1. Amber

Chapter 1

Amber

I drove down the winding forest road and glanced in my rearview mirror, wiping away tears for what felt like the millionth time today. My hands were shaking on the steering wheel, and my stomach growled loud enough to drown out the static-filled radio. The road was empty behind me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I had finally ditched Kevin. When he had found me in that last town, I barely escaped before he caught me. I ducked out before the sun was even up to avoid him following me. But now I was running on fumes, needing caffeine and food and a new sanctuary.

I checked the map I had bought. Yes, it was a paper map. I didn't know they still made those. But it was a good thing because my GPS had started going haywire a few miles back. In fact, it showed nothing but green and a large body of water. Yet, it was clearly wrong because I was looking at a quaint sign that read "Welcome to Beastly Falls, Population???" in swirling golden script. Cute name.

The only problem was, it wasn't supposed to be here.

The GPS and the paper map agreed. There was no town supposed to be here, named Beastly Falls or not. This was an empty stretch of road for at least another hour. Yet there was a town. It may not be on my map, but at this point, I'd take any port in a storm. I hoped they had coffee strong enough to wake the dead, because that's exactly how I felt.

As I pulled into what looked like the main street, lined with the most adorable shops I had ever seen. It looked like a vintage New England town from postcards or the movies. I didn't think they existed. This was so far from my life in Baltimore, but I loved it already. I wondered if I could stay for a while. My eyes landed on a cozy little café called The Growling Bean. Charming. And hopefully not too on-the-nose about their coffee quality.

I parked my beat-up Corolla, grabbed my purse, and stepped out onto the sidewalk. That's when things got weird. Well, weirder.

Every single person on the street froze. And when I say froze, I mean like someone hit the pause button on a movie. But that wasn't even the strangest part. These weren't... people. At least, not entirely.

To my left stood a massive green creature that had more muscles than any body builder that I had ever seen and tusks coming out of his lower jaw. He wore a pinstriped, gray suit with a maroon tie and white dress shirt and was mid-bite into what looked like a gooey cinnamon bun. Beside him, there was a woman dressed in a green and brown homespun dress, with what looked like leaves and branches coming off of it, coming off of her, almost like she was part tree. It was very confusing. And they were staring at me. Because they weren't people. Weren't human. They were monsters.

I rubbed my eyes. Maybe I was more tired than I thought .

"Um, hi?" I managed weakly.

Silence. More staring.

Right. Okay. I remembered vaguely hearing about towns, usually outside of the big cities, that were populated with monsters, or supernaturals as they preferred to be called, since they were more comfortable living among their own kind. Monsters had been living among us for years, but we hadn't ever really known about them until a few decades ago. To say it had not gone well was an understatement, but most people handled it pretty well, though we only saw the occasional supernatural in the city, usually the more common ones, who looked like humans.

It was weird to be the one they would stare at, but I suppose it made sense, since I was probably the minority here, since I didn't see any humans on the street. This was fine. Totally normal. I could handle this. Besides, true monsters didn't always look that way on the outside. I knew that better than anyone. I'd just get my coffee and be on my way to wherever I was going next. Not that I had a clue where that would be.

I pushed open the café door, a little bell announcing my arrival. The low hum of conversation stopped dead inside and all eyes turned to me. The barista—who appeared to be part goat—dropped the mug he was holding, the ceramic shattering on the tile floor. I swallowed and made my way to the counter.

"Can I get a large coffee, please? Cream and sugar." I tried to sound normal, like I ordered from mythical creatures every day.

Before the goat-man could respond, the door burst open behind me. A short, plump woman with rosy cheeks and a head full of curls that defied gravity bustled in, pushing through the crowd of beings who had blocked the door, all staring at me. She maneuvered her way to my side and glared at everyone with exasperation.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, you lot! Have none of you ever seen a human before?" She turned to me with a warm smile, trying to appear grandmotherly. "I apologize, dear. We don't get many visitors here in Beastly Falls. I'm Sylvia Haasenfrau, the mayor."

I shook her offered hand, feeling like I'd stumbled into some bizarre dream. "Amber Lawson. Nice to meet you."

Sylvia shooed away the gawking crowd. "We're so happy to see you. You look so tired, dear. A coffee should fix you up in no time, along with something to eat. Wyn, has she ordered yet?"

I felt a bit like a pine tree buffeted by a windstorm. Sylvia was a force of nature, but the man behind the counter, Wyn, busied himself making my coffee, so I was grateful for the intervention. "Something to eat, dear?"

