submission. Threats weren’t below him, neither was violence. He told Fae what they were going to do and they would do it, no questions asked. Or they’d be thrown right back into the Fae realm. It was that simple.

But Callum couldn’t treat Bree like that. She wasn’t Fae, wasn’t part of that world. Even if she was Fae, and was, technically, subject to their laws. He couldn’t treat her like one of his charges.

Could he?

There’s only one way to find out, the voice he was quickly growing to hate quipped.

Okay. A trial run then.

Callum would do his best to treat her like one of the Fae. He wouldn’t run away from her anymore, not that that’s what he’d been doing or anything, and he'd be to the point. No nonsense. Hard. And if she was upset, well, that wasn’t his problem, was it. She’d just have to suck it up.

As if on queue, Breanna walked through the door, moving straight to her desk, apparently without seeing him. She carried coffee, humming to herself quietly while she set down her bag and reached down to turn on her computer. She tossed her hair, loose around her shoulders today, and Callum caught his breath.

Fae, she was Fae. Remember.

Bree glanced in his direction and started violently, almost dropping her cup in the process. “Oh! Callum, uh, good morning. Sorry, I didn’t expect you to be here. You scared me.”

Callum swallowed and cleared his throat, “Good morning Ms. Knox. Why wouldn’t I be here? This is my office.” He wanted to bite back the words moments after he uttered them. Great, now he was being defensive.

Hard. No nonsense. You can do it.

Bree gave him a strange look, “Of course. Uh, I’ll just get to work then.”

Callum turned to his computer with a barely perceptible nod.

This was going to be hell.