First Crossing by Tyla Grey Read Free Book Online

could interview families, or something.
    Finally they arrived at a plain white door. Sophie opened it
and motioned Eve through.
    A pint-sized woman was standing on a box, bending forward
over a very dead male, and pointing to his jaw while she shot rapid-fire
instructions to a harried-looking girl. “…and up here, you’ll need to add a bit
more filler. Then try to make him look respectable, for God’s sake. Bloody
claws. They shred each other.” She looked up as the door opened, and made eye
contact with Eve. Her jet black eyebrows came together in a frown, and her gaze
shot to her sister.
    Another snake, thought Eve. So that was what Hunter
had meant. “Difficult” was probably a euphemism.
    “You may leave us for a moment, Calendra,” said Sophie
smoothly. “Start preparing the viewing room.”
    “Okay.” With a curious glance at Eve, the girl removed an
apron and sidled out. As soon as she had gone, Sophie said to Helena, “This is
our niece, Eve.”
    “Humph.” Helena stepped down from the box and put her hands
on her hips and surveyed Eve, not bothering with a pretense of welcome. “Well,
you were dropped on us like a bolt from the blue. We’d heard rumors of a baby
from our step-sister’s fling with a mortal.  Never expected to see you,
though.”
    Helena’s rudeness served only to stiffen Eve’s spine, but
she was careful not to show it. Even if Hunter hadn’t warned her, she would
have known on a gut-deep level that she had to be wary of these two.
    With excruciating care, she extended her awareness to a
hyper-alert level where she should be able to receive thoughts and impressions
without alerting the target. Nothing. Either she couldn’t read fae minds, or
these two were shielding themselves from her.
    When Eve didn’t respond, Helena turned her attention to
Sophie. “What are we supposed to do with her?”
    “Give her shelter, mainly,” responded Sophie, staring at her
niece assessingly. “Mother says she is to work here part of the time, and she
will arrange lessons in fae customs and history. And other things.”
    Helena ran a hand through her hair, looking exasperated. “As
though we don’t have enough to do without training another newcomer. Staff go
in and out of this place as though it’s a revolving door.” She glanced around.
“I suppose you can clean the place up; hose it out. Wash the cars.”
    Sophie gave a smile that was perfectly charming, but made
Eve feel like a mouse between her claws. “Well, actually, mother tells me that
Eve worked as a beautician on Mortal Earth.”
    Helena’s frown magically cleared. “Ah.” She shot a glance
back at the man on the table. Eve’s gaze followed hers, and she guessed
immediately what was coming. Oh no.
    “I’ve never worked with dead people,” she said quickly.
“Only regular clients and accident victims. People who had some hope of
healing.” She cast a nervous glance at the cadaver.
    “If you can do makeup for the living, you can do it for the
dead,” said Helena decisively. “Ken can show you how to use Restor-Skin and
Plasto-Wax. He can teach you embalming, too.”
    “That’s probably a very good idea,” Sophie agreed smoothly,
as if it hadn’t been in her mind all along. “Stay down here in the background
until you feel more comfortable with the services we provide. Heaven knows, we
do need a mortuary cosmetologist.”
    “People pay more when the word gets around that there’s a
good cosmetologist on the staff.” Helena sent Eve a challenging glare. “We can
always create an illusion that someone looks beautiful, but too many of our
clientele can see through it. It’s a nuisance, but we need staff who can work
on the physical plane. I suppose you are good at what you do?”
    “With people who have a heartbeat, yes,” said Eve, striving
not to show her irritation. Embalming? They had to be kidding.
    “Well, the dead ones won’t give you any trouble. It’s the
families you need to watch out for.