I scanned the menu on the board, almost too tired to read it. Since it was lunchtime, I settled for soup and half a sandwich, which I relayed. Wyn nodded, acknowledging my order, and handed over the mug of steaming coffee. It smelled like heaven. I dug for my money, but he shook his head. "On the house, miss."

"Thank you."

He smiled, a bit shyly. "Welcome to Beastly Falls."

Sylvia nodded approvingly and steered me towards a two-seat table by the window, glaring over my shoulder at the crowd, who dispersed with mumbles. We settled at the small wrought-iron table and I sipped my coffee. Oh, it was like tasting heaven. Or maybe I was exhausted. Either way, I was immensely grateful for the hit of caffeine flooding my veins.

Sylvia waited a few minutes, studying me, then she spoke. "So, how did you find our little town, Amber?"

"I drove here," I replied, gesturing out front to my car, confused by the question. Maybe I needed more caffeine, or she needed something. What a weird question.

"Hmm," Sylvia said, tapping her chin. "Forgive me for saying, but you look tuckered out, like you could use a good rest. Have you considered staying a while?"

I blinked. "I hadn't really thought about it. But this is a cute town."

Actually, I was tired of moving and had no actual destination in mind. This would be the last kind of town Kevin would ever come to, so it would be the perfect place to settle, at least for a while. And my bank account could use some funding, since I'd been draining it quickly, being on the run for the past few months. I wondered if they would have any job openings? I wasn't picky. It would be too much to ask for that they'd have a librarian position. I'd waitressed in college and worked retail too. I was no stranger to hard work.

Sylvia nodded sagely, folding her hands in front of her. "I can sense these things about people. Did you move recently?"

"You could say that," I mumbled, not wanting to get into the whole fleeing-my-abusive-ex story. It had always been my experience that most people didn't like when you got too personal right away. And when you add in an abusive ex, well, most people found themselves with a pressing appointment or something else to do really fast. No one wanted that kind of trouble. Not that I blamed them. I wish I could avoid this trouble too.

Sylvia, on the other hand, laid a comforting hand on my arm and relief flooded through me, easing my stress. I could feel my muscles relaxing in my shoulders and the tension bleeding out of me. I think my shoulders even lowered from the vicinity of my ears, something they hadn't done in weeks. I could breathe for the first time in so long without the band around my chest. There was something about her that made me wonder who or what she was. While she looked human, I didn't think she was.

Her eyes were kind as she looked at me and I got the sense she knew what was going on. "You don't need to keep running, dear. You're safe here for as long as you stay with us. You seem like you could use a break. We have a lovely bed-and-breakfast owned by Esme Red, just down the street, with a room for rent that might suit you just fine."

I was feeling a bit bewildered, but maybe that was the stress, lack of sleep, and hunger talking. Maybe I had driven into an alternate reality, but I was feeling better, almost like I truly was safe, like Kevin couldn't get to me here and I could take a chance at staying for a while. I needed to replenish my savings, anyway. "That would be great."

Wyn brought my soup and sandwich, along with a salad for Sylvia, and we ate quietly. All the while, I felt like a sideshow attraction with large numbers of onlookers coming into the cafe or walking by and staring at me, deliberately ignoring Mayor Sylvia's pointed glare or even more obvious comments for them to move along. As strange as it all was, it also comforted me. If they reacted to me, a stranger, like this, Kevin could never sneak into Beastly Falls. I would have some warning and be able to escape if he did.

Once I finished eating, I scanned the street, looking at the quaint facades of the shops all along the street. They were all a bit distorted, as if seen through a mirror, by defying the laws of nature. But the brick and stone structures, and canopies were so lovely, I couldn't wait to explore, and hopefully find a job.

I felt a tug towards a stone building in the distance, a beautiful gothic structure a couple of streets away. It was a couple of stories taller than some of the other buildings, standing separately from all other structures, and it had a lone figure standing on the roof.

"What is that building?"

Sylvia followed my gaze. "That's our library. It's open twenty-four hours because we have a lot of nocturnal residents, though we haven't had a nighttime librarian for a while, so there are times when it's closed at night. Do you like to read?"

A library? A town that needs a librarian? It was almost too good to be true. "Something like that," I replied. "Would you be able to direct me to the bed-and-breakfast? I'd love to see if I could get a room."

Sylvia beamed. "Of course. You must be exhausted. I'll take you there now."

We cleared our table, and she ushered me out of the café, chattering about the town's history. As we walked and she pointed out landmarks, I wondered just what I'd gotten myself into. But for the first time in months, I had a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, Beastly Falls was exactly where I needed to be.