Mating Fever by Susan Hayes
Leta
Leta was having a good night, which usually meant things were about to go to hell in a rocket-powered handcart. That was the way her life went. Anytime things seemed calm, or she found a reason to be happy, something happened, and it all went sideways. Not even the threat of pending chaos was going to stop her from enjoying the moment, and the double chocolate fudge brownie sundae she had just ordered.
One of the perks of her parentage was that she could eat whatever she wanted without gaining weight. It was one of the few things she enjoyed about her unique birth. The rest of the package ranged from being merely irritating to downright dangerous. Perpetually looking nineteen years old and being asked for ID every time she needed a drink was irritating. Having an uncontrollable ability to set fires with nothing more than a thought was highly hazardous to everything and everyone. Everyone but her, since she was apparently fireproof.
Like most of her abilities, her fireproof nature was something she learned about by accident. A teenage temper tantrum had turned her bedroom into a fiery conflagration that nearly took the whole house with it. She walked away unscathed, completely untouched by the flames. That little mistake had gotten her kicked out of yet another foster home. It also resulted in her case file including words like pyromaniac and potential arsonist.
She hadn’t bothered trying to explain herself. How could she? No one would have believed her. No one ever did. Being a firebug was bad, but being a crazy girl who believed she could set fires with her mind would land her in a psych ward for the rest of her life. One thing her mother had made clear to her before she died was that staying in one place too long wasn’t an option if she wanted to stay alive. She had to stay ahead of the ones hunting for her, and she couldn’t do that if she were locked up.
The home she nearly burned down had been her last foster placement. Her last attempt to fit in, to try to be normal. By the time she was seventeen, she was on her own. It was safer for everyone that way.
“How’s the sundae, honey?” her waitress asked from behind the clean but aged counter of the little all-night diner Leta had picked at random.
She flashed the woman a rare smile. “Perfection, thanks.”
“You let me know if you need anything,” the waitress said with a tired nod and went back to mating ketchup bottles.
Leta was the only customer in the place, which was hardly surprising given that it was the middle of the night. She didn’t need much sleep, and what little she required she usually got during the day when it was safer. Not everything she hunted was nocturnal, but enough of them were that it was easier to sleep when they did. It cut down on the number of things hunting her while she was vulnerable.
Because of that, she spent a lot of time in diners and coffee shops like this one, where solitary figures and late night meals were the norm rather than the exception.
She was still working on her dessert when the hairs on the back of her neck lifted, and a warning chill chased down her spine. With a sigh, she set down her spoon. What’s a girl gotta’ do to get some quality time with her dessert?
Whatever it was that pinged her radar, it was still too far away to identify. She could already sense it was powerful, though. In fact, it was seriously supercharged. Shit.
Before she could formulate a plan, the throbbing rumble of a motorcycle engine caught her attention. It was still too far away for human ears to detect, but the waitress seemed to sense something was about to happen. She stopped what she was doing and went through the door that led to the kitchen. Leta hoped she had the smarts to stay there, out of the line of fire.
The engine noise grew louder, and Leta got to her feet, loosening her muscles with a few casual rolls of her shoulders. A single headlight appeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was only one of them to deal with. There was no doubt in her mind that she would have to face whatever it was. If she were lucky, it would be nothing worse than a stray vampire from the nest she had destroyed the other day, though she doubted it. She had never met a vamp even half as powerful as whatever the hell was coming her way. More likely, it was one of the fallen, or an angel coming to investigate the strange energy she gave off. Thanks to her unlikely parentage, Leta’s life force was unique, and that attracted supernatural attention everywhere she went.
Lucky me.
She dropped a handful of bills on the table and walked outside, hoping that whatever it was, it would come for her and not bother anyone still inside. She wasn’t exactly the heroic type, but she hated it when innocent people died because they had the misfortune to be standing too close her when shit went sideways. There was enough blood on her hands as it was, including her mother’s. Her ledger was already so deep into the red it would take her several mortal lifetimes to redress the balance. Leta held out little hope she would survive anywhere near that long. There were too many things in the world out to kill her. Like whatever was coming her way right now. One more monster to slay before she could call it a night. If she made it through this fight, she was going back into the diner and finishing that damned sundae.
